Television Cowboy Bebop (Netflix, November 19), update: aaaaaaaand it's been cancelled

[DPCyric]

14 hours ago, Greatoneshere said:

Holy fuck that looked and felt just like the show. They should have started with this trailer, that was awesome in my opinion.

 

I've been excited but this pushes it to looking like one or the best live action takes on an anime yet (I am aware that's a low bar to vault). I think it will be a hit and we get a second season (and maybe they decide to do Samurai Champloo as well?)! That dress Daniella is wearing though 🥵

[elbobo]

4 hours ago, DPCyric said:

 

I've been excited but this pushes it to looking like one or the best live action takes on an anime yet (I am aware that's a low bar to vault). I think it will be a hit and we get a second season (and maybe they decide to do Samurai Champloo as well?)! That dress Daniella is wearing though 🥵

 

that bar is on the ground, maybe even under the ground

[TwinIon]

That trailer is so much better than what they've shown before that my excitement level has shot right back up.

[Nokt]

Not a huge fan of what I saw of the Mad Pierrot. That was one of my favorite episodes from the show.

[Greatoneshere]

20 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

The delivery / voices still sound weird to me. The sets look lifeless and empty like prequel trilogy star wars. Still not sold on this, not sure what makes you jump up it's ass on this one that wouldn't make you do the same with the previous trailer.

 

13 hours ago, Fizzzzle said:

I still think that if it's going to suck, it's certainly not because they didn't try or played it too safe or whatever.

I'm not sure if it's going to be good, but I will watch it day 1 regardless.

 

I mean, these are fair takes. But for live-action, that felt like Bebop more or less. My expectations are low, so perhaps that helps. I'm just happy that they even brought back Yoko Kanno and a big American production is respecting an anime as its source material.

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

17 hours ago, TwinIon said:

That trailer is so much better than what they've shown before that my excitement level has shot right back up.

same. Saw the trailer yesterday and thought, “yeah that looks fun.” 

[Kal-El814]

17 hours ago, Nokt said:

Not a huge fan of what I saw of the Mad Pierrot. That was one of my favorite episodes from the show.

 

Is this a common opinion? I personally think that episode is the only clunker in the show, I think it’s actively bad.

[Ghost_MH]

29 minutes ago, Kal-El814 said:

Is this a common opinion? I personally think that episode is the only clunker in the show, I think it’s actively bad.

 

It is. That's why he's showing up in the first ten episodes of the live action series, even though he doesn't show up in the anme until near the end. I'm actually there with you that I don't remember enjoying that episode much, but I think the combination of music and violence really struck a tone with a lot of people.

[Kal-El814]

6 minutes ago, Ghost_MH said:

It is. That's why he's showing up in the first ten episodes of the live action series, even though he doesn't show up in the anme until near the end. I'm actually there with you that I don't remember enjoying that episode much, but I think the combination of music and violence really struck a tone with a lot of people.

 

I rewatched the show recently, so it’s pretty fresh in my mind. Not that there ins’t a lot of serendipity, but this one seems especially random. Spike just happens to be where this guy is killing people? And then decides to go back after him after getting called out, since I guess Pierrot figured out who he was? And his bulletproof shield is some Dune thing and a dagger and an animatronic animal get through it?

 

It feels like an episode from a much worse season of the show.

[Nokt]

4 hours ago, Kal-El814 said:

I rewatched the show recently, so it’s pretty fresh in my mind. Not that there ins’t a lot of serendipity, but this one seems especially random. Spike just happens to be where this guy is killing people? And then decides to go back after him after getting called out, since I guess Pierrot figured out who he was? And his bulletproof shield is some Dune thing and a dagger and an animatronic animal get through it?

 

It feels like an episode from a much worse season of the show.

The rumor from the show is that anyone that sees his face is hunted down relentlessly until they're found dead. I think its more the fact that Spike is just rising to fight his foe rather than try and hide. Tongpu is essentially just a giant child with an urge for killing because of the experiments ran on him. He specifically isn't all that interesting, its the tone of the episode. Spike legitimately thinks he might die, he pauses for a second and then jokes to Faye and Ed. Typically Spike doesn't show that kind of fear, its a side you don't see a whole lot of. Spike is outclassed by his enemy and the episode is almost devoid of music.

 

Though the Real Folk Blues is only a few episodes later. Which it pales in comparison to.

[skillzdadirecta]

I'm currently rewatching the anime series now in prep for the live action show. Has anyone ever read the Manga?

