Cowboy Bebop || Netflix Live-action Series

[Darth Kermit]

I had some ideas myself, but probably more of a mashup with the original anime. Had some crazy ideas for a fanmix sparked.

It is a real shame, and a bit of a surprise, to have cancelled this soon. The finale really was dreadful, but I would have returned for some potentially good standalone episodes. the chemistry with Jet and Spike was pretty good and the show had its moments. I feel like Netflix are shooting themselves in the foot by doing this, since there will be many people who won't bother to invest in watching a show they know isn't getting renewed.

Then again, that portrayal of Ed is gonna give me nightmares.

Agreed. Ed’s voice was honestly so bad, probably the worst part of her character for me. And yeah, I’d say Jet was the best part of the show, and while I didn’t like the character choices with Faye and Spike very much, they did have a good chemistry, even with all the absolutely dogshit dialogue.

 

[Darth Kermit]

I was just listening to the Love Theme from Blade Runner and it really reminded me of Julia’s theme, and now I’m considering making a film cut of the anime using Vangelis score.

 

[Racerx1969]

TBH, I'm not entirely surprised. I keep seeing references to bad reviews all over the 'net. It's a shame, as the show isn't entirely bad. It fell down when trying to replicate bits of the anime, it shone when it went it's own way.

For me it shone with Jet and Spike's relationship and deep dives into their back stories. More Jet than Spike-that was the best part of the series for me. It took over half the season for Faye to settle in, I really dislike how the character was handled early on, and it wasn't until round episode 6 before she started to gel.

The Vicious/Julia storyline was meh at best, and I was kind of appalled & disappointed with where they went with Julia's character. But, that's based off of watching the anime first. By itself that treatment could work--but this series isn't in a vacuum.

 

[Wakeupkeo]

For someone who hadn't watched the original, I enjoyed the live action a lot.

Sure, not perfect, but completely worked on its own. Sad it got cancelled.

I tried to start the anime, but the gratuitous boob shots are a bit off-putting. (I know its classic anime) I'm sure I'll try again, but I admired the female takes in the live action version.

 

[ranger613]

I think this community in particular understands that when something is "bad"/ not to our liking/ "there's something good in that mess", (which I think live action Bebop was), we know that it can be salvaged / remixed through fanediting. I think we could have extracted something we enjoyed for ourselves from it had it been allowed to go on, much as I didn't enjoy the series as it stands now. I agree with the sentiment that they should at least have given it a season 2 , much like they did picard (ugh)

 

[Darth Kermit]

I admired the female takes in the live action version.

See, to me that was the worst part of Faye’s handling. In the anime she doesn’t want to be a symbol of sex and that’s part of why she makes a specific choice in Jupiter Jazz. She thinks the men on the Bebop will start fighting over her basically. And the decision to have her meet that mechanic lady and immediately have sex really cheapened her character in my opinion. I don’t care what sexuality she is, but to me that just came across as “look, she’s bi! Representation and confidant sexuality!” It also made it seem like the show was saying having sex with someone is a good way of making a new friend and finding belonging, and I think that’s really a terrible message, especially compared to the original when it’s all about them finding a place to belong. Also Faye and Spike’d relationship is so rushed. It’s like one episode of them bickering about who to go for and then they are friends. It’s much more earned in the anime, and I laugh when I remember that the actress for Faye LA said “the relationship between Faye and Spike is so earned”. Like no, it wasn’t lmfao. I’m gonna stop just because I could talk for hours about the horrible character choices, and I’d rather just put the show out of my mind now that it’s over and a season 2 isn’t happening, so my fanedit won’t happen.

 

[The Scribbling Man]

^^ it's actually quite amazing how the live action tries to give more and is technically more story orientated, and yet it fails to develop the characters in a way that is even close to being as meaningful. By showing so much of the julia spike thing, they rob all of Spike's backstory of its mystery and make it come across really shallow.

 

[Darth Kermit]

I felt the exact same. It’s so elongated per episode and tries to add so much more story, and ultimately makes it feel so empty and hollow. If I had attempted a by episode fanedit of the series, they probably would have ended up the same length as the anime’s episodes, which is funny.

 

[Gaith]

As someone who's never seen the original show, that preview gives me absolutely no reason to try this new one. Why should I care what name some guy you just showed me goes by now? Why is the charismatic John Cho looking and talking like a robot? Am I supposed to be charmed by his whining about wanting to kill a woman, when he's the one with a ridiculous haircut? Is this just a Firefly knockoff, but with a jazz score instead of jangly Western banjos for some reason? Is there any actual story? And what's with that absurd and off-putting title?! If the first few episodes are anything like the preview, it's no wonder this adaptation flopped.

 

[The Scribbling Man]

Don't bash that title, man. And for the record, if anything, Firefly knocks off the original Cowboy Bebop. (I love both btw)

 

[Darth Kermit]

And what's with that absurd and off-putting title?!

It's a pretty good title. Short, sweet, meaningful. It is a Western (among other things) that has a lot of Bebop (among other things) in it's soundtrack.