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[Hattori]

Is it time to link the OP? I think it is.



It's mostly episodic; there's one two-parter in the middle and another at the end.

 

[kayos90]

I really really like the OP. My favorite part is the beginning where Spike smokes. The music is pretty killer too.

 

[Narag]

Kayos will soon be a bigger villain than Hix.

 

[nintendoman58]

Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee - 1

Yeah...That OP is not gonna cut it for me. There was almost no musical melody in that opening and to me it felt like the singer was talking more than he was singing.

So these Letter Bees are just mailmen with guns...Alright then. I'll go with it.

But after that, it was nice. Nice to see an anime where the main character is just a run-of-the mill regular guy with a job rather than some chosen one. Obviously that may change after his run-in with Lag.

Uh-oh. It's the kid looking for his lost mother storyline. This is going to end up with a bag full of salty tears isn't it?

All in all, good pacing so far. Hope it keeps it up.

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

I agree with him broadly but maybe not for the same reasons. The problem is when a dearth of ideas lies behind any style. Like Watanabe's other shows there is a cloying focus on the surface. The show references various aspects of pop culture and American culture but all it results in is a meaningless stew. And on an episode-by-episode basis I don't think much of Bebop's commentary is all that profound either. I can see how someone would say Bebop lacks style if they think that style lacks deliberateness or focus. It acts cool but who cares?

Then again I haven't seen it in years and am open to being convinced otherwise. More good anime is always better.

I haven't seen Cowboy Bebop in a while either, so I don't feel like I can enter into a detailed discussion about it. But I will say, just generally speaking, you don't have to have profound social commentary to be meaningful. From what I recall, the character development in Bebop was certainly substantial enough that I don't think calling it "all style, no substance" would be at all accurate.

 

[Hattori]

I really really like the OP. My favorite part is the beginning where Spike smokes. The music is pretty killer too.

ending theme is pretty good as well

 

[wonzo]

style is substance and vice versa ( ≖‿&#8790

 

[Joe Molotov]

People hating Cowboy Bebop in this thread...I just...I can't...breathe...gotta go to my happy place...new Yuyushiki episode today...and...okay...

 

[dakkumauji]

Sparrow's Hotel 11

Really feel that marathoning this show in huge chunks will be better.

 

[Shergal]

...I don't think calling it "all style, no substance" would be at all accurate.

Even assuming it was "style over substance", I wouldn't say that makes it a bad show. Some episodes are weaker than others, but in general it's a very exciting anime to watch, and really nice on the eyes (and ears, obviously). The episodic nature of it helps a ton, and I don't really care about being meaningful or substantial if I'm having blast most of the time.

 

[Tamerlane]

I haven't seen Cowboy Bebop in a while either, so I don't feel like I can enter into a detailed discussion about it. But I will say, just generally speaking, you don't have to have profound social commentary to be meaningful. From what I recall, the character development in Bebop was certainly substantial enough that I don't think calling it "all style, no substance" would be at all accurate.

I agree. I think the style/substance dichotomy is wrong since style IS substance in art. Great artistry will say more than any social commentary possible could (whole reason the genre of the historical painting existed). I think the problem for me was Bebop's style said nothing, and oftentimes it seemed like a vacuous collection of references than a meaningful postmodern endeavor (or whatever else it's often claimed to be).

The characters in Bebop were well defined, but iirc most of the character development was in revealing secrets of the characters' pasts without much impact on how they acted in the present.

 

[FelixOrion]

I tend to try to remind myself not to get on people for not liking "acclaimed" anime like Bebop by reminding myself that I'm not the biggest fan of a certain "acclaimed" anime.

 

[Taruranto]

Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee - 1

Yeah...That OP is not gonna cut it for me. There was almost no musical melody in that opening and to me it felt like the singer was talking more than he was singing.

So these Letter Bees are just mailmen with guns...Alright then. I'll go with it.

But after that, it was nice. Nice to see an anime where the main character is just a run-of-the mill regular guy with a job rather than some chosen one. Obviously that may change after his run-in with Lag.

