Cowboy Bebop: A Retrospective
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- Опубліковано 27 чер 2024
- Continuing with my recent habit of making feature length videos about some of my favorite anime, today....we jam!
00:00:00 - INTRO
00:04:05 - Beginnings, Watanabe & Sunrise
00:10:48 - How To Categorize Bebop Episodes
00:15:17 - Theme Episodes:
00:18:03 - The Fridge (Toys In The Attic)
00:22:37 - It's Fine, He's Actually 60 Years Old! (Sympathy for the Devil)
00:23:48 - Character Episodes:
00:24:41 - The One We Keep Coming Back To (Ganymede Elegy)
00:32:38 - Curse Your Sudden But Inevitable Betrayal! (Black Dog Serenade)
00:37:54 - The Dollar Store Escape Room (Boogie Woogie Fung Shui)
00:46:20 - Identity Theft For Fun and Profit (My Funny Valentine)
00:52:15 - Betamax, You Know, For Kids! (Speak Like A Child)
00:57:18 - "Well Ain't That A Kick In The Head" (Hard Luck Woman)
01:01:51 - Edward and Ein Go To White Castle (Mushroom Samba)
01:05:59 - How To Survive Falling Out A Window (Ballad Of Fallen Angels)
01:13:47 - How To Survive Looking Like You Have Money (Jupiter Jazz)
01:17:17 - How To Survive Walking Down Some Stair....Oh (The Real Folk Blues)
01:24:44 - Women Who Can Kick Spike's Ass (Knocking On Heaven's Door)
01:30:00 - Awww Sh*t Here We Go Again (Netflix)
01:43:50 - Saving The Best For Last (Batman: The Animated Series?)
01:52:58 - OUTRO - Фільми й анімація
The big 3 “space westerns”:
Cowboy Bebop
Trigun
Outlaw Star
Aren't they the only 3? Lol
All came out within the same period.
You forgot Firefly.
@@ScienceBabbleMusic lol, I’m sure there has to be more. Does Space Dandy count?
@@logansmall5148Firefly is the Cowboy Bebop we have at home.
I miss the art style from these kinds of shows so so much. Cowboy Bebop without a doubt has my favourite art style in anime of all time
Bebop introduced me to Yoko Kanno. Thats why its GOATed for me
Me too, then I had to collect all the Cowboy Bebop music. Not an easy thing. But I got it ALL.
@@longrider42 for me it was an easy task back in the day when he had no options 🏴☠️
@@longrider42 I bought the three main albums: Cowboy Bebop, No Disc, and Blue. How many others are there?
@@MusicBlik Okay, you have the best three. But, there are 10 more CDs of Cowboy Bebop music, for a total of 13, and Yes I even have the Cowboy Ed CD boxed set ;)
Her soundtracks for Escaflowne, Wolf's Rain and Stand Alone Complex, while not as iconic, are also amazing.
Cowboy Bebop strikes that perfect balance between artistic and entertainment that anyone can enjoy it, it’s one of my favorite comfort shows, so accessible and relaxing to enjoy
I think the best part of the stairway metaphor is although Spike made it to the top of the stairway to heaven, bathed in light, he still came down a few steps as if to remind himself (and the audience) that he doesn't deserve it.
Jesus! This is a long ass video…
Perfect!
Cowboy Bebop's crazy mix of styles, iconic characters and deep storytelling make it an all-time classic! Probably one of the few anime loved tremendously even by non anime watchers
As Spike Spiegel once said: "Bang." 👉
See you space cowboy.
Bebop is the one anime that made me think about life differently. I can honestly say it left an impact on my life. Forever grateful for this masterpiece
I know people who do not watch ANY anime... But love Cowboy Bebop. I talked about it once and a 55 year old co worker came in a few years ago and was like "last night that cowboy bebop show was on. I didn't have anything to do so I watched it. You're right its good"... I think that's what makes it stand out. It's not just a good anime it's just a good show.
