Cowboy bebop spike race series#

Cho is slower on his feet than the average stunt double, and while the show often employs tricks like Hong Kong stylization and slow motion during the battles, it only does so much to obscure the issues. But the live action version suffers the most in direct comparison when it comes to fight sequences. That flow is critical to Spike’s deployment of Jeet Kune Do, the martial arts conceived by Bruce Lee, and his absolutely chill resolve in the face of violence is a big part of his coolness factor.

The smooth motion that was so critical to the animation. The rhythmic reveals and insights into each character. The rise and fall of action with the pauses of small scenes, personal in scope. You apply excessive force I control that force through fluid motion It means becoming like clear water,” that’s flow. When Spike tells a wannabe fighter in “Waltz for Venus” that, “You’re tense, I’m calm. In rap and hip hop, flow is how rhyme and rhythms intersect and work harmoniously. In jazz, or other music performances, flow is when the musician “moves into a consciousness in which time seems to be suspended and perception of reality is blurred by unconscious forces,” according to Experiencing ‘Flow’ in Jazz Performance by Elina Hytönen-Ng. I want to watch these three go on adventures together, and I think they capture the prickly hostility and trust that’s core to the dynamic of the Bebop’s crew.Īll that said, the show never manages to tap into the organic and loose flow of the original. All of them manage admirably through some less-than-stellar dialogue, but when the show is running on all cylinders they’re a joy to watch together. Daniella Pineda’s Faye Valentine has the vibe of a millennial who has been woken up in a hostile future, and honestly I kind of dug her as a crass hottie with a foul mouth. (He also manages to sound eerily like Beau Billingslea, Jet’s dub voice actor). As predicted, John Cho as Spike Spiegel manages to bring his own coolness to the character, and Mustafa Shakir really nails that Jet Black mix of cool dad/clueless dad energy. The first few episodes were the shakiest and felt the most beholden to the anime plots, but as the plot diverges the show gets more interesting and the characters start settling in.īut…it’s not cool. People who enjoy Dark Matter or Killjoys or other shows about ragtag found families in space will find plenty to entertain them here.

Cowboy bebop spike race series#

It’s got the feel of a higher budget SyFy Original Series (complimentary): fun space hijinks, some jokes, some cool future tech, some gore, and it even gets queer. To be fair to the actual show, it is fun! It’s extremely watchable, with good chemistry between the leads and enough difference from the anime plotlines to still intrigue while still trying to stay rooted in the original. Netflix’s Bebop is almost too beholden to its mammoth inspiration, and that lack of risk-taking ultimately keeps it from ever soaring as at least its own thing, if not an amazing adaptation. There are moments where I wished it was an original show, rather than, you know, directly comparable to one of anime’s greatest series. Unfortunately, the association with Cowboy Bebop is this adaptation’s biggest problem. Yost, Alexandra E Hartman, Karl Taro Greenfeld, Liz Sagal, Vivian Lee (writers), André Nemec (show runner) But when John Cho was announced as the lead, I began to hope for the best - an adaptation that understood the cool of the original and would bring something new to the table.Ĭowboy Bebop, Episodes 1-7 John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, Daniella Pineda (actors), Alex Garcia Lopez, Michael Katleman (directors), Christopher L.

As a longtime fan of the momentous anime Cowboy Bebop - it’s been literally twenty years since it first aired on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim - I wasn’t sure I’d ever really want to see a live action version.