Cowboy Bebop
I've really wanted to incorporate anime into my blog and I figured why not bring in one of my all-time favorite anime and one of the best animated series of the past 25 years. I remember watching "Cowboy Bebop" for the first time on Toonami in late 2001. It was shortly after the September 11 attacks and it comforted me in a weird way for someone who wasn't into anime really at the time. It was cool to immerse myself in the future world of these misfits that was different but very familiar at the same time.
"Cowboy Bebop" was created by the production team of director Shinichiro Watanabe, screenwriter Keiko Nobumoto, character designer Toshihiro Kawamoto, mechanical designer Kimitoshi Yamane and composer Yoko Kanno, collectively known as Hajime Yatate. The series pulls heavily from noir, futurism and jazz. Each episode is referred to as a session and it maybe has the best theme song of all time. In the next few months, we'll check out each session, the movie and cap it off with the Netflix's live-action, one season adaptation. Give Tank's impeccable them a listen to get yourself pumped and then dive in to the first three sessions.
[Spike is eating a plate of stir-fried bell peppers that Jet made.]
Spike: "Uh, listen Jet. You said "bell peppers and beef." There's no beef in here. So, you wouldn't really call it "bell peppers and beef," now would you?"
Jet: "yes, I would."
Spike: "Well, it's not!"
Jet: "It is when you're broke!"
Spike Spiegel and Jet Black are bounty hunters that travel space in the Bebop bringing wayward criminals to justice. Or at least that's the idea. It doesn't seem to work out that way though. Almost broke, they go after Asimov Solensan who is on the Tijuana asteroid trying to sell vials of a drug called Bloody Eye that he stole from the syndicate so he and his girlfriend, Katerina can start a new life on Mars.
 |
| Tragedy. |
"Asteroid Blues" is basically a perfect first episode. It does everything that a good pilot should do and it does it with style. It introduces viewers to the main characters (well, half of them), gives them an idea of what is going to happen on an average episode, a little bit of backstory to whet your appetite. It's all so, so good.
Spike Spiegel is one of my favorite main characters in any show, animated or live action. There's just something about Spike. He's cool. He's tragic. You're never sure if the face that Spike is showing you at any given moment is the real one. For me, the main characters in anime are some of the weakest. I don't watch because I'm super hooked by what the main character is doing. I'm hooked because of the journeys the side or secondary characters are going on, but its not like that with Spike and "Cowboy Bebop." Take the scene in the bathroom with Asimov that transitions to his conversation with Spike. In a matter of a few minutes, Spike goes from dopey to charming to menacing and each time it's easy to believe that you're dealing with the "real" Spike Spiegel.
Jet is the perfect foil for Spike. He tries to be the voice of reason but Spike refuses to listen. Who knows where Spike would be if it wasn't for Jet actually finding bounties so they keep the Bebop in the sky and some food in the refrigerator even if there isn't enough meat for Spike's liking. You just know that there is some stuff in Jet's past that we will be finding out as the series progresses.
The animation in "Cowboy Bebop" is breathtaking and it still looks amazing over 20 years later. I love the juxtaposition of space and these locales that are very familiar to us, which I love. Tijuana may be an asteroid floating in space, but it is very familiar because it feels like the modern Tijuana. Then, there's the music. The music is one of the most distinctive, beautiful parts of "Cowboy Bebop." It is full of modern jazz which is not something you hear a lot of in anime. The action in "Cowboy Bebop" is phenomenal. The fight choreography is stunning. It's again something that I hadn't seen in anime up to that point. The way that Spike uses his lanky body and long limbs is really great and smart.
This episode is great from the very beginning. The black and white opening that gives us glimpses to Spike's maudlin and violent past. The red of the rose as it hits the rainy pavement or the blood from Spike's wounds during the shoot out. Gorgeous. "Cowboy Bebop" is full of tragic characters and we get our first one here, Katerina Solensan. From the moment Katerina talks about wanting to live a life on Mars, you know there's no way this will end well. And it doesn't. That haunting image of Katerina's lifeless body floating through space with vials of Bloody Eye around her is one of the most iconic images of the series.
See you, Space Cowboy...
Grade: A+
Spike: "Well here's another great moment in the legend of Spike, famous bounty hunter and dog walker."
Spike and Jet are on the hunt for bounties and find one with the face changing Abdul Hakim. A doctor friend of Spike's gives the duo some information including a picture of Hakim's current face. Hakim has stolen an experimental Welsh Corgi called a data dog. It's up to Spike, not an animal lover, to get the dog and outwit Hakim and the researchers from the illegal lab that the dog was stolen from.
 |
| How does Ein fit in that briefcase. |
Ein, the data dog, makes his "Cowboy Bebop" debut in this episode. I'm convinced that a generation of people own Welsh Corgis because of Ein from "Cowboy Bebop." And look at that guy. I'm about the farthest from a dog person as you can get but even I think Ein is super adorable.
This episode also introduces us to the BigShot Bounty Hunter Show. Hosts, Alfredo and Judy, were informing the some 300,000 bounty hunters in the galaxy of the various criminals out there. Alfredo and Judy are exaggerated versions of cowboys and their ridiculousness is a highlight of each episode they appear in.
