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"Anime Review: Cowboy Bebop"

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Fri 01/03/02 at 14:41
Regular
Posts: 787
What is “Cowboy Bebop” I hear you ask.
Many anime fans have already seen this amazing show and will already know how good it is, but for all the non fans, read this then buy the dvds, I promise you wont be disappointed.
“Cowboy Bebop” took the anime world by storm back in 1998 when it was one of the biggest hits of all time in Japan. Bebop delivered a fantastic series with very high production values and 26 episodes were produced, and are now available on region 1 dvd.
Cowboy Bebop reinvigorates your faith and interest in anime, as it’s just so fresh and original.
It’s a series that will make you want to introduce non-anime fans to see it.
One of the coolest and most characteristic offerings to come out of Japan, Cowboy Bebop oozes cool from the moment the credits open in a blast of funky jazz music, split screened pictures and character compilations.

Put simply, it’s an anime show about intergalactic bounty hunters.
The “hero” is Spike Speigel, a laid-back bounty hunter with a mysterious past and an uncertain future; Spike isn't your typical anime hero. And with his rakish & gangly build, breezy demeanour, retro fashion sense and mess of untidy hair, he's not your typical action hero either. Somehow though, he pulls off being both, performing truly spectacular feats of physical agility in combat and his relaxed attitude towards putting himself (and occasionally others) at risk. Spike's past is a puzzle that gradually unfolds throughout the course of the series. Primarily all that's known is that Spike worked for the Red Dragon Syndicate on Mars, and three years ago faked his own death in order to escape the group. Once out he ended up meeting with Jet Black, a former ISSP (a sort of interstellar police force) officer who quit the force after a double cross cost him his arm (he now has a bionic left arm). Together they decided to dodge the edge of the law as bounty hunters, and it’s during this time period that the show takes place.
Their home is the Bebop, a big heap of junk spaceship and they always appear close to poverty as Spike is forever paying damages out of his bounty earnings to repair buildings, cars etc that he wrecked when he caught his bounty.
Jet is a calm, thoughtful man, who keeps a cool head throughout the many ordeals he's found himself in since teaming up with Spike. Much preferring to tend his bonsai tree than to go speeding off on a risky case, he’s also the captain of the Bebop. Jet is perhaps the closest thing the crew has to a leader.

The heroine of the series is Faye Valentine, an attractive, intelligent and deadly woman. Faye's past is also a mystery, even to her. While spending some time in cryogenic suspension, an incident caused her to lose her memory, making it more difficult for her to explain to the doctor that woke her up why she can't pay the enormous medical bill she amassed. With a huge bounty price on her head, Faye found her calling as a bounty hunter. She hangs out on the Bebop crew, eating constantly, and generally making life difficult for everybody while trying to pay back the creditors that track her every move. Faye is actually quite sensitive, and quickly grows attached to the crew of the Bebop, despite her difficult temperament.

Ed is the Bebop’s resident computer expert and hacker. An orphan who grew up on the devastated remains of the Earth, Ed lived underground in the technologically advanced society that remained on the Earth. Living without her parents. Growing up without parental boundaries in a land of technology, Ed quickly picked up the tools of the hacker trade, and quickly became feared as the hacking genius "Radical Edward". Spike, Jet and Faye met Ed while chasing a bounty. Ed's personality is best described as "completely insane" and is often prone to random bursts of unintelligible nonsense, strange songs and weird acts of flexibility.

Ein is the ship’s pet. A genetically engineered "data dog", a super intelligent Corgi developed illegally by a dodgy corporation for unknown reasons. Though no one on the show seems to realize exactly how special Ein is.
Ein first joined up with the Bebop crew when Spike rescued him from profit-minded petnapper. Even though Spike says he hates "kids and critters" he still goes out of his way to save Ein from falling off a bridge. Once aboard the Bebop Ein becomes a cross between a pet and a toy. Most of the time Ein can be seen following around Ed, who he seems to like for no particular reason.

What exactly makes Bebop so special?
There is a lot to be praised with this series. What comes to mind first is the style. Every episode of Bebop explodes with so much style that it’s a new treat for the senses every episode. Each planet, each world, each city all have a unique atmosphere to it that make them their own. From the dilapidated and gritty cities, flashy high-rise futuristic cities, to the huge flash orbiting casino; each locale has a style and appearance all its own.

