Advanced Anime Discussion Part III (1 Viewer)

[Doug R]

The Cowboy Bebop movie finally came near me and I was able to see it. Awesome, as expected.

I have some questions about the movie. Spoilers below for the movie and some spoilers for the series (though not major).


Was the entire movie a dream of Spike's? Some observations:

1) At the beginning, Spike is shown sleeping on the Bebop couch. Jet yells for him to get up, yet Spike just rolls over and doesn't get up. The next shot is not of him getting up but of the convenience store sequence.

2) At the very end of the credits, bookending the scene of Spike sleeping, is Spike...still sleeping. Same shot on the Bebop couch. He opens his eyes and sees a butterfly, which turns out isn't there. Which brings up more questions:

3) If it is Spike's dream, Vincent could represent Spike's past. At this point in the series, Spike is certainly wrestling with his past. Vincent shares a lot of similarities to Spike, and even resembles him to some extent. Could the movie be about Spike confronting his past in the form of Vincent, who Spike even says "He smells like me"

4) If #3 is true, could Vincent's story be an element of Spike's past? Is Spike the one haunted by the butterflies? Note the end credit scene as Spike wakes up and sees the fake butterfly. If you take the movie as real, then he should have been cured of the toxin by that point and wouldn't see a butterfly. Perhaps he has always seen them.

5) A lot of what Spike says about Vincent, he could easily be saying about himself. And a lot of what Vincent says could be what Spike would have said or will say (particularly the end speech).

Anyhow, could be a real stretch but the end credit scene, which most ppl may never even see made me think. I can't imagine any other reason why it would be there. Plus the phrase "Are you living in the real world?" in the usual "See you, Space Cowboy" place is another thing.

Thoughts anyone ?

 

[Rob Lutter]

Anyone care to discuss Japanese snacks?
I have recently become addicted to Roasted Wasabi peas... mmmmmm

(My addiction should be controlled by the 50LB bag I plan to split w/ Jeff at Otakon ) Pocky (chocolate and strawberry) is also my defacto anime/movie watching snack.
Can anyone give me some more food recommendations? for instant ramen and beverages? (anything but Calpis... ewwwww) There are tons of brands and I don't know what to try I have a few very nice import stores that carry food... so locating it isn't a problem.

 

[Tony-B]

Chocolate Pocky is really good. It is basically required eating for any anime fan.

 

[JohnAD]

Rob:
Calpis is great! 'Course a bubble tea is better, but I have to go out to get one. Pocky, and Pocky-like snacks are good, too. Mochi ice cream is another fave. Most of the salty stuff my wife likes I can't have, though :frowning:.
John.

 

[ChrisV]

Um... do I have to go post in the Novice Anime thread if I don't want to eat Japanese snacks while I'm watching?

 

[Brendan Brown]

Doug:
That's a really interesting interpretation of Cowboy Bebop I saw it in the theatre, but they shut it down before the credits finished rolling. I'll keep an eye out for it when I get it on DVD.

 

[Ted Lee]

for instant ramen, i really like the "sapporo ichiban" brand - most grocery stores seem to carry it now. it *blows away* that god-awful top ramen brand.

mochi ice cream is totally yummy - the green tea flavor is my fave. if you look really hard, you should also be able to find green tea ice cream - very yummy.

pocky never does it for me...just can't get into it.

oh yeah, edamame (sp?) (basically soy beans you just boil and salt) is also really good..besides being pretty healty.

if they have trader joes stores in fl, you'll be all set.

 

[Woo Jae]

Being Korean, I like Korean Ramen better. Korean cup noodles are fun to have. They are in general more spicy rather than salty, and are good to have if you "dress it up" with meat or vegetables.
If you want it spicy, add some jalepenos to the pot with a bit of oil, onion, some sort of meat, then add water. Once the water boils, add the ramen, soup base, and other flavoring packets. Boil for about 2.5 to 4.5 minutes (you want less if you want firm (al dente) rather than mushy noodles. Makes for a high salt high cholestrol (but oh so good) meal.

Most asian grocers would probably have some Korean ramen around. Some good ones include:
Shin Ramen, Jin Ramen, Soy Bean Ramen, AnSungTang Myun among others.
Snacks?
I like Korean Shrimp crackers, but I also enjoy Japanese HARD SOUR candy - like superlemon. That stuff just rocks....

