Ah thanks man. It's one of those tricky ones where some people are always gonna be like, "The arm looks different! You suck!" But I didn't design the thing, haha, I was simply hired to execute the design, and that I did. Working a tricky balance of turning an animated arm into something an actor can wear without looking ridiculous and while still being functional. Watched a few eps, I'm pleased enough. Yeah it has a genre movie feel, and I'm not sure where I sit with that just yet, but I'm also not sure how they could have avoided it. Parts feel quite "staged" and I assume that's a choice, for better or worse? I don't know, but for example when they're in a storage yard or whatever, all the ships and containers feel very strategic and "directed." I think it's a bit of a fence walk on going fully-stylized vs fully-realistic and they're trying to find a middle ground...but I also don't want to see a straight up remake attempt. I found that, getting a few episodes deep, the style was growing on me and wasn't so distracting and the comedy/acting is a choice, but if you just let it be without over-analyzing, it works out alright.
I like it. But I think the original source is best played in memory. I restarted the original and stopped before episode 1 was over. Watching it now as an adult, is going to kill the imprint it left watching it in high school on Adult Swim.
I liked the anime back in the day, but I wasn't a rabid fan and I haven't watched it in a long time. I watched the first episode of this new live action adaptation last night and had a blast. Viewing it on its own merits, I thought it was fun and not taking itself too seriously in a good way. The casting overall I liked, and I didn't think it looked cheap at all, like some people are saying. All the stylistic choices seemed intentional to me, I suppose if you go into it with a lot of preconceived ideas it might disappoint, but you can say that about a lot of adaps ...
Please watch episode 20 of the original series again. That episode alone is utterly amazing. Not only does it hold up today but it surpasses most full anime movies made these days. Cowboy Bebop had some good episodes and some bad episodes but that one is pure gold and I think always will be. I started the live action version and a couple episodes in I think I will keep watching but my only huge complaint is how shitty the fight scenes are. Garbage martial arts, like really bad. Other than that it's cool. Neat locations and effects.
Having been an avid MMA watcher for over 20 years now, all martial arts in movies are pretty much garbage, even if the choreography is good, just the unlikeliness of the flashy techniques being effective and every single front kick to the chest being a knock out blow. The only thing I’ve ever stopped just because it was so bad, was the Karate Kid series. The fight scenes in that are absolute garbage.
never saw the anime and accepted there was going to be a "hollywood wash" over this before viewing. that said i like it. i feel like they tried to really lean into the heritage of the original and treat each episode/adventure with a very tongue in cheek flair. there are a few things that are a bit "uuummmmm" but in this day and age of entertainment i'll take it. i honestly can't remember the last series i watched that didn't go south at some point. the closest i have come is with hannibal but i missed finishing it when it was on netflix and i'm not starting a new subscription. only made it through 2 seasons and it was fantastic especially being a network series.
I started watching the original anime Bebop alongside the live action version, and i also dug out the OST albums i have. I forgot how amazing the score is by Yoko Kanno (and Seatbelts). I'm not usually a fan of original scores but its amazing. 'Tank' has got to be one of the best opening theme tunes for any show ever. Cool to see they got her back to do the music for this new live action version. I also love her soundtrack to the first Ghost in the Shell TV series too! So talented, its seems there is no style of music she cant turn her hand to.
Well, Bebop got cancelled. With all the online nitpicking and whining about it, I'm not surprised. https://tvline.com/2021/12/09/cowbo...6KVmbT0RKwRy-M2j8l3QqXqAcC-Mvl7aOPP8i6MseFLPc
Netflix collects detailed data from subscribers. If users were engaged with the content to a degree that satisfied them, they would have ordered a second season.
Sure, but all the bad press about it put people off watching it. Which is my point. I mean, since when did high viewer numbers automatically mean a TV show is good?!
"Bad Press" may have had something to do with it but I think you might be giving it too much credit for the show's demise. There's a very low bar to entry for trying out a Netflix show or movie. You just run the app and click. No need to wait for an airtime or set a DVR, or buy a ticket and drive to a theater. Even if people saw negative articles about the show, I think they were still likely to try it anyway and see for themselves simply because it's so easy to do. On the Netflix side, in addition to feedback from the thumbs up/thumbs down buttons, they have data about exactly when people watched, if they completed an episode or paused and came back to it later, or never came back, etc. They have much more information at their disposal compared to any broadcast network and they've been using this data to guide production decisions. When they created their House of Cards remake, they even used this data to guide decisions about casting and the storyline. In addition to that internal data, there's a whole contingent of viewers who did expend extra effort to express their disapproval: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/cowboy_bebop_2021 Also, I never said that high viewership means that a show is good. That's not the way the universe works.
Damn. It was very last minute and a bummer. Season 2 was already ordered and crew already had contracts and giant lumber orders for new set builds were already placed...this unfortunately fucked a lot of people out of a job. I do think so much nitpicking leading to bad press had a lot to do with it--surely lowering viewership at the same time. Netflix doesn't make its decisions based solely on viewership in the traditional network model, they will sometimes shoot multiple seasons and plan ahead just because they can and are not beholden to ratings. And they're also notorious for keeping their decision making strategies and viewership numbers in a bit of a black box, but at the end of the day it's always a financial call, and art is a means to that end. Season 2 was actually supposed to be well into production at this point, I think originally planned to start around August 2020 before season 1 even aired, but was delayed for various reasons, one of them being Cho's availability because he was filming another movie. Too bad the timing worked out that way because we'd have at least gotten a second season. Not a perfect show, but I did enjoy the feeling of getting to spend time with these characters I love in familiar, but new ways.
That's what the fuck they get for abandoning Ein on some random planet for no reason. You deserved better my furry little friend.
What episode is Ed in? My attention drifted away by episode 3 or 4 but I would like to check that 1 out.
I either didn’t get as far as I thought or it held my interest that poorly. Thanks @Waterbear , I appreciate it, going to check those out now
@Waterbear, you're thinking of Ein. Ed is Spoiler the very last thing in the series. After the fade out, but pre-credit roll