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Review: Cowboy Bebop
from the faye-faye dept.
First impressions: It's quite good, good enough to show even non-anime fans. Visually very pretty, plot is perfectly adequate, entertaining yet moderately deep, it's about all I ask for in an anime movie: it's fun.
The movie is strongly reminiscent of the animated series - if you lengthened and filled out one of the standard episodes, boom, you've got a movie. All of the Bebop crew are present, which would put it, time-wise, roughly in the middle of the series. Each of them plays a significant part in tracking their latest target, a bio-terrorist who plans to unleash an unpleasant plague on the population of Mars, but as in the series, they work side-by-side but not necessarily as a team, rather as a loose affiliation of, err, cowboys. The plot is simple but reasonably compelling. The antagonist's motivations are laid out; I didn't find them particularly sensible, but, ignoring that, the actions of the characters make sense and everything pretty much holds together.
The movie is significantly prettier than the series. Instead of the computer-generated beauty of Spirited Away, there are quite a few exquisitely drawn backgrounds. Most of the action takes place in a city on Mars which bears a strong - very strong - resemblance to modern-day New York City. Shadows are rendered with great care, leading to a number of scenes where the shadows play as much of a part in the scene as the character casting them. Although the rendering of Martian daylight is not, perhaps, very realistic (Mars is going to get a lot less light than Earth, even if it's massively terraformed...), the artists do take the opportunity to show us several beautiful sunset shots. The movie is worth watching for the art alone, IMHO.
Fans of the series will know that it's known for its jazz (or maybe jazz-like is more descriptive) numbers. The movie still has some jazz, but there's a lot more rock, leading to a more fast-paced feel. The soundtrack is quite good without being overpowering and without losing the feel that "made" the series. The voice acting is as good as the series, which is not surprising.
At least two of the showings in the movie theater I saw it in were sold out. I imagine that won't continue, since this is a bit of a niche market and the movie hasn't been advertised at all that I've seen, but perhaps it will be enough to get a wider U.S. distribution for the movie, and Spirited Away picking up an Oscar shouldn't hurt either. It's worth seeing in the theaters, I think, assuming there's one near you. If you've ever wondered what sort of beating Spike can dish out when he's really upset at someone, this movie will answer that question. :)
One thing (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:One thing (Score:2, Informative)
Re:One thing (Score:4, Informative)
IMHO this also applies to most of Japanese art, including good movies like Unagi for instance. Of course, as another poster said, this kind of trick is not appreciated by some people, to whom entertainment should rhyme with happy endings.
This is probably linked to the fact that Manga and Anime are recognized as high-level media in Japan. Most of the good novels I've read don't have happy endings. Most of the classics have awful endings. This, also, is part of entertainment.
Parent
Re:One thing (Score:4, Interesting)
Long Live CB! 0_o
Parent
Re:One thing (Score:4, Insightful)
Nah.
Parent
Re:One thing (Score:2)
This is why the movie is mid-series (Score:5, Insightful)
The movie 'takes place' mid-series if I recall. It was really cheating most of the US to show them the complete series first- the movie should have been timed to premiere in the US around ep 20 or so, but well before the last episodes. Sadly, I think the only reason this is in theaters(and/or perhaps the reason it took so long) is because it's about terrorism; as a topic for entertainment, first it was taboo, now it's all the rage.
It doesn't have to have a sad ending to be good, by the way. Watch the third Patlabor movie some time if you like the whole political intrigue/detective story(which is part of what Knockin' on Heaven's Door is about.)
Personally, I would have been just as happy if Cowboy Bebop had a happy ending, since I enjoyed every episode. If anything, the sad ending was a huge let-down. Then again, the first episode in the series was a pretty tragic, and should have been a clue that they'd go any-which-way.
I've already seen the movie(it was fansubbed at -least- a year ago); I highly recommend it; everything you've come to love in the bebop series. There is a GREAT dogfight sequence, worth the cost of the ticket alone, and two great hand-to-hand combat scenes. I will probably go to see it in the theaters, since I a)support anime and b)I want to see the great artwork up close and personal.
