While rumor abounds that a valuable weapon is aboard the train and ripe for theft, this wide range of no-gooders and goodfellas board the Flying Pussyfoot with dreams of glory and riches, or possibly just escape to familiar turf. Everything seems to be hunky-dory until the urban legend of the Rail Chasers is told. Then, with fresh thoughts of a train-devouring monster the murder and mayhem commence! Told from many, many perspectives and overlapping timelines, the show is always careful to keep you in-the-know by reconnecting you to previous timelines by frequently interspersing points where the stories overlap. Still, this is only the first disc and I doubt I could count the main characters on both hands! Also, the violence, while not especially gory, is pretty intense, so if you object to children getting a permanent haircut from the neck-up, you may want to shield those baby blues at times. (And my conscience, I should warn you about Ladd Russo… He likes talking a lot and slaughtering a lot. His hobbies are hurting things and swearing undying love to his girlfriend by promising to kill her last. She seems okay with this.)
It also appears that one, or more, characters has been exposed to an alchemical elixer which prevents them from dying. But, unfortunatly, not from getting shot, cut, stabbed, or smashed into bits.
Still, the music and animation is top notch, and I can safely predict a long and prosperous popularity, and recommend that you give it one shot before you look elsewhere. Just don’t blame me if the shot is aimed between the eyes.
Another interesting setting for the anime is located outside the package. The dvd cover, as well as the funimation website, is so steeped in era slang that it’s sometimes difficult to return to speaking english afterwards.
No abnormally awesome DVD extras, I’m afraid, but the case is somewhat interesting. In addition to the regular interior art, there are two character profiles where the chapter list would normally go, which is kind of interesting in it’s own right, and I’m sure I’ll appreciate it later when I have to spread all the open DVD cases in front of me to keep track of all the main characters!
Episodes included on this disc (and the award for most accurate episode titles goes to):
1. The Vice President Doesn’t Say Anything about the Possibility of Him Being the Main Character
2. Setting the Old Woman’s Qualms Aside, the Flying Pussyfoot Departs
3. Randy and Pecho are Busy Getting Ready for the Party
4. Ladd Russo Enjoys Talking A Lot and Slaughtering A Lot
The titles are, as you can tell, extremely descriptive, even if you don’t understand the relevance yet. The episodes themselves are too jam-packed with storylines for me to be able to give you a clear plotline without overlooking another main character, so we’ll have to forego the formalities and let you fly on your own.