Bebop manages to contain so many different story lines, from the serious to the downright bizarre. One episode, the show will be about an environmental fanatic group threatening a planet or a characters search for their identity, the next it’ll be about the adventures of the crew trying to find food and running into a mushroom smuggling operation or fighting evil psychotic clowns. Some are funny, some are serious, some are tragic, and some are exciting. It‘s difficult to describe the style in words, as it’s something that you can only truly enjoy with your own eyes and ears.

The amazing style exists from a combination of sound, visuals, and story. Through this combination of different areas we get the true brilliance that is Bebop.
Straightforward stories become fantastic through awesome direction and cinematography. But it isn’t enough to just speak of the visual style of Bebop, as one of the best parts of the series is the soundtrack. Composed by Yoko Kanno, the music of Bebop features a range of jazz, bebop, blues, bluegrass, and other types of music you would never have associated with an anime production before. The soundtrack is truly original and enhances the series that much more, adding to the style of the series and creating an incredible atmosphere.

The heart of Bebop’s main story resides in a set of five episodes featuring an exploration of Spike’s past involving his lost love Julia and a mysterious figure known as Vicious. All of these episodes are amazing, containing fantastic music, incredible storytelling, and fascinating characters. Each of the other stories is self-contained, and gives immense pleasure to the viewer in seeing where the characters will be next, and in what kind of crazy caper.

The style of the show is representative in the fact that it is something that culturally can reach just about anyone; we get a large display of various cultures throughout the series. Every single episode adds one more level of depth to this incredible universe, which is as distinctive and varied as our own.

Topping off the series is what has to be one of the best dubs of all time, many people like the Japanese dubs, but the Bebop English dub is superb.

Bebop truly is unlike anything before it. I suggest this series for any anime fan, and even non-anime fans. For anyone who’s getting into this series, just sit back, and take in the series with no fixed idea about anime and enjoy the masterpiece that is Cowboy Bebop.

There are six Cowboy Bebop region 1 dvds available, if you have a multi-region player, buy the first one, enjoy it so much that you’ll buy the rest.
If you are interested, good places to buy Cowboy Bebop online are:
www.up1.co.uk
www.movietyme.com
www.dc-dvd.net
All are reliable and have a huge range of anime dvds.
Sat 02/03/02 at 22:01
Regular
"Devotion 2The Ocean"
Posts: 6,658
That is a WICKED anime series!

A brilliant 26 eps, n a great movie!

If anyones an anime fan, they MUST see this series!

:)
Fri 01/03/02 at 16:34
Regular
"Infantalised Forums"
Posts: 23,089
Shredder of a review
Fri 01/03/02 at 16:11
Regular
Posts: 21,800
I thought you meant BeBop and Rocksteady out of the Turtles.
Fri 01/03/02 at 14:41
Regular
"Wants Spymate on dv"
Posts: 3,025
What is “Cowboy Bebop” I hear you ask.
Many anime fans have already seen this amazing show and will already know how good it is, but for all the non fans, read this then buy the dvds, I promise you wont be disappointed.
“Cowboy Bebop” took the anime world by storm back in 1998 when it was one of the biggest hits of all time in Japan. Bebop delivered a fantastic series with very high production values and 26 episodes were produced, and are now available on region 1 dvd.
Cowboy Bebop reinvigorates your faith and interest in anime, as it’s just so fresh and original.
It’s a series that will make you want to introduce non-anime fans to see it.
One of the coolest and most characteristic offerings to come out of Japan, Cowboy Bebop oozes cool from the moment the credits open in a blast of funky jazz music, split screened pictures and character compilations.

Put simply, it’s an anime show about intergalactic bounty hunters.
The “hero” is Spike Speigel, a laid-back bounty hunter with a mysterious past and an uncertain future; Spike isn't your typical anime hero. And with his rakish & gangly build, breezy demeanour, retro fashion sense and mess of untidy hair, he's not your typical action hero either. Somehow though, he pulls off being both, performing truly spectacular feats of physical agility in combat and his relaxed attitude towards putting himself (and occasionally others) at risk. Spike's past is a puzzle that gradually unfolds throughout the course of the series. Primarily all that's known is that Spike worked for the Red Dragon Syndicate on Mars, and three years ago faked his own death in order to escape the group. Once out he ended up meeting with Jet Black, a former ISSP (a sort of interstellar police force) officer who quit the force after a double cross cost him his arm (he now has a bionic left arm). Together they decided to dodge the edge of the law as bounty hunters, and it’s during this time period that the show takes place.
Their home is the Bebop, a big heap of junk spaceship and they always appear close to poverty as Spike is forever paying damages out of his bounty earnings to repair buildings, cars etc that he wrecked when he caught his bounty.
Jet is a calm, thoughtful man, who keeps a cool head throughout the many ordeals he's found himself in since teaming up with Spike. Much preferring to tend his bonsai tree than to go speeding off on a risky case, he’s also the captain of the Bebop. Jet is perhaps the closest thing the crew has to a leader.

