Ulquiorra Cifer I'm so happy for you and everyone that replied to your comment :). I first saw this great show when I was 11 years old during the first run through on adult swim back in 2001 or so. every time I watch it I like to imagine watching for the first time again, but then i think about what it has meant for me as a person and how it helped shape me into the adult I am and I realize I wouldn't trade that for the world. I really hope it brings to you everything it brought to me.
Alessia Aikley Her. Right. Typing a message right after waking up is disastrous. And no. I like HER very much. Ed is an entertaining character, provided sort of a light-hearted humor. And if you feel that way about her voice, then too bad..
it was remiss. however i always found 1 and 2 to be the same side of the coin. the mains cast names 5 spike 4 faye 3 jet 2 ed 1 ein (german for 1) the thing i always found was that ed and ein are the same person or persons. twins. you even see it when ed leaves when ein follows. both are way smarter then the rest of the crew and both are not moving from the past or twords it but outside it. they have nothing to search for as faye does and nothing to run from like jet or spike. thats the reason they can leave the show as they do. they have no "past" in terms of the show they are making a past. time being such a key of the show. they are making a past while the rest of the crew deals with the past. just my thoughts anyways.
the jp version of ein voice acting, is funny and not very dog-like :P it's a dog bark, not hard to do, apparantly dogs are not jp voice actor's strong suits :P no offense, just first thing i thought of to say about ein, reply to your comment. apart from that, i would want a dog like ein, data dog powah!
I thought Ed stuck out like a sore thumb at first but the she eases into the rhythm of the show. She seems a little second thought to me and is the only character that feels overtly ' anime' like she could belong in a different show. Saying that I do think she is one of my fave anime chakras period and is fun to watch
***** Actually, the first series followed the manga but when they came to a point where the series was ahead of the manga, they had to continue on with their own original storyline. I didn't care for it much Brotherhood follows the manga completely, how the story was originally supposed to be told through anime
Jordan Smart You could try Trigun too, it kinda reminded me Bebop (it came out at around the same time as it too) and it also is the definition of “classic” The opening also deserves to be mentioned...
A lot of people say that Cowboy Bebop is like "if Tarantino made an anime" because it has all the film references, homages, and soundtrack choices that Tarantino is known for. But Tarantino's storytelling methods and screenplays are so different than anything you'll find in an episode of Bebop. And why Guardians of the Galaxy? Because it's a group of people in space?
Cowboy Bebop, is phenomenal best of the best, a world class TV show period, not just a good Anime. It will stand the test of time, as far as quality goes, watch it 50 years after it originally aired, and it will still be great and timeless.
i think everyone that doesnt think Cowboy Bebop is great is simply because the world overhyped it. I watched this show about 14 years in my home country where there is now media storm to hype anything. If i must point out my favorite thing in Cowboy Bebop is the music.
haha the exact same with FF7, people overhype and eventually assume it undeserving of that hype, quite the opposite. it's like 90% of the world's population is easily affected by reverse psychology or something >__>
Cass Amaya You know, you're the first person to catch that! Why'd they have to take Drawn Together off the air? There's an anime chain store called Sakura Media where I live. Lotsa cool stuff there...
Oh wow really?? Idk why it was taken off the air:( My favorite characters were Ling Ling, Xandir, Toot, and that Spongebob looking dude (I always forget his name lol)
I watched a few of your videos and the only thing missing in this one, you didn't mention the ending... at all. Cowboy Bebop has one the greatest endings in anime history (For those that don't know), and it's still talked about years later to this day.
He is known to be extremely harsh when it comes to numbers. He's only ever given two shows over a nine, and the highest a show has ever received has been Clannad, which received a score of 9.44/10
+Crystalline Actually, he explains why he gave SAO that score when even HE hated it. Basically, he was using a numerical rating system at the time that he ended up ditching because it just didn't work.
Canalave Maiden Do you have an ISSUE with studio ghibli? Keep in mind you have just possibly threatened the perfection of one of the most universally loved anime studio's of all time.
Terror of Pirate's Cove, Foxy! i think it's kinda like game informer. plenty of the games they review have really high scores, but little replay value, so the numbers aren't deemed the most important aspect. this is why movie critc jeremyjahns uses phrases to rate the film, instead of numbers.
"The Star Wars of Anime" kinda' thought that fit more with Yamato, or Gundam, but even using that analogy the main thing about Bebop is that taken as a whole, all it's parts culminate into a completely satisfying and fitting ending. You get the idea that the creators knew exactly where they were taking this show, and not just making it up as they went along until they boxed themselves into a corner they couldn't logically or skillfully get out of (BSG lookin' at you). This is where many shows, and other anime fall short. Every time I watch it, it only moves higher up my list of best anime.
Cowboy Bebop was the first anime I seriously watched as an Otaku, I seen animes before but it a very drop in/drop out sort of way. Cowboy Bebop was different because it didn't go on and on like other anime at the time (*cough* Dragonball Z *cough*) and had a proper start, middle and ending. Nothing has surpassed it and I watched when it first came out in the west back in 2000 so 16 years have passed and no-one has taken it's crown yet IMHO. This and FLCL were the two animes that proved to me that Otakuism was going to be my No.1 hobby as an adult and 16 years later that's still as true as ever.
Finally got around to watching this show, it's interesting he mentioned the viewing order because the first couple episodes definitely weren't as awesome as the rest of the anime. But by the time it finished I was blown away... I can't say it's my favorite anime of all time, but could still probably say it's one of the best if not the best anime that's ever been created. Perfectly conceived and executed, from start to finish!
My thoughts exactly, its not my #1 favorite Anime (but still pretty high up there) but I still believe it earns the title of the greatest of all time and understand why, because of its sheer quality of everything it dose and I can't really find anything that makes it not so. Its good there are people like you and I who can separate what we consider the greatest and our favorites. A lot of online critics tend to review things more subjectively than they realize sounding mostly like "oh I thought it this good because this, this and that" instead of "people might enjoy this and that because this and that others might think this and that because of this, but personally I think its like this and that and that's why everyone else thinks that way" I hope you were able to understand what I was Trying to say in the last bit. Anyways that's why "Arkada" is one of the better critics he tries to be critical and objective with a little bit of subjectivity to when appropriate. Other critics just praise or hate the cap out something addressing little to nothing on the other side (ie the what the good bits are or the problems it has) He could have been fanboy or hater with a lot of his reviews but he had consideration to present both sides whether they were or were not problems for him. I hope you understand what I'm saying, but sorry if you don't I'm not that good at articulating things in text.
Winterwacko Reborn Lol I know exactly what you're saying, basically just that being a good critic requires you to be open minded. I agree! Someone was arguing that Madoka Magica was a 6/10 because it was dark and she didn't like it, and I just found that odd because giving something a low score like that because you don't like darker anime doesn't make sense. We should be looking at objective things like animation quality, sound quality, does it do what it set out to do, does it stay focused on the central point rather than derping around uncertainly, etc. And Cowboy Bebop is practically flawless in that regard, it knows exactly what it wants to be and it never tries to be something else. Personally, I also just have a thing for well done, hand-drawn animation :P
Winterwacko Reborn Too many x_x Haha I'll try to list the notable ones I can remember... Akira Spirited Away Cowboy Bebop Another Puella Magi Madoka Magica Toradora! Bakemonogatari Nisemonogatari FLCL Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood One Piece (stopped after second season though) Attack on Titan Death Note Death Parade Elfen Lied Neon Genesis Evangelion Psycho-Pass and Psycho-Pass 2 Gurren Lagann Suisei no Gargantia Steins;Gate Ergo Proxy Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Terror in Resonance Paranoia Agent Highschool of the Dead No Game no Life Highschool DxD Angel Beats ... and more, but those are my favorites, in no particular order :D Except for that Steins;Gate is definitely my favorite anime for the time being.
Flash Trance You should check out "Chaos;Head" but keep in mind its far from perfect its more like an incomplete "Steins;Gate" but there's good stuff in it if you give it a chance, the first half is like a creepy pasta. And yes, it takes place in the same universe as "Steins;Gate" just thought of recommending cool stuff, to cool people. :)
The only thing I did not like about Cowboy Bebop is how it makes smoking look so god damn cool, because I have a bad feeling that a lot of kids started smoking because of it...