[Greatoneshere]

5 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

I'm currently rewatching the anime series now in prep for the live action show. Has anyone ever read the Manga?

 

There are actually two manga series, one just called "Cowboy Bebop" which was 3 volumes and "Cowboy Bebop: Shooting Star" which was 2 volumes. I haven't read them, but I've heard one is better than the other and actually good.

[skillzdadirecta]

I just watched the latest trailer... looks okay. Where I'm really worried is the action scenes, particularly the fight scenes. Spike is a great matrial artist who uses Jeet Kune Do and what little I saw in that trailer looked like typical TV action choreography which won't be enough for a series like this for me. Hope I'm wrong. Everything else looked good to me. I always liked Cowboy Beebop but definitely preferred Samurai Champloo though.

 

Do we know how many episodes this will be?

[Greatoneshere]

24 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

I just watched the latest trailer... looks okay. Where I'm really worried is the action scenes, particularly the fight scenes. Spike is a great matrial artist who uses Jeet Kune Do and what little I saw in that trailer looked like typical TV action choreography which won't be enough for a series like this for me. Hope I'm wrong. Everything else looked good to me. I always liked Cowboy Beebop but definitely preferred Samurai Champloo though.

 

Do we know how many episodes this will be?

 

10 episodes I think for season 1.

[Massdriver]

I'm skeptical but excited about this and Wheel of Time for November. This one seems like it's a show that will either be awesome or completely fail with a lot in between. If they get the tone wrong, it's done. The videos make me more hopeful than I was before.

[skillzdadirecta]

On 11/4/2021 at 12:11 PM, Greatoneshere said:

 

10 episodes I think for season 1.

Are they doing multiple seasons? The anime was only one season... 26 episodes.

[Keyser_Soze]

1 minute ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Are they doing multiple seasons? The anime was only one season... 26 episodes.

 

The creator wants to make episodes until the end of time.

[skillzdadirecta]

Just now, Keyser_Soze said:

 

The creator wants to make episodes until the end of time.

Really? 

[Keyser_Soze]

'Cowboy Bebop' boss calls live-action Netflix series an 'expansion to the canon'

EW.COM

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John Cho and 'Cowboy Bebop' showrunner André Nemec discuss how the live-action series is more an 'expansion to the canon' than a strict adaptation.

 

Quote

"I promise we will never take the original anime away from the purists. It will always exist out there," Nemec says. "But I'm very excited about the stories that we're telling. I believe we've done a really nice job of not violating the canon in any direction but merely offering some extra glimpses into the world that was already created."

Nemec does consider this Cowboy Bebop, premiering on Netflix this Nov. 19, to be "an expansion to the canon," in that the show will "add things" to the mythos.

 

So not exactly "the end of time" but setting it up to go further than the anime has.

[Ghost_MH]

8 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Really? 

 

Or until Netflix cancels them. Whichever comes first.

[skillzdadirecta]

6 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

'Cowboy Bebop' boss calls live-action Netflix series an 'expansion to the canon'

EW.COM

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John Cho and 'Cowboy Bebop' showrunner André Nemec discuss how the live-action series is more an 'expansion to the canon' than a strict adaptation.

 

 

So not exactly "the end of time" but setting it up to go further than the anime has.

This is the most worrying news I've heard about this so far. They're gonna fuck it up. The anime is as close to perfect as a lot of shows get and I'm afriad they are gonna screw it up with fan fiction and bloated storytelling. I hope to GOD I'm wrong.

[Kal-El814]

They will 100% ship Spike and Faye.

 

I like stories designed to never really end (Case Closed / Detective Conan, Golgo 13) and I like stories that are short and sweet (Cowboy Bebop). I think it can often suck when they kind of hedge their bets.

 

Also, doing a straight live adaptation of the anime seems like fool's errand. I don't think CB is a perfect anime for as much as I like it, but it IS perfect FOR anime. There are some anime/manga that would either lose nothing or gain something in the transition to a live action format. I don't think CB is one of them.

 

What we've seen looks good and I'm excited to see how it's turned out but it seems unlikely that this will be anything other than less than the original show even if it ends up pretty good.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

The reviews are coming in and I guess the best I could say is that they're "mixed".

 

Netflix's Cowboy Bebop: Season 1 Review - IGN

WWW.IGN.COM

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Netflix’s live-action Cowboy Bebop succeeds in unapologetically celebrating and embracing the anime, even if some attempts to add to the storyline fall flat.

