Slashdot Mirror
Cowboy Bebop Movie comes to the States
birdman666 writes "According to the movie site the movie of the popular anime Cowboy Bebop has finally been set to release in the states in a handful of cities including LA, NY, SF, Seattle and others on April 4. It features all the same voice actors as the Cartoon Network series and is big news for all those Bebop fans out there. As a note the Japanese title of the film was 'Cowboy Bebop: Knockin On Heaven's Door', but has been changed simply to 'Cowboy Bebop: The Movie' for the states." We had a note about the American premiere last summer, but now it's finally open for general admission.
that title is just... AWFUL.
btw if you translate the japanese title directly i think it's "heaven's door" - I thought the "knocking no heaven's door" would be a good english interpretation (yes I watched the japanese one)... probably have to do with copyrighted song titles? though AFAIK you can't copyright song titles at all.
ack. that is just whack.
btw, no nudity as far as I remembered (though there was points where Faye was pretty close), so I don't think much will be cut. Violence was not extreme either as well, IIRC;
btw, anybody (who saw it in japanese) knows who sang the opening song? it was in english, but I can't figure it out.
My life in the land of the rising sun.
I know I did! I'm a filthy little pirate who's seen it thrice, and will see it once again at the theater, and again when it's finally on DVD.
Hey Malda!
/. engine strip out all non-english text?
/.
Are you just being an ass now and having the
I wrote "tengoku no tobira" using mozilla in the previous post. It should have come out as standard HTML entities, but lo-and-behold, they're GONE?
The following should be a line of kanji: that reads "otanjoubi ha rainen"
If that's gone, then taco needs to fix
I believe that they went with Cowboy Bebop: The Movie rather than Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door so as to avoid any legal issues with Bob Dylan due to his famous song Knockin' on Heaven's Door.
As to the Sorceror's Stone, that was done because the American publisher felt that it sounded more "Magic-like" than Philosopher's Stone.
I don't need to be made to look evil. I can do that on my own. - Christopher Walken
"Why do the yanks always seem to want to change the titles of foreign movies? "
Uh, we didn't have a say in it. Why don't you talk to the Japanese Movie Studio that's prepping it for release?
I mean seriously, did you think we took a vote on it or something? Maybe an American Idol style voting system? It's somebody's perception of us 'yanks', not our preference.
Sorry dude - From a post last time this was mentioned:
"Ask DNA"
Words by: Tim Jensen
Sung by: Raju Ramayya
Music by: Yoko Kanno
Performed by: Raju Ramayya and Seatbelts
Like I said... Sorry =)
-Trav
I should really get around to creating a sig.... Nah - too lazy =)
Between episodes 23 and 24.
Read through more posts, the answer has already been mentioned a few times.
I've seen it, and the nicest thing I can say about it that it's not Cowboy Bebop. Ed is messed up, grapically and character-wise. The computer animation is pretty poorly integrated. Jet's barely in the movie and spends most of it moping around like a schmuck. Faye's top is cut open for no particular reason. Spike's at least about right, but Ein is painfully obvious.
The villain is some kind of nihilistic joke who can't even keep continuity -- he survives, without disfigurement, exploding a grenade in his hand that blackens and twists a nearby metal seat, but takes one bullet in the climax and dies.
Speaking of which, the entire story around the contrived love interest is incredibly hammy, and if anyone didn't see that twist at the end coming you'd best get your eyes checked. Ugh.
I didn't expect the world from this movie, but it didn't come close to matching up with the worst episode.
where did the syndicate storyline comefrom? someone pulled that right out of thier ass. cowboy bebop is just trying to be too cool for my tastes. the kung fu master who doesent talk much and smirks (total lupin ripoff), the preety lady who steals (fujiko ripoff), the young kid who knows everything about computers, and the seasoned vet. plus a pet! wow! interesting charecters? hah
Caution: Possible Spoilers
Spike used to work for the syndicate before he became a bounty hunter. Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is tied into the 26 episode series that you would need to watch before dissing such an awesome movie. The characters all have mysterious pasts; Spike is an ex-syndicconstantly refers life as "Watching a dream," ate member, Jet worked for the ISSP (a secret police), Faye lost her memory during carbon freeze and owes a huge debt to the doctors, and Ed is, well.. Ed (by the way, Ed is a she). and then there's Ein, their pet data dog.
