does the live action cowboy bebop follow the anime

Cowboy Bebop

's live-action cast looks to be staying very faithful to the legendary anime, as confirmed by the first unveiling of the Netflix series. Often accredited as the greatest influence in introducing anime to Western audiences, the sci-fi neo-noir series still holds immense sway in today's pop culture.

Full Answer

How faithful is the live-action cast of 'Cowboy Bebop' to the anime?

Cowboy Bebop 's live-action cast looks to be staying very faithful to the legendary anime, as confirmed by the first unveiling of the Netflix series. Often accredited as the greatest influence in introducing anime to Western audiences, the sci-fi neo-noir series still holds immense sway in today's pop culture.

Is Netflix's Cowboy Bebop a remake of the anime?

Netflix's Cowboy Bebop takes plenty of things from the '90s anime, but it also changes the story in many ways. Netflix’s live-action Cowboy Bebop show is not a one-for-one remake of the anime as it makes a lot of chances to help itself stand out.

How many episodes of Cowboy Bebop are there?

Originally running for 26 episodes, Cowboy Bebop follows a group of mismatched bounty hunters who chase criminals across the galaxy some 50 years in the future. The live-action adaptation has had no lack of anticipation building, with the series in production since 2017.

Is Shinichirō Watanabe in Netflix's Cowboy Bebop?

Shinichirō Watanabe is attached as a creative consultant, heightening expectations that Netflix's fall 2021 release of Cowboy Bebop can replicate the magic of the animated series. Here's a look at each revealed character in the Netflix adaptation so far and their live-action counterparts.

Is the live-action Cowboy Bebop a remake?

The live-action remake of beloved anime Cowboy Bebop had all the makings of a Big Deal ™ for Netflix. In development since 2017, the show was intended to honor Sunrise animation's 1998 sci-fi neo noir classic while hopefully introducing its world to a new generation of fans.

Should I watch Cowboy Bebop anime or live-action?

Truthfully, you do not need to watch the anime series Cowboy Bebop before watching the new live-action series on Netflix. Like many of Shinichiro Watanabe's works, Cowboy Bebop individual episodes seldom relate to one another with each episode being vastly different from the one before.

Is Cowboy Bebop based on the anime?

The Cowboy Bebop anime was created first, but the manga adaptation was the first to print. Everything that's followed, including the divisive Netflix series, is based around the original anime.

Is the live-action Cowboy Bebop a sequel?

Though it eventually was followed by Cowboy Bebop: The Movie in 2001, that story is actually an interquel set in between episodes of the anime, rather than a full-on sequel. All this means that there's a finite amount of source material for the live-action series to adapt.

Why is there no Ed in Cowboy Bebop live-action?

"But in fairness, Ed doesn't show up in the anime until many episodes in, maybe about a third of the way through the entire series. So, it felt fair to also keep Ed from showing up [in live-action]." Ed is a prominent character in the original Cowboy Bebop anime, which first premiered in Japan in 1998.

Why is there no Ed in Cowboy Bebop?

The first season of Netflix's Cowboy Bebop has already set itself apart from the anime by making multiple changes, both to characters and stories. Nemec, in an interview with Netflix Unlocked (via ComicBook) the after show for Cowboy Bebop, said that Ed's appearance late in the first season was intentional.

How much of the anime does Cowboy Bebop cover?

The original Cowboy Bebop is made up of 26 episodes in total, but the anime's installments are around 25 minutes each. Netflix's episodes should be around an hour apiece, so they'll be able to cover the same amount of ground.

Why did they change so much in Cowboy Bebop?

Despite its lukewarm reception, Netflix's Cowboy Bebop made the right decision by deviating from the original anime as much as it did. To do otherwise would have been a disservice to the beloved anime as well as to everyone involved with the live-action series.

How closely does Cowboy Bebop follow the anime?

Netflix's live-action Cowboy Bebop may not quite be a 1:1 remake of the anime, but it gets pretty close at times. Many episodes feature key character moments and fight scenes taken directly from the source material.

What's wrong with Cowboy Bebop Netflix?

Netflix's Cowboy Bebop Fails to Balance Story and Tone This includes their daily struggle to earn enough money to afford basic necessities like food, water, electricity and ship maintenance. The struggles the characters undergo are often the source of narrative conflict and the source of the anime's humor.

What is the name of Spike's friend in the anime?

Absent from this shot, and from any of the released photos, is Spike's friend-turned-arch nemesis, Vicious . Alex Hassel from The Boyswas previously cast as the show's villain, but the sword-wielding gangster is notably missing from the image of the church.

Is Kya a good waterbender?

The Legend of Korra: Kya Is Not One of the Best Waterbenders - and That's OK

Is Cowboy Bebop live action?

The first pictures from Netflix's live-action Cowboy Bebop are surprisingly faithful to the anime -- but one character is notably missing.

Is Vicious in the Bebop?

At the very least, Vicious has been confirmed to be part of the live-action series. The same cannot be said for the final member of the Bebop team: missing from the photos and all of the casting announcements so far is the team's resident hacker, Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV, better known as Ed.  In the anime, Ed does not join the crew of the Bebop until a third of the way into the series, so it's possible she might not appear until later in the series, but as of right now, there are no traces of her in the live-action series. If Ed is indeed missing from the live-action series, it would require certain storylines from the anime to undergo some substantial changes, suggesting that Netflix's adaptation may end up diverging from the source material more than the costumes and sets might suggest.