(currently watching Read Or Die- let's hear it for secret agent librarians, yeah!)
Parent
Re:One thing (Score:4, Informative)
The ending of Romeo and Juliet is TRAGIC but not entirely SAD. Romeo and Juliet as well as a few more minor charecters do die and in a very tragic way but there is a reason. Two families are at war and it takes the death of the sons and daughters of the family (Romeo and Juliet being the final deaths they can take) to create peace. If Romeo and Juliet didn't die how they did the families would still be at war and they would have probably both ended up dying anyway.
Although this comes off as a sad ending, you do feel sad at the end, the ending is actually quite happier than i expected when i read it after hearing so much about it my entire life.
Read some Shakespeare... its a lot more complex than most people realize and is a thrill when you find all the hidden goodies.
Parent
Re:One thing (Score:2)
cowboy (Score:2, Funny)
Re:cowboy (Score:2)
Quibble (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Quibble (Score:3, Funny)
Oh come on - vincent maybe, but Electra had huge knockers!
waiting for wide release (Score:2)
Re:waiting for wide release (Score:2)
Cmdr Taco
935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20535
Thanks!
Watch the episodes (Score:5, Insightful)
What I'm saying is, see the movie. But if you want some real fun, see the series too.
Damn critics... (Score:5, Insightful)
Man, I just don't get it. Cartoons are great for anything with a fantasy element.
Why?
'Cause you can do anything you want with cartoons...cheaply!
Live action has certain drawbacks. Sure, you can have beautiful people at which you can stare, but some things are difficult or downright impossible to do with live action.
The people who don't like cartoon movies are just snobs. Beautiful things can be done with the medium.
To simply deride something because it's a cartoon is so shortsided.
Re:Damn critics... (Score:2)
To simply deride something because it's a cartoon is so shortsided.
It's only shortsided to you because you *like* catroons. Some people simply don't like cartoons. And that's fine. It doesn't make their views shortsighted.
neurostarRe:Damn critics... (Score:3, Insightful)
It does when you are a critic.
A critic's job (IMHO) is to judge a movie's merits within its genre. If you are a critic and don't like cartoons, to deride a movie on that basis alone is a failure to provide any useable insight on the movie's qualities to those who DO.
If a critic can't seperate their personal likes and dislikes from their reviews (and what I mean is stuff like "I don't like horror movies,
Re:Damn critics... (Score:2)
A critic's job (IMHO) is to judge a movie's merits within its genre. If you are a critic and don't like cartoons, to deride a movie on that basis alone is a failure to provide any useable insight on the movie's qualities to those who DO.
Agreed. However that means a critic shouldn't be reviewing movies in that genre. But to disregard someone's personal opinion as "shortsighted" isn't right.
neurostarRe:Damn critics... (Score:2, Interesting)
Something pops up fairly quickly: Most don't dislike it because it's a cartoon. Many of the bad reviews go on about how good the artwork and visuals are. (Most of the time anyways, as a few also complain about the lack of coherency in the quality in several scenes.)
Most of the bad reviews dislike it because they found it long, drawn out, and boring.
Now think about it for a moment. Put aside all t
semi OT (Score:2)
the season has a overall theme, but not all episodes progress the storyline -- some are just w, well, OT. i liked this series far better than any of the 20 other anime movies i've ever seen
what about disney stuff then...? (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm an avid anime fan, and it bothers me to see such meaningless reasons as to why the Bebop movie isn't good. The Cowboy Bebop movie does not have the best stand-alone plot (it goes well with the entire series), but I still think that it's a good movie for a one-shot and the animation did not get as much credit as it deserved in the negative reviews.
However, it is nice to see that a majority of the reviews of the film are mainly positive. It's not like everyone is against it, but the one's who are against it seem to have poor reasoning.
