T.A.O's: The Classics:

Second Edition Review:

To simply rhapsodize or talk about the sheer greatness of this show, is not enough to do it proper justice. Like most masterful storyline arches, they are foremost meant to be seen; not heard about. Shinichiro Watanabe's science fiction endeavor "Cowboy Bebop", is an incredible work which was meant to be foremost seen. And it's also one of the many things which must be experienced to be believed.

I have seen a great deal many movies, cinematic works as well as television programs (& other forms of entertainment using a medium); none thus far have succeeded in giving me more pleasure or encompassing the beauty I find in film making than Cowboy Bebop does.

It is a glorious and monumental film making achievement, chalk-full of rich vibrant characters, amazing backdrops & the kind of very special vision which is only obtained by truly brilliant film makers. Their most amazing achievements as individuals in this medium however, is not that they succeed in creating a unique world, it's that they somehow succeed in changing our own. And while entertainment can be one of the greatest forms of deception, it can also be one of our greatests forms of truths.

For me as a fan, it is difficult to describe a story with so much vigor and exposition elements; and on that note few things come relatively close to this one in terms of how much it wishes to tell, and how much it is capable of saying. It's amazing that it manages to tell us perhaps much more than it, or even it's visionaries could have ever imagined.

As I've said before, I have seen a great deal many cinematic works and also many animes. And while a great deal many of those are fundamentally masterpieces, they all more or less just embody themselves in their own world. Shinichiro Watanabe's Bebop encompasses a fully-realized world, but it's heart and vision goes beyond the boundaries it limits itself to. By the end however, you begin to understand that it really does not carry limits in the first place. It's very much perfect in every respect, it's like a dream.

The series is produced in the random freshness & spirit fans used to find in the "Lupan III" series & through some of Leiji Matsumoto's creativity. The show's main character "Spike Spiegel", (doesn't the name just sound good) at first glance is a combo of many anime characters both past & present. In the introduction of the show, we are treated to an incredible array of images; which more or less appear simply atmospheric until we learn the gist of the situation. To learn all that takes a whopping 26-Episodes, a sometimes leisure but untimately satisfying journey which is in every bit worthwhile, and then some.

Spike Spiegel and his partner "Jet Black" are the core of Bebop; bounty hunters in a corrupt freelance space. The setting for the show is one of a futuristic, almost anarchistic society full of antediluvian backdrops (which serve as a combination of something you'd find in San Fransico's "Chinatown" or urban inner-city backdrops; fueled with some futuristic compositions). That alone may be a mouthfull, but true nonetheless. As one watches Cowboy Bebop they'll begin to discover that much of the story is fixated within Spike & Jet's own ship.

It's perhaps too confusing to list the actual individual plotlines of Bebop, as if it was a huge landuary list; that alone would take too long & would be inevitably pointless to spill out to the fans. So in turn, I have devised a better way to look at this show as it stands: It is (roughly) the combination of three separate narratives which mold to become one story. In one hand there's the story of Spike, the freelance bounty hunter & main character. Second is the story of Jet, Spike's long-time friend, partner & ex-cop. Third is another character's story: "Faye Valentine". The alleged criminal & accomplice that Spike & Jet pick up along the way.

There is another female character of the crew who is arguably far more interesting than the first three (whom of which would be almost criminal not to mention), another who's in a word: "Vicious" & another who's not human but just plain great as a plot device. For the sake of SPOILERS I won't proceed to go into those for the moment, since I couldn't dare without enterting some tangent of conversation for hours, upon hours, UPON HOURS; which by the way, I've been known to do to much avail.

One of the greatest achievements of Cowboy Bebop, is that it succeeds in becoming something throughouly emotional & unexpected. It begins as a stylish convention but it leaves us in profound mastery. Even now, it's spirit & originality seem somehow unsurpassed in almost every respect. The show sardonically traces a series of different narratives, each one dealing with the main characters. Being much like one of it's clever motif's suggests, the series plays very much like a dream. Emphasizing it's greatest hopes and fears. It is however upon the moments of revelation, in which everything comes full-circle, when Bebop begins to shed it's ture magic.

Upon entering the television ring of Japan's popular culture in the year 1998, Cowboy Bebop proved to be an instant hit; though fans expected & wanted even more considering that nearly a fourth of the program had been edited for television due to content. However, that effort proved to be all but fuetal, & the series soon arrived onto video, DVD & even on television in the U.S. as part of the national cable television's regular circuit. Where it has garnered millions of fans forthwith and counting; along with the feature film not far behind guided by Columbia/Tristar.

The series alone is presently well-known for being a part of CN's "Adult Swim" network. But even now amidst it's popularity, Bebop remains to be cut & altered in parts. The only sheer way to enjoy it is to see it in it's entirety. And that's coming from someone who really loves the show.

Cowboy Bebop is foremost like our most pleasant memories of childhood, and it even mirrors our greatest hopes and dreams as adults. Presenting us with characters who we can relate to very easily. Spike is very much the everyman in every sense. Calm, collective, intuitive and starkly intense. He is as real as he is fantastical, shedding the remnants of emotion when necessary & much like a real-life actor; displaying to us the parts of him hidden away, which cannot be described in words. He and his partner Jet of course are one in the same. The two share similar ideals and traits but come from two very different worlds. They are both indifferent and pactly mutual to one another in both tone and spirit. Mostly however, they are unforgettable.

I should mention the English-dub of the show, considering I feel it is at least on-par with or even superior to the original Japanese acting. Noticably are the supporing characters, both inexplicable and undeniably charming. "Gren" the sax player, "Roco Bonarro" the brother hustler of a blind Venus citizen, "Teddy" the mad bomber from the episode "Cowboy Funk" and the darling and hilarious "pet store lady" are particularly unforgettable fan favorites. All played to near perfection by the storm of presently popular anime voice actors.

However, while "Beau Billingsea" and "David Lucas" give wonderful performances, none are arguably as impressive as the incomporable "Wendee Lee" who shines as the English voice-over of "Faye Valentine. Lee is absolutely mesmerizing as Faye, and delivers an unforgettable performance; which is one of the greatest anime dub performances in recent memory. Right up there with "John Knox's" stealing-the-show job as "Ashram" in Central Park Media's "Record of Lodoss War OAV" & "Richard Hayworth" in "Rurouni Kenshin" T.V. It's a performance which should not be missed.

There are little tiny beautiful moments in the show, which fixate themselves rather nicely outside the confines of simple words. They are foremost beacons of fantastic art, amidst a clever disposition, told through a painstaking sense of rhythm and an overwhelming sense of musical fun; which Bebop plays to remnants of joyous jazz and blaxploitation harmony. All welded together through some great writing, and an uterly moving experience.

Cowboy Bebop is the anime series of the decade, and it should certainly not be missed. If you ever get the opportunity by all means act on it, because only time tells to us, what classics remain within the palette of great film entertainment. One which is sadly diminishing each day with the ever present movement of the digital age. Great animes like Cowboy Bebop once again remind us that some of the greatest experiences in life, arrived at the whim of great imagination, great motion and by all means, great jazz music.

It is and always will among my personal favorites for countless reasons of imagination. This review being one of them. See you space cowboy! Bang....

~This Has Been Yet Another One Of "T.A.O.'s" New Reviews Of Classic Anime Titles.~