She just had a bunch of Red Eye tucked into the front of her dress.

Also, Ed's father rocks.

It's a very tough question! I enjoyed pretty much every episode of Cowboy Bebop! At a push, though, I'd have to say either the Pierrot Le Fou episode or the episode with Spike's rival (who was a cowboy). The movie was absolutely awesome, too!

The movie rocked. My only complaint was that I didn't really care for Vincent's English-VA. Crispin Freeman would have worked perfectly in that role instead of the nasally guy they got.

BrikHaus wrote:

Sachiel_13 wrote:the last 2 episodes were good, but they were like totally different from any other episode.

They were similar in tone to any other episode that dealt with the characters' pasts.

whatever

"Bang..." Falls down dead

This is widely considered to be the greatest anime, and one of the best TV shows, of all time. It's certainly my favorite (yes, over Eva, marginally). I like everything about this show, and I made this thread as an official place to discuss everything from its rocking/smooth/upbeat/blues music to its glorious ending. Discuss the characters and their psychology and everything else about this damn near perfect show.

Idk if its because I've seen it so damn much but now that I watch it, some episodes just fizzle to me. I'm currently trying to watch it with my g/f (who prefers eva, and she's not an anime fan, n00b at best) and when I pop open my collection and see "Heavy Metal Queen", "Gateway Shuffle" or "Bohemian Rhapsody" or something like that, I kinda sigh and look forward to the next one already. Rewatch value after about the 3rd run through kinda dwindles.

(This was the anime that got me into anime, btw. Its always been my top, only stopped being #1 when I saw Eva.)

This is a must see anime.
Everything is well done and it doesn't ever feel like it's up it's own ass in 'deepness'.

Although I watched it like almost half a year ago I'll contribute just to get it out...

Obviously I'm in the minority here, but I think CB is quite overrated.

I kept hearing this is the best animu ever, a must watch, makes all other anime look bad etc.

For me some episodes were pretty entertaining. Too many were boring and didn't have anything to do with the plot. Not that I couldn't enjoy episodes like the one with the rotten sandwich (toys in the attic, or something?). But some others just didn't do it for me and I had no motivation to watch the following episode.

I'd say episodes 1-23 were like, 8/10 for me.
24-26 being 9/10 and the second half (or last 2/3) of episode 26 were incredible and DID live up to the hype, at least. i.e 10/10.
I loved the exchange between Spike and Faye just before "See you space cowboy" starts. And of course it just keeps getting better and better from then on out.

So yeah, I don't see why anyone that watched CB wouldn't think last 2 episodes were by far the best. They put the ones that preceed them to shame, imo.

I wish all the other episodes were like the last 2.
Music was great, at least.

don't kill me

Sachi wrote:whatever

"Bang..." Falls down dead

Lol I sometimes picture as he falls down and the camera zooms out, it zooms back in and Spike flips up and kills all the guys waiting down at the foot of the stairs.

and then the whole cast breaks out in song.

Bebop was great. Very powerful.

toe mash wrote:For me some episodes were pretty entertaining. Too many were boring and didn't have anything to do with the plot. Not that I couldn't enjoy episodes like the one with the rotten sandwich (toys in the attic, or something?). But some others just didn't do it for me and I had no motivation to watch the following episode.

I'd say episodes 1-23 were like, 8/10 for me.
24-26 being 9/10 and the second half (or last 2/3) of episode 26 were incredible and DID live up to the hype, at least. i.e 10/10.
I loved the exchange between Spike and Faye just before "See you space cowboy" starts. And of course it just keeps getting better and better from then on out.

No, no, I'll agree here. Ballad of Fallen Angels, Jupiter Jazz 1&2, Pierre LeFou, Real Folk Blues are some of the greatest episodes of anything ever. A mark of Wantanabe's genius. But some of the other ones.... Jeeze. I mean I couldn't get enough the first couple of runs though the series but watching it now I would remove it from my 10/10 list. Some of it is slow and if you already know what happens you just have no motivation to watch. But Spike and Jet are the coolest team of all time, they have internal conflicts and lash out at each other and can be the coolest friends at the same time. If feels so real sometimes! I would exception it to a 9.5 instead of 10, cuz it was my first [true] anime, and is the reason I'm in to anime and even the reason I found Evangelion. Cowboy Bebop will always have a place in my heart.

