So, does Cowboy Bebop still hold up twenty years later? In some ways, it does and in other ways, it doesn’t.
The cool factor for Cowboy Bebop is still high. The music and animation style do a lot to contribute to this, particularly the effortless manner in which Spike fights. Interestingly, the music was produced before the rest of the show, but it fits the action really well.
Continue readingAfter learning that Cowboy Bebop is getting a live-action remake, I decided to revisit the much-beloved anime series from the 90s (although not aired in the U.S. until the early 2000s). Many people think of it as the best anime series ever, and with good reason. My episode reviews will contain spoilers, so be sure to watch the series before you read this.
Session 25: The Real Folk Blues, Part 1
On Mars, the blonde woman gets a message telling her the elders are ready to make their move. Vicious and his men shoot up a room, but the elders were warned by a fortune teller and are able to capture him. However, his bird flies from his shoulder and perches in the chamber.
Continue readingAfter learning that Cowboy Bebop is getting a live-action remake, I decided to revisit the much-beloved anime series from the 90s (although not aired in the U.S. until the early 2000s). Many people think of it as the best anime series ever, and with good reason. My episode reviews will contain spoilers, so be sure to watch the series before you read this.
Session 23: Brain Scratch
We open on a television announcement from a group called Scratch who believe the body is evil. The way forward is to abandon the body and upload your consciousness to a computer using a gaming console. All the TV channels are talking about Scratch whose members are killing themselves. ISSP is searching for the leader, Dr. Londes.
Continue readingAfter learning that Cowboy Bebop is getting a live-action remake, I decided to revisit the much-beloved anime series from the 90s (although not aired in the U.S. until the early 2000s). Many people think of it as the best anime series ever, and with good reason. My episode reviews will contain spoilers, so be sure to watch the series before you read this.
Session 21: Boogie Woogie Feng Shui
If there’s one episode worth skipping, it’s this one due to its endorsement of statutory relations. Jet gets a mysterious message about four gods and the holy beast of Anzan from Pao, one of the greatest Feng Shui masters, but it turns out, he’s dead. We see a gravestone on Mars with 2071 as the death date, which I think is the first time the year the shows takes place is explicitly stated if you don’t count the opening credits. Pao died at 50.
Continue readingAfter learning that Cowboy Bebop is getting a live-action remake, I decided to revisit the much-beloved anime series from the 90s (although not aired in the U.S. until the early 2000s). Many people think of it as the best anime series ever, and with good reason. My episode reviews will contain spoilers, so be sure to watch the series before you read this.
Session 18: Speak Like a Child
Faye is watching a horse race. Her horse almost wins, but ends up losing. Says she should quit the ponies. Spike is fishing, but the fish gets away. Jet is telling Edward a story about a man who goes to a paradise where he can eat anything. Spike complains he hasn’t eaten bream or halibut for a while. Once again, we have an episode opening showing us how hungry the crew is.
Continue readingAfter learning that Cowboy Bebop is getting a live-action remake, I decided to revisit the much-beloved anime series from the 90s (although not aired in the U.S. until the early 2000s). Many people think of it as the best anime series ever, and with good reason. My episode reviews will contain spoilers, so be sure to watch the series before you read this.
Session 16: Black Dog Serenade
This is one of the more violent and bloody episodes. It opens on a prison ship full of corpses. One prisoner celebrates with champagne while another seems responsible for the deaths. Jet gets a call from someone named Fat. Faye notices his cigarette has burned to his fingers, but he doesn’t feel it. His prosthetic arm needs to be repaired. The ship is for death row inmates on the way to the prison on Pluto. They’ve taken the pilot hostage, but one of the prisoners shoots him. Udai Taxim, an assassin, kills the hotheaded prisoner. Blood floats in zero g.
Continue readingAfter learning that Cowboy Bebop is getting a live-action remake, I decided to revisit the much-beloved anime series from the 90s (although not aired in the U.S. until the early 2000s). Many people think of it as the best anime series ever, and with good reason. My episode reviews will contain spoilers, so be sure to watch the series before you read this.
Session 14: Bohemian Rhapsody
Usually, when someone goes through an astral gate, the toll is withdrawn from their bank account. However, twenty different criminals hacked the gates to withdraw a person’s entire bank account instead. The Gate Corporation has put out a huge bounty for whomever was behind the scheme. Spike, Jet, and Faye capture all the criminals responsible for the gate attacks, but not the mastermind, so they don’t get the bounty. However, each get a clue: a white chess piece.
Continue readingAfter learning that Cowboy Bebop is getting a live-action remake, I decided to revisit the much-beloved anime series from the 90s (although not aired in the U.S. until the early 2000s). Many people think of it as the best anime series ever, and with good reason. My episode reviews will contain spoilers, so be sure to watch the series before you read this.
Session 12: Jupiter Jazz Part 1
We open on a Native American shaman sitting outside his teepee on Callisto, one of Jupiter’s moons. It’s an arctic area. A star falls, indicating someone has died somewhere on the planet.
Continue readingAfter learning that Cowboy Bebop is getting a live-action remake, I decided to revisit the much-beloved anime series from the 90s (although not aired in the U.S. until the early 2000s). Many people think of it as the best anime series ever, and with good reason. My episode reviews will contain spoilers, so be sure to watch the series before you read this.
Session 10: Ganymede Elegy
A bank robber named Baker Panchorero is tied up on the Bebop. Ein starts barking, so he kicks a can and hits Ein. Ed then drops out of a duct and bites his ear! Ed’s personality was patterned on that of a cat, and it really shows sometimes. The crew actually gets paid for their bounty. One of the rare times this happens in the show.
Continue readingAfter learning that Cowboy Bebop is getting a live-action remake, I decided to revisit the much-beloved anime series from the 90s (although not aired in the U.S. until the early 2000s). Many people think of it as the best anime series ever, and with good reason. My episode reviews will contain spoilers, so be sure to watch the series before you read this.
Session 8: Waltz for Venus
The flight attendant announces that Venus has been terraformed, but the floating cloud-like plants used to terraform the planet can cause Venus sickness. Inside the airplane-like spacecraft, we see a baby floating in zero g. Hijackers named Huey, Dewey, and Louie take over the plane. Spike doesn’t put his hands behind his head at the hijacker’s command. We find out he’s wearing a blindfold with eyes on it to look like he’s awake. He punches a hijacker while stretching after a yawn, dodges by leaning forward, then headbutts seemingly by accident. When another hijacker charges him, he flips him over, then apologizes. Faye sprays another hijacker with mist to knock her out. I think this is the first time we see them actually catch a bounty. I guess it’s bound to happen eventually.
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