These comments about filler are pissing me off. Its episodic each episode is contained with few hints of spikes overall story arch sprinkled through out. Them doing bounty's is filler? ITS THEY'RE JOB. Maybe if you had a job you would see it as filler for your life, but the fact they find someone new to chase almost every episode that has they're own story is what makes it so amazing. Id rather have a bunch of interesting story's with new places to go, with a short sited world that just comes up with random plot twists you think makes for a good story. It doesn't make it a good story it just makes you want more. Cowboy beebop doesn't have a gimmick. The characters are all real. Not just "a group of wayward pals go on a walk a thon to different citys to destroy the big bad thing while they flirt with each other like middle school children" nuff said -see ya space cowboy
Saw Ballad of the Fallen Angels a few days ago. Man I loved the heck out of it! Its like if Quentin Tarentino and John Woo decided to make an anime episode. And that is the perfect formula for an anime I would truly enjoy.
Glad you mentioned those directors cause I feel Cowboy Bebop has more in common with movies than anime. Everytime I watch it, I don't feel like I'm watching an anime but more a series of short films made by Scorsese, Hitchcock or someone like that
Ironic considering that exact metaphor regarding Quentin Tarantino and John Woo was used on the box set of "Black Lagoon"; you should check it out if you have not already and also check of GRArkada's review of it. It is certainly an anime you should watch if you like that kind of story and that kind of action.
I remember watching Cowboy Bebop on Adult Swim and I liked it but it wasn't my favorite at the time. It was very relaxing to watch even though I could hardly tell what was going on most of the time. Only in the last year did I re watch the series and come to appreciate how good it really was and today I consider it one of my favorites.
One of the things I love about this series is that they deliver such varied experiences while maintaining a solid through line and keeping the characters true to themselves. The show goes from sci-fi space battles to smoky noir without missing a beat and it delivers an overarching narrative. I think it should be viewed in order as the depth shown in Ep. 5 caught me off guard and made me go from enjoying it to loving it. I had a similar feeling with Avatar; when you get to Ep. 12 (The Storm) you realise how awesome the show is and fall in love with it. The first episode is really good fun and has a gun fight, fist fight and space chase. If you don't get intrigued by it then you're not going to enjoy the rest anyway.
Did You Guys Know The New Anime "Space Dandy" ? I Recommend This. Director "Shinichiro Watanabe" of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo is Directing this New Anime!!!! Episode 1 has already Come out a Week or Two Ago!!! Go Now. If You Hadn't Watched It Now!!!
Im on ep.13, and to me cowboy bebop is pretty, but nothing interesting happens. Other than the basics I've gotten to know practically nothing about the characters, or the world they live in. They've just moped and carelessly drifted around without a goal. Are they friends? sure...until they abandon each other. Do they care about one another? maybe...it helps if there's money involved. They have an interesting back story right? absolutely...1% of it seems to be revealed each episode! So, we've been dropped into a critical part of their lives, and they're taking proactive steps to achieve their goals? kinda...the majority of the time everyone seems to stumble upon their yet unstated goal instead of going after it. This show has been revving up its motor for the last 13 episodes, unlike some shows that take off in the first episode (fma, avatar...). To me Spike is cool, ed is cute, jet is tough? faye is smart?? I think cowboy bebop is like if ghost in the shell was an episodic series. btw i like your presentation glass reflection
Totally agree with you. Watched it till 15epi. It feels like an entertainment oriented series. Something to just watch in free time. If you like Psychological Anime or Slice of Life, you won't like it.
If I was to recommend Bebop to someone, I'd qualify it with a recommendation to only watch the series as a whole. Without the complete picture, the development of the characters, and most importantly, their eventual resolution, the show is just entertaining. When seen as a whole, the series is truly something on a level rarely seen in visual entertainment of any kind. On a musical note ;) Knock a little Harder from the movie has a feel that brings to mind Sass Jordan. As a fellow Canadian, I thought you might enjoy that reference
I so agree with you. I was like ' This isn't bad' then the last episode and I was like ' wish this is amazing' it is all about the payoff- and bebop is a show that does pay off. Most shows start good and dwindle to a lackluster ending.
I would have appreciated Cowboy Bebop much more if its story telling was not episodic with almost every episode being a conclusive story. I can love it for what it is but I just think it would have been much better if the story telling was straight forward and from beginning till the end was just one story into which a few sub plots will tie in.
Sreehari Namikaze cowboy bebop is meant to be like that. its supposed to be a show where you can literally jump in at any episode and enjoy it without having to be confused by an overall plot
So what if it is meant to be like that ? Anyone can say everything bad is not bad and is actually just meant to be like that. "SAO is not actually an anime with great plot which is poorly written. It was just meant to be like that." - does not make sense. I don't hate Cowboy Bebop.I'd give Cowboy Bebop as it is a 9/10. But if it had been one story like I said , I'd give it a 10/10. After all it is a TV series.Not 26 installments in a movie franchise. Well why not have such a TV series ? There's nothing wrong with it. It just doesn't have that awesomeness of being sucked into the story and forget time and reality. A well crafted properly developing story can do this. But in Bebop, we're out of the story and onto the next before we get into it. The last two episodes felt like a piece of torn from a beautiful painting that we never saw as a whole.
AltoRoark99 No of course not. There are times when a show works better off being episodic. But it is not the case with Bebop. Especially since there is a more deep and interesting story going on in our main character's life and it is pushed aside for other small stories to be brought in. Now, I really think those little stories are good. But they should be secondary. Or while our Bebop crew is having all those bounty hunting adventures, the main story should be going on in the background. Somehow we need to keep in touch with the main story line throughout the series.
Even if you don't think Cowboy Bebop isn't the greatest anime ever (I say it is but feel free to differ), no one can deny that its sound (overall) is #1 in anime. Try beating that soundtrack and English dub. Cowboy Bebop is basically the Godfather of anime and its fucking glorious.
Finished watching Cowboy Bebop last night, it was incredible, definitely one of the greatest anime I've seen, had the best voice acting of any dub I've heard & the music was stellar. Those last 3 episodes hit hard with the feels, it was amazing. I'll be thinking about this series for a very long time. I gave it Five Stars on Netflix but it deserved more.
Because I've constantly heard your revere Yoko Kanno in your reviews, I looked her up and learned that she composed the opening theme of Escaflowne...which is one of my most favorite themes in anime as of yet (I know the show's almost 20 years old but really that song has a lot of epic to it). Amazing.
this and samuari champloo are tied as being one of my top 5 anime all time because its about the journey and thats what i love about the series and plus spike is awsome as fuck lol
I had the pleasure of viewing this in spectacular bluray quality courtesy of my brother-in-law who received it as a gift. It is in my top list of anime to watch before you die, definitely. It just struck such a resonant chord with me and left me with that hollow feeling of completeness in the sense that I just witnessed something that stands as a benchmark in the anime world.
I don't understand how so many people can agree that this is close to a masterpiece(or even call it so)... I mean, there is close to no main storyline whatsoever. Though don't get me wrong, the universe in which we are put into when watching this anime is pretty well done and the main characters are... well... Spike is cool, I like Jet, Faye is annoying, but alright overall, she has her reasons to be in the show, while Ed, omg, I just wanted to strangle her because I was so annoyed, even just the 1st 5 minutes I saw her. Also, I REALLY wanted to love Vicious, I mean, he's cool looking, he's a badass, but he has almost no screen time or developpement at all. I was so pissed by that. So overall, characters are average except for the main character that's pretty awesome, the plot is almost non-existent and the main antagonist isn't used to his full potential. It's very far from a masterpiece. Of course that is a personal opinion, especially towards the way I see the characters. I was really looking forward to this anime, it has been recommended to me countless times and I only watched it when I saw the anime recommendation from Arkada and in the end, I was quite disappointed. I must still agree with everyone that episode 5, Ballad of Fallen Angels, is absolutely fantastic!
Loved this show when it ended it broke my heart. In fact I find myself missing the Anime of the late 90’s, Cowboy Bebop was just awesome, the characters the writing gah! Loved this show. This show deserves all the praise it got in my opinion.
I liked the ending more than the show's opening? I valued the show's dark and characterization episodes more than the episodic and adventrous ones, and the ending theme fits it.
I give this show a 7/10, a good show but not great. The concept of the story, facing your past, has been done before a nd Cowby Bebop felt original but the story felt incomplete. For example, we never got enough story out of Vicious and his relationship with Spike and Julia. The story as a whole feels like a TV adaptation that couldn't cram all the story so they made a compromise. Another problem is the pacing of the story, sometimes the story gets going while there is nothing much happening in the way of the main story or character development; the episode Mushroom Samba had this problem.
