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Cowboy Bebop Film's American Premiere Announced
From the Big Apple Anime Site "The Big Apple Anime Fest 2002 (BAAF 2002) is proud to announce that the festival will premiere the theatrical English dub version of "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie" on August 30th, 8:00pm at Loews State Theater (Virgin Megastore) in New York City's Times Square. At the premiere, Cowboy Bebop director, Shinichiro Watanabe, score composer, Yoko Kanno and character designer Toshihiro Kawamoto will be on hand to meet their legions of fans." That's a show worth seeing.
Otakon.
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http://thechubbyferret.net - Ferret pictures and informative links.
I think it would be great if people started trying to do stage versions of popular anime.
John ritter starring in Akira.
L
I've become a big fan of the show since the Cartoon Network has started showing it at 11:30 each Sat (if you're by a tv at that time and not watching, you're missing out on one of the most cinematic and action-packed animated series I've ever seen).
However, I'm clearly not enough of a fan to know that there has been a movie made, or that there were even plans of dubbing it and bringing it over the US. Since I'm sure there are bigger fans out there, does anyone have more info about when this was made, and if it's available on DVD? If not, when is it going to be? I've had no reason to buy the series on DVD since it's on weekly, but the movie I might actually buy.
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Yes, but even hard core fans have friends and relatives who are not. And it's harder to convince them to watch something along with you that frequently has a confusing plot if they also have to bother reading subtitles. And with good voice acting, dubbing can actually enhance the movie.
Just this past weekend, I actually convinced my gf into watching Princess Mononoke with me, and she actually enjoyed it. One of the things she enjoyed about it was recognizing the good voice acting of well-known actors both of us know. Understanding what the characters are saying, instead of having to read along, can add quite a bit to the enjoyment of a movie.
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Recently I watched episode one on cartoon network, wanting to know what the big fuss was about cowboy bebop. I was disappointed. this is not a troll....what is the big fuss about this series? It seems not too unlike most anime...lots of violence and implied sexual imagry. In fact what is the big deal about anime in general? I admit there is some interesting artwork but that is about all I can find interesting about most of it. :P
come to think of it that's about all you get from most hollywood fare these days, too
NO CARRIER
I am a huge Bebop fan (as I'm sure many here on Slashdot are), and since I'm only a couple hours from New York, I may actually be able to attend this.
For those who have not seen CB: drop what you are doing, go out, and pick up all the episodes and the movie on DVD. You will not regret it. This is what movie-making is all about.
Cowboy is also known for its excellent English dubs. Many fans prefer the English voice acting (at least for some characters) to the original Japanese soundtrack. If you were disappointed by the dubbing of Akira, do not dispair: Bebop really is better.
My one reservation is in regards to the graphic violence that pervades CB. It is really a cultural thing, and won't be very shocking to anime aficionados. However, it is likely to put many American viewers off. Hopefully, they will remove some of the more gruesome scenes, or perhaps reanimate them so as to be less offensive to a sensible audience.
See you space cowboy... (that's what it always says after each episode!)
Karma: Good (despite my invention of the Karma: sig)
We had her as a guest of honor at OTAKON a few years back, and she was really nice.
Hopefully she'll do some live music at the NYC con.
Gotta finish the graphic for my Cowboy Bebop "best of" CD... (Note: I bought all the Japanese CDs, so don't even start...).
Jon Acheson
All opinions expressed herein are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled.
The reason I prefer subtitled versus dubbed anime has as much to do with the changes in the interpretations of the characters that the American voice actors take than it does with the actual quality of their voice acting.
For example, I saw Cowboy Bebop subbed first, and then watched it when it started running on The Cartoon Network, and the subtle difference in the way the characters voice their lines as well as the slight diologue changes was enough to give the characters and plot a very different feel. Being used to the "Japanese versions" of the characters, I felt that some of Shinichiro Watanabe's vision was lost in the translation to English. Plus, I just found American Ed to be annoying. =)
Granted, I'll still be first in line to see Bebop on the big screen if it has a wider release.
Session #5, "Ballad of Fallen Angels"... just an amazing episode in terms of character establishment and development, cinematography, music... the segment where Spike is falling out of the church window is like nothing I've seen before in any real-life movie.
