Cowboy Bebop 2021, A Review
Cowboy Bebop was not my gateway into the world of anime, but it is definitely one of my all time favorites. It is easy to start comparing the new and the old, but for the sake of this review, I attempted to judge the new version strictly on its own merits and detractors.
The first episode starts at a casino in the middle of a heist, which introduces the two main protagonists Spike Spiegel (John Cho), and Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir), as they foil the bandit and his gang for the bounty. After they go to New Tijuana after an exSyndicate lackey named Asimov, who has stolen a powerful drug called Redeye. We are introduced to Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda) while Spike is grilling Ana who is Asimov’s main squeeze. From there, everything goes sideways for Spike, Jet and Faye.
Starting with the negative:
I think the dialogue was a bit stiff at times, especially Faye Valentine’s dialogue. This is not to mention that I do not like Faye’s voice (her tone of voice just grates on me in all the wrong ways. Think resting bitch face, only it’s a voice). I don’t know if using that tone for faye was a choice on Pineda’s part, but personally, I am not a fan (this said, it doesn’t ruin the show for me). Jet and spike also had a few stiff bits of dialogue, mainly a forced sounding argument about going to New Tijuana to track down Asimov. In another weird bit of dialogue, a character mentions cupcakes (whether or not this out of place remark was meant as comic relief, it took me out of the scene).
There were also some pacing issues, some lingering parts which did not need to be so long. I know I said, I wasn’t going to compare the old show to the new one. However for context it is necessary to point out that the original show had 24 minute episodes (the story arc for each only took about 20 minutes); in the New Cowboy Bebop, episodes are each 50 minutes, with a story arc of about 45 minutes. I think that there were some unnecessary bits left in as filler (some lingering external shots that frankly slowed the pace at times). I know it was done for dramatic effect, but Asimov unnecessarily cocks his gun before entering a bar in New Tijuana (if the syndicate was after him and he was afraid for his life, he would have already had a round in the chamber).
Some of the kung fu fighting scenes were a bit cheesy and reminded me of “Big Trouble in Little China,” and sometimes not in a good way. More like the henchmen in “The Black Mask,” than Bruce Lee.
Now for the things I liked:
The cinematography in the fight scenes was jerky and intense, I think it added a dimension to the fights. This said, the fights, reminded me of Big Trouble in Little China, they were cheesy, campy, and fun to watch. The CGI is spectacular, especially the detail in the Hyperspace Gates, and ship animations.
The casting was spot on for Spike Spiegel and Jet Black, and Faye was a bit annoying, kind of like the character Poly Perkins in “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow,” so I got over my complaints about her voice by the end of the episode.
The costuming was not only fantastic, it was spot on, and one of my favorite things. Yes, I think it is a bit ironic that they list nudity as one of the things giving it a TV-MA rating, and then cover up Faye’s formerly skimpy attire in order to keep from being exploitative, but whatever. Her costume is still badass. I NEED one of the Syndicate suits with the red trim on the left lapel—super cool!
The attention to detail in the set design is breathtaking, though some of the external shots of spaceships going through forcefields can be a bit lack luster, but the Hyperspace gates and the external shot of the casino’s flashy exterior are spectacular.
Spike’s introduction scene was great, it really captured his nonchalance and quick thinking. Jet’s introduction comes a bit later in the sequence, and the banter between the two of them does a great job of establishing their relationship. Another bit of dialogue that struck the right chord was during an interaction between Jet and an ISSP guy he used to work with, concerning Jet’s ex-wife.
I almost forgot to mention the music. Netflix brought in Yoko Kanno, the woman who wrote the score for the original series to do the music for the new one too. The music is largely the best thing about cowboy bebop. I personally own the Cowboy Bebop anime soundtrack volumes 1, 2 and 3, and listen to them on repeat when I drive around in the car. Yoko Kanno’s music is simply out of this world.
Even if a person is a fan of the original, if one watches this show with an open mind, the person should at least find Cowboy Bebop 2021 entertaining. For this review, I watched the first episode three times. It was worth it (there are tons of easter eggs) and I look forward to watching the rest of this new series.
All in all, I give this episode 7 out of 10. See you space cowboy…