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Any other anime as complete in its presentation as Cowboy Bebop.

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Opinions? I feel the music, visuals and characters all just mesh so well. Only exceptions being the weird 'lesson/stories' spike/jet tell to each other than only seem to make sense or sound cool in japanese.
 
the mountain story I still dont get, even after he explained it. And WTF were they talking about at the end of the Bebop movie.
 

Azih

Member
Um, i guess spoilers.

At the end of the Bebop movie they were just laying plain the parallels between Spike-Julia and Vincent-Electra. The only difference between the pair is that Vincent forget about Electra and went batshit crazy. See both Spike and Vincent were disconnected from their past and so weren't moving on with their lives, but where Spike had memories of Julia to keep his life like living in a 'dream' Vincent didn't have Electra so he was living in a nightmare. They both woke up by dying.
At least that's what I got out of it.
 

Dram

Member
I thought the Gungrave anime was pretty good. Especially how they went into the main character's story, before he became Grave.
 
Post Bebop I can't stand hardly any anime. My friends say that Bebop killed the genre for me; nothing else is good enough... I even disliked the movie.
 

Trakball

Banned
Is it true that Firefly took a lot of its inspiration from Cowboy Bebop?

I tried to watch the movie the other afternoon but I just can't get into anime. I tried! Just couldn't do it.
 

Phoenix

Member
ArcadeStickMonk said:
Post Bebop I can't stand hardly any anime. My friends say that Bebop killed the genre for me; nothing else is good enough... I even disliked the movie.

The series raised the bar, that much is certain. Its hard to find a series that is as complete in so many ways. Its like how True Lies is such a kick ass movie on so many levels and most generic action movies pale in comparrison.
 

karasu

Member
Bebop is slick, but overrated. I like shows where each ep is a piece of a continuous storyline. From what i've seen of Bebop, it jumps all over the place.
 

GONZO

Member
I'd have to say that gungrave as a whole stacks up to a pretty well rounded series. I would suggest it to anyone.
 

Boogie9IGN

Member
Phoenix said:
The series raised the bar, that much is certain. Its hard to find a series that is as complete in so many ways. Its like how True Lies is such a kick ass movie on so many levels and most generic action movies pale in comparrison.

Truer words have never been spoken.

Bebop.gif
phototruelies1.jpg
 

arter_2

Member
serial experiments lain its a different type of anime all together but it is very polished and very well done even though it is incredably trippy i had to watch it like 3 times just to understand it better.
 

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
Phoenix said:
The series raised the bar, that much is certain. Its hard to find a series that is as complete in so many ways.
That's about where I stand. Cowboy Bebop was really the first anime series I watched completely and in order, and I haven't found anything else enjoyable. I really disliked Neon Genesis Evangelion. I've seen random episodes of Gundam, and I might want to look into that further some day. Otherwise, I cannot stand most anime series. So much of what airs on Cartoon Network is just bizarre slapstick humor or wacky teen angst love triangle crap. I can't get into that. I hate everything Dragonball. Nothing else really has had an impact for me.

I'd love to find another mature show that comes together in such a great complete package, but I'm not sure it'll happen. It's rare. I just haven't found another anime series that grabbed my attention and amazed me as well as Cowboy Bebop.
 

speedpop

Has problems recognising girls
I remember hearing about Bebop years ago back right a bit after the Evangelion boom before I was ever into fansubs or anything. But there was like only 2 English fansites, one had a few songs from the series in it. So naturally it says Yoko Kanno, I say holy shit the same chick that did Macross Plus and that Vision of Escaflowne series I have yet to watch.

Since then the whole appreciation towards Bebop has dwindled, the fact that there are rabid fans who hold it up as the greatest thing to ever be made (e.g. FFVII) make me dislike it a little until I go back much later on to experience it again.

If it weren't for Yoko Kanno and possibly Keiko Nobumoto, Bebop wouldn't be as popular as it is now I think. No denying that the music had a huge influence on the series. Samurai Champloo is trying to mimick the whole Bebop feel but just isn't doing it correctly.
 

Zaptruder

Banned
There is still none greater than Bebop.

