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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.
I thought that said CowboyNeil movie and I got all excited... I love p0rn so much!
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Who invited all the geeks?
Your reality is lies and balderdash and I'm delighted to say that I have no grasp of it whatsoever. - Baron Munchausen
Oh, it's not all anime. A great deal of it sucks ass (ex: DBZ, Hamtaro, Pokemon, etc.) -- and if you think that's true in the US, you should see all the loads of total crap that's released in Japan and never makes it here because the sheer stench of it tips off the customs officials.
What makes good anime? Consistent, three-dimensional -- as in deep, not as in their look -- characters with back stories and patterns that viewers can relate and get attached to. A consistent art style. (Seizure robots do not apply.) Compelling writing, with humor where appropriate -- whether that's slapstick humor or the more darker variety. Believable lines, and convincing voice actors. In other words, the exact same things that make good film.
Cowboy Bebop is considered one of the heights of anime, for all of the above. Other good examples of anime (IMO) would be Trigun, Rah'Xephon, Shinseiki (Neon Genesis) Evangelion, and the recent Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. If you're the type that likes relationship dramas, Love Hina is pretty well known and liked. There's shows that run the line between relationships and action, like Martian Successor Nadesico. There's also the full-length movie variety of anime, of which the most famous are Akira and Ghost in the Shell.
*shrug* There's good and bad anime, just like there's good and bad films and good and bad TV -- favorites will vary with a person's taste, but there are consistent things you can critique on.
There will be nothing cut. You mistake them for Miramax and Disney, whom seem content to edit stuff to death until they think it's marketable.
The crew behind the US release of this movie is the same as the one behind Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (well, it's changed a bit) and they left that whole.
Also the song:
"Ask DNA"
Words by: Tim Jensen
Sung by: Raju Ramayya
Music by: Yoko Kanno
Performed by: Raju Ramayya and Seatbelts
"We had a note about the American premiere last summer, but now it's finally open for general admission"
Using the Taco->English translation on babelfish, it comes out as:
"HAHA BASTARDS, CANT TELL ME ITS A REPOST NOW"
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
I think they changed it to "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie" to make sure that us American's can be sure that it is, in fact, a movie. Who knows, it could be terrorist propaganda or some mix between country music and old school bebop. How should we know?
So, what are the qualities that anime fans think raise it up as a great thing?
Japan in general seems to have a greater tolerance for creativity and continuity in sci-fi than most of the English speaking public. It's nice being able to watch a series I like with no fears that it'll be canceled for a zaney reality show because too many of the viewers missed having the big red reset button pushed after each episode. I also like animated sci-fi in general more than live action, if the latter is going to resort to nose putty aliens. For some reason an animated alien dosn't jar my suspension of disbelief as much as a cheap forehead alien of the night.
That said, I also should say that I don't like the idea of generalising to such a high degree. I own quite a few anime series, but I don't consider myself an "anime fan" any more than I consider myself a "American TV fan". Both catagories are so broad as to make any statement like that pretty much meaningless. I'm a fan of science fiction stories which have interesting characters and a progressive storyline, and I really don't much care what video medium or country delivers them to me.
Everything will be taken away from you.