First thoughts on Cowboy Bebop

To be fair, you say everything has good animation. You even said Akira has... oh wait, nevermind.

I don't remember much visual goodness. The art was great, but the animation? Nah, like pretty much every TV series, it was lacking, and it came out a long time ago.
 
This is "lacking"? Details like the way the rubbish bags split (50 seconds) is not something you see in "lacking" animation. And this episode is in the middle of the series. There are shortcuts, of course, as there are in almost every anime, but Bebop still looks very good. Watanabe's superior direction helps as well.

Suprisingly, the rainbowing that was so distracting on my R1 DVDs seems to have disappeared on my HD set. They actually look reasonable!
 
There's a reason people love that episode, some ranking at as the best in the series, Fabio. Not every episode could match-up to that scene and the episode overall. If every episode was at that level you could argue that people watched Cowboy Bebop for the visuals, but like every TV series the series had some high points and many sverage.

I must admit, though, that I didn't recall Cowboy Bebop having that sort of animation. Like the artwork distracted me when I watched Akira, the shimmering did so when I watched Cowboy Bebop. If there's a serious flaw in the visuals, I focus on the negative.

As far as I know, the shimmering issue started with the R1 releases. Shimmering is caused not by the actual episodes but how they're put/encoded/whatever onto DVDs.

Do you have the KAA collection on your HDD? If so, KAA fix video issues as best they can, so the shimmering is still there but not as visible.
 
True, that was the episode that immediately came to mind when I had the idea of showcasing the quality of Cowboy Bebop's visuals. It's been a while since I watched the series but my lasting impression is that it looked top notch for TV anime. Perhaps a rewatch is in order.

The video issues are there because Bebop, like a lot of early anime on DVD, was taken from a composite source. As I say, I don't notice the shimmering/rainbowing at all on my HD telly. The series could do with a proper remaster, though.
 
At the time (I actually got the first few episodes as a VHS fansub before I went "clean" so for once I was watching something at close to the right time!) the animation in Bebop blew me away. It's a shame that a lot of gorgeous series from that era suffered due to early DVD authoring missteps. I remember Spike's movement in the first episode looked so fluid and carefully animated. Of course early episodes are also known for having higher budgets than later ones in TV series but it was noticeably much slicker than its contemporaries.

I suppose it's officially a classic now, doomed to be disliked by some newer fans who get pushed into it by all the hype but held in what seems like unreasonably high regard by others. Hype is usually something best ignored if you want to enjoy something.

I think what Aion says about leaving things to imagination sometimes is a good way to look at it. Bebop's storytelling doesn't really spell everything out neatly, but if it manages to grab the viewer the ride it takes you on is well worth the time spent.

R
 
Well ive just finished Cowboy Bebop and well...personally...I thought the series was wank. I was bored the WHOLE time, the characters were also so boring, flat and had no development and the ending was rushed. as for the animation, yeah it was actually good. and the action was pretty good to (when it eventually came). However, i just didnt like it. I suppose i am into anime that arent exatcly realistic, with the ninjas and samurais and energy beams and so on, But tentacle rape? What the hell does tentacle rape have to do with anything? i didnt even mention that i liked it. So shut up about the tentacle rape! Also before anyone starts throwing abuse at me, This is MY OPINION on the series

Cowboy Bebop 4/10
I REALLY didnt like this series! By far the worst sereis ive seen this year so far!

Now im gonna go throw up!
 
I think AUKN now has the most diverse spread of opinions out of all anime-related forums.
(Truth be told, Bebop isn't my sort of show either.)
 
Rui said:
I suppose it's officially a classic now, doomed to be disliked by some newer fans who get pushed into it by all the hype but held in what seems like unreasonably high regard by others. Hype is usually something best ignored if you want to enjoy something.

I think what Aion says about leaving things to imagination sometimes is a good way to look at it. Bebop's storytelling doesn't really spell everything out neatly, but if it manages to grab the viewer the ride it takes you on is well worth the time spent.

R
Click to expand...