 

 

Cowboy Bebop review: "A stellar remix that hits all the right notes" | GamesRadar+

WWW.GAMESRADAR.COM

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A review of the Cowboy Bebop live action Netflix series, starring John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, and Daniella Pineda

 

 

The Live-Action 'Cowboy Bebop' Takes an Anime Classic Into the Stratosphere

WWW.ROLLINGSTONE.COM

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Neflix adaptation of the late-Nineties cartoon seamlessly blends genres from sci-fi to Western, kung fu, and more. Alan Sepinwall's review

 

 

Netflix's Cowboy Bebop review: A slick reinvention of a classic anime series

WWW.CNET.COM

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The live-action adaptation of the landmark anime series honors the past, while mostly succeeding at doing its own thing.

 

 

Cowboy Bebop (Netflix) Review: It’s Got The Jazz but It Ain’t as Smooth

WWW.GAMERBRAVES.COM

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Netflix has premiered its live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop, considered by many to be the best anime of all time. The series was developed by Andre Nemec and stars John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, and Daniella Pineda as Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, and Faye Valentine. The three are bounty hunters looking for their next paycheck across…

 

Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop has heart, style, and some rough edges

WWW.THEVERGE.COM

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It’s not perfect, but it’s fun.

 

 

Cowboy Bebop

WWW.EMPIREONLINE.COM

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John Cho, Mustafa Shakir and Daniella Pineda star in Netflix's remake of the classic animated series. Read the Empire review now.

 

 

Netflix's Cowboy Bebop is a trashy substitute for the real thing

WWW.AVCLUB.COM

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Netflix’s live-action Cowboy Bebop, starring John Cho and Mustafa Shakir, won't challenge anyone's assumptions about anime adaptations

 

 

‘Cowboy Bebop’ Review: Netflix’s Live-Action Riff on Everyone’s Favorite Anime Is a Cosmic Disaster

WWW.INDIEWIRE.COM

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3, 2, 1, let's watch something else.

 

 

'Cowboy Bebop' Review: Netflix's Live-Action Show Is a Colorless, Soulless Copy of a Landmark Anime Series

COLLIDER.COM

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OK, three, two, one, let's not jam.

 

 

Cowboy Bebop turns a classic anime into a Saturday morning cartoon

WWW.POLYGON.COM

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The Netflix series settles for superficiality

 

[Kal-El814]

“Welcome to the ouch, motherfuckers.” - Faye Valentine

 

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

[TwinIon]

Wow, those first reviews really run the gamut.

[Kal-El814]

Kidding aside for a second, if this show actually spends anytime talking aloud about the ridiculousness of the names of any of the characters, I honestly don’t know what they were thinking and I feel like they kind of… miss the point of anime whole cloth?

[Ghost_MH]

2 hours ago, TwinIon said:

Wow, those first reviews really run the gamut.

 

They're wildly all over the place. Enough so that I'm wondering where the line between "this is fine on its own merits" and "this doesn't satisfy the anime fan in me" lies. For a series like Cowboy Bebop, I can't help but feel a lot of disappointment from reviewers will come up, even if the series is technically fine, if it misses something they loved about the original.

[Greatoneshere]

19 minutes ago, Ghost_MH said:

 

They're wildly all over the place. Enough so that I'm wondering where the line between "this is fine on its own merits" and "this doesn't satisfy the anime fan in me" lies. For a series like Cowboy Bebop, I can't help but feel a lot of disappointment from reviewers will come up, even if the series is technically fine, if it misses something they loved about the original.

 

Agreed. Those responses definitely are mixed though. 

[skillzdadirecta]

24 minutes ago, Ghost_MH said:

 

They're wildly all over the place. Enough so that I'm wondering where the line between "this is fine on its own merits" and "this doesn't satisfy the anime fan in me" lies. For a series like Cowboy Bebop, I can't help but feel a lot of disappointment from reviewers will come up, even if the series is technically fine, if it misses something they loved about the original.

Like the fact that a lot of them were probably in their teens when it came out? The lack of self awareness in reviewers, particularly younger ones is why I couldn;t care less what they say most of the time. That said, I'm keeping an open mind with this one and hope I'm plesantly surprised... but something looks... off here. And I was all for John Cho playing Spike but the more I watch the trailer, the less I'm not sure. Somebody at a party I was at over the weekend said that they didn't think Spike needed to be Asian because he wasn't Asian in the cartoon which I challenged. I thought it was clear that Spike was either Japanese or Chinese. They said then what kind of Asian name is Spike Spiegel? I said that wasn't his real name. I don't think a lot of fans of the show realize that.

