Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Designing the Characters of 'Cowboy Bebop'

animationobsessive.substack.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 93 posts

Re: Designing the Characters of 'Cowboy Bebop'

#21

Post by pseudoramble »

KennyBlanken wrote: post #13

To anyone who watched the disaster that was the netflix live adaptation and was put off - please try the original anime. It's a masterpiece. Animation, characters, storytelling, soundtrack - it's all top shelf. The original intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL-D9LrFJd4 The English dub is better than most, and if you really can't deal with subtitles, go for it - but the original voice actors were some of the best…

I’m a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to sub/dub debates. I find myself usually enjoying one or the other more, depending on the show and sometimes the season.

For example, Cowboy Bebop I enjoy both, though probably prefer the dub a bit more. If I’m watching Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, my preference changes season to season since the cast is always changing, and the context of the story changes which I think makes one better over the other. In other cases I’ve definitely preferred the sub.

I don’t think my point is view is unique, but I also don’t see it reflected in discussions much. What’s your take on it?

Re: Designing the Characters of 'Cowboy Bebop'

#22

Post by excalibur »

porknubbins wrote: post #11
the_af wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It failed and got canceled by Netflix. Now, I know getting canceled by Netflix means little. I gave this show a chance, after being impressed with the intro sequence remake, but found it to be soulless. Maybe Cowboy Bebop just doesn't translate to live action; what seemed charming in the original was played for kitsch in the remake. I couldn't even make it to the last episodes.

I thought Jet was great, Spike and Faye were just ok, Vicious was absolutely terrible and since the main villain was basically played for comic relief it kept the show from having any real emotional impact or gravitas.

Totally agree. And Ed. She was only shown briefly, but what was there was truly terrible. It was like they scribbled some dialogue, grabbed a kid off the street, designed a costume, and filmed the cameo in a single day. If this series were ever to continue, I hope they would reevaluate their choices here.

Re: Designing the Characters of 'Cowboy Bebop'

#23

Post by lethologica »

doyouevensunbro wrote: post #19

I remember stumbling across Cowboy Bebop on Adult Swim in the late 90’s. No idea about the show previously but was immediately hooked. Glad they picked it up. [Edit] Looks like the AS promos are still on Youtube: https://youtu.be/Qh8JkogEaFs

I first came across Cowboy Bebop because I bought the movie on Universal Media Disc (UMD) for a Sony PSP! I had no idea what it was about other than I heard the series was good, and I quite liked anime at the time. Was hooked ever since.

Good times.

Re: Designing the Characters of 'Cowboy Bebop'

#24

Post by KennyBlanken »

excalibur wrote: post #22
porknubbins wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought Jet was great, Spike and Faye were just ok, Vicious was absolutely terrible and since the main villain was basically played for comic relief it kept the show from having any real emotional impact or gravitas.

Totally agree. And Ed. She was only shown briefly, but what was there was truly terrible. It was like they scribbled some dialogue, grabbed a kid off the street, designed a costume, and filmed the cameo in a single day. If this series were ever to continue, I hope they would reevaluate their choices here.

I feel like the live Ed was universally disliked, but everyone seemed to agree that Ed would have been nearly impossible for anyone to pull off in-person without it looking really cringe.

Re: Designing the Characters of 'Cowboy Bebop'

#26

Post by flobosg »

KennyBlanken wrote: post #13

To anyone who watched the disaster that was the netflix live adaptation and was put off - please try the original anime. It's a masterpiece. Animation, characters, storytelling, soundtrack - it's all top shelf. The original intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL-D9LrFJd4 The English dub is better than most, and if you really can't deal with subtitles, go for it - but the original voice actors were some of the best…

Besides, Cowboy Bebop is a great entry point for someone who wants to get into anime.

Re: Designing the Characters of 'Cowboy Bebop'

#27

Post by kstenerud »

the_af wrote: post #7
brikil wrote: post #3

> When its live-action reboot failed last year Did it fail? I enjoyed it! I don’t stay up to date with the critics though. Hope this doesn't mean the second season won’t get made.

It failed and got canceled by Netflix. Now, I know getting canceled by Netflix means little. I gave this show a chance, after being impressed with the intro sequence remake, but found it to be soulless. Maybe Cowboy Bebop just doesn't translate to live action; what seemed charming in the original was played for kitsch in the remake. I couldn't even make it to the last episodes.

It could have been successfully moved into live action, but as the animation was built by creative genius, you'd need the same level of skill for a good live action. Maybe someone like Joss Whedon could have breathed life into it?

The show had potential, but the casting was bad, the character design was bad, the writing was bad, the directing was sub-par, and the aesthetic was 75% there which just isn't enough for something like this.

Re: Designing the Characters of 'Cowboy Bebop'

#28

Post by dylan604 »

libraryatnight wrote: post #9
brikil wrote: post #3

> When its live-action reboot failed last year Did it fail? I enjoyed it! I don’t stay up to date with the critics though. Hope this doesn't mean the second season won’t get made.

Show was an abomination. Hard to watch. And yes it's one of Netflix's smarter cancellations.

Sounds like it would have been smarter to never have greenlit the project to begin with. I wonder how many of these types of shows were passed by HBO, so Netflix jumps on it, or if Netflix took it just so someone else couldn't, or any other number of situations that meant it was getting made not because of true desire to make that project but business

Re: Designing the Characters of 'Cowboy Bebop'

#29

Post by dylan604 »

jasonboyd wrote: post #10
brikil wrote: post #3

> When its live-action reboot failed last year Did it fail? I enjoyed it! I don’t stay up to date with the critics though. Hope this doesn't mean the second season won’t get made.

It was cancelled pretty quickly. There was a lot of hate for it. I enjoyed it for what it was and would have liked to see another season.

It wasn't the worst thing I've seen on Netflix, but I never watched any of the original anime. Kind of like never reading the book before watching the Hobbit. Your opinion of that movie is much different from those that had.

Re: Designing the Characters of 'Cowboy Bebop'

#30

Post by pyinstallwoes »

brikil wrote: post #3

> When its live-action reboot failed last year Did it fail? I enjoyed it! I don’t stay up to date with the critics though. Hope this doesn't mean the second season won’t get made.

The show was racist in its attempt to not be racist. Aside from that, it obviously lacked from the initial perspective.
Post reply on HN