The Cowboy Bebop Appreciation Thread

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Femto
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The Cowboy Bebop Appreciation Thread

Post by Femto »

Seriously, this is one of the best series ever.

I got the third volume the other day and was utterly shocked at how brilliantly done this series was after watching the Jupiter Jazz two-parter again. The dialogue is fucking genius and it has awesome animation (in most of the episodes at least) and awesome music just for the heck of it too. This is the kind of stuff that comes out once in every blue moon. Really subtle, but really really great.

Post your Cowboy Bebop love stories here.
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Post by Loeviz »

I like Cowboy B too.
When they eat the shrooms its really hilarious.
To bad the ending is what it is..
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Post by Necromancer »

I liked it, but I never saw the whole series.
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Post by Tempest »

Necromancer wrote:I liked it, but I never saw the whole series.


Ditto. I've been meaning to sit myself down sometime and watch the whole series. In fact, I've been meaning to sit myself down and have an anime day just to watch some different animes and see what I like. Between Ayanami and Rosiel's collection, hell, they could make an anime fortnight (That's 2 weeks for those not in the know).
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Post by Brainpiercing »

Hmm, I guess I could fill up a few days by now....

I watched CB a good while ago, and always liked it, although I guess you'd have to watch it twice to see a lot of the finesse. The main arc eps were wonderfully great, I think the only ep I thought was a little off was the one with the giant clown guy (can't remember exactly). And you've got to love that bounty-hunter TV show.
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Post by LordMune »

Cowboy Bebop is teh most overrated and b0ring evAr fanbois need to die plzkby.

In other news, I fail to see the appeal in stand-alone episodes with relatively good (but not that good) characters and a pathetic main story arc.
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Post by Libaax »

I really CB episodics story,characters,music. It was a great show on the best ten animes i have seen.


BUT a son**** spoiled it the ending for me in a kenshin thread in Gotwoot.net so i have never finished the show. I didnt watch more than ep 20. His answer was "what CB is like ten years old".......

But i have deciced to still watch the hole show now that the shock of the ending spoiler is gone.


By the way the musik in CB is the best i have heard in an anime. The OP and ED songs are soooo good .
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Post by Femto »

LordMune wrote:The usual nonsense with increased font size to attract attention to himself.
If you don't like it why even bother posting here?
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Post by Tempest »

LordMune wrote:Cowboy Bebop is teh most overrated and b0ring evAr fanbois need to die plzkby.
Nope. Dragon Ball Z takes the title there in both respects.
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Post by Buzkashi »

I love dragon ball z. Ive wanted to watch Bebop more. But I only catch it once in a while when its on C.Network.
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Post by LordMune »

Femto wrote:
LordMune wrote:The usual nonsense with increased font size to attract attention to himself.
dont post nub
I was just hoping for an explanation of Bebop's supposed extreme appeal.
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Post by Femto »

LordMune wrote:
Femto wrote:
LordMune wrote:The usual nonsense with increased font size to attract attention to himself.
dont post nub
I was just hoping for an explanation of Bebop's supposed extreme appeal.
Because it doesn't spell things out for you and leaves you to ponder stuff on your own? Because every episode is different than the last? Because of the compelling, fleshed out characters? Because of the beautiful animation? Because of the great music? Because it's not like every other generic anime out there?

I understand that you like to troll shit, but it'd be nice if you just leave this thread alone. It's called "appreciation thread" for a reason, if you don't like the series then you have no business here. BTW, it was really slick of you to edit my post the way you did. I didn't see that coming, specially considering the fact that I had done so a couple posts earlier myself.

On topic, one of the parts that made me see how great Bebop was is the chase scene in Ganymede Elegy. The music just sets the tone for the part beautifully and the mood shifts from being an ordinary chase scene into something more personal for Jet. Good stuff, I might see it again right now actually.
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Post by LordMune »

Femto wrote:
LordMune wrote:
Femto wrote: dont post nub
I was just hoping for an explanation of Bebop's supposed extreme appeal.
Because it doesn't spell things out for you and leaves you to ponder stuff on your own?
This slipped under my radar entirely. Care to elaborate on the more thought-provoking aspects?
Because every episode is different than the last?
I guess that is part of the problem for me. The episodes had no real impact on the characters or their environment, most of the time. It just felt like a quick action fix for people with the average attention span of your average goldfish (please note that this does not apply to anyone in this thread, or indeed, forum- you have all proven to have attention spans surpassing that of the common goldfish).
Because of the compelling, fleshed out characters? Because of the beautiful animation? Because of the great music? Because it's not like every other generic anime out there?
Can't argue with that.
I understand that you like to troll shit, but it'd be nice if you just leave this thread alone. It's called "appreciation thread" for a reason, if you don't like the series then you have no business here.
I do not enjoy trolling, as I percieve it- but that discussion does not belong here.
BTW, it was really slick of you to edit my post the way you did. I didn't see that coming, specially considering the fact that I had done so a couple posts earlier myself.
I was not aiming for originality.

Maybe it's because I find a thread whose sole purpose is saying that something is the bestest to be kind of odd, I don't know. To me, forums have always been about the exchange of different opinions; not the concentrated regurgitation of the same opinion.
I should probably just stay out of this thread.
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Post by Damien »

Personally, I could Never get into this series, and YES I gave it a chance.
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NARUTO + BLEACH doesn't even come close to the BEST MANGA= ONE PIECE
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Post by Femto »

This slipped under my radar entirely. Care to elaborate on the more thought-provoking aspects?
The relationship between Faye and Spike for example. She never just says that she cares for Spike, but there are many moments in various episodes that imply that she really cares for him, maybe even as far as loving him. The aforementioned Jupiter Jazz is a great example of this, what's up with Gren and Vicious? Was Vicious just a comrade for him or was there something deeper going on there? Or even the whole part before Spike left the syndicate, what exactly happened there? They give you bits and pieces all over the place and you're there to put them all together.