Uh-oh. It's the kid looking for his lost mother storyline. This is going to end up with a bag full of salty tears isn't it?

All in all, good pacing so far. Hope it keeps it up.

STOP RIGHT THERE.

And read the manga. The animu has tons of awful fillers and ultimately goes nowhere.

 

[Gintoki313]

I just saw that their making a 3rd season of The World God Only Knows. I guess nows a better time then any to catch up so I can watch it during the summer. If I remember correctly I stopped watching it when the girl with the capturing powers

Spoiler

friend came and she got attacked by a monster and the episode ended

or something like that. I think it's season 2 if I'm correctly.

 

[Regulus Tera]

All we need is for someone to start the direction vs plot debate.

 

[Jintor]

Bebop is very focused and deliberate. The focus and deliberation is primarily on stylistic presentation aspects and capturing genre impressions though, and it's certainly not pounding a theme in your face 24/7, instead feeling free to meander off-course into a wacky side-adventure once in a while. But that doesn't mean it lacks substance.

2 is Stray Dog Strut right? Which one is 4... the Casino episode?

 

[Lavalamp1138]

Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee - 1
This is going to end up with a bag full of salty tears isn't it?

You have NO FUCKING IDEA!!!

STOP RIGHT THERE.

Listen to this sane person!

 

[wonzo]

All we need is for someone to start the direction vs plot debate.

Plot is overrated and direction is everything.

 

[Chet Rippo]

All we need is for someone to start the direction vs plot debate.

Who needs that when you got animation?!?

 

[jgminto]

I feel like watching Cowboy Bebop again. It's been almost a year.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee - 1

Yeah...That OP is not gonna cut it for me. There was almost no musical melody in that opening and to me it felt like the singer was talking more than he was singing.

So these Letter Bees are just mailmen with guns...Alright then. I'll go with it.

But after that, it was nice. Nice to see an anime where the main character is just a run-of-the mill regular guy with a job rather than some chosen one. Obviously that may change after his run-in with Lag.

Uh-oh. It's the kid looking for his lost mother storyline. This is going to end up with a bag full of salty tears isn't it?

All in all, good pacing so far. Hope it keeps it up.

Ah one of my favorite manga. I liked the anime as a whole, well enough to get it on dvd from Sentai, and the sequel series reverse too. Also check out the academy specials, really hilarious at times.

Favorite cry baby lead, also all the attacks sound and look cool/nice/creative. Enjoy it.

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

I agree. I think the style/substance dichotomy is wrong since style IS substance in art. Great artistry will say more than any social commentary possible could (whole reason the genre of the historical painting existed). I think the problem for me was Bebop's style said nothing, and oftentimes it seemed like a vacuous collection of references than a meaningful postmodern endeavor (or whatever else it's often claimed to be).

I've never thought of Cowboy Bebop as postmodern.

The characters in Bebop were well defined, but iirc most of the character development was in revealing secrets of the characters' pasts without much impact on how they acted in the present.

But what happened to them in the past affects who they are in the present.

All we need is for someone to start the direction vs plot debate.

It depends on whether you're watching the work itself or reading its Wikipedia page.

 

[Crash Station]

Yeah but that's a view born out of ignorance more than anything.

It seems more like a view born out of semantics. Fanservice is just one of those terms that no one can seem to lock down what it implies.

 

[wonzo]

Who needs that when you got animation?!?

Animation is a part of direction.

 

[Hitokage]

Plot is overrated and direction is everything.

The light of El Cantare has gone weak in you.

 

[wonzo]

It seems more like a view born out of semantics. Fanservice is just one of those terms that no one can seem to lock down what it implies.

So basically fanservice was the precursor to moe (；ﾟд&#65439 ・・・

 

[dimb]

And on an episode-by-episode basis I don't think much of Bebop's commentary is all that profound either.

