What Do I Expect From Netflix's Cowboy Bebop

If you are my close friend you would know that Cowboy Bebop is my all time, all time favourite series ever, perhaps even across all mediums. I think that the anime, including its movie, is probably as close as you can get with what can be considered perfect fiction. It is well written, directed incredibly, scored magnificently – and with the pace of the story it is chef’s kiss. And because expectations are so high, many fans obviously sneered at the idea of a live action adaptation. This is expected as the anime community is quite toxic and loves to gatekeep with what is considered good or bad. That paired with the fact that nearly all live action adaptations of anime are bad, well things just might be a shit storm waiting to happen. But I am an optimist and as John Cho fan, I might be one of the only fans who is actually optimistic that this is going to be pretty good. In this article, let me tell you why I think this series is going to hit a positive note with audiences.

Right now Netflix is looking at season 1 being a 10 episode season with 1 hour episodes – good. This is not the type of series that you can condense into 20 minutes or one film. You really have to let the writing and mise en scene breathe in a story like Cowboy Bebop. And I know a lot of people are skeptical given the previews that have been released – fans think that it’s too quirky and light but I just want to say, did we watch the same Cowboy Bebop? A lot of the series is quirky and light. Let’s not pretend that Bebop is not a parody on Hong Kong action films and film noir. It’s not exactly supposed to be serious all the time. They literally had episodes about magic mushrooms and mold that fights back. I think that given these parameters and what Netflix has shown us, I believe that they know what they’re doing.

Also, you don’t want it to be just like the anime. There is already the anime. I want to watch a live action rendition of the story. Sure, the original source material might be an anime but if we really want to get into the nitty gritty, the original source material is the script and it was brought to life in anime. There will never be a live action that is 1:1 with its anime counterpart. It can have a great rendition as a live action series. This means that the live action can be as different as it wants to be from the anime and still be really good. Hey weabs, live action can be good if you go in without a bias.

The last thing I want to say is that, a lot of fans don’t want it to be good. They’re judging 10 hours of content on 2 minute teasers on Twitter. Look at the Twitter replies, they are so volatile. It looks like the comment section of a YouTuber apology video. Let this shit be good because if it is, it will only make more people interested in the source material. Which means that you will get more opportunities to see cool projects around Cowboy Bebop and anime at large. All I ask is that you give this series a fair chance. And hey, you know what? If it’s bad – move on, it’s just a show. Whatever happens, happens.

What Do I Expect From Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop

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