Reviews for Cowboy Bebop (9.08) 3071e

*Note: This is an archive from my Anime-Planet *

Critic's Log: Earthdate - March 12, 2012. Review #1: Cowboy Bebop.



It is the year 2071 and Mars has become the central hub of human
civilization ever since a hyperspace experiment on the moon failed and
made Earth uninhabitable. The entire Solar System has been accessible
thanks to reliable hyperspace gates and crime syndicates have exerted
their power and influence over the government and the ISSP (Inter-Solar
System-Police). As a result, The ISSP has put in a bounty system similar
to The Old West has been included to deal with fugitives, terrorists
and other criminals. The bounty hunters are usually called "Cowboys".
Bounty hunters Spike Spiegel and Jet Black are flying around space and
trying to catch their bounty.



That is the premise of Cowboy Bebop. This is where I start to get
technical, Cowboy Bebop does not have much of a main storyline (except
for episodes like Ballad of Fallen Angels, the Two-part episode Jupiter
Jazz and the two part finale The Real Folk Blues), and those 5 episodes
are what you could call "plot" episodes, while the remaining 21 are
standalone episodes. With that said, those episodes are not even
considered filler. Some of the ideas in these standalone really stand
out impressively. Here are some examples: Sympathy for the Devil, Waltz
for Venus, Ganymede Elegy, etc., etc...



If there is a blinding aspect, it is the animation. For 1998, the
animation was pretty good back then and still looks good today. Some
episodes have some cool animation effects as well. Sunrise is the
animation studio behind Cowboy Bebop and that might not be saying much,
however there is one apparent note about this show, apparently Cowboy
Bebop's success led to 3 staff from Sunrise that co-founded the
studio that we know today as Studio Bones. In other words, animes like
RahXephon, Wolf's Rain, Eureka Seven, Darker than BLACK, Soul Eater, and
both Fullmetal Alchemist animes were apparently made possible due to
Bebop's success. The action scenes are well animated, and the visuals
are even breathtaking at times.









If there are any anime purists out there that have not seen Cowboy
Bebop yet, consider this recommendation an exception, the English dub is
very good and hardly flawed. Steven Jay Blum gives Spike a good badass
tone to his character, Wendee Lee sounds both sexy and sensitive as
Faye, Beau Billingslea has a cool father-like tone as Jet, and Melissa
Fahn is charmingly silly as Edward. The dub can be considered better
than the original Japanese version of the show, and I have known some
purists that mention that Cowboy Bebop's dub was very good. I personally
love the dub, it was spot-on and all the voices matched. So, what do I
think of the subtitled version? Answer: I find it Underrated compared to
the dub. The voice cast of the subtitled version had some well-known
voice actors such as Kouichi Yamadera, Megumi Hayashibara, Unsho
Ishizuka, and even Norio Wakamoto is in the subbed version. There is
nothing wrong with the subtitled version; it may be a bit overshadowed
by the dubbed Version





If there is an aspect that struck all the chords right is the
soundtrack which is by Yoko Kanno. Some people consider Bebop's
soundtrack to be her best. There is one fact about the soundtrack is
that Kanno-san formed a band known as The Seatbelts which includes over
70 musicians which resided in Japan, New York, and Paris. I consider it
impressive. If you try listening to the soundtrack without the show, it
may feel like you're listening to an album rather than a soundtrack. The
soundtrack really made a permanent impression on me. My personal
favorite moment that involved the soundtrack was the two songs used in
the cathedral scene, which were Rain and Green Bird. Hell, the opening
theme kicks so much ass, and The Real Folk Blues is a good closing
theme. The soundtrack is groovy.







What really makes the show impressive is that some scenes have music
playing and not have much dialogue in it. This is somewhat of a symbolic
example that silence can indeed be golden. This is Kanno-san’s most
famous and critically acclaimed soundtrack. Otakus mostly rejoice when
Kanno –san is involved in musical compositions ever since she finished
her work on Cowboy Bebop. She is mostly a fan favorite in the anime fan
base when it comes to the music department and that should come as no
surprise. She’s that popular and talented. I do appreciate the work she
has done up to this very day.



