Claude Washington

Now that I've finished it and had a night to sleep on it, I'm inclined to say Netflix's Cowboy Bebop is as good as the original anime, maybe even better. To be fair to the original, Netflix has the benefit of 20+ years of hindsight, experience, and something to stand on. But credit where it's due. Instead of what happened with something like Ghost in the Shell, they went above & beyond to connect & work with the major creative forces behind the original. They asked Shinichiro Watanabe (original director) to consult. They asked Yoko Kanno (original composer) to compose. And they got The Seatbelts (original band) to play everything. All of it comes together for a redo that adapts the basics and lots of little things, presents some of the best stories from the original, does a lot of original stuff, makes some minor twists, and fleshes out every major character. All along a narrative that gives more of a full ride, where as the original was more thrill to thrill per episode. All very promising for a second season I really hope we get. Because we probably won't get more of the anime at this point. Happy for every actor and actress who got to work on this, and props to all. They actually improved Faye in my opinion. And she's maybe the best example of how they avoided doing anime things to a fault. Some things don't, just don't translate well going from animation or flat art to live-action. Hope they do a vinyl or CD set. Would buy that and this in a heartbeat and put it on the shelf right next to the anime Blu-ray set I have. Lastly, I now feel Cowboy Bebop has the most interesting & realistic spin on the future. This applies to both versions, but I didn't pick up on it in the anime because it didn't stand out as much. Seeing it all put into live-action, I can't help but see it.