The anime’s plot is mostly episodic the thrust of the show is about the day-to-day adventures of a group of weirdos who all have to reckon, in one way or another, with their pasts. The result is a more streamlined show where there aren’t the same mysteries and loose threads - which is great for the narrative but also cuts out some of the delightful detours in the series. But it’s the direction and acting that really sinks these characters: Alex Hassell’s Vicious is more cartoonish than threatening, and Julia, as played by Elena Satine, is more vacuous than her charismatic animated counterpart.Īt 10 episodes, the adaptation cherry-picks from the 26 episodes of the anime and condenses everything, linking characters and events that weren’t connected in the original. So they’re still unoriginal, just in a slightly more well-rounded way. In the Netflix version, Vicious is turned into a petulant man-child with daddy issues and Julia is the vixen trapped in a loveless marriage. Julia is even more of a mystery she’s shown mostly in flashbacks, and only as Spike’s romantic interest, before she’s unceremoniously killed. He has barely any dialogue or back story and only shows up briefly throughout the series. In the anime, Vicious is dramatically villainous: a deadly member of a crime syndicate, he stalks around killing people with a katana while a creepy black cormorant perches on his shoulder.
Spike cowboy bebop hairstyle series#
The new series had the right inclination by developing the characters of Vicious, Spike’s former partner and the series’s main antagonist, and Julia, Vicious’ girlfriend who in the past had an affair with Spike behind his partner’s back. The show’s composer was Yoko Kanno, who also created the music for other popular anime like “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex,” “Space Dandy,” “Wolf’s Rain” and “Escaflowne.” Thankfully, Kanno returned to compose the music for the adaptation, which recycles some tunes from the original and updates them with new arrangements. With its unforgettable opening theme, “ Tank!,” and the vast array of carefully composed and curated music in each episode, from raucous jazz to pensive blues to wild rock ’n’ roll, the original “Cowboy Bebop” is an aural masterpiece as well as a visual one. So any worthwhile live-action adaptation would need to prioritize creating an aesthetic captivating enough to dazzle viewers in the same way.Ĭrucially, the soundtrack also lives up to its predecessor. Hit: The Look and SoundĪs a futuristic space western, the “Cowboy Bebop” universe is expansive and beautiful. It only lasts a few seconds and the result isn’t as refined as what we get with the rest of the main cast - after an entire season without the beloved Radical Ed, what we end up with is an actor (Eden Perkins) dressed up in what looks like poor cosplay. aside from a brief mention in Episode 6, “Binary Two-Step,” and a quick appearance in the last scene of the season. An androgynous young hacker with genius-level intelligence and a lot of odd quirks, Ed is essential to the chemistry of the Bebop, always barefoot and flailing around like a noodle come to life and otherwise bringing a whimsical comedic dimension to the series.
One question “Bebop” fans had as soon as the cast announcements, images and trailers started to roll out was, “Where’s Ed?” In the series, Ed (that’s Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV to you) is the last addition to the crew. The show even succeeded in casting the furry crew member, a “data dog” named Ein, as Charlie and Harry, two corgis with their own impressive acting chops. As for his partners, Jet, a tough former policeman with a soft heart, and Faye, a sassy con woman without a past, Mustafa Shakir and Daniella Pineda feel like the animated characters magically come to life.
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