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Japanese Name: ラグタイムショー
Release: 07/2006
Episodes: –
Genre: Adventure, Sci-fi, Shounen
OP: “COYOTE” by Naoki with Power Sound
ED: “COYOTE” by Naoki with Power Sound (yes, it’s meant to be the same)

Impressions:

Wow. Nice. The first episode was great. The first half may have been a bit slow, but the high-quality action-packed second half was extremely enjoying. The shootouts, explosions and blood-gushing did not disappoint; I was glued to the screen the moment the ‘12 Sisters’ arrived. However, like any other Anime, there must be something that I personally do not like, and this time it’s the character design. The investigator is okay, but the female police associate – is just completely wrong. I didn’t even realise she was a girl until sometime into the episode; I had thought she was some relative, but it turns out she’s actually a police officer (I wasn’t paying attention when she was proving her identity). What hooked me this episode were Marciano’s androids. They are so cool! They certainly need to make reappearance and show off their capabilities more. I’m also quite confused about the protagonist in the series. I would say it would be Mister, if he is the main characters. But if he isn’t and Angelica is, then I don’t know. Hopefully more information will be revealed in the next episode – I can’t wait!

Summary:

Angelica Barns is an investigator from the Federation Bureau, who has been searching for a criminal for four years. The criminal had evaded capture for the long period of time by constantly stealing and changing identities. However, to make things easier I suppose, he is known as ‘Mister’. For the last year, Mister had suddenly disappeared. After tracking down the man to a prison on the planet ‘Sandvil’, she travels there via a space shuttle and is greeted by Chelsea, the female police officer. They are driven to the prison by a man who blows bubbles, and does not seem significant at all at first. On the way, Angelica sees for the first time a giant centipede-type insect. Chelsea explains that these bugs have poor sight and rely solely on their hearing to detect prey. As a counter-measure, tall poles with sound emitters are erected, sending out sound that is irritable to the bugs.

At the entrance to the prison, they are stopped by security for a search. She is met by Frank Duston, warden of the prison. As they are talking, the metal detector goes off above Angelica’s briefcase, so she opens it, revealing a large amount of weaponry. However, she has permission to use them from the Federation Government and the President himself (or herself). As Angelica is printing off information on all the inmates, Frank asks Chelsea who the investigator is (referring to her importance and status). She says she doesn’t know much as she was simply dispatched to the spaceport to greet the investigator and take her here.

When the printing is done, Angelica brings the documents to the warden and asks him for assistance. He asks her about why she is here and she explains about ‘Mister’ and how she believes he is currently locked up in the prison. She also says that she had gotten a phone call last night saying Mister will appear at the Sandvil prison that day. Frank thinks the call was a prank, and suddenly receives a phone call himself from a man claiming he is from the Red Desert Liberation Movement. He is informed that 10 bombs have been placed in his prison. Frustrated, the warden hangs up and uses this as an example to back up his prank call theory. However, before he can finish speaking, several explosions occur outside the window, destroying a good portion of the fortress walls. The security begins to panic and the inmates start an uproar. Angelica tells Chelsea to request the bomb disposal team. The warden is still in shock and murmurs about why it had to happen. Angelica says that this is only the beginning.

Soon after all the inmates are evacuated onto the inner field, the bomb disposal team arrives. The warden informs the leader of the situation as they are walking. Near the entrance to the building, the leader tells Angelica who is about to follow to leave everything to the experts. After he disappears through the door, Angelica begins to suspect something and asks Chelsea about where the car they came in was parked. Inside, the leader disperses his team and makes a call – to the bubble-blowing guy from the beginning! Back outside, Angelica checks under the rear seat. Nothing is there. She concludes that the thing that triggered the metal detector were bombs hidden under the seat, and were smuggled by making use of Angelica’s permit. The culprit is the driver from before, who must have an alliance with one of the members of the bomb disposal team – the leader! The investigator says she knows all this because Mister had used the same technique on planet ‘Carnival’, which means everything must be a ploy to break Mister out of prison. She immediately places a lockdown on the prison, meaning no one and nothing can leave. Time passes and Angelica asks Frank to look through the inmate’s profiles and find anyone who was held in block four for the past year.

In some other unknown place, a woman in what seems to be a mansion of some sort receives a phone call regarding the Mister’s planned jailbreak. She authorises the ‘12 Sisters’ to go the prison by helicopter and raid the area.

Back in the prison, it has already gotten dark and there’s still no sign of Mister or his accomplices. Chelsea notices something in the night sky. Angelica recognises them as Madam Marciano’s. Soon, the 12 Sisters become visible, who are parachuting into the prison grounds. They load their weapons and easily gun down the security, killing everyone mercilessly. By the way, the 12 Sisters are actually androids immune to normal gunfire. This event it definitely the highlight of the episode, and I hope their’s more of it in the next one.

When all the security have been slaughtered, Angelica tries to make a stand but her petty pistol shots do not even make a dent in the androids’ body. The android, May, lunges at her, but before she can kill Angelica, someone standing on the roof of the prison fires a homing rocket at the android. It makes a direct hit and completely vaporises the android’s body, leaving only the head. Everyone ceases what they are doing and looks up. Mister, the bomb disposal team leader and the driver are standing on top of the prison. Mister tells Angelica that he had been waiting for ‘them’ not her, and also yells out ‘Diamond Head’. Realising what he meant, Angelica retreats into the prison with Chelsea and the warden. The leader of the 12 Sisters gives the order to capture Mister at all costs. Inside, Angelica explains the ‘Diamond Head’ incident. The National Bank on planet Diamond had been broken into by Mister, using the tsunami to get rid of any defences. He is planning to do the same here. Soon, the ground begins to shake, and it takes some time for the androids to realise their fate. The insect repellents (the sound-emitting devices) have been deactivated, meaning the arrival of sandworms is imminent. Sure enough, before long the prison is engulfed in a ‘tsunami’ of the giant bugs.

The next day, the police and health services have arrived. The ‘guild’ also arrives and takes away the android remains. Chelsea argues that it is vital evidence for the Sandvil police but Angelica tells them that the guild has control over the police, so there’s no point arguing with them. She decides to quit the force. Angelica offers her a job that isn’t properly explained in the episode, but I assume the job is to be her assistance.

In a space shuttle in space, Mister and his two accomplices are enjoying a scrumptious meal. As he is eating, he is given a picture of himself with a small girl called Franca. Mister smiles.

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