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Those who think Cowboy Bebop is overrated

Tagged under Cowboy Bebop

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renegadepsyche

renegadepsyche

Notoriously Hysterical

I am in no way trying to start a flame war so let's keep this civilized.

I feel like I am the only person in the world who doesn't love this series. It felt really slow and I never ended up feeling any sort of attachment to the characters which is seriously a first for me. Even in FLCL, which should win an award for the most confusing anime in the universe, I still managed to get attached to the characters despite not know what was going on half the time and being creeped out by their actions.

The episodes which actually contributed to the main plot of the series were few and far between. It felt like I was watching fillers most of the time which would have been fine if the fillers were actually interesting. However there were a few episodes where they actually managed to pull me into the story but then it got ruined when the ending theme appeared and the next episode ended up focusing on something entirely different. It felt like a slap in the face after being mesmerized by something cool.

The character backstories were also lacking. If they had used all those filler episodes to fill in some of the blanks about the pasts of each of the main characters it might actually have become an interesting series. Instead we got a little sliver of information on each of them and that was it. I wanted to know more about Jet during his police force days, or about the things Faye remembered when she regained her memories or how Ed managed to survive by herself for so long before meeting the Bebop crew. Instead what we got were 1 shots about a super-human assassin, some kid in a coma, and other similiar things which seemingly held no relevance to the storyline.

The biggest example of an utter waste of an episode would have to be the 'Toys in the Attic Episode'. Some killer blob goes around making the entire crew sick and it's up to Spike to stop it....ok wait....stop...what? O_o If someone can explain to me how that episode is supposed to contribute to the main storyline of Cowboy Bebop please enlighten me. Most of the crew spent the entire episode unconscious and Spike spent most of it shooting at a blob. Thus you can't even really say it was character building.

I'm hoping I don't get 50 responses with people defending the greatness of CB because I already know I'm in the minority. I'm more interested in hearing from those who didn't think CB was as great as everyone says because 99% of the reviews I've read of CB gave it glowing reviews. There really is no need to gush about it in this one thread as well. So let's hear from those who don't like Cowboy Bebop for a change of pace.

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Hmmmmmm well, I did like CB, mostly for its OST :P but I agree some of those things you point. I would have liked to know much more about characters' past, not just 1 or maybe 2 episodes for each (not even 1 for Ed, I think). On the other hand, I must say that I dont think the main plot was exactly that Spike-mafia thing...maybe the way their usual life is shown, relationship between em (by the way, they should have shown more of this...what do they really think about the others?).

Yes, it feels SLOW...wow, sometimes I got asleep...but that is good too when you cant get sleep by yourself! kind of drug you know lol

La felicidad o la tristeza dependen de la actitud de la mente
Happiness or sadness depend on the attitude of the mind

BobaFett2ha

BobaFett2ha

Mandalore

Hey, I'm glad to see there are others here willing to say Cowboy Bebop is way overrated. It's just too episodic for me.

It was one of the first anime I watched. Before that, the only other series I'd watched completely was Noir. Looking back, Noir is actually pretty episodic. But since it was the only other anime I could compare Cowboy Bebop to, I thought it was way better. Even then I could tell CB had very little story.

The episodic nature and what it causes (i.e. lack of attachment to the characters or "story") is why I didn't like it as much as most people do.

However...
Now, I still haven't watched it since then, but I have good memories of it. There are a new reasons for this. Number one is the awesome music. Now I have to admit, I didn't think too much of it as I watched the series, but it's one of those things that grows on you as you listen to the soundtrack.

I thought the jazz theme did something that goes into my second reason I like it: the anime has style like very few shows have style. It's just cooool. Now, like I said, I didn't grow attached to the characters enough to care too much, but with the style oozing through the screen during fight scenes and such (mainly due to the music), I couldn't help but appreciate, at least a little bit, the show for reasons that most people love it.

"The ugly and thin cattle ate up the seven sleek and fat cattle." - Genesis 41:4

renegadepsyche

renegadepsyche

Notoriously Hysterical

Quote by JKLeganes
Yes, it feels SLOW...wow, sometimes I got asleep...but that is good too when you cant get sleep by yourself! kind of drug you know lol

Haha yea there were quite a few times where I had to mentally force myself to keep watching despite wanting to fall asleep.

The Cowboy Bebop OST is definitely one of the highlights of the series. Even though I didn't like the series that much I found the music quite captivating. Before CB I didn't even like jazz/blues but after watching it and having the music "grow on you" the CB OSTs are now on my mp3 player's 'most played' list. Actually as I'm typing this now I'm listening to CB music. :)

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I'm kinda half and half on BeBop really. I hope there's nothing wrong with that... O_o
I think most people are attracted to CB because of the general "America City Pop Arty Jazz" theme the series has. And the music definantly backs it up. I saw this documentary on Anime and it made a great point saying that most animes are similar, but they sell more on creating a "style" for the show. (Take the music and overall style of Bleach for example. It's very similar to bebop.)

I think the episodes were like that cause they were focusing too much on life in space/the future mabie?