I've watched several of your reviews now, and thus far I have basically the opposite opinion across board, but the reviews are well thought out and articulate so I do see some worth in them, keep up the good work, I'm going to continue to subscribe
yeah know how I found this series I found it at a streaming site and watched the first episode because I thought the name sounded more random than usual and I was hooked
Episode 05: Ballad of Fallen Angels, Episode 09: Jamming with Edward, Episode 12: Jupiter Jazz (Part 1)/Cowboy Bebop Episode 13: Jupiter Jazz (Part 2), Episode 22: Cowboy Funk, Episode 24: Hard Luck Woman and Episode 25: The Real Folk Blues (Part 1)/Episode 26: The Real Folk Blues (Part 2) are my favorite episodes from Cowboy Bebop.
I have completed 15 of 24 episodes and it's quite slow and I am finding it boring. Spike's Personality is only thing which made me watch 15 episodes. I have no motivation to continue, but a friend told me to finish it.
If after My Funny Valentine (ep. 15) you're still not invested in any other character but Spike, I don't think you are going to appreciate the show by watching any further. Try episode 16, it's about Jet's backstory in the police. If you find it uninteresting too, it's pointless to keep watching, though the last two incredible episodes conclude Spike's story, if you're willing to find out. CB is quite erratic in its storytelling as it doesn't consistently follow the characters closely and has no "arcs", very often relying on standalone episodes to showcase their personalities and tell whatever the authors felt was a cool, entertaining or interesting story. Don't feel bad if you don't enjoy it, its charm isn't appealing to everyone.
autograph* and i meant to say i paid for a cowboy bebop picture and he signed it ^_^ he is really cool in person. i met all of the cast in person acually!!! they signed my bebop shirt best anime con ever ^_^
Don't get me wrong, I liked it and can see that, for the time, it was completely outside the norm and helped shape modern anime. Aside from that, I don't think it deserves it's place as one of the greatest of all time. Most influential? Sure. Greatest? Nah. The story hasn't aged as well as one might think. I just got plain bored watching some of the episodes and struggled to find the point of some. Like the fridge monster? That whole episode was stupid. I know there was some character exploration, but they also could have done it in a different way than making some food turn into a monster and try to kill them. This is just 1 example, there are more, but you probably get my point. Bebop's atmosphere, music, and tone are great, but I just felt like the whole series was missing a point. It felt like it was character-based rather than plot-based, which some people may like, but I think having something going on that all characters can strive to accomplish is important.
Bebop needs to be though of as a slice of life. It did have a main thing the characters were going after - they were all together for that moment in time while having a past that haunted them. Sooo that is really the whole point of bebop. It did have a central theme and most episodes either fit into that or were really just fun .
People in real life don't have this huge story they are a part of and working towards lol. bebop is not like most anime that have that, and honestly when I watch a show it is more the development of the characters in relation to the central theme of the show that interests me more- the plot is just a tool for what a show is trying to say. Bebop to me does fine the way this told for what it is trying to say .
+eartianwerewolf I do however like some shows with overarching central goals but I am just saying bebop isn't the kind of story that does that ( or if it does it is a more abstract idea than find magic artifact or defeat evil guy )
I liked cowboy bebop a lot probably in my top 3 anime but I feel that the ending was quite rushed and it just really bugged me how easily killed off vicious was. I just feel they could have done better with the ending to be honest
Gankutsuo! Ah to see that poster in the background...gosh how nice and I can't wait to hear your opinions on it (I was actually disappointed in how the ending didn't align entirely with the novel or give me the same satisfaction but wow was it something!) Thanks for this review, I've been thinking about watching Cowboy Bebop for awhile now since I dislike sci-fi themes and because of how old it is I've been putting it off, but maybe now I'll give it a chance...or not :D I still don't know
The only problem with Cowboy Bebop is that most episodes are good, a few are amazing, and 3 in particular (episodes 20, 21 and 23) were ABSOLUTELY horrible. Like damn. If those episodes were removed, getting through the last stretch of the series would be much easier, and the series would be deserving of the "Almost Perfect" rating. On the other hand, the animation, characterization, plot, music, choreography, ending and just sheer amount of thought put into every episode is so amazing that I can't take anyone seriously when they complain about this show being overrated. Definitely worth a watch, and maybe a second one (which I just completed this weekend).
***** 20 brought in Mad Pierrot, a character completely based on fantasy, which felt weird since the Cowboy Bebop universe more or less tries to be somewhat realistic, and Spike acted strangely out of character. 21 messed with Jet's character by having him snap a man's neck and have a somewhat romantic encounter with someone 20 years younger than him. 23 was just so boring, and the first 6 minutes was just Bebop-era daytime television. Having these three episodes so close to the climactic ending is a total un-boner for me and tysm for caring about what i was saying to some degree bro
***** Yeah definitely. The thing i was getting at when I was talking about the placing of those episodes near the end kind of shows that we kinda feel the same way about the ending episodes suddenly getting so plot driven. And I hated the atmosphere in the Mad Pierrot episode, but u know whatever
Had a discussion with some anime friends about bebop, the thing about CB is it makes you feel nostalgic, in some episode or music or details, you can always find something related to you, especially when one grows older and you will like CB more. They are stories of people, not a story of a person
Can someone recommend a series that is comparable to Cowboy Bebop? it's frustratingly difficult to find something that's worth watching in contemporary anime.
FIrst time viewer here... Great review, I really like your style and presentation. By the way - to me, you seem like a mix out of Heath Ledger, Matthew Mercer and Marti Fischer, all three beeing very charismatic (voice-) actors / artists.
True story from me, I watched cowboy bebop until episode 19 and then dropped it. I just couldn't do it. I find it dull and boring at times. It took me whole month to realise that it was my own expectations that brought it down. I expect an overarching story with few fillers here and there. So i guess you can say i was a bit culture shock, since i haven't yet watched a 'problem of the day' anime. So i gave it a second chance, yes it was hard...but once i started to understand the characters, i finally like feel this is a very good anime. If only i was invested during the first time, it would be way awesome for me. I can watch ballad of the fallen angels, jupiter jazz, the finale, toys in the attic and 4 more episode all day bcs if was jsut soo good
I never seen cowboy bebop, but my friend who is not even an anime fan has seen it and said that it's the only anime he would watch for the rest of his life. this and Great Teacher Onizuka.
Bambooshoots well your friend is wise then ...xD i used to watch a ton of anime but for no reason i just stopped...but still Bebop and GTO are in my top 3 list...for sure
I might give Bebop another shot because of this review, but I dropped it halfway just because it felt like it was a "bad guy of the week" show with no actual plot in sight (unless I missed it).
When I first saw this series I went in with the impression it would be good but by the end I felt like it had so much lost potential. For me the biggest problem was that even though each episode stood alone I felt unsatisfied by the end of each. It's like the series tried to make you get attached to the side characters along with the main ones and it just felt forced. At one point I felt the series was just badasses being badass which made them feel dull. Couple that with the wasted episodes on things like the food in the fridge and I was just disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I will say it's brilliant in many senses but it's execution of certain things just killed it for me.
I loved Cowboy Bebop, but my greatest issue with it will always be its consistency. Some episodes are miles ahead of others and while they are all good episodes, you can get impatient when you are waiting for another "Ballad of Fallen Angels". Again not because the other episodes are bad, but because "Ballad" is just that amazing. "Ballad" is only trumped by the last episode.
In practicaly every anime review that includes the Bones studio or just in general, you often mention Trigun. I REALLY recommend that you review this one next. Or if not Trigun then Code Geass or Legend of the Legendary Heroes (yeah it has a crazy assed title), a very underrated anime I must say.
so since its a classic and it always gets such good reviews, i decided to start watching cowboy bebop, i watched episode 1-6 now and i'm really not soo impressed. I mean its not bad, it's okey to watch but it really doesn't blow my mind as i kinda expected after it got praised so much. and its not even the 90's animation, i can roll with that... its just... not as great as i thought it would be... well maybe it will get better
I liked it a lot throughout, but I also felt it wasn't as amazing as people said. But the finale ties everything together so well. It became my favorite anime by the end.
well i liked episode 24 the best, you know the one with ed and her dad. the rest, well honestly i really started to skip through the episodes just so i have watched it. maybe it was the amount of jazz that just didn't do it for me, maybe it was the whole space setting, i dont know. personally i just didn't really like the series.
i guess it must have been the jazz for a big part of me not liking it. i liked the characters well enough, and it isnt the fact that it hadnt had a big plot twist or something like that, heck samurai champloo really doesn't have a great plot at all (well it does but the single episodes really don't focus much on the overall plot) and i enjoyed samurai champloo way more than cowboy bebop. i mean bebob had some amazing scenes but overall meh... and i don't think i'm too young to appreciate it correctly, since i'm 23... i guess its just the jazz.