[Kal-El814]

20 minutes ago, Ghost_MH said:

They're wildly all over the place. Enough so that I'm wondering where the line between "this is fine on its own merits" and "this doesn't satisfy the anime fan in me" lies. For a series like Cowboy Bebop, I can't help but feel a lot of disappointment from reviewers will come up, even if the series is technically fine, if it misses something they loved about the original.

 

I dunno that you can do a live action version of something like a dude blasting drugs into his eyeball and going apeshit and have it land the same way it does in a cartoon.

 

From the trailers it also seems like they thought translating the show to live action meant dramatically limiting the color palette, which I hope is not reflective of the entire show.

 

I dunno. Some stuff you can’t just adapt. You can’t have Faye dress IRL the way she does in the anime, I get that. But dedicating a bunch of time to giving certain characters more of a backstory or lampshading the names of the characters feels like someone missed the point?

 

I hope its good, but, “welcome to ouch, motherfuckers,” is not a good omen.

[Ghost_MH]

1 hour ago, Kal-El814 said:

 

I dunno that you can do a live action version of something like a dude blasting drugs into his eyeball and going apeshit and have it land the same way it does in a cartoon.

 

From the trailers it also seems like they thought translating the show to live action meant dramatically limiting the color palette, which I hope is not reflective of the entire show.

 

I dunno. Some stuff you can’t just adapt. You can’t have Faye dress IRL the way she does in the anime, I get that. But dedicating a bunch of time to giving certain characters more of a backstory or lampshading the names of the characters feels like someone missed the point?

 

I hope its good, but, “welcome to ouch, motherfuckers,” is not a good omen.

 

It depends on where they make changes. For insurance, I'm happy with everything I've read about the changes they've made to Gren. Everything about them in the original series was...troubling, to say the least. They would not have worked as a character in any medium in 2021.

 

'Cowboy Bebop' actor explains how Gren is reimagined as nonbinary

EW.COM

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Mason Alexander Park explains how Netflix's live-action 'Cowboy Bebop' reimagines Gren as nonbinary.

 

However, I know that Gren's changes have been a point of contention for fans, so...

[Jason]

3 hours ago, skillzdadirecta said:

They said then what kind of Asian name is Spike Spiegel? I said that wasn't his real name. I don't think a lot of fans of the show realize that.

 

It's not just the name, one of the other obvious things is the apparent jewfro. But then Jet wasn't black in the anime either so they're clearly just not hewing too closely on that front. In this instance I'd say neither really matters though given that neither's racial/ethnic identity really ever came up in-show IIRC. The only major appearance change that I think really matters is Faye's costuming (although some of what we got in the later trailers is a bit closer) since from what I recall she did weaponize her looks/figure, so with that one it does actually kind of matter if the more buttoned-up look is going to be how she's portrayed most of the time.

[Massdriver]

39% for a tv show is pretty bad these days. Damn

[skillzdadirecta]

2 hours ago, Jason said:

 

It's not just the name, one of the other obvious things is the apparent jewfro. But then Jet wasn't black in the anime either so they're clearly just not hewing too closely on that front. In this instance I'd say neither really matters though given that neither's racial/ethnic identity really ever came up in-show IIRC. The only major appearance change that I think really matters is Faye's costuming (although some of what we got in the later trailers is a bit closer) since from what I recall she did weaponize her looks/figure, so with that one it does actually kind of matter if the more buttoned-up look is going to be how she's portrayed most of the time.

Spike had anime hair I wouldn't call it a Jew-fro at all... I've always assumed most characters in animes are Japanese unless otherwise stated or they are OBVIOUSLY of another race.

[Jason]

4 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Spike had anime hair I wouldn't call it a Jew-fro at all... I've always assumed most characters in animes are Japanese unless otherwise stated or they are OBVIOUSLY of another race.

 

Quote

• Spike Spiegel on Cowboy Bebop is considered Jewish by some fans because he has a Yiddish family name, a stereotypically (in the US, anyway) Jewish haircut, and carries an Israeli-made Jericho 941 pistol. Obviously he's not played by a Jewish actor since he's an animated character, but while his Japanese voice actor obviously isn't Jewish, his American voice-actor is. When asked, the series creators said he was modeled after actor Yusaku Matsuda◊, and they just thought the name sounded cool.

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AmbiguouslyJewish

 

It's not like thinking he's Jewish is rare. Fair enough that the series creator says it's just a coincidence but it's not like people are reacting to nothing.