REVIEW: Cowboy Bebop is a hit Netflix special

It's no secret that the anime Cowboy Bebop is among one of the most sacred and influential anime shows of the last 20 years, and it's a series I have great admiration for. This is what made the prospect of an adaptation live action something to feel a little apprehensive about.

Fortunately, Netflix's premiere season of Cowboy Bebop isn't just a fun and exciting romp that gets the Gestalt vibrant and moving image of the original series. She also leaves her own mark in ways that sometimes improve anime creator Shinichiro Watanabe.

Like the original, Cowboy Bebop sees a dysfunctional team of bounty hunters riding a fine line between poverty and comfortable squalor far into the future. Over the course of the 10-episode season, the trio of bounty hunters – Spike Spiegel (John Cho), Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda) and Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir) – take on different jobs across the galaxy. These shows entangle them with eccentric criminals and unnerving villains, and pull various threads connected to each character's tragic past.

The plot

Set in 2071, the original anime series is about a group of bounty hunters on a spaceship called Bebop. The Earth became largely uninhabitable, and people colonized the various rocky planets and moons of our Solar System. THE Inter Solar System Police (ISSP) relies on contracts with bounty hunters, called “cowboys”, to keep criminal activity under control, although the powerful Red Dragon Syndicate manage to prosper.

the main character is Spike Spiegel, a Mars-born bounty hunter with a history of violent gang activity and a penchant for fighting, not to mention a tragic romance in his past. Your best friend and business partner is Jet Blackcaptain of Bebop and ex-cop with cyber arm. His team expands throughout the series. 

Faye Valentine is a con artist and also a bounty hunter who has spent over 50 years in suspended animation following a space shuttle crash and therefore suffers from amnesia. A is an adorable Welsh Corgi, genetically modified. And Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivruski IV, also known as RadicalEd, is an eccentric and energetic teenager, skilled at hacking computers, who provides much of the show's comic relief.

In addition to their weekly adventures, each crew member of the Bebop had broader character arcs, exploring their respective backstories – particularly Spike's. Spike has had repeated tense encounters with enemy Vicious, an ambitious member of the Syndicate. Vicious and Spike were blood brothers until Spike had an affair with Vicious' girlfriend Julia. 

The two plan to run away together, but no one leaves the Syndicate alive. Julia had to go into hiding, and Spike faked his own death and ended up joining Jet Black aboard the Bebop. A final confrontation between Spike and Vicious constituted the tragic climax of the series. Director Shinichiro Watanabe did not hesitate on this score; the show lasted a single glorious season and helped redefine what people thought anime could be in the process.

Cowboy Bebop pays homage to the classic, but updates (and corrects) dated aspects

The backbone of the new series is the chemistry between the trio of bounty hunters. When not arguing over food and minor inconveniences, they engage in missions on different planets trapped in a culturally stagnant society dominated by late-stage capitalism. 

Cho's portrayal of Spike, nonchalant but always astute, is a fantastic turnaround for the actor. Cho manages to nail Spike's naturalness and swagger, along with his iconic fluffy hair. When Spike's dark past comes to light, Cho effectively shows his character's darker side.

Jet Black is the rock of the crew, serving as the unofficial captain of the Bebop - the ship they use to travel the galaxy. Shakir's take on the character is a killing touch to his animated counterpart. It perfectly captures Jet's deadpan nature while also showing his tenderness in bonding with his crew and loved ones.

But the clear highlight is Pineda as fatal woman Faye Valentine. Pineda's take is not only true to Faye's seductive and relentless nature, but adds a much more fun and endearing touch. She's an absolute blast to watch on screen and elevates an already excellent cast, giving the trio of bounty hunters a charming sense of camaraderie.

The live-action show also updates some of the more unpleasant aspects of the original series, best left in the past. The anime featured several old-fashioned views of sexuality. The show live action addresses this by revamping characters, such as Gren (Mason Alexander Park), now a recurring, non-binary character with more relevance to the story. Some episodes of the anime series feature dated stereotypes of gay and transgender characters, so it's great to see the new series giving them a more enlightened and meaningful presence.

While the new series uses many familiar characters, storylines, and iconic scenes as building blocks, its more serialized plot deviates from the anime in ways I won't spoil here. Rather than the largely episodic nature of the original, with many episodes isolated from the larger plot, the live show carries a more connected story thread throughout the season. 

This consistency helps delineate the structure of 2071's galactic civilization and the many unsavory and endearing characters within it.

It also delves into the lesser-seen and unknown aspects of the original series, which I found very appealing. The first few episodes keep things simple, but the floodgates gradually open, explaining "post-Earth" civilization and how complicated life became after humanity's forced expansion to the stars. O live action does well to illustrate the scope of the universe of Cowboy Bebop and despite keeping things low-key, the ambition and skill are still there.

There's plenty of action to see throughout the season, which seamlessly blends violent martial arts fights and John Woo-style gunfights. While the show is stylized in its approach to action and sets, the actors can't squirm and bend in the same impossible ways as their animated counterparts. This makes some of the more intense action scenes feel subdued and scaled down, which can conflict with how the story progresses. Still, there are exciting and horrible moments.

I enjoyed seeing this rearrangement of stories together to tell a connected plot, and it was nice to see moments and characters foreshadowed. However, the Netflix series sometimes struggles to maintain its momentum, especially after a strong set of opening episodes. This is especially felt towards the end of the season, with some characters and plot threads looking undercooked. 

Still, Cowboy Bebop managed to win me over with its captivating sense of style and lovable characters, and it ended the season with a nice twist and a tease for what's to come.

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