Sure other animes have as much entertainment value such as One Piece Berserk or whatever...

but those animes good as they are just don't compare to the complete package of Bebop; excellent animation for the time that still more than holds up now, awesome music, incredible character designs and mechanical and world designs... great character dialogues, even great voice acting.
Even it's episodic nature which some people dislike works well in its favour, allowing anyone to jump in at a point and appreciate the quirkiness of the series. It also makes the series very rewatchable; just watch any episode that you like, or (most of) the episodes in any order.

It really is the perfect show.
 

AniHawk

Member
speedpop said:
Samurai Champloo is trying to mimick the whole Bebop feel but just isn't doing it correctly.

I'm going to steal what someone said about SC and CB. Cowboy Bebop was able to get away with so much because it was set in the future. It allowed for more people to relate to the characters since the culture wasn't too far off, and new tech never really hurt the overall feeling of the show (unlike Metropolis and how its city is a harsh combo of futuristic and modern). Samurai Champloo is a show bound by time, and it has less room to be more imaginative since everything is historically accurate (which is why the buildings usually look the same). That's only part of the reason though.

karasu said:
Bebop is slick, but overrated. I like shows where each ep is a piece of a continuous storyline. From what i've seen of Bebop, it jumps all over the place.

With a show like Trigun, you have the main character searching for his brother the entire time, and through that he faces enemies. Cowboy Bebop is more about all these people reacting with each other and by the way, Spike's past is catching up to him. What I enjoyed more out of Cowboy Bebop than a show like Trigun or Serial Experiments Lain (and I enjoyed both of those a lot), was that the philosophy was not shoved down my throat- that it remained mysterious, and I never really needed to "get it" to appreciate the show. It's a nice extra.

Oh, and Ballad of Fallen Angels will be for a long time a masterpiece in my mind.
 

Tsubaki

Member
karasu said:
Bebop is slick, but overrated. I like shows where each ep is a piece of a continuous storyline. From what i've seen of Bebop, it jumps all over the place.

It's partially because Cowboy Bebop is actually two different shows. You notice how there's some episodes that are pretty dark and violent, and then others that are just plain weird?

Well, 13 of the episodes did a run on normal Japanese television. The other 13 showed up on a run on WoWoW, a satellite-only station in Japan.

Only on the home release did they combine the two. Still the same series, but it really wasn't a cohesive 26 ep design.
 

karasu

Member
Tsubaki said:
It's partially because Cowboy Bebop is actually two different shows. You notice how there's some episodes that are pretty dark and violent, and then others that are just plain weird?

Well, 13 of the episodes did a run on normal Japanese television. The other 13 showed up on a run on WoWoW, a satellite-only station in Japan.

Only on the home release did they combine the two. Still the same series, but it really wasn't a cohesive 26 ep design.


Really?? Interesting. No one ever told me that before.
 
Trakball said:
Is it true that Firefly took a lot of its inspiration from Cowboy Bebop?

If anything, Firefly is closer to Outlaw Star.

But really, besides "outlaws in space" or "sci-fi/western" they have nothing in common.
 

Azih

Member
Plus even the quirky episodes usually reveal character's backstory without shoving it down your throat. In terms of story there's the main Spike arc (Ballad of Fallen Angels, Jupiter Jazz 2 parter, and the Real Folk Blues 2 parter) there's a mini Faye arc scattered across the 26 episodes (with a payoff that's IMO just as emotional as the grand Spike finale) (Honky Tonk Women, My funny Valentine, Speak Like a Child, Hard Luck Woman) , around 3 or so Jet episodes (Ganymede Elegy and Black Dog Serenade... Boogie Woogie Feng Shui doesn't really count), and Ed's story comes out in bits and pieces across all the episodes. It's a really subtle approach that had a huge impact on me.

Plus the fact that you saw both the serious and quirky side of the Bebop crew really made the final few episodes really heart wrenching.
 

J2 Cool

Member
Because Bebop was half serious and half comedy doesnt take away from it at all. It was fantastic on both ends, a complete package. The characters became so damn well rounded. Look at the episode 'Speak Like A Child'. The whole episode was Jet and Spike trying to figure out what beta and vhs are. Hilarious shit. And at the end, pure silence as the tape is put in. They grab you and have you're complete attention when we see Faye see herself as a young girl, giving a message to herself. It was so damn touching. THAT'S complete. I can't think of a more complete one actually in anime. I keep looking for something that captures my imagination and creates as gritty of a world and characters but it's not happening. Everything about it is perfect. Even stuff like Waltz for Venus, a single episode, telling one man and his sister's story, just hit me hard. The show is just beautiful and the characters so subtle and so interesting. I needed to see what situation they would find themselves in next.

