Noir in Space: Cowboy Beebop

[dangermousie]

I love it. (For anyone who is wondering, Cowboy Beebop is 26-ep anime, whose main character is Spike Spiegel, a bounty hunter (with the requisite mysterious past) in a futuristic space world. So far I watched two eps.

From the opening shot of the first episode, where everything is almost monochromatic and we see someone drop a rose into a puddle and walk away and slowly the rose turns red while everything else stays shadowed, and flashbacks to something that is as yet unexplained play, I was in love. And then came the uber-cool opening credits. And that first shot of Spike, silouetted in the dark, only the smoke of his cigarette curling in the air. This really looks and feels like so many noir movies I've loved over the years (down to the protagonist's crack of "I was killed years ago. By a woman." Femme fatales are a necessary and wonderful staple of the genre. Does the mysterious woman have anything to do with the dropped rose?)

I love the animation, but most of all I love the fluidity of movements, and the naturalness of the fights. When Spike fights, all his movements are spare and flow into each other. Love. Also am amused at the humor and love the bantering dialogues between Spike and Jet (I knew I was going to love them from their first bickering about where the money from their last bounty reward went. Answer? To pay for the collateral damage Spike caused while apprehending a wanted person).

Also, I love Spike (I love when he keeps insisting he hates dogs and yet is the one who brings one back) who is, in a word, a sweetheart.

So, it's noir. Only set in space. And anime. I am happy. And it's the closest to Trigun vibe I've gotten so far, so yay!

Comments

[katranna.livejournal.com]

And Spike is hot.

I told you before I find this one kinda boring, but for some reason, Spike is just so off-the-bat-captivating (and I tend not to care about main characters, too!) that I have watched the Cowboy Bebop movie and various episodes just for that.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Spike reminds me, somehow, of a cross between a noir main character, someone from a kung fu flick and a 1970s thriller lead.

But yeah, definitely hot.

[katranna.livejournal.com]

I like that he's kind of effortlessly cool and laid-back. It's the same kind of hotness that D from Vampire Hunter D has in the original. Well, except that D is rather more silently angsty.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

except that D is rather more silently angsty

If your parents didn't even want to waste extra letters on you, it can make one angsty.

Call me?

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

Does the mysterious woman have anything to do with the dropped rose

Yes, she does. Everything in the series is about her really, in some way or another. Everything involving Spike and Vicious is about her. She's the catalyst of the entire series. Very film noir.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oooooh, how interesting. Very noir indeed.

[vierran45.livejournal.com]

Cowboy Bebop is one of the few anime I've seen, and I love it. I also completely agree that Spike is hot. I also love Yoko Kanno's music.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Icon! If you liked CB, I really suggest Trigun....

See ya later, Space Cowboy…

[sap71186.livejournal.com]

My brother got me "Perfect Sessions" (all 26 episodes on 3 Discs) for Christmas a few years back. I make it a point to watch it at least once a year or over a school break.

Re: See ya later, Space Cowboy…

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I think that's the edition I have. Love it...