:)
For those of you who aren't into Adult Swim on Cartoon Network, this is a 3 hour block on Saturday nights where they play the "mature" anime, the stuff that doesn't quite fit into the afternoon kiddie stuff (like DBZ and Zoids and the like). This is where they run Bebop, at 11:30, like a previous poster said. (There's also a Swim on Sunday nights with "funny" adult cartoons, but Saturday's got the better stuff, IMHO)
It's worth noting, however, that last Saturday they had a Bebop-a-thon - the entire 3-hour block for Adult Swim was all Bebop cartoons, and unless I misunderstood the scheduling, they're doing it again this Saturday. Last Saturday's 'thon had Fallen Angels in it; I donn't know if they're repeating the same episodes this Saturday, but it's worth watching to find out
Come to the University of Mars! Classes starting soon!
I'm asking because Bebop has a pretty wide variety of episode styles. Some are cops and robbers in space, some are fairly violent, and others are just a lot of fun.
I recommend trying a couple more episodes, especially since you're watching for free.
As for anime in general, one of the big deals is variety. Anime is FAR, FAR more varied than you seem to be giving it credit for. There are kid's shows like pokemon, but there are also shows for older audiences. There are shows for guys, and shows for gals. There are dark, violent thrillers, but there are also flowery girly romances, and everything in between.
One of the problems I find with people's view of anime is that it is formed by looking at what they see in video stores and comic shops, and the selection there tends to be skewed towards the violent, R-rated type of thing because that's what the shop owners think their audience is. A vicious circle, really.
Three quick films for you to try to rent:
Princess Mononoke - Violent, but also amazing. Humanity vs. Nature in a powerful story that examines both sides of the issue, and allows the audience to draw their own conclusions. By Studio Ghibli, probably the best animators currently working on Planet Earth.
Kiki's Delivery Service and Totoro - By the same people that did Princess Mononoke, but these are both for children. Kiki is a young witch out on her own, but all she can do is fly a broom. So she starts a messenger service... Totaro is about two little girls living in the country who encounter a friendly and magical forest creature in the woods. Both are probably in the kid's section of your local Blockbuster.
Jon Acheson
All opinions expressed herein are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled.
Well, when you ask "what is the point of Anime", you should keep in mind that it's one of the largest culture-outputs of a nation of 130 million people (and Taiwan and Korea are starting to make it,) so there's a great deal of variety.
Personally, I find Anime, particularly Cowboy Bebop, aesthetically pleasing. If you like good Camera Work more than substance in your movies (I do - I loved Minority Report even though I thought the plot was, frankly, stupid. I liked The Fugitive primarily for the cinematography, although it had many other good points,) than I recommend Cowboy Bebop.
It is Eye Candy.
Incidentally, I've seen priated copies of the Movie (good quality DivX,) and it's not better than the show. If you like the show, you'll like the movie, but the animation is about the same - a little more polished, but not a drastic improvement.
The good and new comes from no quarter where it is looked for, and is always something different from what is expected.
I will subscribe when:
A) Users can moderate stories, decide which ones get posted. No more tyranny of the minority (the moderators)
B) Changes to the Slashdot system are documented (the recent change to the karma system for example) and there is a story posted about such chnages so I can voice my objections and be ON TOPIC (unlike this post, which is off-topic, since there is no on-topic place to post it)
C) Stories that are rejected are accomplined with an explaination (seriously, use a drop-down menu. Pick the top 20 reasons, put them in said drop down menu. Pick one. Easy enough. Total coding time: less than one hour.
D) Stories are spell/grammar checked by the editors, and links are checked. When a story is ready to be posted, no less than 3 minutes is spent trying to find out if it is a duplicate.
When all that happens, I will pay. Not a second before.
Please don't mod me as off topic. It is relevant to the sig of the parent, plus there really isn't an ontopic place to post it.
Lawrence Lessig is my personal hero.
Wendy Lee is an anime Goddess.
Besides, real fans watch anime in both langauges and do comparative studies.
money_shot
I've seen the fair-quality DIVX (a little under 600MB, IIRC) that's available easily on the 'net. I also saw a 35MM subtitled showing at Anime Expo in Long Beach, CA this year.
:)
This is definitely a movie worth seeing in the theater, shown right. The art is gorgeous and it looked wonderful on film.
