Ooooh, perfect burn.
A Rolls-Royce fusion reactor AF-15C axial fusion aero-spike burn…
I love this version.
I’m not suggesting this is the best thing ever but as a live-action reboot of a 25 year old anime it is amazingly well done.
If the original wasn’t your bag this probably won’t be either. If you liked the anime then I’d think you’d like this.
There were a million ways to screw this up but they nailed it. Casting is fantastic. The vibe is the same. Feels like Quentin Tarantino in space (not surprising since I think stuff like this informed his style big time).
I get it’s not for everyone. But, for what it means to be I think it nails it and does a great job.
I’m watching it now. I watched the anime a long time ago and I think this version is great. The fight scenes are a little awkward as John Cho doesn’t seem to have any real martial arts experience but the overall flavor of the thing is spot on.
Did the cartoon version of Julia have duck lips too? I found those lips rather distracting.
Actually I think anime Julia sort of looks like Saoirse Ronan. Had to say since anime proportions don’t often translate to real world human proportions.
I’m up to episode 8. So I feel like I’m liking it more. More accurately, I don’t DISlike it. I actually enjoy the interactions with the main characters (Spike, Jet, and Faye). The best I can describe it is that the live action show is so close to the anime that it sits in a sort of “uncanny valley” for me. Like it doesn’t quite know what to life from the anime and what not to and often ends up “cartoony” in a way the anime wasn’t. Particularly if you watch a Netflix episode side by side with the original anime version (ie. Cowboy Gospel (2021) vs Asteroid Blues (1998) or Sad Clown A-Go-Go (2021) vs Pierrot le Fou (1998). The sets and effects sometimes feel cheap and Doctor Who-like. And the jazzy soundtrack sometimes feel out of sync with the actual action on screen.
I’m hoping it gets another season though. I think it has the potential to be it’s own thing once it gets past trying to redo the original series.
It’s not a train-wreck. Liking Mustafa Shakir as Jet, but have some reservations about Spike and Faye; the creators went a slightly different direction with the characters, not sure if I’m liking it.
That’s not a criticism of either John Cho or Daniella Pineda. They played the characters they were paid and directed to play.
I only know the original anime by reputation. I’m finding the Netflix series a satisfying example of style over substance. I’ll eventually watch the whole season but I won’t binge it because the story just isn’t that compelling. What I really like is how the technology and society depicted makes no goddamned sense at all and the writers are entirely unapologetic about the license they’re taking with, well…logic and reality. It reminds me a lot of my favorite serials in 2000AD.
I’m liking it. Not fond of the soundtrack though. But I guess that’s par for the course for pulp fiction type shows.
Never saw the original, the movie, or even the trailer. Last night we watched the first episode and hubby and I enjoyed it well enough that we’ll watch the second episode. It reminds me a bit of the live action The Tick, which I quite enjoyed.
you pretty much described the anime series … and most people will agree that the individual episodes are better than the overall plot which was pretty pedestrian even for 1988
and i defy anyone to watch the first or second ep (the one with the dog) and not laugh …
speaking of did they ever say what kind of data the dog was carrying? i dont think they did
As a fan of the original anime, I quite like Netflix’s live action take. Mustafa Shakir’s Jet is a spot on rendition of anime Jet, even with the addition of a daughter. John Cho’s Spike is older and more beaten down than anime Spike; as his backstory with Vicious is told, you’ll understand why. Jury is still out on Daniela Pineda’s Faye; we didn’t get to see much of her backstory. I am anxious to see Radical Ed next season, who’s probably the most difficult OG to portray in live action.
Exactly!
I did not find either of those episodes to be laugh-out-loud funny.
I finished the live-action show and I found it more interesting as it went along, although I still didn’t think it was very funny. The only line I remember laughing at was Faye saying “Your dog…shoots movies…OUT OF ITS EYES!”
The ending was definitely a surprise for me.
I’ve only watched the first couple of episodes so far, I don’t want to rush it. They brought together the elements from multiple episodes of the anime. So far I am enjoying it and can understand many of the changes that have been made.
The one thing I am not a fan of is Vicious. He looks to old and his head is to blocky to evoke the character from the series.
Looking forward to seeing the rest of the episodes…
Just started this tonight, and I am a massive fan of the anime.
I’m absolutely impressed. This is absolutely live-action anime. The changes made have been to flesh out the actual narrative, rather than a series just showing a series of vignettes the way the original was, and I haven’t hated anything yet; weakest part for me so far is Vicious. Like Ike_Witt, he just doesn’t really fit (physically), though I have no problem with his portrayal, as such.
I just finished the anime (which I thought was ok, but not amazing. I liked the ideas better than the execution). Just started watching the live action and I’m really liking the visuals and tone. Looks gorgeous in 4k Dolby Vision, which helps.
Finished it. I am a big fan of the anime, and I thought the live action series was well-intentioned and in many ways quite competently-executed but in many other ways not so much. The series started off promisingly, with some hit-or-miss decisions, sliding around a bit but eventually gaining some traction in the first few episodes. It seemed to peak around episodes 4-6, then started losing traction in the last couple-few episodes, and crashed into a ditch in the final episode. Alas. If I had rated it after episode 6 it would’ve gotten a 6 or so, in the end, I’d rate it a 4.5. (The anime would be a 7.5 or so.)
