Cowboy Bebop: The Tv Series

[Ashley]

Finally finished the perfect sessions box set. So review time folks!

Violence Definately not for younger viewers. It was not the all out gore fest I'm told Akira is, but there is blood. People get shot or knifed. But it's usually well, as ironic as this sounds, "clean". Meaning there is some blood on the floor or their shirts. The most violent case I can remember is a man getting his jugular vein sliced in zero g. Nothing unrealistic, but it was still there. Probably a 16+ rating here...although if you can handle gundam wing uneditied, this shouldn't phase you.
As for the overall violence itself, virtually every episode had some kind of fight in it. Mafia style shoot outs, martial arts-esque duels, something like that. Given the genre/focus (a bounty hunter), it's not suprising.
Oh, and the violence was never gratuitious, IMO. It always seems to fit well with the story, and after all, the guys the heroes are chasing down are notorious villians. I'd be a bit miffed if they didn't have something to make them so villanious.

Language Ok, there was a lot of this. Spike isn't not of the clean mouthed persuasion, nor is Jet or Faye, but our green haired hero takes the cake on most of it. Again, it's a little irksome, but it was never out of place or over done. Always out of anger, frustration, etc, not just for the sake of saying it, which to me says a lot. Never beyond hell, d, or s.

Nudity There is a full frontal nude shot that lasted all of about .5 seconds. It was explained, however, and not for no good reason [spoiler="explanation: slight spoilage"] a character is induced with too many female hormones, making him grow breasts. Another character discovers this when she opens the shower[/spoiler]. There is a few shower shots, but nothing scene except the aforementioned. No worse than soap commercials.

Sex There was a few implied scenes. No outright sex scenes, but there was a walk-in on two gay characters (all you see is them in bed, and it lasts about 3 seconds), a few gay hookers (but nothing more there), and a brief flashback implying something between the hero's main love interest and himself.

Other things
I have to mention this. In one of the end episodes, can't remember the number but the title is "Brain Scratch", there is mention of a cult. This cult's leader questions the existance of God, and spoofs out some stuff like, "humans created the idea of god because a world without one is too harsh to live in". The heroes manage to dismiss it as merely a child's dream, but it is still there. Important to note the show itself does NOT endorse this, but merely mentions it.

Score wise, this gets a 7 out of 10 from me. Yes, the violence and language make it unsuitable for younger viewers, but for those that can handle it, it's a great series. The characters are real, humorous, and relatable. Again, I stress however a 16+ rating; there ARE mature themes in here, and mature scenes. View with caution.

[Shinja]

yeah iwould say out of all 25 episodes only 3 of them have matieral that i just dont desire to watch, and even though there is language its never really bad and after being in collage for a while it will seam very tame by any standards. but that all aside the animation and stories are awsome, many of which are actulkly light hearted, with a some very dark ones thrown in the mix, but even these also end in irony. all togeather this is one of my favs.

[BrianC]

While I have only seen the series dubbed on CN, I would like to mention that the cursing in the movie is actually very mild in the subtitles (I only noticed the d word) while the dub has added s words or the d word changed to the s word (though there still is about the same amount of cursing). Does this hold true for the TV series too?

IMO, the dub is great, but added s words are not. I know objectionable content should make series harder to recommend, but does it really merit giving stuff a lower rating? Shouldn't content and quality ratings be seperate? I'm sorry, but I think 7 out of 10 is a bit low for a great and enjoyable series.

Green haired hero? I'm pretty sure Spike has black hair.

No offense, but would you mind watching the subtitles before doing a review? Sometimes they differ in content from the dub and I think it's worth mentioning the differences in content for people who want to buy the DVDs.

[Ashley]

I tell you what, I'll watch a subbed episode and a a dubbed episode sequentially and tell you for sure. I saw the dubbed version, btw, because I love the guy that does Spike's voice. Well, and Ed is funnier in English anyway.

[HeavensTek]

Cowboy Bebop was the series that pushed me from "i like anime" into "any movie not subtitled or originally written by Tolkein sucks".

a classic.

[SMoonEmpress]

Sadly, I've only ever seen the dubbed series on Cartoon Network, if I may say so myself, the dubbing is done VERY well (well, except for the additional profanity). After I got over the initial shock of Faye's VA being the same as Umi's VA (from Magic Knights Rayearth), it was really enjoyable.
I'll second that emphasis on the fact that this series does deal with mature themes. Nevertheless, it was quite fun.

