Netflix's Cowboy Bebop is like a live-action jam session, riffing on the much-loved original
anime about a bunch of bounty hunters in space.
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers, I'm Jan, and in this video I'm explaining the jazziest
differences between the new show and the animated classic.
At 49 years of age, John Cho may be over 20 years older than his character Spike Spiegel
was in the original anime, but what the actor lacks in youth he more than makes up for with
acres of effortless cool.
As the show's lead space cowboy Cho exudes laid-back charisma and wry wit, breathing
entertaining life into Spike's often cynical and cavalier approach to the world, while
also managing to tap into his darkness and vulnerability.
Interestingly, portraying vulnerability was something Spike's English-language voice actor
in the anime, Steve Blum, said he found especially difficult.
And that's a benefit John Cho sees of coming to the role as a more mature actor as he says
he's better now at "showing weakness and vulnerability and love" so is more able to do "justice to
the emotional depth [they've] tried to give Spike".
As for creating Spike's look, Cho trained hard to become what he calls "functionally"
rather than "show-horse athletic" to get a good performance and also developed a "character
walk" for the first time in his career, by "watching how Spike moves in the original
series".
And that hair is Cho's own grown out, rather than a wig, which he was keen to avoid so
it would feel and look more natural and wouldn't pull on his scalp during the show's many action
scenes.
Equally superb is Mustafa Shakir as former cop Jet Black.
Fans of Marvel's Luke Cage will doubtless remember the actor as Bushmaster in season
2 of that show.
In Cowboy Bepop, Shakir brings his anime counterpart to pitch-perfect life with a seen-it-all-before
gruffness mixed with heart and humour, as well as great on-screen chemistry with Cho.
This time around, a young daughter's included in Jet's backstory, adding a personal layer
to the professional hurt he suffered in his past.
While that's not really necessary to get us on board with his character, it does lead
to a small but emotionally devastating moment for him as well as some amusing moments along
the way, my favourite of which is him watching his daughter's school performance in the foreground
totally oblivious to Spike fighting a slew of baddies alone in the background.
The third member of the Bebop's crew, Faye Valentine, arrives on the scene a bit earlier
than in the anime; and given Daniella Pineda's fantastic turn
as Faye, that's absolutely for the best.
Pineda's take on the bold, brash amnesiac brings a sense of wicked fun to the show whenever
she's on screen, whether she's bantering with Spike and Jet or getting herself or others
into and out of crazy jams, like in the ridiculously good seventh episode.
With the odd exception, Faye doesn't keep abandoning the team as her animated counterpart
often did, which improves the chemistry she has with her fellow bounty hunters.
In fact, all three lead actors work together brilliantly, producing a truly entertaining
dynamic.
Plus, Pineda imbues Faye's search for her missing past with a quiet melancholy and it'll
be interesting to see how her hunt for answers pans out in season 2.
As for her appearance, obviously she was going to look different in the real world and her
updated outfit reflects that while nodding to the original.
If you've watched Amazon's superhero series The Boys, you'll likely recognise actor Alex
Hassell who played Translucent in that show and stars as Vicious in Cowboy Bebop.
How much you enjoy his turn here depends on how theatrical you like your villains.
Compared to the anime, we see much more of Vicious in the live-action series.
Given he's the show's main antagonist, building up his character and expanding his backstory
makes sense as it makes him feel much more obviously integral to the story from the get-go.
But the penultimate episode that lays out his journey to becoming a Syndicate capo and
his relationship with Spike is one of the less interesting ones as it feels we've either
been told or intuited enough already, so it ends up seeming like an overlong interruption
before the big finale.
Oh, and if you're wondering what happened to Vicious's pet cormorant from the anime,
the new show's creative team made an early decision to give it the chop, which is understandable
given the added VFX costs to create something that's not exactly crucial.
However, they did include various easter eggs to the bird on Vicious's costume.
Julia, who is Vicious's wife and Spike's former flame, also gets a lot more screen time than
she did in the original series where she was more enigmatic.
But she still mainly exists just to be part of a love triangle, and actress Elena Satine
does what she can with a character who's mostly there to appear fragile and sultry.
Fortunately, there's a hint of more interesting times ahead given where the show leaves her
character, and I'm intrigued to see where the creators take things in Season 2.
By the way, Satine gets to showcase her singing, and according to John Cho, also plays the
piano herself in the series, performing a new song that's important for Julia.
Similar to the anime, Welsh corgi and "data dog" Ein turns up in the lives of the Bebop
crew thanks to a run-in with a pet napper named Hakim.
In the live-action series, two super-cute canines, Harry and Charlie, bring Ein to absolutely
adorable life, though according to the show's two male leads they were pretty heavy to carry
around!
As well as the real-life pups, John Cho says he also spent a lot of time acting opposite
a stuffed toy dog to get his eye alignment right in scenes where Ein was off-screen.
In terms of how the show's adapted overall, it gets off to a delightfully playful, wacky
start with Spike and Jet at a casino on the hunt for their latest criminal cash-cow.
The scene is a joy to watch, from Spike's elevator entrance and fancy fighting footwork
including a casino chip drop-kick, to Jet's arrival crashlanding through the ceiling,
to the duo's bickering, best-mates back-and-forth.
Rather than simply remaking the original episodes or creating an entirely different narrative
with the same core characters, the live-action series aims to retain the anime's spirit and
takes a pick 'n' mix approach to its plots and characters.
In other words, they "get everybody and the stuff together", but in a variety of ways.
For instance, the first episode takes a similar tack to the anime pilot, introducing Asimov
and Katerina and their attempted Red Eye drug deal;
but in a change, it also introduces Faye.
How the creative team rejigs or remixes elements often works, but at times they don't quite
pull it off.
For example, I was glad I already knew the anime when I watched the ecoterroism episode
with Maria Murdock because the live-action take on that felt a bit too rushed to fully
take in properly.
Each episode gives the Bebop crew fresh criminals to bounty hunt, like in the anime.
However, this version takes more regular time from the start to expand on the crew's histories,
so those episodes feel less like standalone stories and more clearly like part of a bigger,
overarching narrative.
The series is packed with easter eggs and hat-tips to the original, from building names
to complete shots.
And composer Yoko Kanno is back with new music as well as old favourites, including her iconic
opening theme tune, thank goodness because I really love that!
So, spoilers now for the Season 1 ending.
The appearance of hacking whiz kid Radical Edward was teased a few times this season.
I've got a lead from Radical Ed.
But Ed only appears right at the very end.
Even though it's just a brief glimpse, we can see this version has the signature look
and the hyper, childlike energy and smiley eccentricity you'd expect.
However, fan reactions have been mixed.
with some suggesting that Ed's anime oddness doesn't translate well to live action.
We'll have to wait for Season 2 to see exactly how the character plays out, but I wonder
whether Radical Ed will hack into the Bebop to force Jet to come and join her, Spike and
Ein, similar to how she hijacked the ship in the anime.
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Now, what did you think of the new Cowboy Bebop?
And who's your favourite character in either version?
Let me know in the comments below, and if you enjoyed this, then a thumbs-up and share
are hugely appreciated.
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Thanks for watching and see ya next time.
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers!