June 11, 2004
Cowboy Bebop Episode 1
"Asteroid Blues"
Given the overwhelming, mostly unanimous popularity of Cowboy Bebop, I'm pretty sure anything short of straight A+'s will provoke some sort of outcry. But what can I say? I like a challenge.
Cowboy Bebop is probably one of the most popular anime series ever created. There's a few large factors that made it as popular as it is, and they're all evident, even in this first episode.
I think the first thing anyone ever mentions about Cowboy Bebop is Yoko Kanno's score. There's a pretty incredible diversity of musical styles evident, and Kanno shows off her amazing ability to create a soundtrack that is an integral part of the action on screen, but at the same time doesn't dominate (a common gripe with Yuki Kajiura's scores, among others).
The other great thing about Cowboy Bebop is the great production values, which leads to the shows other strong points. The music, I've already mentioned, but the visual design of the world is extremely good. Really unique spaceship designs, and the various planets and space stations traveled to really look different and alived, and you get a sense of history behind all of the locations.
Then there's the action scenes. While a great amount of attention has been paid to every bit of the show, it really shines during the fight and chase scenes. Spike is Bruce Lee with guns. The show really does a good job showing Spike's fluidity of motion when he's fighting hand to hand, and then pulls out some slick gun battles to top it off. Then you've got the fun dogfights and chases through all sorts of locales, and out in space.
Cowboy Bebop is a lean, mean show. There's not much excess. Everything that's in there has been carefully looked over and tuned. On top of that, it manages to keep a good sense of mood and feel (one of the big Achilles' heels of most anime series). Not to mention, this is a great first episode, that really pulls you in and makes you want to know more about our mysterious heroes (tedious introductions and backstory are replaced with dropping you straight into the action) and the world they live in.
I guess I can keep most people happy with this first one, at least.
Rating: A+
Posted by Kei at June 11, 2004 12:43 AMWhat makes me sad about Cowboy Bebop is the lack of plot. I know they can do it, too -- because what little plot is there, is excellent, and it actually gets heartbreaking at the very end. So... why are more than 75% of the episodes just concerned with action ? Why ? Whyyyy ? If it weren't for that, Cowboy Bebop wouldn't just be a wonderful anime -- it would be the mother of all enimes, the ur-anime, the alpha and omega, if you will. Argh !
Posted by: Bugmaster at June 11, 2004 02:51 AMI don't like Cowboy bebop.
But, to the best of my knowledge, I'm the only one in the world.
You should go back to reviewing Saikano(one of my faves) :)
Posted by: Bremen at June 11, 2004 11:13 AMHoly shit...you write an A+ review and you get two comments from haters. I guess you can never really get agreement on your reviews, ey? ;)
Posted by: Dead Guy in SD at June 12, 2004 11:07 PMThis seems to be the only thing you've given an A+, good job you jaded otaku
Posted by: at June 23, 2004 03:21 PMI personally enjoyed Cowboy Bebop a great deal. The apparent lack of plot mentioned by Bremen is a ruse; the plot is there if you look for it. The series has good animation, good voice-acting, a good story, is well-directed, has interecting characters, and an outstanding soundtrack. The only thing Cowboy Bebop didn't do is brew up coffee in the morning.
Posted by: jdf at June 27, 2004 06:08 PMNo coffee? Speak for yourself. This powerhouse of an anime does everything. They say that the Mona Lisa's eyes follow you around the room. Well, Bebop's style follows you out of the room and into the kitchen, doing some washing up on the way.
Posted by: Ernie at July 20, 2005 05:08 AM