No, not the movie (which is excellent), but the series. Seriously, only cartoon where I've felt close to crying. The writers and translators did an INCREDIBLE job. Simply amazing.
I must confess, I aspired to be an anime freak. I have all the standard social outcast issues, love mecha, etc... but I've found most anime's I've seen.. less than fullfilling. I guess I just don't dig non-western plot development, or most of the translations aren't that hot. Lots of eye candy, though. Guns and cars and planes and ships and motorbikes and robots... ...I digress. Suffice to say, Cowboy Bebop has convinced me that truly excellent anime exists... even though it might be rare.
For those of you who enjoy anime, I'm pleased to join your ranks. For those of you who absolutley think it's the dumbest thing since sales tax, go out and rent the Cowboy Bebop series (6 dvd's, 4 episodes a dvd). If it doesn't change you mind about anime, nothing will.
Woof.
[ March 09, 2005, 02:07 AM: Message edited by: Wonder Dog ]
Posted by Boris (Member # 6935) on :
Thank you Ein Yeah. Cowboy Bebop was great. I don't think western producers could make something of that caliber (And if they did, it wouldn't be just 26 episodes). At any rate, if you haven't already checked out Trigun, do so (And don't let the first few episodes fool you. It actually gets REALLY serious near the end of the series). That's the one that showed me not all Anime sucks, just Dragonball, Pokemon, and the like. There was, of course, another great short series (about 20 episodes) based on the Gundam universe I saw a few years ago (Can't remember the title) that was incredibly well done also.
[ March 09, 2005, 02:14 AM: Message edited by: Boris ]
Posted by Misha McBride (Member # 6578) on :
You should look up Wolf's Rain, its done by the same people who created Cowboy Bebop.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Same composer too... Yoko Kanno.
Posted by Wonder Dog (Member # 5691) on :
Yoko Kanno's (sp?) music totally rocked. It added such a great depth to the whole thing - sometimes showing that the series didn't take itself too seriously... which ironaclyy made me like it more.
Boris: You're totally right about Western producers. They would have milked it dry until it was a usless hunk of passe story-telling. As much as it pains me to say, keeping it to 26 episodes shows real belief in the integrity of your sotry and charachter. A hallmark of excellent story-telling.
Thank you all for your recomendations... I'll try to check them all out... warning, though: I'm pretty fickle. I only respond well to good charachter development and good story telling.
Odd question: Did Yoko Kanno and the Seat Belts perfor all the songs for the series? Or did she write them and get other artists to perform? The music is just so... diverse. And so very very good.
Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
I've seen the Cowboy Beebop title all over (Netflix, Suncoast, etc.) but haven't watched it yet. I think I'll go put it on my Netflix Queue now. Posted by narrativium (Member # 3230) on :
Yoko Kanno has to be one of the most talented non-classical composers alive. Her songs work well with the context of the shows they are written for, but also stand well on their own. I highly recommend picking up any soundtracks you can get your hands on, especially Bebop.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
She can do some good classical stuff too. She can do it all.
Posted by Wonder Dog (Member # 5691) on :
My favorite song from Bebop is her song about her puppy and a cat... she sings a bit in french, too... We Qui Non Coin. (Thanks, google.) It's just so... child-like and mello. Then you get to contrast it with the outrageous cool cool jazz, some hippity hop, opera, east indian and a bit about pi. KarlEd, definetly que this series. I can't say enough about how awesome it is.
Posted by JaneX (Member # 2026) on :
Blue.
One of my favorite songs ever. And absolutely perfect for the scene it accompanies.
"Never seen a bluer sky..."
Yoko Kanno
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
quote:Seriously, only cartoon where I've felt close to crying.
Read. Maus.
Posted by Telperion the Silver (Member # 6074) on :
Close to crying?
Damn.. I cried like a b$*@% at the end. And yes... Blue is very powerful.... with the star dying at the end... Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
Wolf's Rain didn't do much for me.
Karl - whatever you do and I do mean whatever you do, don't watch the end of the series without watching all of the prior episodes first.
-Trevor
Posted by Wonder Dog (Member # 5691) on :
Teshi: Read? I think I can, a bit... Maus? Is this a book? Or someones pet? Or a manga?
Telp: I was a cry-baby as a kid, so now I try and keep the tears to a minimum, no matter what. Acutally, the part that got me the most is when Ed leaves. (Hard Luck Woman). When Spike and Jet see the message on deck... and the windmill... (sobs). *snif* I loved Ed.
And of course the last two episodes are obsolutely(sp?) incredible and very, very emotional.
"Bang."
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
It's a graphic novel by a man named Art Spiegelman, chronicling his father's experiences as a Jew in Nazi Germany. He drew the characters as animals, all, the Jews mice and the Nazis cats. It's a powerful experience, reading that graphic novel.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
Or watch Grave of the Fireflies. Man I think it was a mistake to watch that with my daughter. She was only 5 when I watched it. She didn't really pay too much attention though so it wasn't too traumatic for her. For me on the other hand...
Posted by narrativium (Member # 3230) on :
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Hail]](graemlins/hail.gif)
Yoko Kanno
![[Cry]](graemlins/cry.gif)
![[Confused]](confused.gif)