I actually find it to be pretty good. There are themes that stand out but it doesn't beat you over the head with a message, and it becomes the kind of thing where you can sort of work out your own interpretation on a deeper level. It's there to take if you want, but many episodes do an alright job of justifying the actions of the antagonist in a way that opens up multiple perspectives. I find that episodes I like less are the ones that are incapable of doing this, which is how we wind up with stupid stuff like

Spoiler

Mad Pierrot

.

 

[wonzo]

The light of El Cantare has gone weak in you.

It was the pitch-tone perfect Direction that gave Ryuho Okawa's TRUTH the LIFE it deserved.

 

[KnightBuster]

Sword Art Online 10

(Last one for today, since I have work in the morning, sadly.)

So... that fight was interesting, but what made Kirito hesitate? I'm sure I'll find out. But on the plus side, Asuna finally asks about why Kirito avoids guilds. And Asuna assures him that she won't die, because she'll protect him. This is so awwwwwww.

Evaluate Kirito's skills? Dude, he just took on (and managed to injure) your guild master. I highly doubt a skills test is necessary.

Spoiler

Kuradeel. Oh boy. This will TOTALLY end well.

SHOCKING... Kuradeel is probably part of Laughing Coffin, given that laugh, which sounds familiar.

… Yep. He is. And oh crap, that HP bar is very, very dangerously low.

YAY! ASUNA FOR THE SAVE! I loved that entire sequence.

Well... does it matter if you attack red players? I know a murder is a murder, but he really didn't have a choice there.

No no Asuna dear, you did good! It's not your fault for showing him mercy.

Spoiler

AND THERE'S THE KISS.

“Tonight, I want to stay with you.” Uhuh. NOTHING TO SEE HERE FOLKS.

Pwahahahahaha. Oh man this scene. Kirito, you should be MORE CLEAR.

Spoiler

Well, that's one way to propose. Awkward, but effective. Fits Kirito!

 

[madp]

Hito, I finally broke the glass on my emergency Doremi marathon. Will you feel cheated if I don't post episode impressions? Don't know if I'm up to it currently.

 

[chickdigger802]

wish this show was full length

so much potential.


and them thighs of holiness.

 

[Hitokage]

Hito, I finally broke the glass on my emergency Doremi marathon. Will you feel cheated if I don't post episode impressions? Don't know if I'm up to it currently.

I just want you to stop torturing yourself. Whatever you feel like doing or not doing is fine.

It's not like I really take screencaps myself when I do posts.

 

[CorvoSol]

Kayos will soon be a bigger villain than Hix.

Whatever it takes for me to not be the biggest villain.

 

[nintendoman58]

STOP RIGHT THERE.

And read the manga. The animu has tons of awful fillers and ultimately goes nowhere.

All right, I'm assuming that the manga came before the anime. I thank you for your suggestion...

But I'm going to ignore your advice. If I find myself finishing this anime, I'll check out the manga and see how it fares in comparison. I always watch a show's anime before moving on to it's manga. The only exception to that would be Death Note (where I read the manga and didn't watch the anime).

Ah one of my favorite manga. I liked the anime as a whole, well enough to get it on dvd from Sentai, and the sequel series reverse too. Also check out the academy specials, really hilarious at times.

Favorite cry baby lead, also all the attacks sound and look cool/nice/creative. Enjoy it.

Here's hoping that I do. It's got that nice adventure atmosphere and an interesting colour palette.

 

[Regulus Tera]

Whatever it takes for me to not be the biggest villain.

Can't do worse than cosmic and his not liking Utena schtick. Or was that firehawk?

 

[kayos90]

Cowboy Bebop 7-8

7 was very very good. 8 was meh.... I really really like the english dub. One of the few dubs that I can say is super awesome.

 

[madp]

I just want you to stop torturing yourself. Whatever you feel like doing or not doing is fine.

It's not like I really take screencaps myself when I do posts.

The torture is pretty much over because I'm caught up on all of the crap I've been forcing myself to slog through through anyway.

My problem here is that I want to take a screencap every three or four seconds. I can either have an uninterrupted experience the way that it's meant to be viewed, or I can have a gigantic folder full of Doremi expressions. But I want BOTH.

