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Kaubôi bibappu: Cowboy Bebop (1998)
What is there left to say that has not been already said?
When I first discovered IMDB, I looked over the reviews for this magnus opus and I figured: why bother restating what has already been stated perfectly on here? Not one negative review or negative aspect about this and everyone sang its high praises to the heavens. But after viewing this series straight through, for the 17th time, I feel compelled to add something extra on here so here it goes:
This is the greatest thing in the world. Thing...as in anything. This series is better then anything you can think of. Watching and appreciating this is...better then sex. It is better then a vacation in Malibu or anywhere, its better then winning the lottery, better then finding someone you love and marry, better then owning a Ferrari or anything, better then sleep, this is better then anything...period. Words cannot describe how wonderful this is. It is too good for words. This series is like revelation from God. In fact, it just might be! I mean, no ordinary mortal can create such a thing that is perfect. What else has Watanabe, Nobumoto and co. done prior to this masterpiece? Macross Pluss?! Holy...there must have been a "higher power" involved in the making of this work of art. Ya see, this series is perfect. Not close to perfect but absolutely flawless.
This is true art, not fluff but art in which you need to use your brain to fully appreciate everything that you are watching. The story, the characters, the music, the action, it all just works very nicely like nothing else you have ever experienced.
Lets talk about the characters in general. I won't reveal anything that might be a spoiler, so read on. These characters...you will take to the grave with you. These characters are so perfect, so real, that they are imperfect just like we real people are. These characters are individuals that you will forever remember. You might forget family members, close friends or whomever in your normal lives, yet you will forever remember Spike, Faye, Jet, Ed and Ein. Ya see, these characters are real. You will wonder if they possess "souls" (and wonder if you lack one). Because you will feel them, feel for them in ways you have never felt about anyone in your life ever before. Which brings me to another point, you will experience every emotion that a human being can possibly feel in their life while you watch this series play out. You will feel happiness, sorrow, love, pain, and amusement. You will laugh, cry, smile, frown and in the end of it all, you will learn. This series is both educational as it is recreational.
Many have considered this series a 'life changing experience' for them. That to me is an understatement! This series is not only life changing but it can even be considered to be the essence of life itself. This series is life! It's even kind of spiritual. This series is like life all rolled up into 26 convenient 24-minute episodes. If you are the kind of person that never really lives life or never really did anything in your life and have lots of questions about the universe and things, then I suggest you witness this series. For this series will "enlighten" any human being.
*sigh* I can't sing the praises of this series enough!
So I will stop here and probably go back to watching this series all over again for the 18th time.
Enjoy!
Cowboy Bebop: Tengoku no tobira (2001)
The Greatest Anime Movie Ever for the Greatest Anime Series Ever.
This movie was so perfect that it was almost too good to be true. If you are a fan of the Anime, you will LOVE this series. The Anime is without a doubt, the greatest animated series of all time. Everything else is far inferior compared to the greatness that is Cowboy BeBop. So I remember seeing this movie months ago and I set my expectations low because I didn't want to be that disappointed. Boy was I amazed at what I saw! I loved every bit, every aspect of this film. Once again, the Great Watanabe ,Nobumoto and co. have amazed the world of Otaku lovers with this work of sheer brilliance. Amazing production, amazing quality and I just love these people! Oh and I love Bandai, Sotsu, Sunrise. The music in this was astounding, as expected from the super-talented Yoko Kanno. She is in her own domain of musical excellence. The tracks were amazing, and contrary to what a previous reviewer has stated, the opener to this movie is so hip, funky and jazzy that you will want a copy of it and all the other amazing tracks featured in this film. The entire crew did an amazing job! The main characters that we all love, were treated with grace, dignity and were all handled beautifully. We were even treated to new characters that revealed themselves to be very deep and realistic. The script was amazing, so humane and real and yet often at times gush of sheer 'poetry'. The action sequences were a treat and are unforgettable. The animation in this is far superior to that of the series and are so groundbreaking that I feel that no hand-to-hand combat scenes or arial fight scenes have EVER been animated with this sort of amazing quality and sheer realism. They are sight to behold. Again, the crew responsible in this did an amazing job! I can't praise the creators of this enough! As far as the plot, everything seems to flow together smoothly and just as the series, at times, is almost 'artsy' in terms of momentum shifts and 'high and low periods' where everything just seems to fit in perfectly and make perfect sense. Folks, this film is a product that far surpasses anything Hollywood has given us in terms of this genre (non-animated even) for the passed 20 years. This far exceeds anything in terms of entertainment for that time period, IMHO. Granted, the characters and source material was so good that nobody could have ultimately 'messed up' a Cowboy BeBop movie. But still, this movie far exceeded mine and others expectations. When you read all these reviews you must realize that they are not all completely wrong. This movie is very very good, at the very least. Now, I see that some of the later reviewers were more critical of this then they were praising of it. Now, that is just silly, IMHO. I think these reviewers were so overanalyzed this thing to death, that they were only looking for what may be the slightest 'wrong thing' in this movie and decided to expound on them in their reviews. Don't take the very critical critics in here too seriously. These people probably have seen this thing 5 times straight and then after the 6th viewing decided one morning that this movie was not as good as they originally thought it was. This movie is so close to perfect that it would take the most anal of critics or the most yuppy of coffee drinking critics to find something even slightly wrong with this work of art. So, in other words, the critical ones on here are reading too into this and think that this is some sort of arthouse project that must contain some sort of hidden message that reveals the 'secret of life' or something.
In conclusion, if you are true BeBop fan, you will absolutely LOVE this movie to no end! If you are not a BeBop fan (as if those even exist) but love anime, you will still find this movie to be utterly amazing. If you do not appreciate any animated films whatsoever, you will still find this movie to be the 'exception' for it will be far superior to anything you have ever seen in years (non-animated wise). This movie was excellent in every aspect and is truly memorable in every way.
Bottom line, see this movie and prepare to be entertained.