 

[JohnAD]

Woo, Ted:
I definitely agree that Sapporo Ichiban and Shin Ramen are far superior to Top Ramen. Luckily I can get them here pretty inexpensively (~60-75 cents/each) at the local Uwajimaya stores. I haven't had green tea mochi ice cream yet, but I've had the strawberry and red bean flavors, which were quite tasty.
John.

 

[Matt<>Broon]

Oh yeah, lets hear it for the super lemon candy.

 

[Mike Franklin]

Woo I must concure that Korean Shrimp Crackers are extremely tasty. My best friend is Korean and she got me hooked on them. Luckly, no esle and stand the smell, so I get to have them all to myself.

 

[Kong Chang]

Woo:
Ack, sux0r! ;P ;P ;P You like the TV series version of Vampire Princess Miyu...ack, barf, gag...
Definitely not a great tv series. The OVA was so much better because it was darker and more gothic. The TV series was too angsty and not dark enough to be enjoyable. I know VPM is based on a shoujo manga, and I have read it, but the TV series, although the creator preferred it, just doesn't sit well with a lot of us who like the darker edge of VPM OVAs.
Rob:
Drink ramune!!! Ramune is good!
Doug:
You're misinterpretating the movie.

 

[Doug R]

What's your interpretation, Kong? I'm definitely interested in your view. Cause you're usually right. And I'm not being sarcastic

 

[Brendan Brown]

Oooh! I've always wanted to try that after watching Abenobashi Mahou Shotengai

 

[Rob Lutter]

Ramune is the shit.... it is my official con drink

 

[Woo Jae]

Kong (and others who dislike Miyu TV):

The thing that is the MOST jarring between the two series AT FIRST GLANCE is that the TV series seems to lack depth of characterization when you first view it. And it stays like that throughout most of the series.

Also there are particularly annoying aspects such as the way they introduce the "new" monster/beast of the week, the way Miyu's powers are basically the same from the beginning of the show.

But regardless of these flaws, the show manages to remain interesting in its "take" (or view) of how a Guardian relates to the humans around her and how she acts. She is not particularly heroic (at least in helping humans who are affected by Shinma's predations) but remains strangely otherworldly enough. It is how she deals with the human world and her surroundings that make Miyu interesting.

The part that reveals the above is the last disc, which shows off Miyu's origins as well as Reiha's and shows her human heritage of sorts. And the last plot twist surprised me (as I didn't see it coming).

Anyhow, I DO think that the OAVs scripts are much better written and are probably one of the best around that have - well - stood the test of time since its release. That said, the TV series (though not as brief or as stellar) is still interesting and entertaining enough (IMHO) to be at least worth a rental for its ENTIRETY.

 

[Kong Chang]

I think Miyu TV can be condensed into 13 episodes. There's just too much fluff for a 26 episodes TV series.

The only good episodes was when Larva's "friends" came to Japan. Those 2 episodes were, by far, what we wanted from Miyu TV series, and only 2 episodes is all we got from it. A lot of us love the darker, gothic tone of Miyu than the light fluffy, "hey, I wanna be your friend because I want to suck your blood at the end of this series" theme running throughout Miyu.

 

[Mike Franklin]

I'm with you Woo I prefered the Miyu Tv series much better and the OVA's. The TV series seemed to be going some where and had a lot more character development, unlike the OVA.

 

[Woo Jae]

Mike:
Thanks for the support. Actually I enjoyed the OAVs more, but I wanted to stick up for the TV series since I honestly believe it is quite good. People shouldn't miss out on it just because of a few negative impressions. Fluff is there, but it helps to build up to the end pretty well IMHO.
By the way Mike, I hope you are recording Kenshin diligently. New Kyoto episodes start on 6/7 or so....
Chris Beveridge has reviewed Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal Director's Cut on his website, and points out (sadly) that framing issues have sort of "marred" this release. Sad to hear it...

 

[Rob Lutter]

Nice little deal on FYE.COM...
You get 10% off on their front page if you registering on their site...
*Immediately put the items in your shopping cart and make your order!*
I got the Samurai Deeper Kyo vol 1 + box for ~$20 + tax ($44.95 MSRP). I also put in KareKano4 and GTO9 to get free shipping (they have NICE free shipping via FedEx or USPS Priority Mail).
Cmon, who can resist this sweetass box?

As a box whore, I surely can't! I also expect it to be REALLY limited because it looks expensive to reproduce.