Even if there is an amnestic gun in the world that can remove all my amnestics about the original animation of “Cowboy Bebop”, I would still say that this is a series that is on the pass line with few highlights.
Not to mention that the excellent original work is right in front of you, and the live-action version is taken like this, which is really a headache.
The original soundtrack is still there, just because the copyright is missing the ending song.
The service of “Cowboy Bebop” is also pretty good, and the special effects of the set are not against the harmony.
And it can be seen that there is a budget, and some classic shots have been restored.
For example, the scene in space at the end of the first episode.
But the biggest weakness of “Cowboy Bebop” is the story and the characters.
Most of its adapted single episode stories appear mediocre and memoryless, and many vivid and touching details have been ruthlessly erased.
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The characters in the series have also been changed back to the story, appearing thin and old-fashioned.
Not to mention the most troublesome main storyline of “Cowboy Bebop”, the last two episodes really make people feel like sitting on pins and needles.
If you want to understand the difference between the original and “Cowboy Bebop” more intuitively, just compare the “Green Pepper Stir-Fried Pork” in both parts.
In the original work, although the protagonist has also complained that there is no meat (because of lack of money), at least the “color” of “color, fragrance” and “color” is there.
In the dishes in the picture, green peppers, shiitake mushrooms, and green onions are all available.
In “Cowboy Bebop”, I didn’t even bother to mention the name of the dish, so I replaced it with “Chili”.
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The sparse green peppers, the beans that are inexplicably mixed into it, and a large number of bean sprouts “inject water” into it.
Not to mention, you can see the missing soul, soy sauce light soy sauce and other Chinese condiments at a glance.
American-style Chinese food is so pale.
In fact, these can all be corresponded in “Cowboy Bebop”:
- Sparse green peppers: better than no original elements
- Beans mixed into it: “Modern Elements” added by “Cowboy Bebop”
- A lot of beans: serious water injection, stretched from 20 minutes to 40-50 minutes in a single episode, it is still impossible to tell a story well
- Lack of condiments: delicate emotions and “romantic feelings” are erased
The result is what we have seen, the “Cowboy Bebop” lacking a soul makes people have no appetite.
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The role of “Cowboy Bebop”
In contrast, the male protagonist Spike played by John Cho is the most natural and least acting performer in the whole play.
Although John Cho has a visible age gap and forehead lines, his acting skills are reliable after all.
He showed his heroic spirit and the tragedy and hesitation in the second half.
Faye, who is more controversial, is indeed far from the original image.
The first few episodes looked a bit uncomfortable, but in fact they performed pretty well.
The background story has changed from the original “Prince Save the Princess” to the “Mother and Daughter Heart Knot”, and the emotional line avoids homogeneity with the main line.
Ein may be responsible for acting, but its role is less.
Ed didn’t appear until the end of the season, but his initial impression was a little less cute and more noisy than a bear.
See how the second season (if any) unfolds.
I really don’t like Jet’s new role positioning. A divorced uncle who has been thinking about his daughter all day, without the free and easy way of saying goodbye to the past in the original work.
His current scenes with his ex-wife and his ex-wife are even more embarrassing.
Not to mention his almost “diode” attitude flipped in the end: how sincere and loyal he was when he wanted to save Spike, knowing how much he turned his face back after his daughter was kidnapped because of Spike.
Are there any struggles and entanglements in the three years of comrades-in-arms? I don’t quite believe it.
In the end is the most terrible and ridiculous villain Vicious.
His face was full of bitterness and hatred, and his eyes widened before and after the whole show, as if he was playing with the audience or the director behind the camera.
As a character who can count the number of appearances in the original game with one hand, in order to drive the main line, he was forced to become half the protagonist.
And because he made fewer scenes in the original, there are not many content that the actors can refer to. As a result, he only caught the most crazy and hideous expression of Vicious’s revenge.
90% of the plots are similar to gritted teeth, staring eyes, roaring impotently, and violent veins, which is really too hard.
The plot of “Cowboy Bebop”
Remake works similar to this play are often stuck between the dilemma of respecting the original work and changing new ideas.
In this age full of remakes and sequels, playing “safety cards” has become the wisest choice.
So “respect the original” and paint as the original, but half-hearted, want to take care of the “main line” and want to add some “modern elements”.
The result neither fits the original, nor does it play new ideas.
In “Cowboy Bebop”, it is the two episodes E6 and E7, which are almost out of the original and self-explanatory, and the two episodes E6 and E7 have the best look and feel.
It can be seen that they correspond to the two episodes of artificial intelligence and Faye awakening in the original work.
But the content of the episode is completely different. It adds a portrayal of Spike’s inner struggles, and a punchline that makes people laugh at the small game of Faye’s “mother” and the love of his predecessor.
On the contrary, the other single episodes that retain the original “Legacy” seem to be twisted.
One is the lack of freshness, and the other is that there are comparable objects, so the shortcomings are also exposed.
Some of “Cowboy Bebop” are in a state of “with a budget but not so much budget”.
It seems that the budget is spent on the first and last episodes, and there is also a sense of frugality in the middle.
I have to say, “Cowboy Bebop” has a good casting.
But the drama deliberately or unintentionally deleted the emotional details of the original.
For example, in the episode of Jet and the old partner, the final truth of the original work was revealed. When the two confronted each other, the partner chose to pretend to shoot and died calmly.
Finally let Jet light him a cigarette.
In this play, he becomes the old partner ruthless and stupid. He betrayed Jet and lost his left hand. At the last moment, he forgot that it was a prosthetic?
In the end, only the phrase “A-hole” from Jet was left, so it was so empty.
For example, in the episode “Sad Clown A-Go-Go”, although many details are restored, it forgot to explain the most basic settings.
As a result, after hitting the spike, he shouted “Mom, it hurts”. If I didn’t understand the original work, I might be a little confused.
The other is the first episode with the highest reduction and budget.
The casting of the two wanted criminals was great and vivid, and it smelled like a desperate mandarin duck.
Emotional differences in details, such as the loss, sadness and despair of seeing a lover falling into madness,
And couldn’t bear to watch him continue to torture himself, so he killed him as the last bit of love and kindness.
These are very impressive details, but they are replaced by mediocre bridges in the episode.
Whether this is due to commercial or creative considerations, it is impossible to know.
Finally, to mention the main line, the tragedy of the children of the rivers and lakes in the original work is the sense of sight, and the tragedy of falling in love should not fall in love, replaced by popcorn & family dog blood.
The two roles of Vicious and Julia were basically pulled down by this terrible main line.
In the end, the duel between the two men was brought to an end by Julia’s “awakening”.
This kind of female awakening is not uncommon in recent film and television works, and it is worth encouraging at the right time, but it is obviously not the case here.
There is no foreshadowing, it’s not a surprise, it’s a flashy waist.
In contrast, the lighting of the series is really choking
Thinking about it, the biggest significance of “Cowboy Bebop” is not to be a real person, but to promote the original animation in disguise.
For example, I heard about the production of the “Cowboy Bebop” live-action series, and then I was curious to supplement the original animation.
It seems that I really opened my eyes afterwards. Otherwise, this is another divine work that was accidentally missed.
So, although this article is basically talking about “Cowboy Bebop”, but a thousand words come together in one sentence, that is
Go watch the original animation!
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