See You Around Space Cowboy…

In my everlasting quest to watch more anime, (which has always been more theoretical than actual, if we’re honest) Cowboy Bebop has come up a few times. I just haven’t felt like it. I knew the basics of the show, and was pretty sure I’d even seen a few episodes. “It’s basically anime Firefly right?” (Y’all know how I feel about Firefly and how vastly overrated it is right?)

But I decided to settle in this long weekend and watch the show, and you guys, I get it now. This is a really fun, very good show. Spike is a great protagonist. Jet, Faye and Ed are excellent supporting characters with flushed out inner lives of their own.  Firefly literally stole all of this. The music on this show, the things the show does with the concept of music and just, HOLY SHIT.

Lots of people have combined western and sci-fi tropes, but throwing noir in really makes the whole thing something special. I really, really like noir flavored stuff. So yeah, I really enjoyed the show and will likely watch it again. I often laughed, I cried a few times, and I’m starting to really get into the rhythms of the medium here. I doubt I’ll ever go full Otaku, but I’m never going to say, “anime isn’t really my thing,” anymore.

Which was always the point right? To demystify this particular branch of media so that I wouldn’t be so hesitant to jump in. I’m still determined to watch more anime, and I’m excited about it. (Frankly, I’d have dove right into something when I finished Bebop but I had my Aquaman tickets, so, I had to go.)