Cowboy Bebop the Movie
Released By: Manga Entertainment
Rating: 12
Running Time: 115 Mins
Audio: English 2.0 Stereo/ 5.1 Dolby
Release Date: 9/10/2017
Reviewed By: Sandra Scholes
Considered a modern classic, Cowboy Bebop has a small band of bounty hunters on the spaceship Bebop who are down on their luck and need some folding money very soon. Spike, Jet, Faye and Ed the hacker find out there has been an explosion and decide to check it out.
A tanker has been stolen and exploded on the highway and the reporter on the TV states the Mars government is offering up a 300 million Woolong reward for the one who can find them the culprit . Anyone knows (except Naruto) a diet of noodles is not good for you and Spike needs his protein ration from meat and the only way he's going to get any is if he takes up the challenge to find who killed 72 people and injured 425.
Originally aired on the US Cartoon Network's Adult Swim slot way back in 2001, Cowboy Bebop was a big deal as anime in the West consisted of Dragon Ball and Pokemon; titles aimed at younger viewers. Now there are anime for adults and the reception it got showed that adult anime such as Trigun, Paranoia Agent, Berserk and Bleach could be enjoyed by a wider audience.
Also known in Japan as Cowboy Bebop/Kauboi Bibappu/Knockin' on Heaven's Door, the original anime was written by Hajime Yatate about a Mars 2071 that had humans had inhabited after a major catastrophe on Earth. Finding new life was difficult, but the humans tried their best to make Mars their own despite the authorities trying to undermine them. They still have their events, here it's Halloween and the site of another destructive act. The explosion manages to release a dangerous pathogen their enemy hopes will kill off a large part of the population unless Spike and his men take them down - and get a lot of money into the bargain.
The crew of the Bebop are a formidable bunch with Spike being the lead man and funny man all in one, his former affiliation with the Red Dragon crime syndicate makes him the best candidate for being able to kick serious ass. The main woman who can hold her own is Faye, she exudes sexuality and turns men on with a smile, but she has the brains to sniff out when something's not right. Jet is the former cop who is the Bebop's owner and Ed is an expert with computers who can hack into almost anything if she puts her mind to it.
Whether you are new to anime, or an aficionado of the genre, this is a movie you will want to get into as it mixes the Japanese love of future worlds, technology, sex appeal and adventure all wrapped into one show. All the characters have distinct personalities, there is a decent plot and the story is believable in that world. Like Ghost in the Shell, there is room for wit, fan-service and humour, but it doesn't lose time over it.
Bonus Material:Options of Play Feature, Behind the Scenes and Trailer.
Summary: Back in the day this was required viewing if you could say you were into anime - and that has not changed. Here it is back with some cool behind the scenes extras!