It's a 7/10 at best
@@rais6036that’s ok we all have crackhead takes sometimes
@@mookiestewart3776 yeah imagine thinking cowboy bebop is a masterpiece
@brennangum6236 Yes Im one of those people I watched DBZ as a kid and then watched Cowboy as an adult and I don’t watch most other anime. Bebop is so good
Stew monologue was perfect 👌. Very well done.
Cowboy Bebop is one of my favorite anime series of all time I love it so much and the characters and the story and the amazing soundtrack
the loneliness , the togetherness... the crew the family. the heart and soul. the breath and the vacuum of space. bebop , the best
Please, yes, give me 2 hour in depth analysis of one of my favorite animes of ALL TIME!! Arkada you are a saint for this ❤🙌🏾
This is a wonderful breakdown of the show. Massive congrats on the script framing, starting with the fridge episode (I am pretty sure you have explained that episode before as a great microcosm of the show as a whole) and referring back to that for each character.
So glad I have watched you for more than a decade.
This is a very good breakdown.
You showed it in the video, and I was a bit upset that you didn't talk about it, but when Spike falls out of the church and recalls his past, it focuses on his fake eye. It's one of those tiny details you can only get from rewatches of the show.
I recently watched a different channel's video about "Noodle Incidents" (references to things that happened off screen that make sense to the characters, but not necessarily the audience, or some of the other characters), and this retrospective of Cowboy Bebop makes me think the series is a masterclass in how to use Noodle Incidents.
ive never heard that term lol but i feel like that keeps things interesting
Overly Sarcastic Productions, solid video
@@mac4974 I was trying to not call out a different channel, but yes that is the one I was talking about.
Lord of the Rings is also all about Noodle Incidents. It's based on an entire history that most of the characters are aware of, but which the reader only experiences as vibes and hints. This impression is strengthened because Tolkien uses the classic trick of giving us the POV of the characters with the least information. Eventually this was all published, but at the time of publication this was all a mystery
I think about Jet's lesson from 'Toys in the Attic' a lot..
"...That's the lesson. Unfortunately, we quickly forget the lessons we've learned, and then we have to learn them all over again."
Glass Reflection is goated.
"A VHS player VHS is a standard for Consumer level analog video recording on tape cassettes."
"Why am I so old!"
I felt that . . . I had to explain what a 'walkman' was to my 15-year-old nephew. 😆 😆
At 10:48 I knew in my soul that the BADA-BADA-BADA-BADA-BA-DA was coming, to the extent that I hit the cue precisely and sang along, but it still didn't fail to satisfy. Excellent edit dude.
"Pierrot le Fou" was written by the same writer as Perfect Blue, which explains partially why it is so different.
Cowboy Bebop is such a massive pillar in western anime essentially because two dudes liked it and they happened to run a cable network, airing it nonstop for years. It’s not to say it’s a bad series, I adore it, but that is what happened.
But what if they liked it, and aired it a lot (and people actually WATCHED it, unlike plenty of shows that got flogged to death, that went un-watched, and are either hated, or forgotten today), because it's REALLY GOOD?
(Not that there aren't other really good shows from that era, that are under-appreciated because they DIDN'T get much Western promotion/exposure. eg Tsukikage Ran, Master Keaton, Sherlock Hound.
But if airing a show a lot automatically made it become popular, then Teen Titans GO and late-season Spongebob would be the most beloved, highly-esteemed shows in TV history...)
@@baconsarny-geddon8298agreed.
Cowboy Bebop is a pillar because it contained a lot of western influence that allowed it to be a gateway for a lot of westerners into the world of anime. I remember collecting Newtype magazines that were translated from Japanese, and they would often rank the most popular characters and Spike was for a long time one of the more popular characters in Japan. So it wasn’t just a western thing either but also beloved internationally because it’s just plain and simple, a really fucking good series.
Bebop is a masterpiece. Nice cope
@@666slateran666 reading is difficult apparently
Loving these big retrospectives of classic anime. Please keep them coming!!