A lot of imagery from the series in repeated in the movie too: Spike has 'died' (or close to it) at leaste twice before in the series (i'm not sure where exactly the movie fits in the time line). Spike's philosophy on life, is that he's watching a dream and feels a need to test himself -- to see if he's really alive. He also displays a brilliant array of martial arts , including Aikido.
The only problem I have, is that I'm so used to hearing the Japanese voices that the English ones don't quite fit. And the line in the trailer "I'm just your average bounty hunter"... it's supposed to be "Cowboy". Hence the name; "Cowboy Bebop" ('Bebop', by the way is the name of their ship)
Personally, I can't wait to see it on the big screen, and I'd recommend that you check it out too: you might be surprised.
Fight or flight its all the same
Live to die another day
--Ryan
That's exactly why I was addicted to it. Granted, my first Bebop viewings were the Cartoon Network dubs (sorry, anime purists -- I don't mind the dubs that much); but I wasn't being spoonfed every last detail and plot point. I actually had to use my own brain!
All the more general plot points came together as I watched the series vigilantly. Not many people lived on Earth anymore due to constant meteor showers and impacts from Moon debris thanks to a major jumpgate accident. Spike belonged to the Syndicate--a mafia-style organized crime family at war with another gang. Jet was duped by his then partner in the ISSP in a Syndicate ambush, thus losing his arm. It's already been posted, but Faye was unfrozen, accrued a multi-billion wulan debt, and holds a personal desire to find our her past.
This list could go on and on depicting what I learned about the Cowboy Bebop universe without -- like I said before -- somebody spoonfeeding me with all the details. I really jived with leaving the unanswered questions unanswered, even past the next episode. The series to me basically was a process, a non-linear thought-provoking character sketch that unraveled like an artichoke, and I think I'm still not to the heart of the matter.
Watch cowboy bebop. Its not a high-culture trendy thing, or a deep meaninful thing, or a bizarre schoolgirls in panties thing.
Its just a fucking good show. Its fun, action-packed, funny, stylish, and entertaining. This headline could be easily "Nifty-sci-fi movie coming".
Yes, many anime fans are obsessed wierdos who think that Nurse Angel is high culture. Before it was imported, I know many guys who watched Cart Captor Sakura on much-coveted import tapes.
Those people suck. There is a lot of good anime. THere are a lot of people who will watch anything, as long as it is anime. Don't listen to them - listen to normal, reputable folks (like Taco) on their opinion.
And see Bebop. 'tis good.
BTW, anybody else thinking they should've left the title? Bebop was meant to be aimed at Americans. The massive amount of American music references reflected that. I mean, referring to one of Billy Joel's classics would've been a fine thing for american audiences, but they had to call it "The Movie"?
Hate to tell you, but Atlanta is a major US city. It has one of the fastest growing populations of any US city, hosted the 1996 Olympic Games, and is home to busiest airport in the WORLD, Hartsfield International.
I am a bit biased about the movie since I dig the series so much, but it is really an impressive feat of animation. IMO the best I have seen in any anime, Ghost in the Shell and Princess Mononoke included. The story is pretty good, but somewhat akin to the X-Files movie - which seems just like an extended episode with nifty effects thrown in. Don't let that fool you though - I think I this thing can stand on its own, and I can't wait to hear it with the English-language voice actors who are fabulous in the series.
If you get a chance to see some of the episodes before the movie you should do so. You'll appreciate more of the in-jokes and understand some of the oddities (like Ed :) ). Chronologically, I think the movie happens somewhere during the middle of the series so it won't give away the end if you haven't watched it all. If you have, don't worry, it will just enhance your appreciation of it.
Here's to hoping it comes to Cleveland.
To all you Faye fanatics out there, here's a little tidbit you might not have known. =P
Faye is from Singapore, or at least she lived there sometime during her adolescence. In the episode where she receives a Betamax tape mailed by her younger self (before she was frozen), the tape shows scenes from a tropical country, at one point there is a waterfront shot of a statue of an animal that is half lion, half fish. That's a Singaporean merlion. The scene looks almost exactly like the mouth of the Singapore river, there's a big statue of the merlion there.
The merlion appears too in the episode where Faye finds where she grew up. The scenery, architecture and landscape looks very much like Singapore.