***** I 100% agree with you. The soundtrack is a huge part of it, it creates such an atmosphere that hasn't been matched since imo. And how many animes have a unique and as memorable soundtrack as CB? Not many. I've watched anime with cool soundtracks but they aren't memorable and I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it other than when it's playing in the show. And too many people don't realise that this is a character driven anime. Those that love it love it because of the characters and the subtleties in their demeanor. And this anime is so layered, I've watched it many many times and I always notice something new about the characters. That's a sign of good writing because a lot of time characters (and anime quite often is guilty of this) makes characters really easy to read (e.g tsundere). And even then, I like the story. It's not as good as something like Shingeki no Kyojin but the story still keeps me engaged. But obviously this show isn't for everyone. Even Arkada said it himself, we've not been fortunate enough to have the 'perfect' anime, but I'll be damned if this isn't the closest anybody has gotten
I remember this when I was roughly 5 when my dad showed Cowboy Bebop to me, I still find it to be one of my favorite anime I've seen up there with GITS and and FMA.
since Bebop precedes the prequels, no i wouldn't count them. but when it comes to characters, they are more comparable to those of Burn Notice, Spike (Micheal) Jet (Sam) and Faye (Fiona)
nickd1961 Ghost in the Shell had a *MAJOR* lasting impact... He he... See what I did there? No but really GitS was kinda important. *coughcough* inspired the matrix *coughcough*
There was nothing wrong with Beebop, but regarding this enormous hype it is overrated. There are some anime, which have even serious flaws, that caught me more because something in it was awesome or touching.
Willie Wonker Actually, I haven't seen either of them. My absolute favorites are FMA and Black Lagoon followed by AOT. One example of a not so good anime that I still liked is Elfenlied. It was not the violence or nudity that annoyed me (although both were a bit heavy), but the plot-convenience. However, I cared more about the characters. I care much about the potrayal of characters; they should be complex, believable and likable. In Cowboy Beebop I disliked both Spike and Faye for their annoying habits.
+Zaric Zhakaron yeah bebop is not perfect lol. They could redo it and make it better but it is still one of the best I have seen regardless . Things are masterpieces in comparison to what surrounds them - plus their impact on the genre does effect their classification. In a lot of ways ff7 and cowboy bebop are similar in terms of hype but both have earned their title of masterpiece I think. ( I actually don't even like final fantasy 7 that much either ) .
Glass Reflection yo update yo shit, yoko kanno is now known for terror in resonance, there is a song within the anime, it is icelandic i believe, i forget how to spell it but i think it trasnlates to hope (?) also yoko might be the featured or the one featurING either way yea.... great song. just look up yoko kanno terror in resonance and you can find it, or use the zankyou no something japanese name, either way, i love that song.
3 Reasons why Cowboy Bebop is not that good 1. Too much needless filler like random going after Bounties ect 2. Characters like Ed just don't fit in with Spike or Faye 3.Story was just too boring because they were just going after Bounties and then you get flashback or more story But I liked the ending (A bit of it).
Carson Groel Well everyone has their own choices. And I choose to not like this series all that much. P.S. I think Lelouch dying in Code Geass was the right thing to do,to end the Anime But there was no point in having Spike die.
Sir Christopher McFarlane But even ways,I just don't like the Anime at all. But I had high hopes of it at the beginning because everyone says to watch it and stuff !!!
FahimTheStrategist Well, it makes sense for there to be some sort of bounty hunting, since the show's basically that. So, saying there's filler based on this premise is faulty. I also don't really see how characters don't fit each other. I feel like any character can go with any other character well. I disliked the unstable relationship between Suzaku and Lelouch but I knew they fit together based on their pasts together.
I just finished the series and it was as legendary as I heard it was. The music was beautiful and that ending had me in tears.
I'm right behind you man. It's pretty good. I'm currently on episode 9
I just finished Cowboy bebop i really enjoyed it the ending made me cry
You're gonna carry that weight.
The soundtrack at the end of episode 24 did me in. Wasn't expecting it lol.
Ulquiorra Cifer I'm so happy for you and everyone that replied to your comment :). I first saw this great show when I was 11 years old during the first run through on adult swim back in 2001 or so. every time I watch it I like to imagine watching for the first time again, but then i think about what it has meant for me as a person and how it helped shape me into the adult I am and I realize I wouldn't trade that for the world. I really hope it brings to you everything it brought to me.
Every time someone says Cowboy Bebop was a bad show, a jazz musician dies
It's a bad show
Nooooo
Welcome to 2020
Bebop is probably the only anime where I enjoyed every character of the main cast.
Ha! I said cast..
Alessia Aikley Nope. I liked him too.
Alessia Aikley Her. Right. Typing a message right after waking up is disastrous.
And no. I like HER very much. Ed is an entertaining character, provided sort of a light-hearted humor. And if you feel that way about her voice, then too bad..
Same
facts
Aw, I'm sad that Ein wasn't mentioned...
+Juliapplefreak I wish they did more with Ein in the show.
i felt so bad for ein he was always getting fucked up in some sort of way😂😂😂
lilbrothinking Just like when Ed would lay on him or Jet had only veggies for him to eat, that sucked XD lol
Or the mushrooms ! Remember the mushrooms ?
it was remiss. however i always found 1 and 2 to be the same side of the coin.
the mains cast names
5 spike
4 faye
3 jet
2 ed
1 ein (german for 1)
the thing i always found was that ed and ein are the same person or persons. twins. you even see it when ed leaves when ein follows. both are way smarter then the rest of the crew and both are not moving from the past or twords it but outside it.
they have nothing to search for as faye does and nothing to run from like jet or spike. thats the reason they can leave the show as they do. they have no "past" in terms of the show they are making a past. time being such a key of the show. they are making a past while the rest of the crew deals with the past.
just my thoughts anyways.
*holds back tears*
B-b-bang.... :(
*sobs*
See you space cowboy...
You're gonna carry that weight...
Hi I'm here
Cowboy Bebop is classic. Just classic. And Tank? Don't get me started on how amazing it is! And the ending song - The Real Folk Blues - is amazing.
We need more people like you lol
I can listen to Real Folk Blues on repeat for hours... in fact I have, and I frequently do when I'm drawing or painting lol
Joe Ramirez It's really soothing and I can sing it pretty well from listening so much XD
IceQueen975 record yourself and send it to me, I'm curious lol
Joe Ramirez Aha, it's been a while since I've covered a song... I might in the future. If I do it'd be on my channel.
I just finished bebop yesterday and those last three episodes are so good it's scary. Definitely one of the best anime ever
See you Space Cowboy
Spike is the best
Episode 1 is freaking good.
Problem with the show, the OST is too catchy and addicting.
No mention about Ein? He was one of my favorite!
Awwww *hugs*
the jp version of ein voice acting, is funny and not very dog-like :P
it's a dog bark, not hard to do, apparantly dogs are not jp voice actor's strong suits :P
no offense, just first thing i thought of to say about ein, reply to your comment.
apart from that, i would want a dog like ein, data dog powah!
See you, space cowboy.
I don't know why, but i loved Ed's character. It's amazing :o
Daniel Sanchez I recommend the game character Tiny Tina, part of Borderlands 2.
Daniel Sanchez Thought the same!
I never realized she had the same voice actor as Gaz from Invader Zim until today
I thought Ed stuck out like a sore thumb at first but the she eases into the rhythm of the show. She seems a little second thought to me and is the only character that feels overtly ' anime' like she could belong in a different show. Saying that I do think she is one of my fave anime chakras period and is fun to watch
Daniel Sanchez she's the best character!
After all that praise, and it gets under a 9 . Come on now, this is an absolute masterpiece stop being afraid to overate it.
Fluid like water? I see what you did there.
I am not into anime at all but I checked this anime out and its one of the few I'll actually watch. The other is Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood
If you're into "quality" anime try something like baccano I bet you'll love it
***** Actually, the first series followed the manga but when they came to a point where the series was ahead of the manga, they had to continue on with their own original storyline. I didn't care for it much
Brotherhood follows the manga completely, how the story was originally supposed to be told through anime
Jordan Smart You could try Trigun too, it kinda reminded me Bebop (it came out at around the same time as it too) and it also is the definition of “classic” The opening also deserves to be mentioned...
Chris Fokjohn I've seen it :D
Jordan Smart Was my suggestion spot-on or what? :)
Cowboy Bebop is like Guardians of the Galaxy but if it was made by Quentin Tarantino
no
A lot of people say that Cowboy Bebop is like "if Tarantino made an anime" because it has all the film references, homages, and soundtrack choices that Tarantino is known for. But Tarantino's storytelling methods and screenplays are so different than anything you'll find in an episode of Bebop. And why Guardians of the Galaxy? Because it's a group of people in space?
