Netflix Cowboy Bebop - Live Action Netflix Series (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Flugel]

Yep, too bad about the cancellation news. I've not watched the anime, so I've been able to take the live-action version on its own terms. Not perfect, but I've been enjoying it.

 

[Jason Goodmanson]

I've known of the anime for years (even owned the Perfect DVD collection - I think that's what it was called - but sold it for a mint years ago.) CB was one of those animes I kept hearing about and tried watching to get myself into the medium, but never finished the series, so I'm not one to have too many nostalgic feelings about the show.

I did finish the Netflix series, and it honestly felt like a fan-film more than anything to me. Some part seemed to have worked (I loved the cast,) but it had trouble finding it's voice.

Trying to think of what web series I was watching on Nebula, but it was a video essay about the first episode of Community and the author made a good point about the problems with these streaming shows - there's no time to fix stuff on the fly. The first episode of Community is not like the rest of the series - the characters aren't the same, the voice is different - BUT the creators had time to fix things because they were making new episodes as episodes were airing. But streaming makes everything at once, drops them at once. Bebop probably could have been better, but we'll never get the chance now.

I really need to finish/re-watch the original anime. I have the blurays over on the shelf that haven't been opened yet.

 

[Chris Will]

This is why I don’t bother with new Netflix shows until they have a few seasons under their belt. It’s a waste of time getting invested with their quick cancel trigger fingers. I had only watched 1 episode, doubt I’ll ever finish watching the rest now.

 

[Francois Caron]

I had only watched 1 episode, doubt I’ll ever finish watching the rest now.

Don't bother unless you've finished watching everything else on Netflix. Even for those who've seen the original anime, not seeing this live-action version isn't a loss at all. It's best left aside unless you REALLY want to see this train wreck of a production.

 

[DaveF]

I finished watching the original Cowboy Bebop (animated) today. I’ve been watching it the past month or so. I really liked it.

I started watching the new Bebop just to see how they did the translation to modern live action. The intro scene in the casino did not feel right at all. It had a weird, low-budget, emptiness to it. The dialog was terrible. And John Cho is great, but Bebop was this really lanky guy and John Cho didn’t really embody him to me, at first look.

The redone intro sequence was cool. And all the callouts to episodes in the original series was of course tantalizing.

The intro scene post credits of Jet navigating the transit rings felt a lot better to me.

And that’s where I quit watching. Given the comments here and the season 1 cancellation, I’m not going to watch it. Overall, I think translating from animated to live action is every bit as hard as going from book to screen. And maybe harder? There was something missing, from my ten minutes of watching.

 

[DaveF]

Also curious which version of the original anime people here prefer to watch -- subtitled or dubbed? I decide to see some of the original on Hulu this morning and it defaulted to dubbed, but quickly I restarted it as subtitled. That's one advantage of the new Netflix version -- the English language version is the right one...

I watched dubbed. This was airplane and hotel and lazy weekend viewing and I needed something that didn’t demand my absolute attention.

And I did a couple of comparison between dubbed and subbed and the subtitles didn’t seem especially strong, and the dubbed performances seemed equal to the original performances

 

[DaveF]

What’s the Bebop movie mentioned earlier? I can’t find it on Netflix.

 

[Thomas Newton]

What’s the Bebop movie mentioned earlier? I can’t find it on Netflix.

There was an animated movie called "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie." I believe it takes place between episodes 22 and 23 – after Faye becomes a part of the team, but before

Spoiler

Faye has gone her own way, and Spike has rushed headlong into a final (and apparently fatal) confrontation with Vicious.

The Japanese title may have been "Cowboy Bebop: Tengoku no Tobira" – and some listings on Amazon have the subtitle "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (which does not appear on my DVD edition of the movie).

I don't subscribe to Netflix, so I don't know if they're currently streaming it.

 

[Edwin-S]

The movie is on Netflix Canada, so I expect.it would be on the US service. The trailer for it in Canada has Faye following a tanker truck. The truck stops and the driver gets out. Faye is confused because the driver doesn't look like the guy she expects to see. The tanker then explodes in the middle.of the freeway.

Cowboy Bebop is one.of the few animes.that I can watch either dubbed or subbed. Generally, I always watch anime subbed. CB is an exception.

The animated series still holds up for the most part; although, there is a couple if situations and characters that, in today's environment, would be considered racist stereotypes.

 

[DaveF]

I found it on over-priced BD on Amazon. But it’s not streaming anywhere in the US.

 

[Ted Todorov]

I found it on over-priced BD on Amazon. But it’s not streaming anywhere in the US.

I have the DVD: "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie" -- I apparently got it in 2009 and did watch it back then

 

[Philip Verdieck]

I watched dubbed. This was airplane and hotel and lazy weekend viewing and I needed something that didn’t demand my absolute attention.

And I did a couple of comparison between dubbed and subbed and the subtitles didn’t seem especially strong, and the dubbed performances seemed equal to the original performances

This * 100, Bepop has great dubs, so its not one of the ones I bother to watch subbed.

 

[Philip Verdieck]

I finished watching the original Cowboy Bebop (animated) today. I’ve been watching it the past month or so. I really liked it.

I started watching the new Bebop just to see how they did the translation to modern live action. The intro scene in the casino did not feel right at all. It had a weird, low-budget, emptiness to it. The dialog was terrible. And John Cho is great, but Bebop was this really lanky guy and John Cho didn’t really embody him to me, at first look.

The redone intro sequence was cool. And all the callouts to episodes in the original series was of course tantalizing.

The intro scene post credits of Jet navigating the transit rings felt a lot better to me.

And that’s where I quit watching. Given the comments here and the season 1 cancellation, I’m not going to watch it. Overall, I think translating from animated to live action is every bit as hard as going from book to screen. And maybe harder? There was something missing, from my ten minutes of watching.

That is a shame.

Way too many people went in wanting it to be a clone, instead of a reinterpretation of the Anime. As a result, their feelings got hurt.

It was an interesting adaption, with some great moments. But if you want excuses not to watch it, there are plenty.

 

[DaveF]

It was an interesting adaption, with some great moments. But if you want excuses not to watch it, there are plenty.

My key excuse is it’s cancelled and there’s a thousand other great shows vying for my time.

 

[Edwin-S]

That is a shame.

Way too many people went in wanting it to be a clone, instead of a reinterpretation of the Anime. As a result, their feelings got hurt.

It was an interesting adaption, with some great moments. But if you want excuses not to watch it, there are plenty.

It isn't a matter of hurt feelings. It is that, for some reason, the makers of the live action series spoonfed a part of the story in the most linear way possible.

The part they chose to spoon feed to the audience was the one story line in the original that the audience had to piece together for themselves because it was mostly told through short flashbacks in a less than linear way.

The original anime had a melancholy to it that the live action series failed to capture, even though they had Yoko Kanno reprising the score.
The whole look 9f the show ended up being some kind of retro 70s "Mod Squad" look.