Also, while I'm a huge fan of anime, I find the quality of most theatrical-length anime to be... lacking. Not so in this case! It's a great movie all around. It would be enjoyable for anybody, I think, because it doesn't require any prior knowledge of the series, but long-time Bebop fans will really love it because of their attachment to the characters, who are in fine form in this movie. I got chills seeing all of the characters "one more time".
OtakuBooty.com: Smart, funny, sexy nerds.
...it's not like anime.
Obviously, I'm going to clarify that. "Cowboy Bebop" is popular with a lot of Americans who otherwise dislike anime as a whole. Most anime shows are genre-driven -- fantasy, giant fighting robots, ninja/samurai, schoolkids, hentai, what have you -- but "Bebop" isn't so easily categorized. It's science fiction, yes, but it's not about the spaceships and technology. And there's no robot suits anywhere to be found.
The story is about the bounty hunters, "cowboys," who constantly wander the solar system in search of their next paycheck. They're pretty good at it, but they're generally nice people who keep their friends, which means they give up paychecks from time to time. I'm halfway through the DVDs, but I'd say about 90% of their jobs (the ones seen on the show, anyways) end up profitless. So you keep rooting for them to come out ahead when they almost never do.
It's not that violent a show, really -- at least not compared to, say "NYPD Blue". Compared to "The Simpsons" or "Pokemon", yes, it's occasionally violent and sexy and bloody, but the characters aren't violent or sexaholic by nature. And, of course, they all have a Mysterious Past that's uncovered a bit at a time.
If you don't like anime/animation, then you don't like it, and that's all there is to it. If you're willing to open your mind a bit to it, and watch a few episodes of the series (unedited on DVD is nice), you'll see a good bunch of stories and some very interesting and likeable characters.
I caught this flick last year when it hit the Fan Sub circuit. My impression was the film was mostly about big screen special effects, and less about telling a compelling story. It does attempt to tell more back story on the characters, and do some development in that area, but it never seems to catch you attention. I mean you're sitting there watching this, you want to feel involved with the non-action elements happening onscreen, but it just never happens. I ended up feeling bored at times. I really wanted to dig the movie because I liked the TV show so much, but I couldn't get that blah feeling out of my system afterwards.
Jupite Jazz, I think part two, ended with a different tagline also. I can't remember what it was.
I still remember the first time I watched CB. By the end of the session where CB is falling from the window looking up at the glass falling, I was hooked. The sound of the girls singing still haunts me. It was me and 3 other buddies, sitting in stunned silence, watching CB fall backwards while reliving his past. We all just sat and cried. At thet time, I didn't even know a cartoon could have that much power over my emotions.
In any event, CB is the best 30 minute show I have ever seen. Thanks for the emotions Space Cowboy...
I'd rather you do it wrong, than for me to have to do it at all.
Probably the best American parallel is the Horror Movie. As a genre they are at best misunderstood. You have the generic serials (with the decline in quality as they extend into the double digits... Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween), the pure exploitive trash (Sleepaway Camp, the joyous (almost avant garde) cult/underground films (Evil Dead, Troma Films), and the amazing masterworks (Romero's Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the Shining, John Carpenter's the Thing).
A lot of people think Horror Movies are crap. And a lot of people just go to get their willies off at seeing B,G,T&A (blood, gore, tits and ass). And then there is a large loyal underground composed of fanatics and fanzines.
And no matter how hard the genre tries it still can't overcome the lowest common denominator.
Of course I think the best works of Horror movies far exceed anything done in anime. Personal opinion? Yes. But a movie like Dawn of the Dead seems to reverberate with zeitgeist fears: Nuclear Annihilation, slow death from radiation poisoning, the Cold War, isolation of the self in modern consumer civilization... The best Akira did was: fear technology, stuff blows up real good.
What is music when you despise all sound?
Cowboy Bebop has been almost entirely unedited, with a few notable exceptions (and the dubbing obviously). Translation is an art, 99% of the time cutting the swears is both unnoticable and not inaccurate. I'm a diehard and frankly I'm happy with how little was done. It was much less than I expected.
---If you can't trust a nerd, who can you trust?
One thing that was left out of the story is that they have retained the "original" English dub cast that did the work for the regular series (i.e. what's showing on Cartoon Network). This is big news; while it's been known that Columbia/Tri-Star obtained the U.S. rights and were probably planning on a theater release, up until now there was no confirmation on the dub cast.