Thomas Baldwin Yeah and they're bounty hunters
I also find similarities between Bebop and Firefly. In fact, I think Cowboy Bebop was one of the inspirations for the creator of Firefly.
You're right, it does remind me.
Cowboy Bebop, is phenomenal best of the best, a world class TV show period, not just a good Anime. It will stand the test of time, as far as quality goes, watch it 50 years after it originally aired, and it will still be great and timeless.
i think everyone that doesnt think Cowboy Bebop is great is simply because the world overhyped it. I watched this show about 14 years in my home country where there is now media storm to hype anything. If i must point out my favorite thing in Cowboy Bebop is the music.
haha the exact same with FF7, people overhype and eventually assume it undeserving of that hype, quite the opposite.
it's like 90% of the world's population is easily affected by reverse psychology or something >__>
It might be over hyped but I feel its something every anime fan should at least check out for it cultural relevance to the western anime culture
Every time I wear my Bebop shirt in public someone comments positively on it.
great reviews, by the way. Subscribed.
Stay frosty. :)
I love your Ling Ling icon! Btw, where did you get the Bebop shirt?
Cass Amaya You know, you're the first person to catch that! Why'd they have to take Drawn Together off the air? There's an anime chain store called Sakura Media where I live. Lotsa cool stuff there...
Oh wow really?? Idk why it was taken off the air:( My favorite characters were Ling Ling, Xandir, Toot, and that Spongebob looking dude (I always forget his name lol)
Cass Amaya Wooldor Sockbat. Probably got taken off for being TOO funny.
Everybody thinks it's Pikachu. :(
That's his name! Well, he was a parody of Pikachu basically. I miss that show:(
1998 was just about one of the best years for anime.
Best year period. I was also born that year, after all.
Trigun
@@surprisednt Ditto to that. So was I.
I watched a few of your videos and the only thing missing in this one, you didn't mention the ending... at all. Cowboy Bebop has one the greatest endings in anime history (For those that don't know), and it's still talked about years later to this day.
Why the rating so low. at least a 9
He is known to be extremely harsh when it comes to numbers. He's only ever given two shows over a nine, and the highest a show has ever received has been Clannad, which received a score of 9.44/10
I find it a little hard to believe that Bebop is only a point or so higher than Sword Art Online but that's just me lol
+Crystalline Actually, he explains why he gave SAO that score when even HE hated it. Basically, he was using a numerical rating system at the time that he ended up ditching because it just didn't work.
+FlamingBlock that is sad...
then explain me why the fuck did he give attack on titans a 9.5. No offense i liked the review but i think bebop deserve a better rating.
I haven't seen this anime but do you guys think this is a good first anime for my 45 year old dad? He those like western movies
Luc Barbot It could be. But believe me, if he is one of those guys who thinks only Studio Ghibli is worthy anime, he probably won't like it...Sorry.
Canalave Maiden Do you have an ISSUE with studio ghibli?
Keep in mind you have just possibly threatened the perfection of one of the most universally loved anime studio's of all time.
Ancala Bond No. O_o Not at all. Ghibli is amazing. Bebop is great, but many people love only Ghibli because it is so good.
Canalave Maiden Good answer.
YOU HAVE BEEN SPARED.
Ancala Bond :"D ..
8.7/10
You rated AoT higher than...
I...
Are you trolling?
Terror of Pirate's Cove, Foxy! Its why he ditched his rating system. people focused on the numbers instead of the words.
Terror of Pirate's Cove, Foxy! i think it's kinda like game informer. plenty of the games they review have really high scores, but little replay value, so the numbers aren't deemed the most important aspect. this is why movie critc jeremyjahns uses phrases to rate the film, instead of numbers.
Terror of Pirate's Cove, Foxy! Maybe it's cuz SNK didn't have that starting trouble that Bebop did.
Yeah if I start to review stuff, I think I'll just do with a simple "Watch" or "Do Not Watch" as my rating system.
+Terror of Pirate's Cove, Foxy!
Scores suck.
There's really no need to have anything more than a three point scale.
"The Star Wars of Anime" kinda' thought that fit more with Yamato, or Gundam, but even using that analogy the main thing about Bebop is that taken as a whole, all it's parts culminate into a completely satisfying and fitting ending. You get the idea that the creators knew exactly where they were taking this show, and not just making it up as they went along until they boxed themselves into a corner they couldn't logically or skillfully get out of (BSG lookin' at you). This is where many shows, and other anime fall short. Every time I watch it, it only moves higher up my list of best anime.
Cowboy Bebop was the first anime I seriously watched as an Otaku, I seen animes before but it a very drop in/drop out sort of way. Cowboy Bebop was different because it didn't go on and on like other anime at the time (*cough* Dragonball Z *cough*) and had a proper start, middle and ending.
Nothing has surpassed it and I watched when it first came out in the west back in 2000 so 16 years have passed and no-one has taken it's crown yet IMHO. This and FLCL were the two animes that proved to me that Otakuism was going to be my No.1 hobby as an adult and 16 years later that's still as true as ever.
Fucking weeb
Really? That's kinda weird since cowboy bebop relies on its cool factor so much of the time and has filler episodes
otaku is a bad word dont call yourself that and you are not one
thow shall not speak ill of Dragon ball
Finally got around to watching this show, it's interesting he mentioned the viewing order because the first couple episodes definitely weren't as awesome as the rest of the anime. But by the time it finished I was blown away... I can't say it's my favorite anime of all time, but could still probably say it's one of the best if not the best anime that's ever been created. Perfectly conceived and executed, from start to finish!
My thoughts exactly, its not my #1 favorite Anime (but still pretty high up there) but I still believe it earns the title of the greatest of all time and understand why, because of its sheer quality of everything it dose and I can't really find anything that makes it not so. Its good there are people like you and I who can separate what we consider the greatest and our favorites. A lot of online critics tend to review things more subjectively than they realize sounding mostly like "oh I thought it this good because this, this and that" instead of "people might enjoy this and that because this and that others might think this and that because of this, but personally I think its like this and that and that's why everyone else thinks that way" I hope you were able to understand what I was Trying to say in the last bit. Anyways that's why "Arkada" is one of the better critics he tries to be critical and objective with a little bit of subjectivity to when appropriate. Other critics just praise or hate the cap out something addressing little to nothing on the other side (ie the what the good bits are or the problems it has) He could have been fanboy or hater with a lot of his reviews but he had consideration to present both sides whether they were or were not problems for him. I hope you understand what I'm saying, but sorry if you don't I'm not that good at articulating things in text.
Winterwacko Reborn
Lol I know exactly what you're saying, basically just that being a good critic requires you to be open minded. I agree! Someone was arguing that Madoka Magica was a 6/10 because it was dark and she didn't like it, and I just found that odd because giving something a low score like that because you don't like darker anime doesn't make sense. We should be looking at objective things like animation quality, sound quality, does it do what it set out to do, does it stay focused on the central point rather than derping around uncertainly, etc. And Cowboy Bebop is practically flawless in that regard, it knows exactly what it wants to be and it never tries to be something else. Personally, I also just have a thing for well done, hand-drawn animation :P
Flash Trance Out of curiosity what anime have you seen.
Winterwacko Reborn Too many x_x Haha I'll try to list the notable ones I can remember...
Akira
Spirited Away
Cowboy Bebop
Another
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Toradora!
Bakemonogatari
Nisemonogatari
FLCL
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
One Piece (stopped after second season though)
Attack on Titan
Death Note
Death Parade
Elfen Lied
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Psycho-Pass and Psycho-Pass 2
Gurren Lagann
Suisei no Gargantia
Steins;Gate
Ergo Proxy
Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni
Terror in Resonance
Paranoia Agent
Highschool of the Dead
No Game no Life
Highschool DxD
Angel Beats
... and more, but those are my favorites, in no particular order :D Except for that Steins;Gate is definitely my favorite anime for the time being.
Flash Trance You should check out "Chaos;Head" but keep in mind its far from perfect its more like an incomplete "Steins;Gate" but there's good stuff in it if you give it a chance, the first half is like a creepy pasta. And yes, it takes place in the same universe as "Steins;Gate" just thought of recommending cool stuff, to cool people. :)
The only thing I did not like about Cowboy Bebop is how it makes smoking look so god damn cool, because I have a bad feeling that a lot of kids started smoking because of it...
