Follow the adventures of Spike, Faye, Jet, Ed, and Ein as they continue their endless search for cash. Along the way, tragedy and triumph await as they navigate their way through the dangers of space and corridors of memory. The hottest anime show only gets hotter as it draws towards its end. DVD Extras include animated interactive menus and extra footage. Contains episodes 19-22. The second episode on this disc, “Pierrot Le Fou”, epitomizes the mixture of sardonic humor and noir adventure that has made Cowboy Bebopso popular in Japan and the U.S. Spike fights a deadly duel with the title character, the product of a botched ISSP (Inter Solar System Police) attempt to create a perfect assassin. Their showdown takes place in a saccharine but sinister amusement park, a device used in many live action and animated films, but rarely so effectively.
Director Shinichiro Watanabe uses an impressive array of computer effects to depict a battle in hyperspace in “Boogie-Woogie Feng-Shui,” as Jet helps the daughter of an old friend solve a mystery involving gangsters and mysticism. When pirates hit the Bebop with a computer virus in “Wild Horses,” Spike demonstrates his skill as a pilot, flying the Swordfish by the seat of his pants. In “Cowboy Funk,” Spike almost captures the Teddy Bomber, a fanatic who hides explosives in stuffed animals, but he’s interrupted by Andy, a wealthy heir who plays at bounty hunter in cowboy regalia. The near-farcical rivalry that develops between Andy and Spike feels closer in tone to the misadventures of Vash the Stampede in “Trigun” than the gritty hero of “Pierrot Le Fou.”
Unrated: suitable for ages 13 and up for violence, profanity, and smoking. –Charles Solomon
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May 2, 2010
#1
Sheesh, in every episode of Cowboy Bebop the animators of the series congratulate themselves on how groundbreaking and original their series is. Well, I hate to break it to you, but the series isn’t that original or groundbreaking. Many old anime genres and plots are copied and the series itself never really progresses anywhere at all… the characters are barely delved into w/ any depth and as the series goes on the stories get thinner and thinner. The best episode by far is the first, having some pretty cool action scenes, but after that what little action there is is pretty lame. The best character in the series is a quirky little hacker genius named Ed. The episodes w/ Ed are worth watching.
What probably most soured me on the series is the unbelievably lame ending. The cheese oozing out of the last few episodes actually angered me more than entertained. I tried to forget as quickly as possible what I had just seen, it was so stupid.
May 2, 2010
#2
The entire Cowboy Bebop series has some of the most well-integrated music/animation/character styles I’ve seen (the operative word here is great STYLE), but there isn’t much of a story. The characters are flat enough that I find myself wanting to know about the history of the technology (like the engineering of the star gates) or to delve more into the development of all those extra-terrestial cities.
I personally think this series is worth renting, but if you are considering collecting the series, I highly recommend that you see it for yourself first and then decide whether or not you prefer all style over story. [BTW, "Pierrot le fou" on the 5th DVD was one of the best episodes in the series - the flashes of Pierrot's background were enough to make me feel sorry for the guy...]
Throughout most of the series, I often find myself having a hard time recollecting what I just watched one or two episodes back.
Rent before you buy…
May 2, 2010
#3
There’s no doubt about it the series cowboy bebop is excellent… If you ever seen any “Anime” in your lifetime let it be this series. You couldn’t even be close to right if you were to say that this was just a cartoon, it certainly isn’t… This series is for people around the age of 17 and up, it’s no child’s play. The series plots are incredibly in depth, you’ll love it. When I first sow this DVD my first reaction was how poetic it was, I couldn’t believe it. I have seen many “Anime” series before but this takes the cake. You can’t just go about to buy only this one DVD, you really have to have the hole collection, believe me you’ll want it. Take my advice on this, you’ve never seen a show like this before, and you probably won’t again so see it while it’s hot.
May 2, 2010
#4
The second to last DVD shows exactly how crazy the future can be by throwing in wild-crazy characters (much like Sympathy for the Devil, episode 6)
19: Wild Horses: New character: the old spacer that gave Spike his ship. This episode has some good space-scenes in it, especially the search-and-rescue attempt.
20: Pierrot Le Fou: New Character: Tongpu, the most twisted murderer in all of cinematic existence. Spike runs into the murderer, apparently killing random drug lords, and Spike gets away. Later, the final showdown happens in an amusement park.
21: Boogie-Woogie Feng-Shui: Jet-isode, New Character: Jet’s old friend’s daughter. She seeks out Jet to find her father (actually they meet in an awkword place, thanks to something called universal feng shui.
22: Cowboy Funk: Nearly a Spike-isode. A new face (Andy) shows up; a “real” cowboy, about as smart as horse droppings but somehow always in the right place at the right time. The crew (mainly Faye) tells Spike that he’s just like Andy, but most viewers call her a dumbass at this point. Then, comedy insues.
The extras here aren’t too great (like the rest of the DVDs), but I think Le Fou and Funk are good enough to make this DVD extremely buyable.
May 2, 2010
#5
Yes, I must say that “Cowboy Funk” is one of the best episodes in the series, and certainly one of the funniest. Plus, the other episodes are just as good. Too bad it’s getting towards the end. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes Anime or wants to get into Anime.