But my g/f would agree that its overrated [by me] and insists on watching Evangelion even though she's seen every episode at least twice. She was one of those "Anime is for geeks, grossssss" kinda girls, but she likes Eva over Bebop. Weird ain't it, I'd expect Bebop to triumph as its the perfect introduction to anime?

Eva 02 wrote:No, no, I'll agree here. Ballad of Fallen Angels, Jupiter Jazz 1&2, Pierre LeFou, Real Folk Blues are some of the greatest episodes of anything ever. A mark of Wantanabe's genius. But some of the other ones.... Jeeze. I mean I couldn't get enough the first couple of runs though the series but watching it now I would remove it from my 10/10 list. Some of it is slow and if you already know what happens you just have no motivation to watch. But Spike and Jet are the coolest team of all time, they have internal conflicts and lash out at each other and can be the coolest friends at the same time. If feels so real sometimes! I would exception it to a 9.5 instead of 10, cuz it was my first [true] anime, and is the reason I'm in to anime and even the reason I found Evangelion. Cowboy Bebop will always have a place in my heart.

But my g/f would agree that its overrated [by me] and insists on watching Evangelion even though she's seen every episode at least twice. She was one of those "Anime is for geeks, grossssss" kinda girls, but she likes Eva over Bebop. Weird ain't it, I'd expect Bebop to triumph as its the perfect introduction to anime?

Yeah some of the episodes are filler, but they're fun filler! Episodes like "Boogie Woogie Feung Schuei" are silly and don't really contribute much, but they're still Cowboy Bebop. Evangelion has some sort of meaning to all its episodes, but the meaning is kind of just tacked on there. In Bebop, if it wants to have a meaning, it has a kickass one, well done and genuine, and if it just wants to be fun and amusing (see "Mushroom Samba") then it does. I absolutely love Evangelion, but Bebop will always be one step ahead of it for me. It can be deeply profound and sad. It can make you cry and laugh and cry again. The animation is, literally, perfect, and it came from a studio that cares about production time over quality. Bebop completed what it set out to do, without the need for a new movie or remakes or whatever like Evangelion. It's style over substance (the opposite of Eva), but it's substance is still better than just about EVERYTHING else out there.

See this for a very good review for newcomers.

I can't believe I forgot to mention this!! I am, as you can readily tell by my anime discussion posts, that I'm a subbed man. I only watch subs, rarely even giving the dub a chance. To the point where I would rather spend $150 on Monster than to just watch it on syfy (excluding the unedited aspect). But Cowboy Bebop is by far the greatest accomplishment of any USA/Canadian dub team, ever. Jet and Spike's voices are done by some professional and thorough actors. The Japanese version seems low quality, and I have trouble even hearing the dialog with the volume all the way up. Ed is the exception, the American actress is good, but some of the things she says kinda kill it for me, especially when she'll be making a Japanese culture reference and it gets changed to something like "Jelly Doughnut" in "Toys in the Attic". The seiyuu for Ed is much better in original production. I also like when Jet says "Spike-u," as the american actor sometimes gives out-of-character emphasis and emotional tones.

I still enjoy it subbed because I like some of the lines as originally translated; when american dub teams re-write the script (even if only to sync up mouth flaps) and it turns out to be something the character wouldn't say, it really pisses me off. I get into the characters of my favorite animes more than I should (being an independent filmmaker) so I notice any deviations in the two language options that are in conflict with the vibes I get off the character's personality development. Anime specifically has, generally, a lot of care put in to character development. You are meant to get a feel of their personality through the interactions with other characters and especially the things they say and how they say them, and I notice any deviation of these trends.

Cowboy Bebop is one of the best examples of real character development, and it is probably the only anime I don't get angry when I have to watch the dub. Bonus points for that!!!