And also how spoke can smoke about half a pack each episode and yet still be in perfect physical condition
*spike
why the hell would a kid watch cowboy bebop?? this is a show made for mature audience
+Gian gerd you deserve a cookie.
pussy
These comments about filler are pissing me off. Its episodic each episode is contained with few hints of spikes overall story arch sprinkled through out. Them doing bounty's is filler? ITS THEY'RE JOB. Maybe if you had a job you would see it as filler for your life, but the fact they find someone new to chase almost every episode that has they're own story is what makes it so amazing. Id rather have a bunch of interesting story's with new places to go, with a short sited world that just comes up with random plot twists you think makes for a good story. It doesn't make it a good story it just makes you want more. Cowboy beebop doesn't have a gimmick. The characters are all real. Not just "a group of wayward pals go on a walk a thon to different citys to destroy the big bad thing while they flirt with each other like middle school children" nuff said -see ya space cowboy
Saw Ballad of the Fallen Angels a few days ago. Man I loved the heck out of it! Its like if Quentin Tarentino and John Woo decided to make an anime episode. And that is the perfect formula for an anime I would truly enjoy.
Glad you mentioned those directors cause I feel Cowboy Bebop has more in common with movies than anime. Everytime I watch it, I don't feel like I'm watching an anime but more a series of short films made by Scorsese, Hitchcock or someone like that
Ironic considering that exact metaphor regarding Quentin Tarantino and John Woo was used on the box set of "Black Lagoon"; you should check it out if you have not already and also check of GRArkada's review of it. It is certainly an anime you should watch if you like that kind of story and that kind of action.
i just finished this show and if i had to describe it in one word it would be...poetry
I remember watching Cowboy Bebop on Adult Swim and I liked it but it wasn't my favorite at the time. It was very relaxing to watch even though I could hardly tell what was going on most of the time. Only in the last year did I re watch the series and come to appreciate how good it really was and today I consider it one of my favorites.
I thought there were problems with the pacing with the overarching plot as well as problems with character development with Vicious and Julia.
"Jet, do you know that there are three things that I particularly hate?"
"Trolls,whiners, and hipsters with attitudes."
"So tell me Jet, *why are all three of those things neatly gathered in this comment section!?*"
XD SO TRUE
MrBman9001 this is officially the best thread ever.
MrBman9001 YISSSSSSSSSSS!
@@MrBman9001 Democrats, Republicans and Communists are the 3 things everyone should dislike
One of the things I love about this series is that they deliver such varied experiences while maintaining a solid through line and keeping the characters true to themselves. The show goes from sci-fi space battles to smoky noir without missing a beat and it delivers an overarching narrative. I think it should be viewed in order as the depth shown in Ep. 5 caught me off guard and made me go from enjoying it to loving it. I had a similar feeling with Avatar; when you get to Ep. 12 (The Storm) you realise how awesome the show is and fall in love with it. The first episode is really good fun and has a gun fight, fist fight and space chase. If you don't get intrigued by it then you're not going to enjoy the rest anyway.
Did You Guys Know The New Anime "Space Dandy" ? I Recommend This. Director "Shinichiro Watanabe" of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo is Directing this New Anime!!!! Episode 1 has already Come out a Week or Two Ago!!! Go Now. If You Hadn't Watched It Now!!!
sO wE meeT agaiN.
The 13 Tales of Miku fOOLs yOu wILl aLl dIe
you'vE messeD witH thE naturaL ordeR
Arkada really needs to do a review of Space Dandy, or as I like to call it: Cowboy Bebop's worthy parody.
Ive been putting this off for FAAAAR to long MUST WATCH NOW
Im on ep.13, and to me cowboy bebop is pretty, but nothing interesting happens. Other than the basics I've gotten to know practically nothing about the characters, or the world they live in. They've just moped and carelessly drifted around without a goal. Are they friends? sure...until they abandon each other. Do they care about one another? maybe...it helps if there's money involved. They have an interesting back story right? absolutely...1% of it seems to be revealed each episode! So, we've been dropped into a critical part of their lives, and they're taking proactive steps to achieve their goals? kinda...the majority of the time everyone seems to stumble upon their yet unstated goal instead of going after it. This show has been revving up its motor for the last 13 episodes, unlike some shows that take off in the first episode (fma, avatar...).
To me Spike is cool, ed is cute, jet is tough? faye is smart??
I think cowboy bebop is like if ghost in the shell was an episodic series.
btw i like your presentation glass reflection
Totally agree with you. Watched it till 15epi. It feels like an entertainment oriented series. Something to just watch in free time. If you like Psychological Anime or Slice of Life, you won't like it.
Just started watching this for the first time and this review has me excited!
If I was to recommend Bebop to someone, I'd qualify it with a recommendation to only watch the series as a whole. Without the complete picture, the development of the characters, and most importantly, their eventual resolution, the show is just entertaining. When seen as a whole, the series is truly something on a level rarely seen in visual entertainment of any kind.
On a musical note ;) Knock a little Harder from the movie has a feel that brings to mind Sass Jordan. As a fellow Canadian, I thought you might enjoy that reference
I so agree with you. I was like ' This isn't bad' then the last episode and I was like ' wish this is amazing' it is all about the payoff- and bebop is a show that does pay off. Most shows start good and dwindle to a lackluster ending.
I would have appreciated Cowboy Bebop much more if its story telling was not episodic with almost every episode being a conclusive story. I can love it for what it is but I just think it would have been much better if the story telling was straight forward and from beginning till the end was just one story into which a few sub plots will tie in.
Sreehari Namikaze cowboy bebop is meant to be like that. its supposed to be a show where you can literally jump in at any episode and enjoy it without having to be confused by an overall plot
So what if it is meant to be like that ? Anyone can say everything bad is not bad and is actually just meant to be like that.
"SAO is not actually an anime with great plot which is poorly written. It was just meant to be like that." - does not make sense.
I don't hate Cowboy Bebop.I'd give Cowboy Bebop as it is a 9/10. But if it had been one story like I said , I'd give it a 10/10. After all it is a TV series.Not 26 installments in a movie franchise.
Well why not have such a TV series ?
There's nothing wrong with it. It just doesn't have that awesomeness of being sucked into the story and forget time and reality. A well crafted properly developing story can do this. But in Bebop, we're out of the story and onto the next before we get into it. The last two episodes felt like a piece of torn from a beautiful painting that we never saw as a whole.
Being episodic isn't even an objective flaw.
AltoRoark99 No of course not. There are times when a show works better off being episodic. But it is not the case with Bebop. Especially since there is a more deep and interesting story going on in our main character's life and it is pushed aside for other small stories to be brought in. Now, I really think those little stories are good. But they should be secondary. Or while our Bebop crew is having all those bounty hunting adventures, the main story should be going on in the background. Somehow we need to keep in touch with the main story line throughout the series.
One of my friends had the same problem while watching, didn't really bother me though
Even if you don't think Cowboy Bebop isn't the greatest anime ever (I say it is but feel free to differ), no one can deny that its sound (overall) is #1 in anime. Try beating that soundtrack and English dub. Cowboy Bebop is basically the Godfather of anime and its fucking glorious.
Rob George Nah mate
Finished watching Cowboy Bebop last night, it was incredible, definitely one of the greatest anime I've seen, had the best voice acting of any dub I've heard & the music was stellar. Those last 3 episodes hit hard with the feels, it was amazing. I'll be thinking about this series for a very long time. I gave it Five Stars on Netflix but it deserved more.
Because I've constantly heard your revere Yoko Kanno in your reviews, I looked her up and learned that she composed the opening theme of Escaflowne...which is one of my most favorite themes in anime as of yet (I know the show's almost 20 years old but really that song has a lot of epic to it). Amazing.
For those interested, the full show is now available for streaming on Funimation's website. Check it out!
this and samuari champloo are tied as being one of my top 5 anime all time because its about the journey and thats what i love about the series and plus spike is awsome as fuck lol
At about 4:20, am I seeing things, or did the Joker get loose in South America?
I had the pleasure of viewing this in spectacular bluray quality courtesy of my brother-in-law who received it as a gift. It is in my top list of anime to watch before you die, definitely. It just struck such a resonant chord with me and left me with that hollow feeling of completeness in the sense that I just witnessed something that stands as a benchmark in the anime world.
I don't understand how so many people can agree that this is close to a masterpiece(or even call it so)... I mean, there is close to no main storyline whatsoever. Though don't get me wrong, the universe in which we are put into when watching this anime is pretty well done and the main characters are... well... Spike is cool, I like Jet, Faye is annoying, but alright overall, she has her reasons to be in the show, while Ed, omg, I just wanted to strangle her because I was so annoyed, even just the 1st 5 minutes I saw her.
Also, I REALLY wanted to love Vicious, I mean, he's cool looking, he's a badass, but he has almost no screen time or developpement at all. I was so pissed by that.
