All I know about the Cowboy Bebop adaptation is that I hope Ein has a bigger role. Literally, like, whenever Ein isn't on screen people should be going. "Where's Ein? I wonder what he's up to."
[snuggles his RL corgi]
Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.![]()
I don’t know if “doesn’t care” is exactly right here. Depending on who they talked to and the type of person doing the research and stuff, it’s likely that they legit didn’t notice the guns were of a specific type that really mattered. IIRC, the show doesn’t ever really make it obvious in dialogue that they’re specific guns, the audience is just kind of expected to recognize them if guns matter to them. It’s also important to note that licensing costs are actually a thing for guns. And they can get bizarrely expensive, especially in the US so a lot of production companies don’t bother trying to be specific.
Hadn't even thought about gun licensing fees. Huh. Well, I would rather they spend the budget elsewhere. Mostly I just kind of wonder if we'll get the sweet mechanical/food closeups that are very anime. Not crucial, I guess, but those moments do add weight and pacing. Something that started off as an animation shortcut has gone on to be used to support a particular mood. Like Eyedscreen during contemplative moments.
Edited by Unsung on Aug 26th 2021 at 12:29:57 PM
It's quite a slide from "they did not get the exact gun" to "they don't care about the original" there. As noted, the specific type of gun, while fun knowledge for fans and enthusiasts, is not really plot-relevant and probably expensive, and I was perfectly able to enjoy the original anime without knowing what a Jericho 941 is.
Edited by Synchronicity on Aug 26th 2021 at 12:57:16 PM
Which wound up being in a way pointless because Starfire ended up just being a minor character in the show. Like sure she's there but she never does anything. She has no important character relationships, makes no notable contributions to the main plot, and she doesn't even have much of a subplot for herself. She can easily be cut out of the show and nothing much would change.
Sorry for going off topic, but that really isn't true for Starfire. At least not in season 1 and certainly not in season 3.
Anyway, as someone not very familiar with Cowboy Bebop beyond pop culture osmosis, I'm not quite sure what to expect of a live action adaptation. I think, from what very little I know of it, I think it is one of the better choices to adapt into a live action show.
Edited by windleopard on Aug 26th 2021 at 10:59:31 AM
The thing is that any adaptation has to make some changes, and everyone is going to have their personal reason they think the show is amazing. It's fine to be disappointed in whatever change they make, but I think it's also important to be open to what they introduce. They may change the guns they use, and that's okay, but maybe they have new but also uniquely specific guns to each character.
Comics are just words and pictures. You can do anything with words and pictures.It’s Recursive Adaptation time, as the show is getting a side story comic, prequel novel, and a making of table coffee book.
Edited by Beatman1 on Aug 27th 2021 at 5:10:36 AM
I'm rarely ever tempted to get the tie-ins, but my desire for more Bebop is strong, despite my remaining doubts — less than they were. But yeah. So many series which were cancelled, the edge came off, eventually. Cowboy Bebop ended right where it meant to, and I'm as keen for more as ever.
Not really so much a followup or sequel. Just more in the liminal space after they're all together, before that ending.
Edited by Unsung on Aug 27th 2021 at 7:50:15 AM
John Cho for Vulture
. Bits for this thread:
- Cho is, at least, aware of how hard of a time we've had with anime adaptations. He wasn't really aware of CB before signing on, Aneesh Chaganty (who directed him in Searching) encouraged him to take the job.
He’s aware of how high the stakes are: Hollywood has a vast and ever-growing morgue of failed live-action remakes of beloved anime shows from Dragonball Evolution to Death Note to Ghost in the Shell. He generally hates disappointing people, and he can sense the expectations around embodying many viewers’ first anime crush. Still, he put on the blue suit, grew out his hair, and trained relentlessly. “I was so scared of failure that I thought, Well, yeah, I guess you have to do it then. So I took a chance,” he says. “To clarify, the chance was me failing.”
- This is the most "get in shape" role he's had.
- On Spike being Asian:
I’m pretty sure that they had made a decision that this character should be Asian. Having said that, I’m not sure whether the Japanese creators of the show cared. Because when I look at anime, there’s not really an answer to the question of what this person’s race is. And I think that partially has to do with the genre; it’s its own thing, and it’s not necessarily reflective of the planet Earth that you and I inhabit. However, we live on planet Earth and we’re making a product for people in 2021. And so if I were a viewer and saw that a white man was cast as Spike Spiegel, maybe I would say, ah, there they go again. I’m not sure if that’s fair.
- On him being old enough to be Spike's dad:
And I had to get over it. I’m not a person who says age is just a number or whatever. It was gonna be harder — physically. And I was gonna look different than a 25-year-old guy. At some point, the opportunity is “Yes or no — do you wanna do it?” And I did wanna do it. So I wasn’t gonna stop myself from doing it.
- He made sure Yoko Kanno was definitely involved before agreeing to play Spike.
Edited by Synchronicity on Sep 2nd 2021 at 5:06:13 AM
To be honest everybody needs to do a cowboy bebop rewatch at some point.
I actually get this and it doesn't sound condescending.
Man looks like Spike Spiegel to me. Only thing missing was the trench coat during the church fight.
This is the sort of attitude that needs to go into every anime adaption.
This, too, I can respect and agree with more than the usual "it's an adaption, go f-ck yourself if you don't like changes."
It's got a lot to live up to.
I also find this answer particularly graceful and interesting:
First of all, I couldn’t have done it when I was 27. I mean, maybe I would’ve been better suited athletically, but in terms of my discipline, I am strangely better suited at this age. I don’t think I would’ve done justice to the emotional depth we tried to give Spike. There’s always a trade-off. What young men are typically best at as actors is rage. And that might’ve been a more pronounced element in the character. What I’m better at, being older, is showing weakness and vulnerability and love. Those things are more accessible to me. Personally, I’d prefer the version I’m able to do now. That’s my taste.

They didnt even get Spike's gun right in those images, that is NOT a custom Jericho 941 R.
The anime was complete Gun Porn, one thing that should have been focused on...
Edited by Memers on Aug 24th 2021 at 5:56:35 AM