On one hand, a great long retrospective about one of my favourite animes of all times.
On other, I'd only heard way back that they were making live action netflix...thing...and now I'm reminded of that it's out there.
Uh, the Julia/Spike/Vicious triangle IS explained. Viscious and Julia were lovers, then Viscious brought in Spike, they were best friends but Julia and Spike fell in love, she cheated on/dumped Viscious and then when they were about to run away together Viscious tried to get him killed. He failed but Spike used the chance to fake his death with Julia's help.
And then Netflix made it like Julia is the big bad the whole time..fucking garbage writing
It's not really explained but used flashbacks (noodle incidents as someone else said) to imply that at one point spike and vicious were close partners under Mao Yenrai, julia and vicious were lovers but shows the problem with vicious' usage of red eye- there is a vial in Julias apartment and other hints that vicious became corrupted in some way by it (just like the characters in the first episode), and then after an injury spike gets wounds treated by julia and develops a romantic relationship with her. Spike wants to run away with Julia, but she gets threatened at gun point by vicious to either kill spike or both of them be killed, so she doesn't meet spike as he fakes his death.
Love the longer format! Especially with a classic
Yes, I *did* enjoy this video... perhaps because of the subject matter, but I've been enjoying your videos for close to a decade at this point.
Whatever it is, though, *please* keep on doing what you're doing. Thank You.
Watched it this past week. Such an amazing sympthony of themes and genres.
I'm gonna need some of Jet Black's Bell Peppers and Beef because this is a very long retrospective of Cowboy Bebop.
Don't forget to add the beef
Damn this was incredible! I’m glad to see such love still being put out for this fantastic show. I’m loved to see your opinion on watch order change. I was literally thinking if you still believed in your original watch order and then you brought it up and I laughed so hard.
He must've been working on this video since the Cowboy Bebop Movies was originally in theaters. 🤣
You know what’s Crazy I Never Watched Cowboy Bebop but now I am because of you
You won’t be disappointed! It’s truly fantastic!
@@Goatse-monogatari_no_homo like what? haha cowboy bebop is great!!!
@@Goatse-monogatari_no_homomust be amazing to get your media takes strictly from being a contrarian lol
At Ballad of Fallen Angels we may not have a clear idea about the people involved in Spike's past, but also anime has a knack for foreshadowing details -- especially in the opening and ending credits. In the "The Real Folk Blues" ending sequence we're shown snaps of a woman, implied to be split between eloping with Spike or facing the consequences.
And what do you know, Spike is then revealed to have parted ways with one of the deadliest murderers in the System. All because of a certain lady. Who is later revealed to be same woman in the credits, during Jupiter. Considering now the improvisational nature in the Bebop project, that the ending theme unambiguously frames the closure for the story is telling on what talented people were needed to shape Cowboy Bebop; one of the most memorable achievements in anime during the 90s.
It was lighting in a bottle, everyone. We'll never get to see anything like it.
Absolutely love the in depth analysis on anime! Especially such important series that have so much behind them. I don't dissect them myself so I love getting to know more about my favorite anime!
I love your Retrospectives. Deep and full of insight. ❤
Guess my plans tonight have been changed to watch this
After watching, yeah it made me love a show I already loved even more
This is nearly a perfect explanation of what Cowboy Bebop is about. Its my favorite anime of all time and I haven't watched it in awhile. Watching this reminded me my love for it. Thank you for your work and analysis. It was hard to sit through the Netflix portion, I only watched two episodes of that and didn't even finish episode two before I stopped watching completely. It was really bad. Love your summary of the film too and over all how you brought up quotes that pretty much tied it all together.
I have literally been wondering why there hasn't been a video in awhile and now I know why....love it!!!
This is such a thorough and beautiful analysis of the series!
This video is almost as long as cowboy bebop itself...