So overall, characters are average except for the main character that's pretty awesome, the plot is almost non-existent and the main antagonist isn't used to his full potential. It's very far from a masterpiece. Of course that is a personal opinion, especially towards the way I see the characters. I was really looking forward to this anime, it has been recommended to me countless times and I only watched it when I saw the anime recommendation from Arkada and in the end, I was quite disappointed.
I must still agree with everyone that episode 5, Ballad of Fallen Angels, is absolutely fantastic!
I completely agree with you, i don't understand all the hype at all!
The episode with Andy the cowboy was my absolute favourite. There were also a fair amount of episodes that were kind of a miss for me.
Is this guy trying to look like Edward Elric?
Yes
+Mr Boggle that's painfully cringey
A final rating of *only* 8.7???!!! Man, you're a tough man to please! Have you *ever* rated anything higher than 9.5?
Loved this show when it ended it broke my heart.
In fact I find myself missing the Anime of the late 90’s, Cowboy Bebop was just awesome, the characters the writing gah! Loved this show.
This show deserves all the praise it got in my opinion.
I liked the ending more than the show's opening? I valued the show's dark and characterization episodes more than the episodic and adventrous ones, and the ending theme fits it.
Episodes 1-4 are awesome, and I don't care who you are.
I just didn't like how it wasn't a continued story, nothing really kept me going, I still watched it all but idk, wouldn't watch again
I give this show a 7/10, a good show but not great. The concept of the story, facing your past, has been done before a nd Cowby Bebop felt original but the story felt incomplete. For example, we never got enough story out of Vicious and his relationship with Spike and Julia. The story as a whole feels like a TV adaptation that couldn't cram all the story so they made a compromise. Another problem is the pacing of the story, sometimes the story gets going while there is nothing much happening in the way of the main story or character development; the episode Mushroom Samba had this problem.
I've watched several of your reviews now, and thus far I have basically the opposite opinion across board, but the reviews are well thought out and articulate so I do see some worth in them, keep up the good work, I'm going to continue to subscribe
should have been 9.5, its that good !
yeah know how I found this series I found it at a streaming site and watched the first episode because I thought the name sounded more random than usual and I was hooked
Could you PLEASE review Escaflowne? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!
Episode 05: Ballad of Fallen Angels, Episode 09: Jamming with Edward, Episode 12: Jupiter Jazz (Part 1)/Cowboy Bebop Episode 13: Jupiter Jazz (Part 2), Episode 22: Cowboy Funk, Episode 24: Hard Luck Woman and Episode 25: The Real Folk Blues (Part 1)/Episode 26: The Real Folk Blues (Part 2) are my favorite episodes from Cowboy Bebop.
I have completed 15 of 24 episodes and it's quite slow and I am finding it boring. Spike's Personality is only thing which made me watch 15 episodes. I have no motivation to continue, but a friend told me to finish it.
If after My Funny Valentine (ep. 15) you're still not invested in any other character but Spike, I don't think you are going to appreciate the show by watching any further. Try episode 16, it's about Jet's backstory in the police. If you find it uninteresting too, it's pointless to keep watching, though the last two incredible episodes conclude Spike's story, if you're willing to find out. CB is quite erratic in its storytelling as it doesn't consistently follow the characters closely and has no "arcs", very often relying on standalone episodes to showcase their personalities and tell whatever the authors felt was a cool, entertaining or interesting story. Don't feel bad if you don't enjoy it, its charm isn't appealing to everyone.
I got steve blums autugraph i paid him $10.00 for a cowboy bebop and she signed it it said To Amber from Steve Blum...Bang
autograph* and i meant to say i paid for a cowboy bebop picture and he signed it ^_^ he is really cool in person. i met all of the cast in person acually!!! they signed my bebop shirt best anime con ever ^_^
Don't get me wrong, I liked it and can see that, for the time, it was completely outside the norm and helped shape modern anime. Aside from that, I don't think it deserves it's place as one of the greatest of all time. Most influential? Sure. Greatest? Nah. The story hasn't aged as well as one might think. I just got plain bored watching some of the episodes and struggled to find the point of some. Like the fridge monster? That whole episode was stupid. I know there was some character exploration, but they also could have done it in a different way than making some food turn into a monster and try to kill them. This is just 1 example, there are more, but you probably get my point.
Bebop's atmosphere, music, and tone are great, but I just felt like the whole series was missing a point. It felt like it was character-based rather than plot-based, which some people may like, but I think having something going on that all characters can strive to accomplish is important.
Agreed.
+0207xander Thanks
Bebop needs to be though of as a slice of life. It did have a main thing the characters were going after - they were all together for that moment in time while having a past that haunted them. Sooo that is really the whole point of bebop. It did have a central theme and most episodes either fit into that or were really just fun .
People in real life don't have this huge story they are a part of and working towards lol. bebop is not like most anime that have that, and honestly when I watch a show it is more the development of the characters in relation to the central theme of the show that interests me more- the plot is just a tool for what a show is trying to say. Bebop to me does fine the way this told for what it is trying to say .
+eartianwerewolf I do however like some shows with overarching central goals but I am just saying bebop isn't the kind of story that does that ( or if it does it is a more abstract idea than find magic artifact or defeat evil guy )
I liked cowboy bebop a lot probably in my top 3 anime but I feel that the ending was quite rushed and it just really bugged me how easily killed off vicious was. I just feel they could have done better with the ending to be honest
I agree...
To me, that final fight with Spike and Vicious was more like a gun duel in a western, the act of violence is very quick but the build up is huge
Huh yeah I guess when you put it like that then yeah that'll suit me fine. Never really saw it like that
Some of the episodes (at least 6 I recall) were just so beautiful they brought tears to the eyes
Gankutsuo! Ah to see that poster in the background...gosh how nice and I can't wait to hear your opinions on it (I was actually disappointed in how the ending didn't align entirely with the novel or give me the same satisfaction but wow was it something!)
Thanks for this review, I've been thinking about watching Cowboy Bebop for awhile now since I dislike sci-fi themes and because of how old it is I've been putting it off, but maybe now I'll give it a chance...or not :D I still don't know
The only problem with Cowboy Bebop is that most episodes are good, a few are amazing, and 3 in particular (episodes 20, 21 and 23) were ABSOLUTELY horrible. Like damn.
If those episodes were removed, getting through the last stretch of the series would be much easier, and the series would be deserving of the "Almost Perfect" rating.
On the other hand, the animation, characterization, plot, music, choreography, ending and just sheer amount of thought put into every episode is so amazing that I can't take anyone seriously when they complain about this show being overrated.
Definitely worth a watch, and maybe a second one (which I just completed this weekend).
*****
20 brought in Mad Pierrot, a character completely based on fantasy, which felt weird since the Cowboy Bebop universe more or less tries to be somewhat realistic, and Spike acted strangely out of character.
21 messed with Jet's character by having him snap a man's neck and have a somewhat romantic encounter with someone 20 years younger than him.
23 was just so boring, and the first 6 minutes was just Bebop-era daytime television.
Having these three episodes so close to the climactic ending is a total un-boner for me and tysm for caring about what i was saying to some degree bro
***** Yeah definitely. The thing i was getting at when I was talking about the placing of those episodes near the end kind of shows that we kinda feel the same way about the ending episodes suddenly getting so plot driven. And I hated the atmosphere in the Mad Pierrot episode, but u know whatever
tyler galicica lmfao did ANYONE like episode 4?
Wydferr i loved that episode
Wydferr episode 20 had the best action and animation
You only have 100k subs? That's fucking injustice!
who else came here right after finishing cowboy bebop on crunchyroll ?
Had a discussion with some anime friends about bebop, the thing about CB is it makes you feel nostalgic, in some episode or music or details, you can always find something related to you, especially when one grows older and you will like CB more.
They are stories of people, not a story of a person
One of the first Anime i watched, and still to this day is one of the best. Absolute classic.
Please do a review on Space Dandy!!!!
Can someone recommend a series that is comparable to Cowboy Bebop? it's frustratingly difficult to find something that's worth watching in contemporary anime.
Watch Samurai Champloo if you havent.Its by the same creator
McDave00 Thanks for the recommendation, but tried it, didn't dig it.
Baccano, maybe?
adoresessy101 Thanks!
Black lagoon
I wouldn't call Cowboy Bebop the Star Wars of anime... it's more like the Firefly of anime.
i liked that you used the original version of Tank at the end, i like that saxophone solo! :)
I'm addicted to your reviews, Mr. Arkada.
8.7/10? Them's fightin' words, boy.
In my opinion this show is a masterpiece, an absolute 10/10.
I don't know what this man is talking about he obviously hasn't seen Keijo the only perfect show to have graced our presence
non-believer!