 

[ZachDeKoromaru]

wish this show was full length

so much potential.


and them thighs of holiness.

It's so subtly lewd, I love it.

That everything.

 

[Hitokage]

The torture is pretty much over because I'm caught up on all of the crap I've been forcing myself to slog through through anyway.

My problem here is that I want to take a screencap every three or four seconds. I can either have an uninterrupted experience the way that it's meant to be viewed, or I can have a gigantic folder full of Doremi expressions. But I want BOTH.

If it makes it easier just post short text-only impressions so you can rave but not have to worry about the collage.

 

[Tamerlane]

Plot is overrated and direction is everything.

Perfect post if you take out the :colbert:

But what happened to them in the past affects who they are in the present.

True but I find this type of character development really cliched.

Bebop is very focused and deliberate. The focus and deliberation is primarily on stylistic presentation aspects and capturing genre impressions though, and it's certainly not pounding a theme in your face 24/7, instead feeling free to meander off-course into a wacky side-adventure once in a while. But that doesn't mean it lacks substance.

The problem is when the stylistic presentation aspects are bad. I don't mean in terms of budget, or quality of animation, or how "stylized" it seems but whether that style is meaningful and powerful from an artistic POV. I mean, most modern painters are all "heavily stylized" by the criteria of anime but we wouldn't say every single one of them is good, right? I assume most of us can tell the difference between an Anselm Kiefer and a Damien Hirst.

I actually find it to be pretty good. There are themes that stand out but it doesn't beat you over the head with a message, and it becomes the kind of thing where you can sort of work out your own interpretation on a deeper level. It's there to take if you want, but many episodes do an alright job of justifying the actions of the antagonist in a way that opens up multiple perspectives. I find that episodes I like less are the ones that are incapable of doing this, which is how we wind up with stupid stuff like Mad Pierrot.

Fair enough. I haven't read any in-depth analyses of Bebop so I'm only speculating as to how people praise it. Its not an outright bad show even if I think it's overrated. Way better than Firefly for sure.

 

[kayos90]

These past few posts talking about style and what's good or what's bad.... smfh. I'm sorry I brought this craziness upon us. I didn't mean to... T_T

Kayos will soon be a bigger villain than Hix.

Wait. What? Who's Hix? Is that Hito's new nickname?

 

[Ultimadrago]

Hmm, I see. I see.

Wait. What? Who's Hix? Is that Hito's new nickname?

Haha

 

[Seraphis Cain]

These past few posts talking about style and what's good or what's bad.... smfh. I'm sorry I brought this craziness upon us. I didn't mean to... T_T

Oh no

Discussion

 

[madp]

If it makes it easier just post short text-only impressions so you can rave but not have to worry about the collage.

I'm free of the need to turn episode impressions into imageblogs. I really just want the caps to have them :lol

I'm only four episodes in, so it won't be difficult for me to go back and post some one or two-liners.

 

[Mature]

Birdy the Mighty: Decode - 2
It's fun. There's good action, but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot else going on. I'm surprised at the lack of internal banter between MC and Birdy for social situations. I don't know if that leaves me disappointed or relieved.

 

[Hitokage]

Wait. What? Who's Hix? Is that Hito's new nickname?

I should be upset, but it's only :kayos.

 

[wonzo]

These past few posts talking about style and what's good or what's bad.... smfh. I'm sorry I brought this craziness upon us. I didn't mean to... T_T

But that kinda discussion is a good thing.

 

[kayos90]

I assume by the posts that Hix is not Hitokage's new nickname... Who's Hix then?

But that kinda discussion is a good thing.

I wasn't being serious. lol.

 

[dimb]

I assume by the posts that Hix is not Hitokage's new nickname... Who's Hix then?

Hix is Hix.

 

[Hitokage]

But that kinda discussion is a good thing.

Not really, because it overemphasizes arbitrary boundaries between concepts that don't really represent what works or what doesn't in a production.

Besides, Aristotle said plot was most important anyway.