There no way you can class me as an a newer fan have I been watching anime since guyver ovas series was on vhs 8) .

I don't think it hype it just series it just incredibly flawed and frustrating series to watch. By wasting so much time with filler episode some of them frankly were not that good i.e alien pastiche. That time would have been better served to increase the story of Spike, Vicious & Julia. Were only talking one or two episodes here.

I always hate people bring up "leaving things to imagination" line as an excuse for a series not going in depth. It cheap excuse, which anyone can bring up for any series which lack the required depth.
 
Dave said:
There no way you can class me as an a newer fan have I been watching anime since guyver ovas series was on vhs 8) .

I don't think it hype it just series it just incredibly flawed and frustrating series to watch. By wasting so much time with filler episode some of them frankly were not that good i.e alien pastiche. That time would have been better served to increase the story of Spike, Vicious & Julia. Were only talking one or two episodes here.

I always hate people bring up "leaving things to imagination" line as an excuse for a series not going in depth. It cheap excuse, which anyone can bring up for any series which lack the required depth.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that nobody out there hated it at the time either ;) after all, I am not into stuff like GitS (aside from the first movie) so I know how it is not to like the current "big things".

With regards to the imagination thing, that's just genuinely a matter of taste. My favourite shows/manga/everythings tend to be a little artsy and vague on purpose because I love being kept guessing, but I know that drives other people completely crazy. In CB I felt it worked well for the series to leave people wanting a little bit more rather than throw everything on the table and risk overdoing things. Clearly it didn't click for you and sanji though.

R
 
I think its wrong to class Bebops stand-alone episodes as filler. Okay, they might not add anything to the story, but they give you more insight as to who the characters are.

It's been a while since I watched it, but I don't remember being bored once. The score just kept me buzzing.
 
sanji no 1 said:
Cowboy Bebop 4/10
I REALLY didnt like this series! By far the worst sereis ive seen this year so far!

Now im gonna go throw up!
Click to expand...

THE HORROR! Nah I'm kidding, fair enough if it wasn't your cup o' tea.

Personally, I thought the fact CB didn't go into depth felt okay as it forced me to think about the situation presented for myself. There are plenty of other stories that resort to the typical 'tragic flashback', that Cowboy Bebop didn't beyond a few brief clips made it feel refreshing somehow.
 
"4/10" eeek, I guess it wasn't your thing, the only show I rated that low was Love Hina. Oh well.. like you said, your opinion and if you didn't like it, so be it. Hope the next show you watch you like more :)
 
I have to say there was more filler (or at least filler-esque episodes) and less story arc in Bebop than I imagined there would be before watching. That's not to say I think it was a bad show - I think it's great, but it's one of many that could have earned a place in my all time favourites if it had only been a few unneeded episodes shorter.

And as for Pierrot Le Fou... That was some top notch direction and animation all right, but I could not take a floating fat man in a top hat seriously as an antagonist. I have to admit I just burst out laughing.
 
Just visited your profile to check your top ten and I actually got surprised you enjoyed elfen lied.
Everything else you have there is heavily action oriented. CB is a good show, but I believe your expectations were too high because of all the hype.
 
Jayme said:
I think its wrong to class Bebops stand-alone episodes as filler. Okay, they might not add anything to the story, but they give you more insight as to who the characters are.
Click to expand...
This. I tend to prefer serial anime over episodic anime, so that Cowboy Bebop entertains me as much as it does says a lot about the quality of its storytelling. And the Alien pastiche is frankly AWESOME.

It's definitely a show I appreciate more as I get older. When I first watched Bebop about ten years ago it never quite resonated with me, even though I recongized its quality. Like its spiritual predecessor Lupin, Bebop is, I think, a show that appeals more to adults than teens.

EDIT: Also, the Pierrot le Fou clip is a great (and sadly quite rare) example of an anime director letting the action do the talking. There's no ridiculous shounen-esque pauses in the action where the characters have stupid cheesy inner monologues. Instead we're shown Spike's bemusement and fear. Great directing.
 
Back
Top