Bebop reminded me of Shakespeare's works. This was because if you simply watched an episode, you'd be slightly lost. But if you read about the episode/storyline it makes alot more sense. No one can watch an episode once and get the whole story by themselves... That's what kinda annoyed me.

Lionhearted911

Lionhearted911

~:. LioNe$s .:~

well...bebop is a deep anime talking about alot of things...some episodes were damn boring...but the story line was so deep and touching...i was going to cry in the end...and the story was very nice and touching really...
they were deep and about life in general...almost problems not there for you to see...like the one about the cute guy whi was insomniac and took drugs that affected his hormones...
and faye...poor thing...everything was very nice and the end was sad
anyway everyone has a diff opinion and i respect opinions of all, just thought i would give you mine.

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FaMiLy MeAn$ NoBoDy GeTs LefT BeHinD 0r ... FoRgoTTen ... ^^

I did like Cowboy Bebop, but I do agree with alot of the points that have come forward. It would have been nice to see more background about the characters. Then again, i am big on games and stories that work on giving you the background of each major character in the show(or play as in the game).

Fist of all, I'd like to say that I respectfully dissagree.
I love Cowboy Bebop, but you do adress some good points. I've found that "filler" is common in a lot of anime series. It happend during the first season of Ghost In The Shell SAC, and Samurai Champloo. Some people (like myself) favor this. It is both personal prefrence and the fact that I have a short attention span.

As for the character backgrounds, I think they are mysterious for a reason. Take Julia, for example. We know almost nothing about her, but I think this is what makes her appealing. Her past is a mystery and the audiance is left to draw their own conclusions and/or speculate in message boards like this one.

Honestly I don't like it too much but I don't dislike it seriously either. I just never got really into it like I do for a lot of my animes. I think it might have been the characters or something because I didn't enjoy it. I don't understand what makes it so great but granted I've only seen a few episodes to base that judgement because it never caught my interest. I don't know too much about it.

Hmm.

I 'marathoned' this show over two afternoons when I downloaded it, and must say that my first impression was that I liked the art, style and visuals but was somewhat disappointed by the (lack of) story.

A year or so later I bought the series on DVD and watched it with friends over the course of several evenings after we had entertained (wined and dined) them - just a few episodes at a time.

This second time around I realised just how little of the series I had actually picked up on the first time around. It is true that there are a few episodes here and there which I didn't like - but there were plenty of parodies, truisms and other bits'n'bobs going on that I really loved. (Take the betamax episode for example or the magic mushrooms!) Plus I did get pretty attached to the various characters and was able to see how their interactions with each other changed subtly over the course of the series.

All not just the ending, but also many of the run-up episodes to it (as we approached the end of Faye's and Ed's story-lines) did succeed in stirring emotion in me. (Trying to avoid spoilers here! ^_^;;) Even though I new it was coming this time, the ending had me shocked. IMHO a graphic portrayal (especially with Julia) not just of the fragility of life, but how you tend to place your loved one up on a pillar and presume he or she is invulnerable and will solve/share all your problems. T_T

All in all, I think it benefits most from a slow second viewing and from a more mature outlook on life. Although that isn't to say there are things there for quite young ages too.

My 2p
^_^

Not to be a postwhoring advertiser on my first post, but I recently wrote a review of Cowboy Bebop after just completing it little over a week ago for my first time ever.

http://thehealingtouch.wordpress.com/2008/10/01/under-the-knife-cowboy-bebop

I agree with a lot of your statements. I found this post because other people keep telling me about some 'deeper' meaning and to 'rewatch' it. But, I'll be honest here, if the series can't get it's 'deep' point across the first time through, doesn't that mean it's not as good as people are claiming it is? Doesn't that mean it's team were failing as a storyteller? If the anime's "awesomeness" is going to be lost on me the first time through, then... isn't that more their fault than mine? If you need to rewatch a show to 'grasp' a lot of the deeper meanings and stuff then isn't that just poor direction? I understand if you'd have to rewatch it due to confusing dialogue or plot or whatever, but Bebop was pretty straight forward as far as I was concerned.

Most of my opinions are MUCH like yours. I've had this issue with Samurai Champloo and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann as well. So, trust me, you're not alone here. It's overrated.

I'm not such a big fan of the series either. I love the movie and expected the series to be as good, but yeah... It's very episodic and slow. There are a few episodes that stand out, like the one where you first meet Vincent, but I expected more of a consistent story line.

I have a feeling however that my opinion of it will improve on a second viewing.

Kan-tastic

Kan-tastic

Grind.

Something tells me most of the nay-sayers of CB think stuff like Evangelion, Code Geass, CLAMP works, Gundam SEED, Lucky Star, etc. are the greatest things since sliced bread... ::shakes his head in dismay::

I can't stay here with every single hope I had shattered...

Spystreak

Retired Moderator

Spystreak

The Grim Reaper

Please don't bump extremely old threads.

Fools You Can't Escape from The Grim Reaper. Your Only Chance for Escape Is Death. Bye Bye Now
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Your Ignorance Will Be Your Own Downfall.

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