Re:what about disney stuff then...? (Score:4, Interesting)
A majority of the reviewers who say that hte show is bad are right on the button why the movie isn't great. They don't even bring up the animation, other than to praise how well it is done. No, rather, most of them comment on the sheer episodicness of the movie, and the lack of what they considered a coherent plotline.
As well, I could understand a few of them being really confused because they don't really understand the "cowboy bebop" universe.
There was one reviewer who said it was "Just a Cartoon" and even then he was just pointing out that the plot, the storyline, etc. were just not that good. It's very similar to another review saying that a movie is "Just another movie", this Cowboy Bebop movie is "Just another cartoon". He's not attacking you, or your absolute love of anime, he's just saying that he wasn't thrilled, excited or stunned by this movie.
Accept that people don't like thing you do, and that they have perfectly legitimate reasons to. Not everyone who doesn't like the movie is 'against it', and I can say a majority of the ones who did say the movie was not that great had perfectly legitimate reasons to say so.
Parent
Curse ye, Cruele Fate (Score:2, Funny)
Oh well, theres always DVD.
Re:Curse ye, Cruele Fate (Score:2)
There's always Kazaa.
Re:Curse ye, Cruele Fate (Score:2)
Stuck in Nashville too.
Although, if "stuck" means living in a pretty good city for the size. I noticed that there was not one listing in the Midwest short of Chicago, or other places like that.
Anyway, have a good one. Hermitage, Tn, out.
not your cutsey anime (Score:2)
And this is why.... (Score:5, Insightful)
People have become way too dependent on what critics say about a movie. They go watch what other people tell them they should, possibly because it costs way to much to see a movie. Critics who diss the movie for poor animation and "Speed Racer" style action obviously never went to see the movie, and instead opted to read some online summary and diss what they do not understand.
So ignore (the vast majority of) the critics, and go see what is a GREAT action movie that actually has a plot.
Re:And this is why.... (Score:3, Insightful)
<sarcasm>That's right. And this internet thing will NEVER become popular. No one will EVER use a personal computer. And as for this new technology called "calculus", it's NEVER going to be accepted by the masses.</sarcasm>
As for me, I'm going to keep using linux, watching Anime, and using GPG to sign my email messages. The rest of the
Re:And this is why.... (Score:3, Insightful)
I think you picked the wrong "ignorant masses" template to use for your reply. If you actually read the post and the links, you'll see that there are mostly positive reviews for both animation and the movie overall.
I see that this is your first post to Slashdot. You didn't follow the links, so that's good, with some more practice you'll fit in well here. The capital words for emphasis are good, however your spe
Re:And this is why.... (Score:2)
Not continuity-bound (Score:4, Insightful)
Its just a long epsiode (Score:5, Interesting)
That being said, most anime movies based on TV shows aren't usually that good. Escaflone the movie was fairly bad, and the Eva movies will never, ever, see a US theatrical release. However, Bebop was still a decent movie, and some of the scenes, such as the last fight scenes with the fireworks and butterflies, just demand being scene in a theater.
Re:Its just a long epsiode (Score:2)
That, and Komm Sutter Todd is an awesome song.
You're definitely right about Escaflowne, though; that was a real pile of trash. If you want to watch something that makes a similar amount of sense, but at least it doesn't make you want to go slit your wrists... I suggest you check out the Utena movie. Wonderful music. Prettier too, imo. A bit of nudity, but that's to be expected of any movie that deals with sex and g
Re:Its just a long epsiode (Score:4, Interesting)
Yeah, I hate it when they do that - give me a lame character, bad fight scenes and awful music!
Seriously, I think that being "jsut a long episode" is the absolute best thing a movie based on a (good) series can do. When they try to do something "special" it either alienates the fans, or just comes out crap.
Parent
[OT] series (Score:2)
At the very end of the series, did Spike survive? Is there going to be another series? It'll be a shame if that's all there is, because it's such a great show! And these days that's unusual.
[SPOILER!!] (Score:5, Informative)
No, he didn't. That, in my opinion, is the beauty of bebop. They had the nerve to kill off the main character. They said "This is the end. No more Bebop."
