It is a world like no other before or after its release, and it still holds to this day as one of the best fictional universes of all time. The sci-fi induced western-inspired take on a semi-dystopian world is unique and interesting, to say the least. Many would argue, and I’d agree, that the thing that elevates Cowboy Bebop from good to a class of its own is the aesthetic. –Cowboy Bebop Live Action Review does not contain spoilers – Cowboy Bebop Live Action Review- The Aesthetic
The series is available to watch on Netflix. The series was first announced in 2017 as being worked upon by Sunrise Inc.
The series is directed by Alex Garcia Lopez of Utopia and Daredevil fame, alongside another veteran TV director in Michael Katleman. The live-action version stars John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, and Daniella Pineda as Spike, Jet, and Faye, respectively. If you want to check out the original classic, it is available to watch on Netflix. The anime series is considered a masterpiece of storytelling and worldbuilding by many, including myself. Can Cowboy Bebop live-action break that trend and stand out as a perfectly acceptable piece of media by itself, or will it crumble under the weight of trying to adapt one of the most classic anime properties of all time? Let’s find out in this review! Cowboy Bebop Live Action OverviewĬowboy Bebop is a 1998 anime classic by veteran director Shinichiro Watanabe that tells the fictional neo-noir story of Spike Spiegel and his bounty hunting adventures across space alongside his trusted companions, Jet Black and Faye Valentine.
In all likelihood, fans will have to wait for Cowboy Bebop season 2 to get a full look at the new Radical Edward.There has never been a great live-action adaptation of an anime, and even the best of them have to be satisfied with being called just “good”.
Making Ed officially nonbinary in Netflix’s live-action remake would make sense, but it wouldn’t inherently explain why the character has yet to be shown in the Cowboy Bebop trailers, or why no casting announcement has been made. In interviews, Watanabe has said that Ed doesn’t need a definite gender and that while the character uses she/her pronouns in the original show, Ed’s androgynous character identity shouldn’t be explicitly tied to that label. However, it would also be a major shift from the high-energy silliness of the anime character.Īnother theory is that the new Cowboy Bebop’s Ed will be either openly nonbinary or genderfluid – something original series director Shinichirō Watanabe has alluded to in the past. The Cowboy Bebop trailers haven't confirmed that in any way, but it would keep Ed’s computer hacking role on the Bebop the same. Some fans have expressed concern that a child actor wouldn’t be able to bring Ed’s wild and zany persona to life in a compelling way, leading to a theory that the character could be getting turned into some kind of AI. It’s also possible that Ed will be in the live-action Cowboy Bebop on Netflix, but that the character is being hidden in the trailers because she’s being significantly changed. With that in mind, it could make sense for Cowboy Bebop season 1 to take place entirely before the introduction of Ed, with her being saved for a final-episode cameo or a season 2 debut. Some of the storylines shown in the Cowboy Bebop trailers are from later episodes of the anime, but it's likely that the sequence of some events has simply been changed around.
Ed is the last character to join the Bebop crew in the anime, and since the new show is only ten episodes long, it’s likely that a Cowboy Bebop season 2 is already being planned. The most obvious explanation for Ed’s absence is that she simply isn’t in the show’s first season. Related: Cowboy Bebop’s Trailer Avoids The Biggest Franchise Remake IssueĪll those wacky traits have made Ed one of the show’s most popular characters, so her noted absence from Netflix’s live-action Cowboy Bebop trailers has been met with disappointment and trepidation from fans. Out of all the Cowboy Bebop characters, Ed is the quirkiest, constantly referring to herself in the third person and moving through all manner of dangerous situations with an almost oblivious childlike whimsy. A particularly androgynous character, Ed was first envisioned as a boy but was reimagined as a teenage girl in order to keep a better gender balance aboard the Bebop.
In the original Cowboy Bebop, Ed is a 13-year-old computer hacking prodigy who Spike and co. That could mean that the new Cowboy Bebop’s Ed will be notably different from the anime character, or it could indicate that Ed is being saved for a season 2. Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Faye Valentine, and even Ein the corgi have all been shown extensively, but so far, the final member of the Bebop crew is nowhere to be found. Netflix’s live-action Cowboy Beboptrailers have looked great so far, but they’ve lacked one major character from the original anime – Ed.