Green haired hero? I'm pretty sure Spike has black hair.

Nope--it's green (^.^).

[BrianC]

I tell you what, I'll watch a subbed episode and a a dubbed episode sequentially and tell you for sure. I saw the dubbed version, btw, because I love the guy that does Spike's voice. Well, and Ed is funnier in English anyway.

Understandable, David Lucas is a great VA. Like I said, the dub is great. I have only seen the movie subbed, but I do agree about Ed being funnier from what I have seen. It's not really a gratitous amount of cursing changed or added either if the movie is any indication. It is in places where it sounds natural and not forced like in the Castle of Cagliostro dub. It's also not used every second like in the dubs for Shin Lupin III TV (just called Lupin the Third here) and the Castle of Cagliostro dubs either. While I don't like changed or added cursing, I admit that the dub scripts for Cowboy Bebop are great from what I have seen and heard.

[Quiet Hood]

:: sigh :: I am lost.

[Shao Feng-Li]

im curious what is CB actually about? waht's the story? what are the moral pionts? i dont think ive actually heard of any so far

[Ashley]

The story is pretty episodic with no real continuous plot line, just fragments of some that are pulled together in the end. This, to me, makes it very pick up and go, and not as committing as other titles. But, basically, it follows the adventures of a bounty hunter crew (originally just Spike and Jet) who pick up other members (Faye, Ed, Ein) and have various, albeit hilarious, misadventures chasing down some notorious criminals worth a lot of money. Morally...well, you could say everyone's in it for the money pretty much. Although towards the end, you see that they may not be a real family, but the characters do feel something towards one another. It's also a story of revenge, love and betrayal, with lots of mafia-like undertones. Fighting for what you believe in, for those you love, etc. Also has passing mention of feng shui and a cult, but both are either dismissed or just shrugged off for the most part. That help, Ruroken?

[Shao Feng-Li]

hmm yeah.. i kinda like the fact if you miss an episode you arn'e wondering what happened,,, unlike say DB. man that hooked me in like a soap opera

[Kokhiri Sojourn]

I did love the series, if nothing else, for entertainment quality and depth. I liked that all the different characters were well developed, and most of it was by watching them apprehend "bounty heads." I was confused about the purpose of the series.
[spoiler="Cowboy Bebop: The Tv Series"] They all had something to live for, as all people do, but it seemed that they ended up quite isolated and alone. [/spoiler] Anyone know??

[Twilly Spree]

Eh I disagree with you there Kokhiri Sojourn. I don't think they were isolated and alone at all. Hmm maybe if you could explain your point a little better I'd understand.

[Kokhiri Sojourn]

Sorry if I was unclear, Red Ninja.

[spoiler="Cowboy Bebop: The Tv Series"] At the end, as much as I remember, Ed and Faye leave the group, and Spike goes off to find Julia. We know what happens there. So I guess Jet was just left also. [\spoiler]

That's what I didn't understand, about what the poinf of the series was supposed to mean. I forgot the spoiler code! Sorry... I'm going to try and find it. But, even if you do disagree, please tell me why, as I don't have a very established stance on the series.

[Kokhiri Sojourn]

Okay, I've tried to get the spoiler tag to work two or three times, and call me dense, but I can't get it to work. Can a mod do something about that, if need may be? Sorry!!

[Fsiphskilm]

Oh *drools* I

[yog^sothoth]

I think the best way to describe cowboy bebop is a western in space. they're all cowboys in someway. they manage to find each other in the frontiers and though they wouldn't normallyget alone they manage to stand each other for the sake of surviving. This show is set up in episodes with a large arcing storyline involving spike and his lost love julia. Each character has their moment of back story but in the end this show is all about the feel and style this watanabe was going for. My friends call Cowboy Bebop the anime for people who don't like anime.

My favorite quote from all things bebop is

And this new style of art will probably be called "Cowboy Bebop"

Just my take on things.

Nick!

[Fsiphskilm]

How true... The anime for people w

[inkjet1987]

Actually, that would be pretty cool. I've already got all the Dvd's.