About stuff that compares.. I'm currently on the same search. I will tell you, if you give Berserk up to the 2nd or 3rd disc, you'll find something as good as Bebop, though maybe not as slick or as complete. It's the best continuous story I've seen though and has me care for certain characters just as much as Bebop. That and Cowboy Bebop are 1, 2, as my favorite anime series ever.

Samurai Champloo also is very good. A complete show, not quite as strong as Cowboy Bebop. It's still good stuff though, as all Wantanabe's stuff is. I'm going to look to check out Gungrave next as well as One Piece and Monster.
 

bjork

Member
Anyone who didn't cry when
Edward left
is simply inhuman. Also when
Spike dies
, and when
Faye is watching herself on video
.
 

MVS

Member
bjork said:
Anyone who didn't cry when
Edward left
is simply inhuman. Also when
Spike dies
, and when
Faye is watching herself on video
.

Bang.

Christ, now I have to watch the series again tomorrow.

Thanks, GAF!
 

lexi

Banned
The music playing as
Ed left
was great, Space Lion also rocks hard.

The writing Ed left in the ground was almost too much to bare.
God that series owns.
 

bjork

Member
PS: even though the story is scaled down quite a bit from the manga, the GTO anime is pretty great imo.

Not on par with CB, but still great. Onizuka is probably the coolest character ever, next to Sanji from One Piece.
 

duderon

rollin' in the gutter
First anime i watched in its entirety and probably the last. It was everything you could ask for in entertainment and more.
 

ourumov

Member
Lhadatt said:
Some of you might want to check out Vision of Escaflowne. Fantasy/steam-magic-mecha. It's a linear mech show, but thuroughly well-crafted, with a great plot. There are shoujo elements, but there are also giant robots fighting with swords in a weird medieval/scifi setting.

ve3.jpg


Mechs swordfighting
Shot of Escaflowne in dragon mode (yes, it transforms)
Most boring anime ever...Well...Arc the Lad also deserves credit.
Evangelion is a super polished package but you have to refuse to understand it...and that's something not everybody can do.

I agree with Matlock: Lupin the 3rd > Cowboy Bebop.
 

RiZ III

Member
I said it once and Ill say it again. You should watch Gungrave. Awsome character development and interaction. The ending is awsome.
 

demon

I don't mean to alarm you but you have dogs on your face
lockii said:
The music playing as
Ed left
was great, Space Lion also rocks hard.

The writing Ed left in the ground was almost too much to bare.
God that series owns.
Yeah, that's an awesome song. I found the mp3 a year or two ago. Maybe pm me if you want it.

And yeah, that scene as a whole really tugs at the heart strings. u-no-hoo leaving, Faye drawing the outline of her room in the dirt then looking up at the sky with tears in her eyes.....always gets to me.
 

MetatronM

Unconfirmed Member
I'm throwing Fullmetal Alchemist out there. Get past the somewhat slow opening episodes (which really don't do the show any justice at all), and you've got a surprisingly deep, intiricate, dark, funny, mature (but not too mature :)), pure-spirited, and highly disturbing series.
 

Andy787

Banned
No. No anime touches Bebop. Only thing in any form of entertainment that has made me shed a few silent tears. A few others have come close, but none else pulled it off.

WTF HAPPENED TO
tadakichi.jpg
!?!?!?!? :mad:

RiZ III said:
I said it once and Ill say it again. You should watch Gungrave. Awsome character development and interaction. The ending is awsome.
Really? I've been meaning to get into that, love the style of the game. Is the music anything like the GG intro/Bebop?
 
Chrono said:
Monster. (Well, so far at least).

ep 30 is out btw.

I second Monster. It's still being subbed, so I wish more people would get out and watch it. So few animes manage to keep you intrigued for every episode you watch. Always seems like there's a twist after each viewing, almost changing your stance on the mystery. Very cool. More people need to give it a shot before all we have to watch it is a raped dub. Not to say the dub will be bad, it could end up like Bebop, but the subject matter may be another story.
 
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