When it comes to western-produced
adaptations of Japanese manga and anime, fans of the medium from the same
western countries are constantly wary, having been burned one too many times. “Dragonball
Evolution” and “Ghost in the Shell” are the usual examples given of big-screen
takes. Netflix too has been under fire from anime fans particularly for their
streaming-movie version of “Death Note.” The 2019 announcement that they will
make a “Cowboy Bebop” series was treated with expected caution, grudging
agreement with the casting, and hesitation with the recent promo reveal of the
main stars in character. Perhaps another tidbit could change their mind. How
about showing them the opening titles?
This was the strategy pursued by
streaming giant Netflix to placate their potential audience for “Cowboy Bebop”
according to Empire Online. On their “Tudum”
event which showcased many of their upcoming exclusive content, Netflix went
and presented the intro to their “Cowboy Bebop” adaptation from the original and
legendary 1998 anime series. The reveal also confirmed rumors that the
production did manage to get hold of the anime’s composer Yoko Kanno to also
provide the streaming series’ score. As proof, Kanno’s “Bebop” intro “Tank!”
was played in the opening credits.
Even more, the intro is a
near-shot-by-shot recreation of the 1998 anime version. The dynamic transition
of scenes with colorful squares and the characters fading between full detail
and silhouettes while in motion was evocative of the original. Of course, a
full remake would be considered too lazy so some parts instead featured scenes
from the series itself, with the supporting cast getting prominence. Characters
Spike Spiegel (John Cho), Jet Black (Mustapha Shakir), Faye Valentine (Daniella
Pineda) and big bad Vicious (Alex Hassel) are depicted, if not exact with the
anime then competently at least.
“Cowboy Bebop” follows the
misadventures of a ragtag band of bounty hunters on the spacecraft Bebop, plying the Solar System of the
late 21st Century for high-paying criminal bounties, while either
hiding from or pursuing their individual dark pasts. The series also stars
Elena Satine, Tamara Tunie, Adrienne Barbeau, Josh Randall, George Stults, Rachel
House and James Hiroyuki Liao. Despite the character’s absence from the intro
and lack of casting, Netflix assures that child hacker “Radical Ed” is also
part of the show, which will begin streaming this November 19. Titan Comics is
also publishing a tie-in comic-book miniseries with four issues starting this December.
Image courtesy of Comic Book.com
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