I’ve not watched this in a long time. I was thinking about it the other day and as I was in Best Buy the other day I saw the entire series on bluray on sale! Sweet! I’m probably going to be going through the series pretty quick, like probably most of it this weekend; however, if anybody would like to re-watch it with (or watch it for the first time), we can discuss it as we go through the episodes.
Any other fans of Cowboy Bebop?
Cowboy Bebop is one of those shows I’ve never quite managed to watch. I don’t watch dubbed anime, so I didn’t see it on Adult Swim. I was buying other series at the time, so I never got it on DVD back when that was the only way to see almost any anime. Now that it seems that streaming subtitled anime is everywhere, I’ve started watching it on Crunchyroll, but I still haven’t gotten more than about three episodes in.
I love Cowboy Bebop. Everything about it is top notch. The animation, the music and especially the English dub. It has been a while since I have watched it. I am probably going to start it again, thanks.
I had forgot this came out in 1998. The animation is just so excellent. I love the quality. I love that they don’t spend much time trying to explain the world, they just let the world be what it is and let the character’s live in it. And then, Session #5. Ahh that scene with the flashbacks. I love that scene. The music. The animation. Everything about it is just so awesome. I think that’s when I first fell in love with Cowboy Bebop, and watching again brings it all back.
I’m talking about the fight between Viscious and Spike. Viscious pushes Spike out of the cathedral window, and as he falls in slow motion, we see the grenade the Spike dropped as a farewall gift for Viscious. And as Spike falls, there’s the “Ballad of Fallen Angels”, and we see flashbacks to another time. Spike’s former life. Just amazing.
Oh and that last line of Session #5. “You sing offkey” That’s just so damn funny.
It’s a well-written series, and visually attractive. Relatively un-sentimental, particularly the relationships. The crew assembles, then it disperses–almost symmetrical.
I liked Edward; when the show is mentioned I always remember the wrong-in-every-respect caption used by some journalist on a pic of Edward: “Cowboy Bebop at his computer.” Well, I guess they got “computer” right. Cowboy BeBop at His Computer - TV Tropes
Edward is hilarious. She’s clearly intended to provide a lot of the humor, and it works because of the carefree, goofy charm of the character.
There’s a few episodes here and there that are not quite as good. For example, Session 6 with the immortal kid. Meh. It is ok, but not great.
I got as far as Session 11, which is the episode with the fridge monster. Now, that episode is awesome. It is so funny. The conclusion is so completely unexpected and bizarre. Then the final music montage is great as is the last line. So the lesson is, don’t leave anything in the fridge.
Absolutely great! We’ll see how far I get tomorrow.
BeepKillBeep, those mentions of particular episodes are definitely making me want to re-watch the series!
The problem with Cowboy Bebop is that if it’s the first anime series you watch, nothing else quite measures up.
I got to Session 17 today.
Jupiter Jazz (#12 and #13) has the return of Viscious. A great two-parter in which we get more of the background of Spike. A good episode, with a sad but touching conclusion.
My Funny Valentine (#15) gets us into the background of Faye Valentine, and it certainly isn’t what you might expect. I really like this episode because of the unexpected little twists and turns. It is atypical and avoids a lot of tropes.
On re-watching Cowboy Bebop, I reminded now of just how much of the show deals with revealing more about the characters, and how they’re pasts catch up to them or haunt them. Session #16 gets us into Jet. At this point we already knew he’s former ISSP, but now we find out how he lost his arm. Up until now, it has mainly been Spike who seems to have issues from his past that he wants to resolve. Now we see Jet has some demons too.
Mushroom Samba (#17) is an Edward-centric episode and again stands out as excellent. Edward is a very amusing character and this is a very funny episode. I love her hiding in the car, and then just … walking away when “caught”. Edward seems utterly clueless (or ambivalent) about cultural norms (or maybe because she’s a teenager?), and that’s a big part of her charm.
I might watch some more tonight.
So long Space Cowboys!
So what do you think about Edward.
Is she clueless about how to act around people, ambivalent, or just a teenager?
Ed’s a genius, and effectively an orphan; some socialization issues may occur.