I read a comment once on the Sympathy for the Devil episode that was another thing that really made me see how subtle and great Bebop was. I can't phrase it exactly but this is the idea behind it, when Spike tries to play the harmonica (or whatever that instrument was) at the end of the episode and can't do it, it's because playing the blues requires what is called "soul" and Spike always says that he's died once already. He blows in the instrument and realizes this and just smiles and throws it up in the air and getures his bang thing, as in his was of dealing with things is to shoot first and ask questions later.

Or something like that. The point is, Bebop is a series that encourages multiples viewings to catch the small stuff in it. The really great scenes IMO are the ones that don't have dialogue and let the atmosphere, the mood and music do the job, i.e. Spike falling of the cathedral, the chase scene with Jet I mentioned or when Ed and Faye go their separate ways.
I guess that is part of the problem for me. The episodes had no real impact on the characters or their environment, most of the time. It just felt like a quick action fix for people with the average attention span of your average goldfish (please note that this does not apply to anyone in this thread, or indeed, forum- you have all proven to have attention spans surpassing that of the common goldfish).
I wasn't keen on the episodic nature of the series for the longest of times either (it still kinda turns me off at times), but looking back on it, I wouldn't have it any other way. It gives the series the ability to switch the mood between episodes completey, it goes from something violent and personal like Ballad of Fallen Angels, to this kind of mystery story in Toys in the Attic, again to something like Jupiter Jazz, to something hilarious like Mushroom Samba, to a fully action episode like Pierrot LeFou. It's flexible in that's aspect and, save for a couple misses, every episode brings something new to the table. It's not a story driven series, it's character driven and once you get to realize that, the series becomes all the more enjoyable.
Maybe it's because I find a thread whose sole purpose is saying that something is the bestest to be kind of odd, I don't know. To me, forums have always been about the exchange of different opinions; not the concentrated regurgitation of the same opinion.
I should probably just stay out of this thread.
You might be right in that exchange of opinion thing, but I usually stay out of threads that deal with stuff I don't really care about. I don't go into One Piece threads and say how much they suck just because, that's called trolling and that's what you did. I didn't say it was the bestest either, my very first line reads "one of the best series" and I do really think that's true.
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Post by LordMune »

Femto wrote:You might be right in that exchange of opinion thing, but I usually stay out of threads that deal with stuff I don't really care about. I don't go into One Piece threads and say how much they suck just because, that's called trolling and that's what you did. I didn't say it was the bestest either, my very first line reads "one of the best series" and I do really think that's true.
That may be so, but had you gone into One Piece threads and, admittedly, phrased your statement a bit better than I phrased mine, you could have sparked an interesting discussion of exactly what makes One Piece, in this instance, so great. This thread, well, your posts in it, has for instance made me want to watch Cowboy Bebop again, something I never would have wished for otherwise.
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Post by Femto »

Nah, there's no point in me going into a One Piece thread. A pirate with a straw hat and rubber arms isn't very appealing to me. I'd just start with my anime bashing. Image

That's why I rarely visit the anime/manga forums, because most of the stuff going on today doesn't interest me. I don't think me going into every thread and bitching about stuff is something people will appreciate either, even if it sparks some sort of discussion.

But anyway, yeah, you should definately give Bebop another try. I didn't fall in love with it immediately, it grew on to me with time. Watch Jupiter Jazz again, it's probably my favorite arc in the series right now. There are many little things going on there all over the place and the last scene in the second episode is really good.
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Post by dos.azn »

id like to contribute to this thread. though the series was full of fillers, and i wish the main plot took up more episodes, the show had style, like real slick style, which is why i put it up as one of the bests too :D
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Post by Femto »

People should rewatch Bebop and think about how much is said without dialogue.

That's another one of the great aspects of this series, anime tends to be way overexpository, which means characters usually say what's happening even though you can see it yourself on the screen. It's stupid, it's insulting us as viewers and it's not good storytelling. Bebop has some of this too I'm sure, this is really hard not to do, but the scenes that do manage to go without being overexpository are brilliant.

PS: They weren't really fillers because the whole series is episodic. As I said, there isn't really a larger story needed because Bebop is character driven. The series is about exploring these people and less about having a huge, epic drama around them.
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Post by Libaax »

I dont think there is a manga for CB so you cant call the episodic eps fillers.
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Post by Femto »

I guess dos means "filler" as in "doesn't have a true impact to the story."
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Post by Ayanami »

Femto wrote:That's another one of the great aspects of this series, anime tends to be way overexpository, which means characters usually say what's happening even though you can see it yourself on the screen. It's stupid, it's insulting us as viewers and it's not good storytelling.
I watch and have watched a lot of anime. But this has got to be one of the main things that drives me insane about anime. I hate how they explain every little thing to you. One Piece is actually pretty good about this, and maybe that is one of the reasons why I am fond of it. But as ya do.

As for Bebop, it is the best anime to come out of Japan for a long time and will continue to do be the best for a long time.
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Post by Libaax »

Femto wrote:I guess dos means "filler" as in "doesn't have a true impact to the story."
I have watched 20 eps of CB and most of the eps didnt have anything to do with the "true story"
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Post by Femto »

Hey, I'm not saying I agree with him.

I already mentioned why I like how Bebop is broken down.
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Post by Libaax »

I liked CB for the characters and the episodic eps. I didnt care much for the main story,the flashbacks,his nemesis etc.
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