Welcome again folks, this week EiE pays its two-bits to see the Coyote Ragtime Show. Mostly because we heard Shinji plays the piano and Asuka does the can-can.
If you’ve never seen it, Coyote Ragtime show is a 12 episode anime featuring the exploits of an old man running the shadiest branch of the Make-a-Wish foundation in the galaxy. Along with the little girl who wishes she didn’t have daddy issues they have to evade the state comptroller trying to shut down his operation! Okay, not really… to any of that. It’s actually about “pirates” and robot-girls in Lolita outfits.
1) In Coyote Ragtime Show (CRS), Franca chases the love of her dead father. In Evangelion, Shinji chases the love of a father that’s just dead inside.
Perch: And in both cases, the mother’s duty is to be dead.
Kinotu: Luckily Franca’s mom takes her job much more seriously and stays nicely in the mists of time. Unlike some overprotective souls I could mention.
2) In Evangelion, Koaru is sent from Seele to destroy Nerv, but he falls for that irrascible Shinji. In CRS, Angelica is sent from the government to stop those pirates, but falls for that irrascible Mister.
Kinotu: What? Shinji is totally irrascible! Alright, but the point still stands.
Perch: Considering Kowaru’s choices were- Gendo, bad-ass silent Rei, completely catatonic Asuka, or Misato who’d hit rock bottom after Kaji’s death; Shinji looks pretty good. Whereas Angelica hit the prize the first time.
Kinotu: I think you’re discounting Bishop’s smarmy machismo here.
3) When Seele finally chooses to assault Nerv it’s with their own overwhelming force of special-made evas. When Marciano chooses to assault anybody, it’s wtih her own overwhelming force of special-made robotic daughters.
Perch: Little do most viewers know, those white Angels were all named after the days of the week.
4) In Evangelion, they’re trying to stop the Third Impact- an explosion big enough to destroy the world. In CRS, it’s just a bomb, but still with the planet exploding thing.
5) Gendo created Rei as the daughter he’d never have and a tool to help him reach his ultimate goal. Marciano created her twelve sisters for pretty much the same reason.
Kintou: The main difference being that Gendo knew he was a one-kid type of dude, while Marciano had aims on winning the inter-crime-syndicate basketball league.
Perch: Two kids, he had two kids. I can see where you made the mistake though, it’s the same problem Marciano has whenever she thinks of making a boy.
Kinotu: Quite frankly, I’m pretty sure if you told Gendo he had a boy he’d have the same reaction.
6) Shinji lives with an irresponsible “adult” incapable of even cooking for themselves. Franca just gave up and became a semi-professional cook.
Perch: The difference being that Franca had to take care of not just her missing guardian, she also had to take care of every bounty-hunter in the club. i.e.- Every smelly old man in the galaxy. Whereas Shinji had to cook for one alcoholic and a penguin.
Kinotu: Hey, have you seen the way that penguin eats? He could demolish a Vegas buffet!
7) Misato has to wrangle three idiotic kids into doing what’s best for the mission. Mister on the other hand has a well behaved staff who work with clock-work precision… wait, no, I’m thinking of my watch.
Kinotu: Though I think I’ll give Mister the edge. He actually delegates and uses his resources wisely. Misato tends to just throw a kid at a problem until it explodes.
Perch: To be fair in this situation, one anime had a group of adults and a kid; who was slung around like a sack of potatoes from one point to the next in the narrative. In Evangelion, they managed to find the world’s most dysfunctional, desperately in need of psychologists, children to pilot their giant killing machines. And then told them to suck it up and act like adults when they clearly weren’t.
In conclusion we give this anime four pen-pens out of five. There were no Cowboy Bebop reruns on and Shinji had broken his Outlaw Star tapes.
Perch: You don’t want to know what he used to do in the middle of the night with his Twilight Suzuka and Faye Valentine action figures.
Kinotu: I bet it’s not the first time Wendee Lee had to make out with herself.
Everything is Evangelion 