Eva 02 wrote:The Japanese version seems low quality

You best not be dissin' Megumi Hayashibara. (Faye is Rei, in case people didn't know)
Also Spike is Kaji.

Also, oddly enough, although I never spout that CB is a masterpiece or whatever, I can't really object when someone says its "perfect". Because it pretty much is. Unfortunately "perfect" can be boring sometimes, as they play it as safe as possible to keep the style consistent.

When it comes to anime, Cowboy Bebop definitely has one of the better English dubs. But I make a point of experiencing the Japanese voice actors, simply because they had access to the creative team. I watch all foreign film with subtitles if I can.

The episodic nature of Bebop stops it from being one of my ultimate favourites, but I really enjoy the music and the atmosphere of the show. It has a gritty feel that a lot of space age scifi doesn't. (In that sense, the feel is similar to the original Star Wars trilogy.)

toe mash wrote:You best not be dissin' Megumi Hayashibara. (Faye is Rei, in case people didn't know)
Also Spike is Kaji.

Low quality being that the recoding is shoddy. Like I said, I have to turn the volume all the way up and I dont think its just the collection I have - its the newest one. (I had to rebuy all my favourite dvds because some yahoo broke in and took every dvd I had - this includes my eva, Bebop, Outlaw star, Devil Hunter Yohko and La Blue Girl sets, those alone being close to $400) IIRC, the movie was much better quality. Definitely the best anime music, even though Kanno didn't have problems with stealing from Pink Floyd (Eyeball in Pierre LeFou) and Beatles.

Eva 02 wrote:Low quality being that the recoding is shoddy. Like I said, I have to turn the volume all the way up and I dont think its just the collection I have - its the newest one. (I had to rebuy all my favourite dvds because some yahoo broke in and took every dvd I had - this includes my eva, Bebop, Outlaw star, Devil Hunter Yohko and La Blue Girl sets, those alone being close to $400) IIRC, the movie was much better quality. Definitely the best anime music, even though Kanno didn't have problems with stealing from Pink Floyd (Eyeball in Pierre LeFou) and Beatles.

Oh come on, Kanno's music is incredible. Everyone borrows from other musicians. For god's sake, the episodes were named after famous music pieces.

Now, what about the movie? Who's seen it, Knockin' On Heaven's Door (damn what is it about that title that anime makers like to use?)

BeoX2 wrote:Now, what about the movie? Who's seen it, Knockin' On Heaven's Door (damn what is it about that title that anime makers like to use?)

I, uh, need to watch that some day. Have it on my computer but haven't gotten around to viewing it. I don't really feel that motivated to, which is the issue

bebop's english dub is awesome. once i get DVDs i try as much as possible to stay away from english dubs (eh, if i'm gonna watch something in a language outside my own, i'd rather go for the language it was originally in), but i find myself rewatching bebop's english dub once in a while.

bebop is firmly established as #2 on my top anime list. i think there's something about the randomness of some of the episodes that i really find appealing. even if they don't really contribute to the main plot arc, we learn so many things about the characters' personalities in those random episodes, that i really don't mind the randomness. in fact, the randomness makes it hilarious. (same with champloo, which would, of course, be #3 on my top anime list).

i've seen the movie! i liked it. the art was beautiful, IMO. very much a standalone and i'm not sure i cared about vincent or elektra at all, but i was in it for the bebop crew, so whatev.

BeoX2 wrote:Now, what about the movie? Who's seen it

Me, at the local art-house cinema, when it was shown as part of a Japanese season (along with Laputa), about 8-10 years ago. I judged it to be "mostly harmless".

BeoX2 wrote:Oh come on, Kanno's music is incredible. Everyone borrows from other musicians. For god's sake, the episodes were named after famous music pieces.

Now, what about the movie? Who's seen it, Knockin' On Heaven's Door (damn what is it about that title that anime makers like to use?)

I done said already, Bebop has the greatest music of any anime!

KOHD was great, well animated and the butterfly scene at the final confrontation is supernice. One of the greatest OTO revivals yet.