This was a masterful essay. Thank you for creating this, I have a few holds outs who resist my recommendation of Bebop because they don't watch 'those Japanese cartoons'. I may put the first segment of this video in front of them. one note on the finale. If you watch through the end of the credit, the blue star in the sky, that the old sage told Spike represented him, goes out. I believe that means he died.
Thanks for the hard work man! I miss these reviews and retro active analysis. God bless!
Thank you for this awesome content! Great essay!
Masterfully done, really loved this! Brought back a lot of nostalgia and memories and a lot of closer looks at things that were just consumed way way back and not truly appreciated. Thanks!
Very much enjoyed this one. I'd love to see more deep dives like this.
Love this. Thank you for your effort. It is appreciated.
I love you doing long videos like this, analyses, rants, whatever, I just eat it up! Pls make more!!
I especially love hearing you talk abt cowboy bebop as it's my all time favorite. An Arkada rant + cowboy bebop = the best videos on youtube!
Still the greatest anime I’ve ever seen.
Ooooo gonna have to watch this later. Loved the long form EVA vid. Cheers from a long time subscriber ^^
This needs more views!! You did a brilliant job.
Fantastic video about one of my favorite anime of all time. Thanks.
Absolutely love these videos! Keep up the good work!
Spikes eyes are different colors not just because one is replaced but what it represents is that Spike keeps looking at his past and thus can’t focus on his future. He can’t focus both eyes on what is ahead because of constantly looking back and thus he fails to move on in life, and is stuck in limbo, not heaven or hell, for a failed and “traitor” to the Yakuza crime world. Instead of a fallen angel, Spike is a fallen “demon” who instead of becoming corrupted by evil, he is a demon trying to redeem himself and is corrupted by “good” so to speak.
Jesus. Every time I go back, this series somehow manages to hit even harder. Yeah, a kids show for toys....tbf, the ships are pretty legit and I would totally buy one for my shelf.
Bebop was life changing I don't care how boring of an answer it is my favorite anime is cowboy bebop, miles ahead and nothing even comes close. The cultural depth, the music, the characters and the storytelling is perfect
Great analysis on the many themes and characters in one of the most beloved anime in the west. Cheers
remember watching one of your vids very possibly over ten years ago at this point, was very happy to see you uploading still
Love this, man.
sometimes it's difficult to get the time to watch a retrospective in full, but I love it when I'm able to sit down and do so, so I hope you do make more of these!
A masterpiece. Both the anime and the review.
I really enjoy these retrospective videos. Im looking forward to more... hoping you make more on shows like trigun, and fma:B
I was ready for this to be a big video but 2 HOURS?! That's where out boi has been lol
Awesome video! Thank you!!!
so many things to love about bebop... I adore the art style and specifically the way they draw the human form.... it just pleases my eyes so much lol
The amount of rage i can see in your eyes at the beginning of the Netflix section mirrirs my own so nicely.
Finally finished watching this, watched it in several pieces. Makes me want to rewatch Bebop again soon.
Beebop and Trigun. Beebop and Yu Yu Hakusho are definitely top 10s in my book and those three are like the best INTRO TO ANIME. THEN you move on to the more ANIME OF ANIME, in Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z. EDIT: I was going to say that Beebop and Yu Yu was the first WELL DUBBED ANIME.
I would say samurai champloo, if anyone likes any tarentino, or bmovies, black lagoon
@@marocat4749 I hated Champloo. Everything about it annoyed me. Art, characters, voice acting, story.
1:24:19 Did he really fade away? You could say he... went out with a bang.
Freaking loved this arkada!
Your videos like this (specifically the death note one) was what got me to sub. Would love more deep dives on older anime like this! Love the other content as well :)
Super interesting retrospective, as per usual with your content! At this point it is pretty much public knowledge, but the similarities with Firefly continue to really be uncanny (including their relationship with the studio producing them and screwing them over with airing time and how they did it). The fridge episode also reminds me of Firefly's "Out of Gas" episode, which does a fantastic job at summarizing a lot of the show's heart.
