There are a lot of great animes in the world, but very few have achieved the level of success and prestige that Cowboy Bebop has obtained in the past 16 years. It frequently tops various lists of "Animes to See Before You Die" and for many fans it was the series that got them into anime. Honestly, is there anyone who would deny the greatness of this show....maybe........
.........Satan!!
Well, since I can't ask him, lets just assume that everyone respects, if not loves, Cowboy Bebop.
But Tony, what's all the hype about? What is this anime?
Ahh, my young viewer, for that, we will have to travel into the great histories of anime, to see what truly makes a great anime great, and how its legacy can continue even over a decade later! Let's Jam!
Cowboy Bebop was released is 1998 in Japan, and in 2000 in the Unites States. I mention this because I don't know many people who have actually watched this anime in Japanese, since the English dub was so successful and pretty much set a new standard for anime dubs for years to come.
The story takes place in the year 2071 and revolves around the crew of the spaceship Bebop, and their misadventures as intergalactic bounty hunters. Each episode usually revolves around the crew trying, and more often then not failing, to capture a criminal so they can collect the reward and get some food on the table. Along the way, the crew get involved in various interplanetary plots or are forced to deal with problems of their past.
One of the first things that should be noted about Cowboy Bebop was that it was complete hand drawn. That's right. Every single frame of the show was drawn and not created with computers. What makes this so remarkable is that for a series that was created in the late 90's, it is absolutely stunning! If you go back to my rant about Sailor Moon and it's quality of animation, you can see a huge difference. Though Bebop's animation is nothing spectacular compared to the quality of animation that we have today, back then this was extremely high quality and still looks better then some series released today. Considering that the artists were drawing space battles, gun fights and hand-to-hand combat scenes, it's hard to believe that they were able to achieve this level of quality while still making everything look realistic.
The animation is only one part of what makes this series a classic. There are also the main characters. Cowboy Bebop had.......I'm going to say three main characters, one almost-main character, and slew of side characters, most of whom only lasted for one or two episodes, but were still memorable and well fleshed out in only 24 minutes. Also, a space corgi. The majority of screen time, however, is given to these three main characters. There's Jet Black, the Bebop's owner, who after loosing his arm and receieving a cybernetic replacement, quits his job on the police force to become a bounty hunter. Second is Faye Valentine, a woman with no memory of her past, who enjoys drinking, gambling and eating her crew-mates' food, but is also a very capable fighter and flyer.
Finally, there is Spike Spiegel, the main focus of the show. He's cool, a BA martial artist and has a rockin hairdo. Though Bebop doesn't really have an overarching plotline, Spike's past is probably the major theme of the series, as it is referenced frequently during this series' 26 episode run.
While Bebop is a high action, adventure and comedy series, it has a sad undertone, as each of these characters are dealing with their pasts and trying to move forward with their lives. The best part is that each of these characters a fully fleshed out, so as you watch them, you truly understand who they are and what they are running from (except for Ed, because Ed is just Ed, and we are ok with that). Everyone on the Bebop gets at least one episode to themselves, so that we can learn about their lives and what got them to that point. There are also great relationships between the characters, and it's just as much fun to see them hanging out on the Bebop as it is watching them fight together. Even better, most of the supporting characters also have great backstories and character development, which is something you don't see too often in anime. This development makes for great character interactions between the main and supporting cast and provides great plots in every single episode.
The show is called Cowboy Bebop, so you would assume that there's a lot of jazz and blues music in this soundtrack. Well, you would be right. The music was scored by Yoko Kanno, one of the most respected anime composers in the business. Even after viewing some of her other compositions, I believe that Cowboy Bebop is probably one of her best works. First off, there's the series opening theme song, Tank!, which is probably one of the greatest anime theme songs ever, and I mean ever; because even after 16 years, people still love and recognized this jazzy upbeat song. There's also a great range of classic tunes, from slow, melodic saxophone solos to quick tempo jazz ditties for the fight scenes. As a lover of anime music, I have nothing but praise for this soundtrack, because it really ties together Cowboy Bebop like a beautiful bow on an equally beautiful present.
Now, some of you may be like, "Tony, this anime is so old. Why should I bother watching something like this?"
Um, because I said you should that's why!!!!! But no, in all seriousness, if you enjoy anime, or maybe are just starting to watch anime, you really should take the time to watch Bebop. Don't watch it and compare it to shows today, because more often then not, it won't stand up to the work being done today. You have to look at the historical context of this show. When Cowboy Bebop was released, it was a cultural phenomenon in the US, and has even been called the Star Wars of anime. Sure, Cowboy Bebop and The Original Trilogy were released a long time ago, but they were extremely popular and had major influences on their respected medium for decades to come. Honestly, I don't know many people who say they are anime fans and have not seen Cowboy Bebop. So, don't be that guy, or girl, or corgi. Go watch it.
I think I'm just going to lay it out there that if I'm reviewing an anime on this blog, it's probably an appropriate anime for people to watch. If it isn't, I will let you know, and tell you what to watch out for. That being said, Cowboy Bebop is something that every anime fan should watch. Besides some coarse language, violence and Feye Valentine topping the list for one of the sexiest female anime characters, there isn't anything weird or inappropriate about this anime.....Though there is this one episode about the Bebop's refrigerator, but I'll let you watch it for yourself.
Thank you for reading this review, and to get you pumped for Cowboy Bebop and for life, here is Cowboy Bebop's opening theme Tank! Let's Jam!
No comments:
Post a Comment