There are a lot of fun little Easter eggs in this episode. The show likes to sneak its inspirations in here and there and its fun to try and spot them. Abdul Hakim was modeled after basketball superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Abdul-Jabbar was in the Bruce Lee movie "Game of Death." When Spike is trying to impress the weapons dealer he does some fancy work with a pair of nunchucks, a famous weapon of choice of Bruce Lee's. Love it.
The episodic nature of "Cowboy Bebop" allows it to try on different genres that it thinks fits the story it wants to tell. "Stray Dog Strut" is a farcical episode with lots of mistaken identity due to Hakim changing his appearance. It takes a number of disparate characters from the petty thief who steals Ein from Hakim to the illegal exotic pet shop owner and weaves them in seamlessly and checks in on them as the episode progresses. There's a great sequence where Hakim is chasing after Ein, while the inept lab techs are chasing them and Spike is bringing up the rear chasing everyone. The show is able to weave in really smart comedy which I love. The techs at one point decide to use a dog whistle to call all the dogs to them and one of the techs asks what that is. Of course, he should know but the show wants to explain to the audience and they make a joke out of it. It's perfect.
The episode ends with a high octane chase with Spike in Swordfish and Ein proving how smart he is messing with the controls and jumping at the window. Spike gives up the bounty in order to save Ein, even though he spent the whole episode going on and on about how he doesn't like dogs. Hakim and the lab techs end up crashing into the parking lot of the local police station and Ein becomes the Bebop's newest crew member, much to Spike's chagrin.
See you, Space Cowboy...
Grade: A
Faye: "You don't know anything, do you? Romani are Gypsies. And you know what we call someone like you? A gadjo, that means a bumpkin that doesn't know which way is up."
Spike: Gadjo. I like that."
Faye Valentine is in a bad spot. She's racked up some gambling debt and a shady casino owner named Gordon wants to use her to help him and maybe erase some of that. Faye poses as a blackjack dealer in his casino to acquire a special gambling chip. Things take a turn when Faye mistakes Spike for her mark and the Bebop crew gets involved with the no longer straightforward caper.
 |
| I put my hands up, they're playing my song... |
This episode rounds out our main cast of characters (for now) introducing Faye Valentine. Faye is trouble. All caps. She has a mysterious past. She's sassy. She's saucy. She's mouthy. She's a shoot first, ask questions type of gal. In fact, that's exactly what she's doing when we first meet her. She sprays the thugs trailing her with lead from her submachine gun, caring nothing for the damage done to this poor shop on Mars. She's outgunned so she still gets picked up, but Faye is rarely a damsel in distress. Gordon, the owner of the Spiders From Mars casino, believes that she is the living reincarnation of Wild West famous gambler, Poker Alice. Faye laughs this off as being ridiculous but she doesn't outright deny it. While Faye is impulsive certainly, she will wait until that impulsivity best suits her means and it doesn't quite yet. She agrees to pose as a black jack dealer on the casino floor to make the gambling chip exchange.
I love Faye. She's one of my favorite female anime characters. Anime can struggle with portraying women in a great light, but Faye is not incompetent. She's not a ditz. She's always thinking. And she's flawed. I think sometimes there is this idea that if a female character isn't likable then she's not a great character. I completely disagree. One of my favorite things about Faye is that she isn't likable. She is selfish. She looks out for number one. But the series does still have you root for her. It's a fine line that isn't always walked when it comes to female characters and I really enjoy it in "Cowboy Bebop."
She's a great foil for Spike and Jet. She is constantly trying to play them. Take the scene where they have her handcuffed in the Bebop's bathroom. She is constantly trying to find an angle to work them and it is very enjoyable to watch. One of the things that I like about "Cowboy Bebop" is that there is never this "will they/won't they" energy between Faye and Spike. I never once shipped them or thought that they were going to get together and that is refreshing. They are very much sort of colleagues that barely tolerate each other and come to have a very begrudging respect for one another.
The Spiders From Mars casino is one of my favorite visuals in the entire series. First off, naming it after David Bowie's fictional alter ego, Ziggy Stardust's, back up band? Brilliant. The design is awesome. A giant floating roulette wheel in deep space? Come on. I never get tired of looking at it.
It turns out the gambling chip contains a key that will give Gordon access to a decrypting program called "Crypt Breaker" that can break virtually any security system. Spike and Jet agree to a trade. The chip for the large bounty on Faye. The exchange happens on the hull of the ship and of course there is a double cross. This leads to another great action scene this one in deep space that culminates with the flight deck of the ship Gordon's on being destroyed by Faye and Faye taking off with the briefcase, leaving Spike and Jet back in the casino with only the one actual gambling chip.
We also get another appearance from the Three Old Men from the pilot, Spike swallowing things like his cigarette (gross) and the chip. Another phenomenal episode.
Easy come, easy go...
Grade: A-
Next up, Faye is back and in trouble and we learn a bit more about Spike's past.
I love "Cowboy Bebop" and re-watching it is always a joy. I know there are ton of fans out there, so I'd love to hear what you think. What are your favorite moments from these first three episodes. Let me know in the comments. And I have to leave you with "The Real Folk Blues," the show's iconic ending theme.
No comments:
Post a Comment