Cowboy Bebop
a review by CSparkle
a review by CSparkle
Length: 26 episodes
Watched in: English and Japanese
Positives:
Negatives:
See you, space cowboy...
A neo-noir space western, set in the year of 2071, a time when the Earth is no longer the place of residence of the mankind. Humanity lost not only its cradle - we lost the part of our identity with it, left wondering in the vast space of the solar system, constantly looking for something to fill this endless void. Our protagonists are no exceptions - with the universe within their reach, they are constantly in search to find that something that would heal the damage the past had caused. Of course, only after they find something that will fill their wallet - that's the only thing that can rival space in its emptiness.
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The anime itself has an episodic format - with almost every episode being a standalone story, apart from those that are focused on the backstories of the characters. Fitting a separate story in a single 22-minute episode is a very difficult task. And it is incredibly hard to do it consistently. Bebop manages to execute them flawlessly - whether it's bounty hunting a new smuggler or a gangster, that was broadcasted on Big Shot (a TV program for bounty hunters), encountering mafia or meeting an old friend - no episode repeats themselves, and none are boring. Furthermore, most of the time they are far from being simple in terms of narrative. And it's the main strength of the series - being story light/character heavy. Not to say that it is unique in its genius, Death Parade is another example of brilliantly written short stories; however what blows me away, is that both the director Shinichirō Watanabe and the writer, Keiko Nobumoto didn't have much of a prior experience. To create a masterpiece on your first try - is both impressive and horrifying.
To have a story of an episodic format, you need a strong cast of characters, that would play the role of a backbone and allow adding everything else on top. If your characters don't have a good chemistry, your dialogue will be forced, which also makes the story structure suffer. As you might have guessed, this is not a problem here. Whether the moment is dramatic or comedic - it plays on without any drag
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The detail in the series deserves separate praise. The way it uses art for storytelling and world building - simply gorgeous. The artists paid so much attention to detail: floating islands of Venus, ruins of Earth, freezing moons of Jupiter... Events that otherwise would need to be separately told are shown through art.
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Cowboy Bebop is a series one should return to again and again. It's also probably the best title for an introduction to anime as a medium. The time goes by, and my appreciation of this series only grows.
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(very low - low - medium - high - very high)
ART: VERY HIGH
Can't believe this series is from 1998. The style, the animation, the detail, the shadows, the choreography... they all look exceptional. It won't be until the 2009 and the release of Bakemonogatari by SHAFT for the anime series (again, series, movies are a different category) to reach such level of greatness.
SOUND: VERY HIGH
Bebop shows the true potential of anime dubbing. Sub is decent, however it is a crime to not watch it in English. Unforgettable soundtrack by Yoko Kanno, one of the best composers in anime history.
STORY: VERY HIGH
A crew of bounty hunters travelling the solar system in hopes of finding the answers to their past...and to their debt. A superb combination of drama and comedy. Many stories tried to emulate the style of Cowboy Bebop, few succeeded
OVERALL: VERY HIGH
A must-watch, regardless of your personal taste. Cowboy Bebop is among the very best titles in history, and if you haven't seen it, what are you doing?
You're gonna carry that weight
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