”
Cowboy Bebop,
”
the Japanese anime television series, is one of the highest
rated shows on the cable Cartoon Network. The series tells the
story of five trusted associates who fight crime their way in the
late 21st century on Mars.
“Cowboy Bebop,” the Japanese anime television series, is one of the highest rated shows on the cable Cartoon Network. The series tells the story of five trusted associates who fight crime their way in the late 21st century on Mars.
With the series finished and running in reruns, Director Shinichiro Watanabe decided he’d like to give the fans of the show a feature film of “Cowboy Bebop,” and it’s a total kick.
It should be said that the film is not for kids, except for those mature enough to accept the considerable violence that the picture contains, probably those above age 13. The film should probably be rated PG-13 anyway; there is no logical explanation for the R, which will keep some younger fans away.
The film is a total visual delight, with the classic Japanese style anime that has enthralled Japanese audiences for decades, with over half the films in Japan made in the animation format. Since Miyazaki’s (“Spirited Away,” “Princess Mononoke”) and Otomo’s (“Akira”) major successes abroad, as well as the enormous success of “Pokeman,” the anime style is now well loved and known throughout the world.
The Cowboy Bebop crew is a bunch of bounty hunters who try to make the world safe on Mars, despite many problems with international terrorism they recently had to face.
As the film opens, we meet the crew, led by Spike Spiegel, a macho martial artist who worships Bruce Lee. His cohorts include Jet Black, a cyborg who serves as Spike’s right hand man and Faye Valentine, who has dabbled in organized crime in the past but now uses her skills to help the Cowboy Bebop crew do their job. Rounding out the crew are Edward Wong Hau, the expert hacker of the group, and Ein, the mysterious figure who is actually a computerized database disguised as a dog.
The story gets going right from the start as, on the eve of Halloween, a huge industrial tanker explodes on a freeway in the Mars city of Alba. The people of the city are immediately overwhelmed by a hazardous material that spills out and spreads a fog over a sqare mile area. People start dying, dropping like flies, and the Martian government suspects a bioterrorism plot of the highest degree.
With a huge reward being offered to anyone who can solve the case, the Bebop crew, in dire financial straits, jumps at the opportunity to help.
They come to some startling conclusions, and Faye finds out that a mysterious soldier named Vincent is probably the one responsible for the attack. But according the military’s official records, Vincent has been dead for some time.
As the Cowboy Bebop folks kick butt and take names, trying in vain to solve the case, they figure out that a pharmaceutical company could be behind the attack, hoping to bring the antidote to market, but not if our heroes have anything to say about it.
“Cowboy Bebop” does have a convoluted plot, to say the least, and it may be hard for some not familiar with the series to follow along. As long as you get some of the story, you will love the visual and auditory sensations you feel from going to this very original time and place. And the story is timeless. Even though Mars has now been occupied, the Capitalist state still rules and terrorism thrives.
COWBOY BEBOP. Directed by Shinichiro Watanabe. Screenplay by Keiko Nobumoto, based on a story by Hajime Yatate. Rated R (violence and language), 116 minutes. Featuring the voices of Steven Jay Blum, Beau Billingslea, Wendee Lee, Melisa Fahn, Daran Norris and Jennifer Hale. Now playing at selected Bay Area theaters.