I said "No he didn't" pretty finally, and all there is is symbolic proof, but I think its pretty solid. The flock of birds flies up as the camera pans; they used that a couple times to signify death, most notably when Julia died. The lyrics of the song that plays is "I'm ascending" (good news; he went to heaven). And most importantly, in the very last shot of the series, looking at the stars, there is that star that fades out, just as Old Man Bull says happens when someone dies.
I think that the series up to the last 3 or 4 sessions is good, but it is those last 3, where everything comes crashing down for everyone, that really makes Bebop great.
Parent
But the pacing was so bad... (Score:3, Interesting)
And was anybody else disappointed that the credits song from the TV show was missing? That is consistently my favorite part of the show.
Not just for kids? (Score:2, Insightful)
Cowboy Bebop doesn't come off as particularly adult.
bebop? (Score:4, Interesting)
The villain is some kind of nihilistic joke who can't even keep continuity -- he survives, without disfigurement, exploding a grenade in his hand that blackens and twists a nearby metal seat, but takes one bullet in the climax and dies.
Speaking of which, the entire story around the contrived love interest is incredibly hammy, and if anyone didn't see that twist at the end coming you'd best get your eyes checked. Ugh.
I didn't expect the world from this movie, but it didn't come close to matching up with the worst episode.
Where's the anti-cartoon prejudice? (Score:5, Insightful)
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail:
Jan Stuart, Newsday: Mick LaSalle, San Francisco ChronicleMaybe you could put down the end of that last quote to an "anti-cartoon" bias? But from the paragraph as a whole its clear that the reviewer thinks the animation is actually the only thing that the movie has going for it.
I don't mean to bash the movie. (In fact, I had to read through a lot of positive comments to get to the above quotes. Sounds like it might be a fun movie!) I just question the article's claim that the reviewers disliked the movie just because it's animated. Seems to me that does an injustice to the criticisms raised, criticisms which are actually repeated by a lot of reviewers, and which have less to do with the medium than with the dialog, the story, and the characters.
--Bruce F.
Interest (Score:3, Funny)
You have to know the show... (Score:5, Informative)
>> not, perhaps, very realistic (Mars is going to
>> get a lot less light than Earth, even if it's
>> massively terraformed...),
Actually the reason for that is implied, if not
directly explained in the context of the series.
The Hyperspace gateways that were created to allow ships
to travel between the planets (and facilitate the migration
from earth after the great Gate accident) are also used
to pipe sunlight from near-earth orbit to the other colonies.
It was a convienient vehicle used to give the other planets
consistent conditions without having to nit-pick too much
on other physical differences between Earth, Mars, Venus, Ganymede
and a few other spots.
Half the fun of watching anime is trying to figure out what the
hell the creators were thinking when they came up with scenarios
like that.
My Impressions (Score:5, Interesting)
I enjoyed the music from the movie more than the series. I guess it was more blues/rock-n-roll-like than jazz-like.
In addition, I was amazed with the script and the voice talent. This is coming from a Sub-over-dub guy. It appeared that lip syncing software was used, but this is the first time I thought the script did not suffer from it. I only cringed maybe 3 times at a weird sentence or an abnormal pause in the rhythm of speech. The translation was excellent.
I have watched the series as subs and only briefly checked out the dubs on the DVD's. Major kudos goes to Wendee Lee who actually out performs Megumi Hayashibara as Faye. Her performance really made Faye a multi-dimensional character. Also kudos to Melissa Charles for matching the perfection of Ed by Aoi Tada. "Faye-Faye, Stay Away-way." ^_^
I agree with another poster about Vincent and Elektra, very under developed. The series, in just 25-50 minutes, did a much better job of bringing depth to the "villians." Episodes like the 2-part "Jupiter Jazz" or "Pierrot Le Fou" really made you feel for the story's main character.
From what I've read, the time line for movie is between Session #22 and Session #23.
