SummaryThe live-action series based on Shinichirō Watanabe's anime series follows bounty hunters Spike Spiegel (John Cho), Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir) and Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda) as they search the galaxy for wanted criminals.
SummaryThe live-action series based on Shinichirō Watanabe's anime series follows bounty hunters Spike Spiegel (John Cho), Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir) and Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda) as they search the galaxy for wanted criminals.
It all adds up to an enjoyable feeling of anything-goes delirium. At a time when popular sci-fi has gone gritty and self-consciously “dark”, the caffeinated fever dream of Cowboy Bebop feels like a loving distillation of the original and a breath of fresh air.
It’s a hangout show as much as it is a thriller, a space opera, and so on. And it’s good at nearly all these things. Every time it seems as if none of these elements should make sense together, especially in live action, Cowboy Bebop goes sprinting off a cliff, refusing to look down at the void, and just keeps moving forward.
As a lover of the original anime, I too quickly fell in to the "what is this re-make garbage" mindset. I watched the first episode and didn't feel like watching any more. But after a friend told me to hang in there, I did, and I'm really glad I did.
First off the first episode is one of the weakest, and it only gets better and better as the episodes roll on. Second, I made myself shed my self imposed expectations of what I wanted it to be and just watched it for what it is. A show that stands on it's own two feet, and isn't a 1:1 carbon copy of the anime. Once I did that I started really enjoying the series.
The dialog and script is actually quite good. The action is good. Sets, effects, music. It's all there.
So if you can let go of expectations and just watch it for what it is, it's actually quite good. Too bad fanboy rage is casting such a shadow on the reviews. This is a well done series and it deserves praise not shade.
I for one hope for a second season. I feel like the reviews will turn around once the kneejerk reviews die out and people see the show for what it is.
The series has a routine professionalism that serves it well in its lighter moments but doesn’t alleviate the drudgery of its later episodes. ... In its resolute ordinariness, the main value of this new “Bebop” would be to drive you back to watch the old one.
Viewers returning to the “Cowboy Bebop” franchise with fond memories for the anime might enjoy their favorite episodes receiving the live-action treatment even with the above caveats, but those turning in for the first time will likely be left wondering why this was a big deal.
Instead of feeling like a fun remix, Cowboy Bebop is at best a just-okay cover version, and for the most part an out-of-tune rendition of the greatest hits.
All of the good things about Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop are betrayed by poor writing, uninspired action scenes, and a truly baffling obsession with the most annoying characters in the series.
The result lacks a color palette, a distinct visual language, and any resemblance of soul. This is just like the Cowboy Bebop you remember (or that your friends told you about), except it is absolutely nothing like it.
Its not spot on but i found this series absolutely amazing as well as the music. First ep was a bit cringe to start with but every episode had me wanting more
While the story alters the orginal in mahy, most of the time bad ways, I still found it enjoyable. Spike and Jet are in my opinion, perfectly cast. Where this show goes wrong is the ending (horrible) and faye and eds actors are just cringe. If you can look beyond the imperfections, You will have a fun, wild ride.
I enjoyed parts of the show. It has mostly good set and world design. The music is good not great but not as good as the original and some of the actors do a good job in the roll. However, the more I watched the more I realized the show had two masters that didn't agree with each other. The parts devoted the most to the original source material (which were better than) and the parts where they were leading the show in a new direction. This happens very often when adaptations are made and you end up with something that would have been better of as an original series rather than taking the name of some other source. At the end I just felt beat, every show taking a little bit more enjoyment away and leaving me unsatisfied.
Oh dear Netflix - The makers of this disappointment thought they knew better than the fans, maybe next time they'll listen to the actual people who love the original anime - 3 stars
The best I could say is that it will made you appreciate the original show far more. Basically it is lacking the hearth, charm and soul of the original. Atop of this the characters are also far weaker versions of themselves and they made some harmful changes to them. I think the team behind this show did not understood what made the show so good and well liked or were fully convinced by their own ideas in a way that made them ignore all (valid) criticism. The Cowboy Bebop Anime show is a masterpiece. It is nearly universally loved, has great characters with deep backstories, style, humor, fascinating worldbuilding / lore and great writing. It is the best space western out there and I would recommend this even for people that do not like or ignore Anime shows. Back to this review. Sadly there were many warning signs. The director of the Anime Shinichiro Watanabe warned us that he is unsure if Netflix can do justice to the show, the trailer did not look convincing too and they ranted about the fans which are their main target group. If you liked the original it is hard to watch. There are some changes to the story and characters that will anger you. I must say I blame not the actors as hey are limited by the script and direction or re-imagination to be honest. For example Vicious was one of the best villains of his time. He is a smart, deadly, mysterious and puts fear into all his enemies. If he appeared you did know it gets serious and intense. Here he is ruined. Alone his look made me laugh and he is not intimidating or in the realm where I can see him as menacing villain. Lets go to Julia and I say the changes they did would made a lot of fans rage quit if shown in the first episode. You have been warned spoiler free. Spike and Faye are also more shallow and this is a shame as both actors John Cho and Daniella Pineda are really good. I even think they could work but not as these characters in a Cowboy Bebop adaption. I will praise Mustafa Shakir as Jet. He is awesome. Another point is a character that was missing in the trailers. I think it counts as spoilers so I only say this is the poster-child that not everything can be adapted into a live show. The story itself has some good moments and ideas but also many WTF moments, boring parts, angering parts and is underwhelming. Visually I like the sets and that they try to recreate some shots and moments of the show. However the costumes are annoying. I often heard the remark that they look like badly done cosplay and I see the validity even if it is not garbage. The music is fine for me but did not get as awesome as in the original. Overall I would say do not watch this show and watch the original instead. Sometimes you create something that you cant reach or recreate and the original sets the bars really high.