Dec 7, 2023
Basically this spin-off movie is as good as a 90 minute Cowboy Bebop episode, ie very good. You don't need to have seen the series beforehand, but as the show is so good and introduces each character you might as well. The film is set around episode 20.
Better than the show?
Between 1998's CB series and 2001's CB movie the animation has taken two leaps forward: in terms of motion where the fights flow like ballet (how do they make conflict so elegant?) and in terms of composition the parallels and perpendicular lines in the background are composed with the care of a Kubrick.
In a few
...
instances there is a real sense of threat to the main characters that you just don't get in the show. They hit pretty hard.
New character Elektra looks excellent, her face and expressions could be a Joe Madureira creation.
Mixed feelings....
I have mixed feelings about the world building. The movie seems to relocate CB to much nearer the present day. We're not in the far flung future of interplanetary travel anymore, this is set in a very rich near-future version of New York, right down to the Twin Towers. The (fictionalised?) version of NYC is shown in great depth, but it still seems a bit odd to be set there at all.
Not as good as the show?
The film's music is good and works well for the film, but uses jazz less often than the series which is a shame because it's use was an iconic element of the original show.
Overall - great
Usually the feature-length spin offs suck, like with any other film spin-off from a TV series, they feel wrong. But this is the first time I've seen an anime film spin out of a series and it be genuinely good! I'm impressed.
See it soon Space Cowboy!
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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