There's a press release here with a bit more information that is the confirmation on the dub cast.
How long have you been reading Slashdot not to know that Anime is a category. Don't want to see anime news? Go to your profile, edit your preferences and check the box marked 'Anime' in the 'Exclude Stories from the Homepage'
As for your question as to why this is news for nerds...... There are nerds who like Anime, they read here, and submit stories here. Not to mention that the very authors of the site enjoy Anime, and they are nerds. So it is quite obviously 'news for nerds'
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The best way of seeing Anime on film is clearly in a theater. If you happen to be in the area and catch this debut with the English dub go for it.
/.
- To those who think English dub sucks, it is all realitive. (For some odd reason no one complains about crappy Japanese recording since they do exist)
Dubbing was bad in the 80s because you had only half a shoe string budget and scheduled recording time between SMURFS and GI JOE. Now that Anime has been shown to be a proven money maker recording quality has gone way way WAY up with the amount of money invested in making them.
COWBOY BEBOP is an example of this. The English production crew from Bandai USA loved the show and worked hard in all aspects of it. If the KNOCKING receives the same TLC then it will be a quality English recording.
- To those who think "What is so great about this show...I saw one goofy episode and it sucked"
I suppose I could say the same thing about ATTACK OF THE CLONES can't I? ^_^;; COWBOY BEBOP is different than a lot of the stuff that came out post EVA/X-FILES/Angsty. It has clearly defined characters that you can identify with. It has a clearly defined ending(so many Anime these days leave endings open 'just in case' they can sell a second season). CB was more about style. A typical Anime series has "super plots" where consecutive episodes explain the themes and story but CB did many self contained one shots. Of course no one mentions CB without mentioning the music of Yoko Kanno. If CB represents anything about the future correctly it is that good music is timeless. ^_^
- To those who say "why is this news?"
Until recently if it was animated it had to have Disney on it or it was shown only in art house style movie theaters. This is one of the biggest openings for a non-US animated feature in the US. I think that is as newsworthy as anything else on
- To those living in NYC I say "LUCK STIFFS" ^_^
Take lots of pictures! Try to get an autograph(I would die for Kanno to autograph my BLUE CD). Have fun watching one of the better movies to come out of Japan recently.
Maybe the editors from a somewhat influential website could co-sponsor some sort of an event. You know, as a sort of house-warming for their new offices. And to show their new community what a great 'n' fabulous 'n' magmanimous bunch of guys they are.
What? It beats hell out of a PT Cruiser...
"Slashdot is about legos and staplers." -Cmdr. Taco
Dubs are not inferior, the process of dubbing in English is...
Anime voice acting tends to be far more melodramatic than live action, which lends
to more emotional impact from the dialog. But trying to carry that same level of
drama across in translation is interpreted as overacting, which only works in the
small percentage of anime situations that are actually trying to be "cartoony".
Because of that, most English voice actors are caught between having to emote to
flesh out a character, and not being able to EMOTE, because that takes the character
over the top of the storyline. THat is why English voices can seem less emotional,
but the better actors are still able to add more subtle undertones to the character to
make them seem more "real" to the audience.
Also, up until recently in the West, voice acting for anime was not considered
to be a "real" enough acting job to attract a lot of people with both talent and
training to be able to sustain a character thru many consistent episodes of a
series or OVA. That has slowly changed as studios/teams like the Ocean group
and Z-RO limit have become more established and been able to retain their
core members thru various projects. The Hollywood interest in anime helps a
little, as it gives more legitimacy to the idea of adding (quality)
voice work into an actors portfolio; but at the same time it adds a hindrance
in Hollywoods habit of substituting "actor with talent who can play the role"
with "Big-name actor with box office appeal that we can shoehorn into the
role". Hopefully anime will be allowed to become mainstream enough that we
can eventually move past that impulse.
In western style dubbing, the process used for ADR is (most often)
to have a lone actor reading their lines to studio cues; and taking the best
reading from a series of individual takes.
The Japanese have traditionally recorded with all the (primary) seiyuu in the
studio at the same time, playing out more like the old style radio drama sets.