The good:
Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black: Nailed it. Absolutely nailed it. From the looks to the mannerisms to the voice to the vibe. And the race thing seemed actually quite appropriate to me - he very much had a black-ish vibe (to me) in the anime. (As it turns out, the dub voice actor, Beau Billingslea, is black, so that’s undoubtedly part of it, but it’s also just the spirit of the character.) It’s already the definitive version of Jet Black for me.
John Cho as Spike - not bad, not bad at all. An older, sadder version of Spike, and Cho did quite well with what he had on his plate, but still - it would’ve been Very Interesting to have cast a young, brashly apathetic, loose-limbed etc etc instead. Physical/age differences aside, Cho ‘got’ the character, and you could definitely see Spike shining through in many scenes. And I have to give props to Cho for getting into excellent shape at 49.
The so-so:
Faye Valentine. I don’t hate the changes they made to her character - they work for the story - but it’s not really Faye Valentine, is it? They seemed to make a lot of concessions towards making the series more warmish-fuzzy and explicitly “found family”, and Faye’s prickly character seemed to be part of that cost. (Even though the prickliness of her character made her few warmish-fuzzy moments even that much warmer and fuzzier - they just didn’t seem to trust the audience that much.)
The production itself was a weird mix of pro/am efforts. Sometimes I was marvelling at how they were able to recreate the Cowboy Bebop aesthetic so well, and sometimes I felt like I was watching a really well-done cosplay fan video. It was actually a bit too faithful to the anime in some respects, engineering certain iconic scene, but not taking the time to lay the groundwork for what made those scenes great. (Likely degrading the viewing experience for non-anime watchers.)
The bad:
Julia, Vicious, and all the Syndicate drama. Oh lord. Well, okay, if you’re gonna expand half-hour episodes into hour-long episodes, you have to come up with some new material, but wow, this stuff did not work at all.
Vicious was admittedly more of a story device than a character in the anime, so, yeah, expanding his character was certainly an option. But they expanded it to this whiny, emotionally-stunted manchild with Daddy issues, which - along with his Farquaad Malfoy appearance - severely compromised his gravitas. In fact, I stopped taking him seriously by the end of the first episode, and watched the rest of his storyline play out with a detached mixture of amusement, sadness, and mild to moderate hunger.
(I did like that they mitigated the juvenility of the name “Vicious” with the shift to it being his Syndicate code-name, and I though “Fearless” was quite suitable for Spike, in his usual not-overly-attached-to-living kind of way.)
Julia - my god, who is this bland, generic actress, and did she get all the fillers after they cast her, or what? I have a hard time believing anyone saw screen tests of her level of emoting and said, “That’s our girl!” I swear, in one scene she raised a cigarette to her lips, took a drag, and dramatically exhaled - without a single molecule of her face moving. I had trouble believing Spike would be smitten enough to run to the corner store for her, much less shift his entire life around. In fact, the “romance” between Julia and Spike was the only bad acting that Cho did - he seemed about as unconvinced as we did. I won’t even delve into her newfound Syndicate ambitions.
Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivruski IV. Hoo boy. It’s a risk bringing a character like that to the screen, and if anyone’s character should’ve been tempered, it was Ed’s. Still, only a brief cameo, and they could’ve adjusted the character based on the first appearance being Spike’s injured, drunk fever dream.
The writing. Ultimately, the writing was the Big Bad here. A lot of strange decision making, weird attempts to be quirky (“Who don’t like cupcakes?”) or edgy (Faye: “@#($&*!”). Changes made to existing storylines that weakened or re-shaded a lot of stuff that was fairly critical to the anime’s emotional impact. Shortcuts taken that assume you already know the storyline - I wonder if any non-anime viewers really “got” Pierrot LeFou? And so on. Unfortunately, the Venn diagram intersection of people who tend to become Hollywood producers and people who can recognize good writing is vanishingly small.
Anyway, to sum it up: Lots of potential, some of it realized, most of it wasted. Worth at least a look, but not binge-worthy.
I gave up. I think I got thru episode 6, the one where the computer tries to take over Spike’s mind. Even tho there was only a couple episodes left, I just couldn’t force myself to watch them.
The action parts were standard textbook stylized kung fu stuff. Pretty much as I expected, but they overdid the one fight scene thing that bugs me for some reason. First guy does some kung fu stuff, second guy blocks it, they stare at each other for five seconds. Second guy does some kung fu stuff, first guy blocks it, they stare at each other for five seconds. Over and over. The best fight scene was the one between the two women, especially the kick to the groin, that was worth a laugh.
The humor fell flat for me about 99% of the time. The characters were cardboard slim and it was some terrible acting overall. I wonder if that was from direction because I know Cho can act better than that, drama or comedy.
I had to look up a picture of her because I have never seen anyone beautiful, much less ethereal, in an anime movie. Yep, she looks just like everyone else. If I hadn’t known ahead of time that she was a woman it was 50/50 I would guess woman from a picture, especially a head shot.
This I thought would be easy for Cho, he already has a bit of that loose-limb stuff in his comedy.
It’s too bad, I was really looking forward to this show.
That’s a pretty good description.
It’s anime, no one has lips.
I loved The Tick, another show I went into not having watched any of the source material. I wish that was still on the air. Perfect casting all around.
I would have said none of it realized, but I agree with you. I also think I should have jumped ship earlier when I wasn’t really enjoying it. I don’t know why I’m so stubborn about sticking with a show, it’s not like there aren’t a bunch of other shows to try.
I loved the dialogue where a woman is negotiating with Jet and he ask her if she is blackmailing him. She responds that yes because Jet is black, and a male (and she wants a date).