Is Live Action Cowboy Bebop accurate?

Live-Action Cowboy Bebop Is Shockingly Accurate to the Anime - Minus One Character

How many episodes are there in Cowboy Bebop?

Originally running for 26 episodes, Cowboy Bebop follows a group of mismatched bounty hunters who chase criminals across the galaxy some 50 years in the future.

Who plays Faye Valentine in Cowboy Bebop?

Played in the Netflix adaptation by Daniella Pineda, it looks like the production team has again gone to great pains to ensure continuity between the original and the remake. Faye's most iconic outfit is on display in the Netflix previews, most importantly featuring the yellow shirt that she wears across the entirety of 2071 (when Cowboy Bebop takes place). Pineda's hair is also streaked with purple, getting the shade of Faye Valentine's hair correct. However, her red shawl that was so prominent in the anime has been replaced by a burgundy leather jacket, which some may regard a strange choice considering the attention to detail on Spike's outfitting. Pineda does also appear slightly different to Faye facially, but provided she can capture her personality, she will still no doubt make for an excellent portrayal of Faye Valentine.

Is Jet Black a bebop?

Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop has made one change to Jet Black, casting a Black actor in the role , and Mustafa Shakir looks absolutely perfect, capturing the same design and spirit of the anime character. Makeup has done an excellent job of replicating Jet's vertical facial scar that runs down his right brow, although the protruding metal plate below it seems to have been placed under the skin rather than sitting on his cheekbone as in the original series. Jet's metal arm also appears true to the original anime, with its chrome sheen contrasting the rest of his clothing. Physically, Shakir looks perfect casting here, with his bulky frame mirroring Black's own intimidating physique. Once again, wardrobe also looks to have done their Cowboy Bebop research, with Black's tonally muted, functional outfits foiling Spike's sharper outfit looks in the released images. Jet Black's Cowboy Bebop origin story has since been explained, along with his loss of limb, meaning his physical features had less room for artistic license than the other revealed Bebop characters.

Who plays Spike in Cowboy Bebop?

The iconic bounty hunter Spike will be played by John Cho, whose transformation for the role is striking. One of the released images from Netflix shows Cho's new physique in what looks like a training scene, while he has also grown out his hair to match the lethargic, legendary cowboy. Full marks also go to wardrobe here, with Cho's blue suit and disheveled tie-shirt combination looking identical to Spike's outfit in the initial episode that introduced him. However, one big change from the anime character is Cho's lack of green hair, part of Watanabe's core design concepts for Spike's character from Cowboy Bebop's release to the finale.

Is Cowboy Bebop on Netflix?

Despite this, Cowboy Bebop wrapped in March 2021, with a streaming release date finally confirmed for November 19th the same year.

Music

While Netflix’s version comes with a handful of changes, anime fans would appreciate the tribute to jazz, which is intertwined with Cowboy Bebop ’s legacy. Each episode keeps the iconic “Tank!” theme song composed by Yoko Kanno as well as the “Real Folk Blues” ending theme.

Cast and Characters

Beyond the aesthetics, the cast also makes the adaptation exciting. John Cho, who plays Spike Spiegel, does a brilliant job at bringing the character’s mystery and playfulness to life on screen, which is only further illuminated by the impish banter he shares with Mustafa Shakir, who plays Spike’s partner, Jet Black.

Julia

Julia is the most different from her anime counterpart. Despite her betrayal to Spike in the season finale, there is a still softness present that wasn’t there in the anime, mostly due to the fact that she wasn’t very present at all in the original.

Depth

This contributes to one of the main differences between the show and its predecessor that always made a live adaptation difficult—the anime did not give the characters a happy ending. Despite their stoic or aloof facades, the three main characters’ backstories and fates were tragic.

10 Jet Has A Kid

In the anime, Jet had an episode that dived into his long-lost love and an episode where he helps raise an old friend’s daughter. Jet is never married with a kid, though, unlike the live-action version.

9 Meeting Faye

Faye appears in the first episode of the live-action show which, like the anime, is about Asimov stealing Red Eye. Faye’s introductory episode in the anime happens later and involves taking over a casino. There is a casino scene in the intro to the Netflix show but these two ideas are not connected.

8 Spike Is Fearless

Spike is mostly the same in the anime and the live-action show. He doesn’t have a giant grudge against women and dogs but that is minor. The most significant difference is his real name: Fearless.

7 Dr. Londes

One of the last episodes of the anime has the Bebop crew go after a cult leader known as Dr. Londes. He is using a new gaming headset to brainwash people into believing his message. Faye is already gone from the crew at the beginning of the episode too.

6 Dog Star Swing

This is the third episode of the live-action show and involves a similar plot to the anime. A bounty head named Hakim is stealing dogs. That’s close enough to the anime episode wherein Spike and Jet track down Hakim which then leads them to Ein.

4 The Teddy Bomber

The episode with the Teddy Bomber happens much later in the anime whereas it happens in the second episode on Netflix. In this live-action version, the terrorist is blowing up buildings just for the fun of it. He’s also terribly scarred and is even missing a hand.

3 Mad Pierrot And Ein

Mad Pierrot‘s character is almost spot on between the anime and the live-action version. However, there are three big differences. Firstly, Vicious breaks Mad Pierrot free of being experimented on so that he can hire him to kill Spike.