Like all great works of art, Cowboy Bebop is not very much like the works compared to it.
Great art lives in the moment, and that experience tasks us to question and accompanies us through our own future. How it's constructed rests on the artists technical ability, their willingness to expand beyond their limitations, and be able to compliment one another to arrive at the whole of their efforts. It is in this that the love, the passion, and magic all come to the forefront of Bebop.
Bebop conveys this with it's provocative visuals and its unique sound, neither of which overwhelms the other, showing us what we need to know, but not telling everything that there is to know. It's a delicate balance, only possible from those who understand and love the medium, respecting yet pushing the boundaries of their limits. For instance, the music would stand out as being a bit much if they did not accompany the magnificent images and moments of the world in which they exist. Emotions are conveyed through the looks of the characters, and the visuals. It comes to a point where it becomes very difficult to imagine telling the stories of Cowboy Bebop in another medium.
One might see the series as an anthology of short stories - tales that are unrelated to each other, but have a recurring cast of characters as they travel along on their adventures. The stories themselves reflect the scope of the images and music. We are almost instantly familiar with the story structure enough that we do not need excessive exposition, yet it takes us on a unique experience that still remains accessible.
One can also see it as a visual representation of a great record album. It is a group of talent that comes together to show their passion and love for their work. The characters are like the best of musicians, one can sense their unique rhythms, their tones, the way they perform, without being told specifically, and at the same time, you do not know everything about them from simply listening or watching them. We get a sense of who our characters are, but we never truly know them completely. We are intimated with Spike and Jet and Faye and even Ed, yet we are still left with questions about them. We can even see and hear them change subtly, as a band would after spending time together on the road, even performing with others for a bit, before saying goodbye.
The Work Which Has Become A Genre Unto Itself.
Like all great works of art, Cowboy Bebop is not very much like the works compared to it.
Great art lives in the moment, and that experience tasks us to question and accompanies us through our own future. How it's constructed rests on the artists technical ability, their willingness to expand beyond their limitations, and be able to compliment one another to arrive at the whole of their efforts. It is in this that the love, the passion, and magic all come to the forefront of Bebop.
Bebop conveys this with it's provocative visuals and its unique sound, neither of which overwhelms the other, showing us what we need to know, but not telling everything that there is to know. It's a delicate balance, only possible from those who understand and love the medium, respecting yet pushing the boundaries of their limits. For instance, the music would stand out as being a bit much if they did not accompany the magnificent images and moments of the world in which they exist. Emotions are conveyed through the looks of the characters, and the visuals. It comes to a point where it becomes very difficult to imagine telling the stories of Cowboy Bebop in another medium.
One might see the series as an anthology of short stories - tales that are unrelated to each other, but have a recurring cast of characters as they travel along on their adventures. The stories themselves reflect the scope of the images and music. We are almost instantly familiar with the story structure enough that we do not need excessive exposition, yet it takes us on a unique experience that still remains accessible.
One can also see it as a visual representation of a great record album. It is a group of talent that comes together to show their passion and love for their work. The characters are like the best of musicians, one can sense their unique rhythms, their tones, the way they perform, without being told specifically, and at the same time, you do not know everything about them from simply listening or watching them. We get a sense of who our characters are, but we never truly know them completely. We are intimated with Spike and Jet and Faye and even Ed, yet we are still left with questions about them. We can even see and hear them change subtly, as a band would after spending time together on the road, even performing with others for a bit, before saying goodbye.