The characters are also great. Spike is shown as a rogue badass with a
past catching up to him. Jet appears to be a cool guy who happens to be
the Captain of the Bebop. Faye is a con-woman and an interesting
character even though she is kind of rude. Ein is adorable, and Edward
is a silly random character that has a positive outlook in life. I think
she was an awesome character for comic relief in the show. Some minor
characters were also interesting. There is a common theme that runs
through all of the characters and that is the pasts of these characters.
It's definitely an overused trope but I think the past is something we
all quite can't forget which doesn't make this trope clichéd, it's just a
common one that is almost always effective.



Cowboy Bebop claims to be a genre unto itself. I am not sure how to
give a clear analogy on that, but it has interesting themes that are
unique to the show. There are some homages and send ups to famous movies
in this show. This is a show that knew how to treat adults and people
who like movies, music, Science Fiction, Western and so forth.
Shinichiro Watanabe really nailed the direction of this anime because he
always liked to mix up different opposing styles to make something
completely new and unordinary. Cowboy Bebop has elements of Western,
Space Opera, Film Noir, Martial Arts, and Jazz music. All these elements
blended extremely well and this was a very unique anime at the time and
I can understand why this anime was so revolutionary at the time. End
Result: WINNING!





Since the popularity of Cowboy Bebop soared past through the stars,
is it even fair to say that this show is overrated? It is considered an
influential anime and I see why, a lot of people have universally
praised the hell out of this show. The stories, animation, characters,
music, and style are blended in so well that it almost makes it hard to
see animes of this caliber.



If there is a drawback, I could say that this show could have gone a
bit longer, and on a personal note, Boogie Woogie Feng Shui was the only
episode I did not like too much. If you like it, that's fine.



If you stick to the series long enough, I guarantee you'll like the
ending. There are a lot of people that see the ending as one of the most
fitting endings to an anime and it really ends with a bang. I'm dead
serious, if you haven't seen this series then do yourself a favor and
watch the damn show, it will not disappoint you unless you are extremely
picky.





Cowboy Bebop is available by Bandai Entertainment, and even though
Bandai Entertainment no longer licenses anime, they mentioned that they
will keep their current catalog, so apparently there's nothing to worry
about this anime being out of print in the US (I hope). The manga
adaptation Cowboy Bebop: Shooting Star written by Hajime Yatate and
illustrated by Cain Kuga and another manga adaptation of Cowboy Bebop
also written by Hajime Yatate and illustrated by Yutaka Nanten were
available by Tokyopop and It is possible that those two manga
adaptations are out of print. Cowboy Bebop the Movie is available by
Sony Pictures and I will review it next.



With that said, Cowboy Bebop is a smash hit jam-session that has
become a genre unto itself; it has thrills, action, humor, and most of
all fun. It is a hard one not to like. However, Not only anime fans like
this show, some people that don't watch anime much or even anime-haters
it this show is exceptional and they even liked the show. This show
has an American influence and it appeals to viewers that like anime,
sci-fi, action flicks, and westerns. At the time I am posting this, this
anime is still airing on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block since 2001.
The constant re-runs and the fan base have turned this anime to a cult
classic (metaphorically speaking, it has a devoted fan base... nothing
to do with religious cults or something like that; it's a play on
words). It may not be everyone's cup of tea but it is definitely worth
trying. It's an anime I sometimes quote as well as some others. Some
will say that this is the greatest anime ever made, but that may be
stretching it too much, but I will agree in calling it a revolutionary
anime and a fun anime at that. it is truly a gem.







I give Cowboy Bebop a 10 out of 10 (It is a MASTERPIECE!)





Feel free to comment below and until then... Stay gold, Bang!