The live-action for long awaited Cowboy Bebop anime finally made it to Netflix, unlike how other anime which often tend to divert away from the original story, Cowboy Bebop tries to stay true to the anime for the majority of parts. Surely there are a few tweaks in the story as well as character progression but it was very interesting to see the space adventures of the three Cowboys in live-action. John Cho who plays Spike Spiegel surely did some groundwork to bring the character to life. From the action sequences to his mysterious side that the anime fans enjoyed in the series was well portrayed.
Cowboys are bounty hunters and Bebop is the spaceship owned by Jet Black played by Mustafa Shakir where they live actually, it’s a huge ship. Just like the anime, every episode comes in with a new bounty to catch and places to venture into. But the thing which set apart the series from anime is the fact that most of the bounties die or are caught too easy and we don’t get the chance to understand their motive. Which was something the anime was through, like the backstory of the clown which was amazing in both the anime and the series but could’ve been a little more explanatory. The dog EIN had one full episode in the anime telling more about why he’s special and what sets him apart from other dogs. The backstory of Spike and Jet is well told, keeping the same tone, yet it didn’t feel much appealing as it should’ve.
Bebop originally has four characters one being Faye Valentine played by Daniella Pineda and Ed who is missing in the whole series. Writer André Nemec said that Ed brings trouble with whatever she does, which is true but at the same time is a very fun and goofy character which was something the fans were anticipating to see. Eden Perkins plays Ed had only screen time of a minute or so but we will see more of her in season 2. However brief her time, she was resembling in every way Ed is, from body language to the extensive goofy behavior.
The production team did an amazing job bringing the exact things from the anime to this show. From the placement of the objects to the costume, everything was nostalgic to see again. Even the intro shots, and the music is exactly what it should be, paying homage to the anime. However resembling, the ending did not fit right as of course, they have set way for the next season. And hence few changes were made which weren’t quite satisfying. This also means that in season 2 the show can take a very different turn from the anime, which the fans might not be on board with. Although we just got to see only a few of the episodes from the anime, we can expect them to stick to the rest as well but how they’ll end is a question to keep in mind. Overall it was really interesting and fun to watch this series in live-action but if you like the anime version a lot then there are chances you’ll be disappointed.
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