89 out of 100: For the amazing translation and acting performances of Wendee and Melissa. Points off for underdeveloped characters.
Anthony
This jazzy noir style film is simply elegant! (Score:5, Interesting)
The voice acting in the English dubbed movie is simply beautiful each character seams to match there Japanese actor counter part perfectly. The director Shinichiro Watanabe amazed me with his directing in the series but his directing of the movie blew me away. The choreography of the martial arts was amazing. Spike perfect use of Jet Kun Do, the style developed by Bruce lee, was beautiful and fluid. While the Special Forces style of martial arts Shotokan is shown for its hard stiff movements but amazing use of power with little effort. Wanatabe has this eye of such things to make you even sit back and thing you were watching two actual people fighting when he directs each scene out.
I am very much looking forward to his take on the new Animatrix film called "Kids story" due out in May for download.
The movie even though dealing with a biological threat makes you sit back and look at why the villain is doing what he is doing. Seeing even in his madness there is this perfect solid calm of reason. One point in the movie that made me laugh that I didn't think I read in the Japanese version was when Vincent "the villain" is in the car with his hacker associate Leo. Leo is talking while playing on an old game saying back in the old days all you needed as 5 buttons and a great game was how hacking back in the day was easy
Then making a reference to how captain crunch hacked the phone systems with a simple whistle at 2600 hertz. I laughed out so hard that half that didn't get the reference in the theater turned. Funning thing was that it was also the first Friday of the month and right after the movie I was going to a dc 2600 meeting.
Over the entire movie was beautiful but what make cowboy bebop what it is, is right in its title the bebop! The series and movie cowboy bebop with its amazing score and music done by the great Japanese "Female" (I not this because she has over 100 shows and movie under her belt and most people think she is a he) Composer Kanno, Yoko was simply spell binding with its 20's/30's big band jazzy fashion. But Miss Kanno took the movie a different direction pulling songs from newer movies such as the opening song from the cheesy 1989 movie "Earth Girls Are Easy" (Jim carry, Damon Waynes, and Jeff Goldblum). But as the action gears up giving a jazzier feel like we usually have from Cowboy Bebop and then adding a twist of an electronic hard house jazzy sound of the more modern variety but still keeping the typical trumpet/snare drum sounds you typically find in jazz.
Sitting during this movie two times now at the Washington DC premiere at Dupont circle was a joy, nay a privilege. As I sat with fellow anime fans it was amazing to see the non anime fans get the jokes they had in the movie just the same as the full blown "otaku" anime fans. The movie at times seems to go on and on but in a way that even if your ass hurts in the seat the movie makes you want to keep watching and not fall asleep because its stylistic art it's simply beautiful in all ways fluid form. Most of my friends who have seen it simply say it's a 2 hour long episode. But that can be is so far from the truth I realize they have no clue what they are saying. This movie was a salute to an amazing anime series and gives its last Farwell leaving us happy to know that seeing it made us smile and look at things with different perspectives.
Re:Inquiring minds want to know... (Score:2)
Re:Cowboy Bebop is *real*? (Score:2)
Never heard of Cowboy Bebop? It's one of the best anime TV shows ever made. (The best, IMHO) Dowload the series off of Kazaa. It's wonderful.
Re:Quite So (Score:5, Interesting)
The title actually makes quite a bit of sense. The famous jazz musician Yoko Kanno does the music for Bebop. In addition, she actually had quite a bit of influence in the series. One interesting thing, is that during the opening credits, in the background, there are a few sentences about the creation of the bebop jazz style in New York in the 40's.
Parent
Re:Quite So (Score:3)
The name seemed strange to me at first too, but many animes seem to have odd, disjointed English titles (like "Tiny snow fairy sugar", "GetBackers", "KiddyGrade", "UFO Princess Walküre", and so on). While not really "wrong", they do just scan strangely.
Old Japanese video games were even more prone to this: take "Donkey Kong" for instance. When it first came out, I remember thinking how oddly Japanese it sounded, but now it's so familia