Fantastic video. Thanks again for doing this :)
This was so well done.
You didn’t have to go this hard. But you did and I’m glad you did.
Great video
Loved the video!
Amazing job here indeed. I can feel how much you love this anime. I really love your content. I have been following you for years now, and you keep improving your content. Keep going.
So, next retrospective The end of Evangelion. Considering how complicated this anime can get and the amount of content that has been released since the original series ended, this might take him a while, like until next year (considering he doesn't loose his mind in the process).
Another more doable option might be Rurouni Kenshin. Although it doesn't have the inner thoughts you can get with Cowboy Bebop, I think it would be interesting.
Nice video!!♥♥
banger, thanks for the video
This was a great massive breakdown! It'd been a while since I've been on the channel, and what a way to get back into it. Excited to go watch the ones on Death Note and Spice & Wolf now!
Very much enjoyed
Keep it coming!
okay now this is what we have been missing a good classic
Your first review of bebop was probbaly the first I ever saw of your content. I only looked it up after I got very confused over a streaming side that had put the episodes in order they were first aired in Japan and all left out episodes after the 13th episode. Lots has changed since then and I have since mostly moved awayy from animecontent on youtube but it is strangely comforting seeing this video now, remembering the place and person I was first watching cowboy bebop, the first entry into your content and what has changed over the years. Best of luck to you and thank you for your continous work!
Who else wants the 5h directors cut version of this video?
Arcada, I've seen so many anime-essays and I rarely find them attractive nowadays... However, you're an exception. Well-written, just enough wit and as my girl-friend put so well while sitting next to me and pasively listening along: that guy has a nice voice!
I just finished the show last week so this video is perfectly timed
Fun fact: the refrigerator shows up in Space Dandy, one of Watanabe's other series.
Oh BOY this is gonna be a GOOD one!
Julia represents a salvation for Spike that he never got. Just like Jet is a fallen cop, Spike is a fallen Yakuza criminal. Spike has tired of the Yakuza life and Julia offers that bit of normalcy and goodness that he craves and hopes for but with her death, his hope also dies with her and so all he has left is revenge, to kill Vicious.
Space ghost coast to coast...talk about a blast from the past!
I knew we were in good hands when Arkada started off with explaining Bebop. A lot of people know the title but not it's meaning.
I mean, Ark has been doing anime analyses since like 2008. He has a massive amount of context many other reviewers would likely lack.
I've been watching him since way back when he was with the DesuDes Brigade with Jesu and Prof. Don't remember if he had a platform previous to that.
Yeah that's what got me into his videos because it felt like he was knowledgeable in the anime he talks about. Plus now I'm starting to feel like an old anime watcher and I need someone who speaks my language.
What a banger
It is interesting when you say that Spike just stumbles upon the shoot out in Pierrot Le Fou. I don't think that is the case. Extremely loud shoot out just happened in the middle of the night moments ago. I think he must have heard it, it was just case of Spike being Spike. Overly curious, sticking his nose into everything going on in the vicinity and with a blasé attitude to danger and death. After all, this is not the first time in the series, he seemingly stumbles upon his bounty pretending like it has nothing to do with him only to quickly switch and overpower the adversary. He does that shit like every other episode. And he consistently goes towards danger every chance he gets. But with Pierrot, he had bitten a bit more than he could chew.
Can you do a retrospective on Code Geass next? Love your choices.
The POV of the creature in Toys in the Attic reminded me of Polymorph more than anything else. This would not be the last time I would see an oblique reference to Red Dwarf in anime, but the next one would be 12 years later in Asobi no Ikuyo/Cat Planet Cuties.
I HAVE TO SAY IT. THE LIVE ACTION DOES NOT EXIST YET
There is no live action in Ba Sing Se
Dammit, I have stuff to do, but now I'm apparently going to rewatch Cowboy Bebop again. Thanks a lot
Great work, dude. You know your shit.
Just what I wanted to watch!