Yeah, it's Cowboy Bebop!
So, first of all, a shout out to my buddy Jared McClenahan for the full-hearted recommendation of this show and the genre of anime in general. It has been something that I have been attempting to get into over that past half year or so, and his recommendation of Cowboy Bebop has me headlong in the deep end of the anime pool. So thanks man! This is all your fault!
Now, for those of you not familiar with the premise of Cowboy Bebop, let me enlighten you. Before watching, most of the things I had heard about the show drew parallels to Joss Whedon's Firefly, which is a heavy check in the plus column in my mind. After seeing the first five episodes, I can say that the comparison is justified in many awesome, awesome ways. Cowboy Bebop, like Firefly, is a space western, a story set in a time when space travel is commonplace but contains motifs of the western genre of fiction. Both show also feature a diverse cast that serve as the oddball crew to a spaceship travelling from place to place across the universe. Like the crew in Firefly, the crew of Cowboy Bebop are motivated by more than one thing in their trek across space and every character has personal motivations that clash with their fellow shipmates. However, both Firefly and Cowboy Bebop are productions of their sectors of the world. Firefly is heavily influenced by the tradition American telling of the Wild West and the concepts of independence and freedom. Cowboy Bebop paints a much less deeply romantic view of the "travelling through space because I have no home" concept, making its heroes much less heroes of fortune than heroes seeking fortune. If that makes any sense. I will just keep writing and hopefully I will circle around and finish that thought later.
Now, the main character of Cowboy Bebop is Spike Spiegel, a stylish bounty hunter that travels around in his ship the Bebop with his crewmate Jet Black. Spike flaunts a Han Solo level of confidence in the face of almost certain death which makes him an unpredictable and engaging character to watch. His pretty boy looks hide a cunning mind and a trigger finger that is not afraid to fire with deadly accuracy. He also hides a past that is, as of the fifth episode, just now starting to crack the surface. Much like Firefly's Mal, Spike is clearly meant to be a larger than life character that maintains the role of anti hero despite having many flaws in his personality (his inability to trust and his cynical overconfidence being chief among these). However, unlike Firefly, Spike is only character so far that Cowboy Bebop has taken time to expand upon.
Jet is an entertaining sort of buddy character for Spike, reminiscent of the Fantastic Four's The Thing or Firefly's Jayne without the arrogance. But Jet's character, as of the fifth episode, is basically left at that. He's the straight man for all the humorous shenanigans that Spike gets himself into and also serves as a guiding light for Spike, keeping him on track and focused on the job at hand. I'm hoping for, and full-heartedly expecting, a few Jet-centric episodes in the future that will expand more on his character, his relationship with Spike, and the story of his past, as it is clear that he has no idea about Spike's past at all.
Two other members of the Bebop crew are introduced in the first five episodes of the show and both are odd and interesting characters for a space western series. First is Ein, a corgi and so-called "data dog" that is brought on board the Bebop after Spike tracks down a man that stole him from a group of scientists. The exact nature of Ein's role as a "data-dog" is not clearly defined but he seems to have an incredible amount of intelligence for a dog, shown being able to drive a car and understand human speech. As of yet, Ein, after is debut episode, has remained on the Bebop and has appeared in a precious few scenes. However, he has a lot of potential to be a mascot of sorts for the Bebop crew as well a mystery that can be cracked over the course of the show.
The other member of the Bebop crew that is introduced is Faye Valentine, who on the surface appears to be the typical Japanese anime eye candy (you know, with the BOOBS). However, her character does have a few more layers than that. Faye is equal parts rival to Spike, outsmarting him and outplaying him on several occasions, and love interest for Spike, though Spike seems to have been in a previous relationship that has left him scared and unwilling to progress in any relationship at this time. Faye is a very engaging character as she has a con artist-like like tendency to turn on a dime and talk her way into and out of any situation. She seems fully motivated by amassing money and keeping herself entertained, but her willingness to put herself in harm's way for Spike seems to reveal some alternative motivations on her part. I would not be surprised if her relationship with Spike is tested throughout the series and results in a more platonic partnership.
Now the first five episodes as a whole begin sort of procedurally. Each episode depicts Spike trying to track down a certain person with a bounty on their head and finding himself in a heap-load of trouble along the way. This is certainly a great way to define Spike as a character and his role in the series as a bounty hunter, but falls a little short in creating a thread for the viewer to connect to the show and continue watching. As I have mentioned, outside of Spike, many of the characters lack in the development department and waste potential as mere stock side characters. They are engaging and well-written side characters, but side characters nonetheless. The translated dialogue also doesn't help in this aspect. The English dub of Cowboy Bebop is actually very impressive compared to what one would expect from a show of its popularity in Japan. However, that does not prevent some of the translated dialogue from wandering into the realm of wincingly cliche, especially with side characters such as Jet and Faye. I know that this is something unavoidable in dubbed animes but, as a man of dialogue myself, this really gets my goat.
However, lots about the shows Japanese origins is actually what makes the show such a unique gem in my eyes. The animation, for example, is downright fantastic and hypnotic at moments. The brutality of the opening episode looks almost enchanting and the fluidness of the flight sequences, especially in the third and fourth episodes, made me literally stop the episode and remove my jaw from the floor. In the same note, the music of Cowboy Bebop is easily the best part of the show. Here is a little sample:
This is the show's opening theme. They start every single episode with this fantastic little piece of action/adventure soundtrack heaven before even getting into the main music for each episode! It just gets me so pumped! Wooo! Anyways, each episode contains lots of bits of original music that help tie together the emotions and themes that each episode is trying to get across, may that be Spike's loneliness, Jet's enthusiasm, or Faye's savviness. This attention to detail in the soundtrack has already made me listen to the entire thing several time over online. It is definitely worth the time it takes to play attention to the background music as a lot of attention is being placed on its involvement with the main story.
As far as the episodes themselves go, the first and the fifth episode jump out as the best of the bunch of the ones I have seen so far. The first deals with Spike and Jet's situation as starving bounty hunters and paints a beautiful and gruesome portrait of anger, murder, blood, addiction, and love as the story unfolds. The ending is a killer, let me tell you. The fifth episode finally begins to deal with implications of his past as an old mentor of his is murder by an old rival, causing Spike to jump headlong into action, despite Jet's worries about the danger of it all. The episode really shines with having both Jet and Faye putting it all on the line for Spike as he deals with the return of the ghosts of his past. The combination of a fantastic soundtrack and some brutal animation techniques makes the fifth episode the most memorable of the bunch. The second episode is notable for its light-hearted fun and introduction of Ein, while the third and fourth episodes serve as an introduction to Faye and have some incredible sci-fi action set pieces.
Ok, so those are my thoughts on Cowboy Bebop so far. Sorry it was so long and I am thoroughly impressed by anyone who has gotten this far without giving up. Hopefully, my next blogs will be shorter as I will be focusing more on the episodes individually and less on the show as a whole, since I now have all the introductory character stuff out of the way. Already, Cowboy Bebop has my stamp of approval and is recommended to anyone who is a fan of the space western genre and can withstand a little bit of "lost in translation" syndrome with the show's dialogue.
Anyways, thanks for reading everyone! Be sure to look for part 2 of my Cowboy Bebop review!
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