[Shao Feng-Li]

I managed to stay up late last night and i saw a few minutes of Cowboy Bebop. Who's the guy with the- fro? Spike, right? anyways the guy was getting attacked my some fat guy with a cane... The animation is the best I've ever seen in my life, for a tv series! But it wasn't enugh to amke me fall in love with it... especially because I know of the negative points... Of well at least Faye was kinda wareing cloths, although her suspenders (?) and the top of her were showing... (Does she dress in the dark?) J/K

[Fsiphskilm]

[quote="inkjet1987"]Actually, that would

[jon_jinn]

I'm sorry Ashley but I'm going to have to disagree with you on the full frontal nude scene that you mentioned in your review. Although it WAS full frontal, it lasted a lot longer than 0.5 seconds as you said. I'd have to say that it was at least 3 seconds long since the camera zoomed in and slowly moved up from the stomach to the face.

[Destroyer2000]

...dude, c'mon. She meant it was quick, not long and drawn out. We aren't trying to get all technical here.

[jon_jinn]

oh. sorry. i just meant that i didn't expect the scene to be as long as it was, cause i just finished watching that very episode and stuff. don't take it too seriously. sorry again.

[Sami_jane]

i really liked the series. im currently watching it now and i have to say it has held my attentino

[Gypsy]

It is fine to politely point out any discrepancies that you may find in reviews - that's the purpose of these threads. They're also here so that other opinions can be posted, since the official review only has one point of view. *flies off* AND NOW YOU KNOW!!!

[Radical Dreamer]

why isn't the frontal shower scene mentioned in the public review?

"There is a full frontal nude shot that lasted all of about .5 seconds. Seriously, if you blinked, you would have missed it. It was explained, however, and not for no good reason. There are a few shower shots, but nothing scene except the aforementioned."

Granted, the scene is a touch longer than this, but it is mentioned, and as Gypsy said, that's why we have these threads, since not everyone will have the same reaction to a given series.

[Radical Dreamer]

My point is that it's already in the review. As I mentioned earlier, you can feel free to add whatever extra information about the scene as you like in this thread, but it is indeed mentioned in the formal review, and anyone who read the review could watch (or choose not to watch) the series expecting a "full frontal nude shot."

[Maokun]

I cannot reccomend enough this series unless you have very strong objections about mild swearing and fictional violence. Otherwise is a must see. The character depth is enormous, the music and score is nothing short of a masterpiece, the animation is awesome, the different ideas each episode revolves around are really unique, the writing and direction are very intelligent. The drama is intensely dramatic, the sparse comedy is genuinously funny and very intelligent and the action scenes, the sword-gun fights, the chases in diverse vehicles and shoot-offs are superb. Also, the universe is carefully created with some of the most ingenious sci-fi I've seen in anime.

Just a few of the themes of the episodes so you can perceive the depth of imagination and uniqueness (Spoilers may apply, but since they are one-shot episodes, you are not really getting spoiled any of the main plot):

-In a long space trip with short funds, our "heroes" starve but that's the last of their worries when a no longer recognizable morsel of moldy food achieves sentience after ages of rot and attacks the crew of the Bebop.

-When creating the first hyperdimensional travel gates next to the earth centuries ago, there was some kind of horrible accident that caused, among many other disasters the moon to crash into the earth (the earth was rendered mostly unhabitable). During that accident, a kid received a blast of strange radiation that caused him to stop aging and be almost invulnerable. Now, after centuries of life he's become a cruel, sadistic person that abuses his childish looks for his purposes.

-Faye, one of the main characters was one of the first persons to be cryogenized in the late century XXI, around 500 hundred years ago, and was awaken on the present of the series. Without memories or identity she loves taking the money of other people to indulge her gambling vice. One day she is sent from an anonymous source a video-casette, which is a relic from our times that cannot be longer played by any device in that time. Our heroes quest to the ruined earth to try to find in a buried department store an ancient videoplayer. Hijinks ensue.

This last one is probably my favourite 22 minutes of animation ever (and trust me I've seen hundreds of series). The 20 first minutes are some of the wittiest comedy I've ever seen, and then, the last two minutes... bam! Among the most emotive scenes you'll ever find in an anime. By the end of the episode I was left with a gaping mouth and tears running down my cheeks. It was epic.

Please do yourself a favour and watch Cowboy Bebop.

[Reon]

Maokun, really love your addition to the review.

I just watched the Cowboy Bebop movie twice, once alone, once with a friend- it was great. No jammed packed with action, but the scenes with action were well worth it. Now we have a live action possibly coming out soon? Epic. Lets hope nothing goes wrong with that.