Author: Aoi Tada, Gara Takashima, Norio Wakamoto, Miki Nagasawa, Tsutomu Tareki, Shinichirô Watanabe
Price: $14.99
Release Date: June 24, 2003
Tags: anime, dvd, movie, sci-fi
I so wanted to see this in the theater when it came through the Detroit area, but never managed to make it out to Royal Oak to the one single friggin’ art house that was showing it. When I saw the DVD at the local Best Buy I snatched it up with all the speed and desperate grace of a crack junkie who’s not had a fix in almost two weeks. I loved the TV series. CB is probably my all-time favorite anime series.
For those of you who are uninitiated, Cowboy Bebop is an anime series that follows the exploits of a crew of space-faring bounty hunters in a future where mankind has colonized the solar system and Earth is little more than a garbage dump. Each of the characters has a past that they’ve never fully gotten away from and the series moves between silly comedy and serious drama with a fluid grace few stories are able to achieve. Even folks who aren’t big anime fans tend to like this series and the English dub, if you’re the sort that doesn’t like subtitles, is probably one of the best dubs you could hope for.
Cowboy Bebop: Knocking on Heaven’s Door takes place somewhere along the time line of the TV series for reasons that are obvious to anyone who has seen the entire series. It has the crew of the Bebop coming up against a bio-terrorist with an unusual motive on Mars during a Halloween festival. The story is good, the pacing fast and the animation simply stunning at times. If you’re already a fan then you’ll love this movie. If you haven’t already seen the TV series you could still probably get into the movie without too much trouble though the behavior of characters like Ed might seem a bit difficult to fathom. OK, even if you’ve seen the series the behavior of Ed is difficult to fathom. She’s just cool. At any rate this is a worthwhile flick that is a must-buy for any fans of the original series.
Permalink • << Back to MainComments:
Brooks on 7/20/04 at 11:34 AM wrote the following... • Permalink
The site looks great. It’s quite shocking to see all of this white though. I like white. Anyway, I’m not a fan of anime per se, but I l do have a thing for Gigantor. Would this be a good beginner movie or should I try something else?
Les on 7/20/04 at 12:16 PM wrote the following... • Permalink
The movie is enjoyable even if you haven’t seen any of the original TV series, but it assumes that you have. Cowboy Bebop is one of my all-time favorite series and it’s generally well regarded by non-anime fans.
If you want to check out the TV series first you can do so either on VHS or DVD (my recommendation) or a slightly edited version that airs late nights on Cartoon Network.
brendoman on 7/20/04 at 01:11 PM wrote the following... • Permalink
I am looking forward to reading your reviews! Is it possible to get a feed for this site?
Les on 7/20/04 at 03:08 PM wrote the following... • Permalink
Yes, actually, it is. I knew I forgot to add something to the sidebar. 
Links should be available by the time you get around to reading this.
Lea on 7/23/04 at 03:45 PM wrote the following... • Permalink
Good choice for a first review. I, too, am a huge anime fan—but with discriminating tastes. However, Cowboy Bebop is one of those series that’s simply heads-and-shoulders above the rest in terms of originality, character development, and interesting plot.
I would suggest checking out Samurai Champloo perhaps, which is also by Shinichiro Watanabe.
ReaZ on 8/19/04 at 04:12 PM wrote the following... • Permalink
I loved this move. I love the series as well. And you are right, Ed can be difficult to fathom at times, but that’s just part of the fun.
shana on 10/18/04 at 08:33 PM wrote the following... • Permalink
Oh my God. Cowboy Bebop is the bestest ever. And it’s on Cartoon Network, so it’s reaching outside of the otaku crowd, too. Well, has been for the last 2 or 3 years anyway. I think it would be an excellent show/movie for anyone getting started on anime, anyone who could care less and just wants a cool show to watch, or die-hard anime fans. But the latter have probably all seen it already.
The odd thing is that none of the Japanese people I have met have heard of it…?!