The heroine of the series is Faye Valentine, an attractive, intelligent and deadly woman. Faye's past is also a mystery, even to her. While spending some time in cryogenic suspension, an incident caused her to lose her memory, making it more difficult for her to explain to the doctor that woke her up why she can't pay the enormous medical bill she amassed. With a huge bounty price on her head, Faye found her calling as a bounty hunter. She hangs out on the Bebop crew, eating constantly, and generally making life difficult for everybody while trying to pay back the creditors that track her every move. Faye is actually quite sensitive, and quickly grows attached to the crew of the Bebop, despite her difficult temperament.

Ed is the Bebop’s resident computer expert and hacker. An orphan who grew up on the devastated remains of the Earth, Ed lived underground in the technologically advanced society that remained on the Earth. Living without her parents. Growing up without parental boundaries in a land of technology, Ed quickly picked up the tools of the hacker trade, and quickly became feared as the hacking genius "Radical Edward". Spike, Jet and Faye met Ed while chasing a bounty. Ed's personality is best described as "completely insane" and is often prone to random bursts of unintelligible nonsense, strange songs and weird acts of flexibility.

Ein is the ship’s pet. A genetically engineered "data dog", a super intelligent Corgi developed illegally by a dodgy corporation for unknown reasons. Though no one on the show seems to realize exactly how special Ein is.
Ein first joined up with the Bebop crew when Spike rescued him from profit-minded petnapper. Even though Spike says he hates "kids and critters" he still goes out of his way to save Ein from falling off a bridge. Once aboard the Bebop Ein becomes a cross between a pet and a toy. Most of the time Ein can be seen following around Ed, who he seems to like for no particular reason.

What exactly makes Bebop so special?
There is a lot to be praised with this series. What comes to mind first is the style. Every episode of Bebop explodes with so much style that it’s a new treat for the senses every episode. Each planet, each world, each city all have a unique atmosphere to it that make them their own. From the dilapidated and gritty cities, flashy high-rise futuristic cities, to the huge flash orbiting casino; each locale has a style and appearance all its own.

Bebop manages to contain so many different story lines, from the serious to the downright bizarre. One episode, the show will be about an environmental fanatic group threatening a planet or a characters search for their identity, the next it’ll be about the adventures of the crew trying to find food and running into a mushroom smuggling operation or fighting evil psychotic clowns. Some are funny, some are serious, some are tragic, and some are exciting. It‘s difficult to describe the style in words, as it’s something that you can only truly enjoy with your own eyes and ears.

The amazing style exists from a combination of sound, visuals, and story. Through this combination of different areas we get the true brilliance that is Bebop.
Straightforward stories become fantastic through awesome direction and cinematography. But it isn’t enough to just speak of the visual style of Bebop, as one of the best parts of the series is the soundtrack. Composed by Yoko Kanno, the music of Bebop features a range of jazz, bebop, blues, bluegrass, and other types of music you would never have associated with an anime production before. The soundtrack is truly original and enhances the series that much more, adding to the style of the series and creating an incredible atmosphere.

The heart of Bebop’s main story resides in a set of five episodes featuring an exploration of Spike’s past involving his lost love Julia and a mysterious figure known as Vicious. All of these episodes are amazing, containing fantastic music, incredible storytelling, and fascinating characters. Each of the other stories is self-contained, and gives immense pleasure to the viewer in seeing where the characters will be next, and in what kind of crazy caper.

The style of the show is representative in the fact that it is something that culturally can reach just about anyone; we get a large display of various cultures throughout the series. Every single episode adds one more level of depth to this incredible universe, which is as distinctive and varied as our own.

Topping off the series is what has to be one of the best dubs of all time, many people like the Japanese dubs, but the Bebop English dub is superb.

Bebop truly is unlike anything before it. I suggest this series for any anime fan, and even non-anime fans. For anyone who’s getting into this series, just sit back, and take in the series with no fixed idea about anime and enjoy the masterpiece that is Cowboy Bebop.

There are six Cowboy Bebop region 1 dvds available, if you have a multi-region player, buy the first one, enjoy it so much that you’ll buy the rest.
If you are interested, good places to buy Cowboy Bebop online are:
www.up1.co.uk
www.movietyme.com
www.dc-dvd.net
All are reliable and have a huge range of anime dvds.

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