FIrst time viewer here... Great review, I really like your style and presentation.
By the way - to me, you seem like a mix out of Heath Ledger, Matthew Mercer and Marti Fischer, all three beeing very charismatic (voice-) actors / artists.
True story from me, I watched cowboy bebop until episode 19 and then dropped it. I just couldn't do it. I find it dull and boring at times. It took me whole month to realise that it was my own expectations that brought it down. I expect an overarching story with few fillers here and there. So i guess you can say i was a bit culture shock, since i haven't yet watched a 'problem of the day' anime.
So i gave it a second chance, yes it was hard...but once i started to understand the characters, i finally like feel this is a very good anime. If only i was invested during the first time, it would be way awesome for me. I can watch ballad of the fallen angels, jupiter jazz, the finale, toys in the attic and 4 more episode all day bcs if was jsut soo good
if it's so great, what is it only rated 8.70 out of 10? I'm just curious.
if you hear the 2 albums for the show you wont even consider judging it under 1000/10
Sir Slapa Ho
Right? so it should be rated more then what was given, right?
I never seen cowboy bebop, but my friend who is not even an anime fan has seen it and said that it's the only anime he would watch for the rest of his life. this and Great Teacher Onizuka.
Bambooshoots well your friend is wise then ...xD i used to watch a ton of anime but for no reason i just stopped...but still Bebop and GTO are in my top 3 list...for sure
Sir Slapa Ho
no arguments there! XD GTO is in my top animes too! it's that great of an anime!
I might give Bebop another shot because of this review, but I dropped it halfway just because it felt like it was a "bad guy of the week" show with no actual plot in sight (unless I missed it).
I thought that's why people like it
Same here. I hate episodic shows.
yeah you missed it BIG TIME...
When I first saw this series I went in with the impression it would be good but by the end I felt like it had so much lost potential. For me the biggest problem was that even though each episode stood alone I felt unsatisfied by the end of each. It's like the series tried to make you get attached to the side characters along with the main ones and it just felt forced. At one point I felt the series was just badasses being badass which made them feel dull. Couple that with the wasted episodes on things like the food in the fridge and I was just disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I will say it's brilliant in many senses but it's execution of certain things just killed it for me.
I loved Cowboy Bebop, but my greatest issue with it will always be its consistency. Some episodes are miles ahead of others and while they are all good episodes, you can get impatient when you are waiting for another "Ballad of Fallen Angels". Again not because the other episodes are bad, but because "Ballad" is just that amazing. "Ballad" is only trumped by the last episode.
In practicaly every anime review that includes the Bones studio or just in general, you often mention Trigun. I REALLY recommend that you review this one next. Or if not Trigun then Code Geass or Legend of the Legendary Heroes (yeah it has a crazy assed title), a very underrated anime I must say.
I'd give it a solid 9.5 personally.
Where's the Five Anime to Watch Before you Die video?
Akira, Full Metal Alchemist, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Trigun. There you go.
Atropa Belladonna Thank you! Two down, three to go!
so since its a classic and it always gets such good reviews, i decided to start watching cowboy bebop, i watched episode 1-6 now and i'm really not soo impressed.
I mean its not bad, it's okey to watch but it really doesn't blow my mind as i kinda expected after it got praised so much. and its not even the 90's animation, i can roll with that... its just... not as great as i thought it would be... well maybe it will get better
I liked it a lot throughout, but I also felt it wasn't as amazing as people said. But the finale ties everything together so well. It became my favorite anime by the end.
well i liked episode 24 the best, you know the one with ed and her dad. the rest, well honestly i really started to skip through the episodes just so i have watched it. maybe it was the amount of jazz that just didn't do it for me, maybe it was the whole space setting, i dont know. personally i just didn't really like the series.
i guess it must have been the jazz for a big part of me not liking it. i liked the characters well enough, and it isnt the fact that it hadnt had a big plot twist or something like that, heck samurai champloo really doesn't have a great plot at all (well it does but the single episodes really don't focus much on the overall plot) and i enjoyed samurai champloo way more than cowboy bebop. i mean bebob had some amazing scenes but overall meh...
and i don't think i'm too young to appreciate it correctly, since i'm 23...
i guess its just the jazz.
i wouldn't say i hate it. i just don't listen to it, never had it in my immediate environment.
well for each their own i guess :)
*****
I 100% agree with you. The soundtrack is a huge part of it, it creates such an atmosphere that hasn't been matched since imo. And how many animes have a unique and as memorable soundtrack as CB? Not many. I've watched anime with cool soundtracks but they aren't memorable and I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it other than when it's playing in the show.
And too many people don't realise that this is a character driven anime. Those that love it love it because of the characters and the subtleties in their demeanor. And this anime is so layered, I've watched it many many times and I always notice something new about the characters. That's a sign of good writing because a lot of time characters (and anime quite often is guilty of this) makes characters really easy to read (e.g tsundere). And even then, I like the story. It's not as good as something like Shingeki no Kyojin but the story still keeps me engaged.
But obviously this show isn't for everyone. Even Arkada said it himself, we've not been fortunate enough to have the 'perfect' anime, but I'll be damned if this isn't the closest anybody has gotten
12:04 - that's Beau Williams, not John Daniels.
I remember this when I was roughly 5 when my dad showed Cowboy Bebop to me, I still find it to be one of my favorite anime I've seen up there with GITS and and FMA.
"Star Wars of anime" Ummm if we are counting Prequels thats negative...
since Bebop precedes the prequels, no i wouldn't count them. but when it comes to characters, they are more comparable to those of Burn Notice, Spike (Micheal) Jet (Sam) and Faye (Fiona)
If it wasn't for CBB and Akira you'd still be watching Pokemon and dragon ball
nickd1961 No, i got into anime with Naruto, CB and Akira didn't change shit.
Yea you're right it didn't change anything, it started EVERYTHING
They came out 11 years apart...
nickd1961 Ghost in the Shell had a *MAJOR* lasting impact... He he... See what I did there?
No but really GitS was kinda important. *coughcough* inspired the matrix *coughcough*
just noticed the bew channel picture
hahaha I like it
There was nothing wrong with Beebop, but regarding this enormous hype it is overrated. There are some anime, which have even serious flaws, that caught me more because something in it was awesome or touching.
edi Let me guess, SAO or Fairy Tail. Which one are you a fan of?
Willie Wonker Actually, I haven't seen either of them. My absolute favorites are FMA and Black Lagoon followed by AOT.
One example of a not so good anime that I still liked is Elfenlied. It was not the violence or nudity that annoyed me (although both were a bit heavy), but the plot-convenience. However, I cared more about the characters.
I care much about the potrayal of characters; they should be complex, believable and likable. In Cowboy Beebop I disliked both Spike and Faye for their annoying habits.
+edi I hate Elfen lied. It is just cheap emotional manipulation with no real impact ( for me ).
+Zaric Zhakaron yeah bebop is not perfect lol. They could redo it and make it better but it is still one of the best I have seen regardless . Things are masterpieces in comparison to what surrounds them - plus their impact on the genre does effect their classification. In a lot of ways ff7 and cowboy bebop are similar in terms of hype but both have earned their title of masterpiece I think. ( I actually don't even like final fantasy 7 that much either ) .
Glass Reflection yo update yo shit, yoko kanno is now known for terror in resonance, there is a song within the anime, it is icelandic i believe, i forget how to spell it but i think it trasnlates to hope (?) also yoko might be the featured or the one featurING either way yea.... great song. just look up yoko kanno terror in resonance and you can find it, or use the zankyou no something japanese name, either way, i love that song.
3 Reasons why Cowboy Bebop is not that good
1. Too much needless filler like random going after Bounties ect
2. Characters like Ed just don't fit in with Spike or Faye
3.Story was just too boring because they were just going after Bounties and then you get flashback or more story
But I liked the ending (A bit of it).
Carson Groel Well everyone has their own choices.
And I choose to not like this series all that much.
P.S. I think Lelouch dying in Code Geass was the right thing to do,to end the Anime
But there was no point in having Spike die.
How do you define filler in a show that isn't structured around story arcs or a central plot?
Sir Christopher McFarlane But even ways,I just don't like the Anime at all.
But I had high hopes of it at the beginning because everyone says to watch it and stuff !!!
Carson Groel Well it's all down to opinion!!!
FahimTheStrategist Well, it makes sense for there to be some sort of bounty hunting, since the show's basically that. So, saying there's filler based on this premise is faulty. I also don't really see how characters don't fit each other. I feel like any character can go with any other character well. I disliked the unstable relationship between Suzaku and Lelouch but I knew they fit together based on their pasts together.