Cowboy Bebop
Based on Cowboy Bebop by Hajime Yatate
Developed by Christopher Yost
Starring John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, Daniella Pineda, Elena Satine, Alex Hassell
Theme music composer Yoko Kanno
Opening theme “Tank!” by Seatbelts
Executive producers Marty Adelstein, André Nemec, Jeff Pinkner, Josh Appelbaum, Scott Rosenberg, Becky Clements, Christopher Yost, Yasuo Miyakawa, Masayuki Ozaki, Shin Sasaki, Tim Coddington, Tetsu Fujimura, Michael Katleman, Matthew Weinberg
Production location New Zealand
Running time 39–51 minutes
Production companies Tomorrow Studios, Midnight Radio, Sunrise Inc.
Distributor Netflix Streaming Services
Main
John Cho as Spike Spiegel (aka “Fearless”), a bounty hunter born on Mars with a history of violent gang activity and extensive fist-fighting and marksmanship abilities. For the role, Cho grew out his hair to mimic Spike’s look from the anime.[6]
Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black, Spike’s partner, a former ISSP detective, and captain of the Bebop, who has a cybernetic arm after losing the original in a botched investigation.
Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine, a bounty hunter and con artist with a gambling addiction who was revived after spending 54 years in suspended animation from a space shuttle accident.
Elena Satine as Julia, a femme fatale who is as smart as she is beautiful. She has a complicated past with Spike and Vicious and is the object of both of their affections.
Alex Hassell as Vicious, Spike’s nemesis, a power-hungry gangster from the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate who was Spike’s closest friend before their falling out.
Additionally, Welsh Corgi dog actors Charlie and Harry play Ein, a dog with human-level intelligence;[7] and Eden Perkins portrays Edward “Radical Ed” Wong Hau Pepelu Tivruski IV, a child prodigy hacker.[8][9][10]
Recurring
Tamara Tunie as Ana: The proprietor of an underground jazz club on Mars who acts as a surrogate mother to Spike.
Mason Alexander Park as Gren: A jazz musician working for Ana, who is also her right-hand. The character was reimagined as non-binary for the show.[11][12]
Ira Munn and Lucy Currey as Punch and Judy: The duo hosts of Big Shot, a bounty hunter public program.[13]
Geoff Stults as Chalmers: A detective in the Intra Solar System Police (ISSP) who is married to Jet’s ex-wife.
Carmel McGlone as Woodcock: Jet’s informant.
Rachel House as Mao: A crime boss who leads the Syndicate’s “White Tigers” family.
Ann Truong and Hoa Xuande as Shin and Lin: Twin siblings employed as Vicious’ enforcers.
John Noble as Caliban: One of the three Elders who control the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate.
The most important thing to remember about this live-action series on Netflix is that it is based on an anime. Not just any anime, mind you: Cowboy Bebopis one of the treasured classics of the genre, with an irreplaceable sense of jazzy, edgy cool. The cut rose in the rain-sprinkled puddle is nearly totemic.
A surprising number of those elements do make the transition to the new series, but unfortunately, so do some of the more cartoonish aspects. For instance, in one scene a character takes a magnum load to the chest, one that catapults him back ten feet through a window and into a 200-foot fall. That’s the end of him, right? Nope, he shows up two scenes later, looking a bit rumpled but functional, no bullet holes in his suit, nothing to explain his continued corporeality. You might get away with that in anime and wave it away with cartoon physics – he went limp just as the bullet him him, and he slowed his descent by flapping his hands and feet vigorously – but it falls flat in live action. Unfortunately, it’s a scene highly integral to the storyline, and threw me right out of it. The fist-fight scenes were similarly over the top, and some unwise corners were cut—it doesn’t take long to realize the interior shots of the Bebop were show in the belowdecks of a fishing trawler. I know the current fad is to have the future look grungy and clunky, but you can almost smell the dead fish and the rust. Convincing, it ain’t.
If that was all to said about the series, I wouldn’t be bothered writing a review. However, it has a lot of very strong, powerful elements that make it a must-see despite the shortcomings. Shinichirō Watanabe, the genius behind the original anime (along with Samurai Champloo and Space Dandy) was a creative consultant on this show, which probably helped bring some of the best elements across.
The show is a complex mix of science fiction, film noir, western and gangster movies. Some unknown event has rendered Earth largely uninhabitable, but humanity has colonized Mars and many of the Jovian moons. And, apparently Neptune. (Neither series explains how they could inhabit Neptune but not use the same technology to reinhabit Earth.) The space craft, including the Bebop, are lovingly recreated from the anime, and the exterior shots are glorious. Similarly the run-down towns and cities, a mad blend of Deadwood, Havana and Chicago waterfronts, add beautifully to the tone and timbre of the series. The ground vehicles are beautifully maintained and/or restored from the Detroit era of rolling iron (some die during filming, alas!) and the bars are unabashedly art-deco dives, relics of pre-Prohibition.
Jazz and music in general played a huge role in the original, and it does so here. Some of the same musicians were retained, along with the opening theme. The jazz isn’t incidental; it’s discussed, understood, respected and loved. It intertwines with the story.
The strongest element is the acting. John Cho absolutely nails the main character of Spike / Fearless, and his performance is matched by Mustafa Shakir (Jet Black) and Daniella Pineda (Faye). Elena Satine is Julia and she is the perfect noir femme fatale. She has had a complicated pair of relationships with both Fearless and her current paramour, the aptly-named Vicious (Alex Hassell). Hassel has the most evil grin this side of George Kennedy, and is deliriously over the top as the Big Bad. Back stories are provided for the main five, and while none are individually particularly original or profound, they lead to an absolutely fascinating intermix of personalities. The acting truly saves the show.
Just as I was writing about Julia, ‘Baker Street’ by the late Gerry Rafferty came on Radio Paradise, and the juxtaposition was so perfect I’m sure I’ll inextricably link one with the other from now on!
Two of the main characters from the anime are underplayed. Ein is a perfectly normal corgi except for one scene where he is passively in the role of projector/streaming device. This creeps out the Bebop crew enough that they just abandon him on a quay. And Radical Ed puts in just two small appearances, one at the very end of the series.
If you’ve never seen the anime and so have no real idea of what to expect, it’s kind of a wild mish-mash of Phillip Marlowe, The Boys, Firefly and Jazz club noir. It’s not perfect, but it is enormously entertaining and lots of fun.
Now on Netflix.