IMO the Japanese system is better because it allows for greater feedback between
the actors/characters while telling the story. The few people I have spoken to
in the "industry" however, tell me that the English (Hollywood)
method is preferred because it allows for faster production when you don't
have to schedule all the actors at the same time,
and it is easier to work around bloopers/misreads when you only have to
deal with one voice at a time. Unfortunately the English approach does require
a greater effort on the part of the Director to make sure the dialog read
actually fits with the scenes and theme of the animation; and it usually takes
a few episodes of work (or some outside rehearsal) for the actors to really get
into their roles.
More unfortunately, this method is apparently considered efficient enough that
it is gaining popularity with some Japanese studios as an alternative method
to allow them to meet tight production deadlines.
I have seen US dubs with the same voice acting quality as Japanese releases,
or rather I have "seen" (heard) quality English voice work in recent anime
releases (Cowboy Bebop and Excel Saga as examples) that I found as appealing
and dramatic as I would from hearing and not understanding the Japanese dialog.
I have also seen enough raw anime to tell that just becuase it is made in Japan is
no gaurantee that it isn't crap. Most US anime fans are spoiled (blessed) because
they don't get exposure to a lot of the stuff that was not good enough to get picked
up over here. Everything you said about English dubs can be equally applied back
to the majority of anime that has been produced from Japan.
The real point is not to argue for dubs over subs, or vice-versa; it is to argue for
the studios to continue doing a better job with translation, setup, direction and acting
in ways that maintain the quality of the original work, or even benefit it in translation.
And for anime fans in the West to continue to express our preferences in quality anime to
help encourage the Japanese studios to create works in thier own country that can find
such mass-appeal overseas.
Have you ever watched a soap like 'young and the restless' or 'guiding light'? I had to endure summer vacations watching that drivel as a kid. Somehow though, occasionaly, I'd find myself interested in the show. Only it would take forever for the plot to advance in soaps. They'll have the same conversation for a week sometimes. That and some of the plots are silly/corney. Deamon Possesed Housewives, Cloned Housewives, Alien Abducted Housewives...who could sit and watch that?
Anyway, DBZ is a lot like that. It is a developing story, not a planned one. If you don't have patience, don't watch it.
Next Saturday night, there will be another 3 hour block of Cowboy Bebop from 11pm-2am
d ul eServlet?action=viewAll&showID=319442&show=Cowboy+ Bebop
http://schedule.cartoonnetwork.com/servlet/Sche
That night's schedule is thus:
11:00pm Honky Tonk Women -The introduction of Faye
11:30pm Sympathy for the Devil -The secret of a child prodigy and what happened to earth
12:00am Waltz for Venus -One man's attempt to set things right
12:30am Black Dog Serenade -What happened to Jet
01:00am Pierrot Le Fou -Why you shouldn't build a homicidal maniac
01:30am Brain Scratch -Online cult (everquest maybe?)
With the exception of "Honky Tonk Women" all these episodes are rather dark in tone (especially Pierrot Le Fou, which is one of my favorites of the series). They are also rather standalone, as opposed to last Saturday's, which covered the underlying main plot of the series.
Although I haven't seen these episodes in their dubbed and edited form, from what I've seen of other episodes and Adult swim in general, minus some blood, these episodes should be rather intact and definitely worth seeing if you haven't.
The DVD sets of Bebop have both the English and the Japanese dubs (it's a cartoon, it's always "dubbed").
:-P).
Personally, I prefer the English version. The voices fit the characters, settings, and tone of the series much better. The Japanese dubs seem flat and out of character.
Yes, Spike is a super cool badass, Faye is hot and tough, Jet is a disgruntled ex-cop, and Ed is insane. But to the English speaking ear, the English voices convey those same senses of character much better in the English dub.
Put it like this: If you watch lots of Japanese dubbed animation, then you'll get the feel for Japanese voices and will be able to tell flavor and character of the voices. But, to the average non super-anime-fan, it's a bunch of gibberish with no variation in tone or pitch. Flat. Uninteresting.
To me, who can ear the variation in both, I'd say that while they both convey the same feeling of character and flavor, you're more likely to hear it better in the language you understand (unless you watch so much anime that your eyes bleed
- Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set him on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
Troll? why the hell is that a troll man? This place is weird sometimes....
Actually, they're surprisingly unedited/uncensored... Only part they really cut was the "money shot" with the kid from Sympathy for the Devil...
Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
Jon Acheson
All opinions expressed herein are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled.