Unfuckwittable's Blog

Anime Relations: Cowboy Bebop

Session XXI: Boogie Woogie Feng-Shui

At first, I thought this episode was going to reveal even more about Jet's past, due to his narration. Instead, it's more of a solo mission with Jet helping a young girl find closure with her father. It was an interesting episode, I have to say. I liked it quite a bit.

I thought the whole Feng-Shui and sun stone aspects of the story were very creative and interesting. Never thought something like Feng-Shui would be brought up in Cowboy Bebop. Hey, though, you've got to expect the unexpected with this show.

So yeah, it wasn't a mind-blowing episode, but another solid effort.

Session XXII: Cowboy Funk

Very fun, funny episode. Loved Cowboy Andy and all of his similarities to Spike. They are almost the same fucking person. Loved the Teddy Bomber guy too. The whole time, he's just trying to explain his reasoning behind his actions, and the rivalry between Spike and Andy prohibits this. Love how at the end it's revealed his motives were primarily caused by the giant beast that is capitalism.

And ya can't forget, "Call Me Musashi." I mean, I could go on and on about this episode, but you just need to see it for yourself. It's comedy gold. GOLD.

Session XXIII: Brain Scratch

Extremely well-written episode, folks.

The whole cult thing was very interesting. It's kind of scary, these cults, because several of them quite like Scratch exist in real life. Heaven's Gate comes to mind. The whole "television is the worst thing mankind ever created" is a compelling idea, but I don't exactly fully agree with that. And I loved how Spike just destroyed his argument, and not long after, Jet and Ed shut down Londes for good.

I kind of felt bad for the kid there, at the end.

Alright guys, we're descending into the final three.

Session XXIV: Hard Luck Woman

This episode was a home run.

From the opening, I immediately assumed this was going to be another Faye-centric episode, and I got excited. I was kind of right. Turns out, it's also about Ed. Yeah, EDWARD. I never ever thought we would get any kind of back story on the odd little girl, but we do. She even gets to meet her dad (who's a badass fighter, by the way) back on Earth. Yeah, EDWARD HAS A DAD??!

Jokes aside, this was a heartbreaking episode in many respects. Faye seeing that old woman who graduated with her, obviously disturbed by the age gap between them. Memories flooding back in the shower; she was in a space shuttle crash. Finding her old home in ruins. Drawing a line in the foundation where her old bed is; laying down.

And let's not forget about Ed. Departing. LEAVING. Yep, she's gone off in search of her father. I was almost extremely sad when she left Ein behind, but luckily the dog managed to catch up with her and now they are on their own adventure. I doubt we'll be seeing them again I guess. I also wonder whether or not we will see Faye...hmm.

Another note; great fucking music in this episode!

Session XXV: The Real Folk Blues Part I

It's all about to come to end.

In the penultimate episode, Spike's past begins to REALLY catch up with him. Vicious staged a coup, but failed, so anyone once affiliated with the Syndicate is being annihilated by the old order. While Jet and Spike are at a bar, a whole squadron of Red Dragon members show up for the killing time. Jet gets shot in the leg, and they barely make it out of there.

Meanwhile, Faye teams up with Julia to kick some ass. Some more shit about Spike's past is revealed. Vicious does the badass shit he does; ya know, killing people and talking all tough. Daaaaaamn. I mean, I already know Spike dies, but I don't know how? Will Vicious kill him? Will Julia kill him? Will he get cancer? Have no idea, but I'm sure about to find out.

Session XXVI: The Real Folk Blues Part II

The end folks.

Like I said when I started this, I was spoiled to Spike's death several years ago. But hell, I didn't think it would be like this. He goes all Rambo through the Red Dragon headquarters, slaughtering soldiers left and right, and finally confronts Vicious in a badass duel that ends with Vicious dead. Spike stumbles down the steps, looks up to see a dozen or so Syndicate soldiers staring at him, in awe. Heavily bleeding, he looks up, makes a gun with his finger, and says:

"Bang."

And then he falls to the ground. Dead.

What a badass way to go. This is the perfect ending to probably one of the best things I've ever seen in any form of medium. Everything about this finale was perfect. Faye's heartbreaking pleas to Spike, Jet and Spike's final talk, Julia's death; it was all so damn good.

You could argue that he isn't dead, but I think that's the best way for him to go. I'm not against Watanabe coming back with a sequel series with Spike and company, but for now, I'm going to believe he's dead.

That's it for me, folks. I'll have a full review up on the site shortly.

See you, space cowboy.

Anime Relations: Cowboy Bebop

Session XVI: Black Dog Serenade

Ta ta.

Jet is contacted by his old police partner, who needs his help in taking down a criminal assassin who has hijacked the prison ship he was on. Turns out the assassin is the same guy who took out Jet's arm, apparently. They manage to track down the guy (who's pretty badass, by the way) but it's revealed that his partner was the one who shot him and fucked up his arm. Jet wouldn't conform to the police corruption, and he needed to be taken out. Obviously, he didn't manage to kill him, but he lost his arm 'cause of it.

Crazy stuff man, crazy stuff. Meanwhile, on the Bebop, people can't seem to do shit without Jet around.

I really liked this episode, gave us some more information about Jet's past. I assume this will probably be the last episode that covers Jet's past.

Session XVII: Mushroom Samba

Holy fuck, this was hilarious.

The episode starts out with Bebop and crew floating through space, with no food, and no fuel. After a hit and run sends their ship toppling down onto a planet, (I didn't catch what planet) Ed and Ein venture off to look for food. Craziness ensues.

I loved the coffin-toting guy, talking about how he had been carrying it around, just waiting to put Domino in it. That scene was hilarious. Then you have the shrooms, oh yeah. The whole crew starts hallucinating after eating some mushrooms, and it's goddamn hysterical.

I mean, this was just a fun, out of this world episode, kind of similar to "Toys in the Attic", though this one doesn't really have any deeper meaning. Well, not that I can tell. Great shit. I had heard about this one, and the fans seem to love it. Now I know why.

Session XVIII: Speak Like a Child

Damn it.

The ending of this episode struck me right in the heart, it's so damn emotional. But I'll get to that later. Let's talk about the rest of the episode! Faye receives a package, which turns out to be a Beta tape. Yeah, ya know - not the VHS, but that other one. Jet and Spike are really curious about what's on it, so they travel all the way to Earth to find a Beta deck. They go through a lot of shit to get there (pretty funny stuff too) and finally find what they believe to be a Beta player. They get back to the ship, only to realize they grabbed a VHS player instead.

All hope is not lost, though! Another package comes in, containing the player. And they finally get to see it, and well...wow.

It's a video of a young Faye, full of life and dreams. She talks about the future in happiness; she's excited to grow older. The real heartbreak is the fact that all the hopes she had never really came to fruition. Faye runs from her problems, she gambles constantly, and she's hopelessly poor.

This episode is fucking brilliant. Even though I thought that video would have an explanation of how she got frozen and all that, it was nice to see the video.

Man.

Session XIX: Wild Horses

Fun, fun episode. Spike brings the Swordfish to Duhan, it's original owner, for repairs. Duhan is an old, grumpy fellow, who's totally badass. His assistant Miles, is an avid sports fan and hilarious. Things get bad for the crew of the Bebop, as space pirates close in.

Spike ends up going down; death looks assured. Then, Duhan and Miles swoop in on an old NASA space shuttle to save the day! I liked this episode, it's a bit of a departure from the emotionally charged previous episodes, but it awesome on its own.

Ta da.

Session XX: Pierrot Le Fou

This episode scared the living shit out of me.

Oh, and it was also freaking brilliant! The opening where Mad Pierrot just decimates those men was brutal. Then Spike just casually wonders on to the scene, and you see just how powerful this guy is. With his constant grin, he beats the living shit out of Spike. Speaking of which, that action sequence was incredibly well done...I mean, damn.

That isn't even the best part, though, oh no. We've got to talk about Space Land. It's a old run down amusement park that Pierrot manages to bring back to life. This whole sequence was creepy as hell. You've got clown like toys running around the park, making creepy ass noises while Spike battles a psychopathic, mindless superhuman. And the ending; when he's crying for his mom...Jesus.

This episode was so different...and so awesome. Absolutely loved it.

One more post after this, and then we're done. I'm getting near the end, and I'm starting to get sad just thinking about it!

Anime Relations: Cowboy Bebop

Session XI: Toys in the Attic

This episode was a lot of fucking fun.

Something has been crawling around the Bebop, causing trouble. Something unknown. An alien? Perhaps, but it's never explained. It infects those who it touches, and promptly causes them to pass out.

Jet comes first, after encountering it in the storage room. It ambushes Faye in the bathroom. It gets Ein soon afterwards. Ed goes off looking for the "creature", but disappears. It's up to Spike to stop the foul beast, it looks like. Arming himself with a compilation of deadly weapons, such as his handgun, smoke bombs, and most especially - a flamethrower. This whole sequence reminded me of Ridley Scott's Alien, I must admit. Perhaps it's a homage.

Needless to say, Spike manages to halt the creature for a bit, and realizes exactly where it came from. He remembers that a year ago, he bought a rare lobster that he stored in an old fridge in the storage room, so no one else could eat it. The source of the "creature" is from the fridge, where shit has gone crazy in a year. Spike jettisons that fridge right out the airlock. And he has an important lesson for us, "Don't leave things in the fridge."

This describes many of the character's issues in a nutshell - the past is going to come back and bite you on the ass.

Good stuff.

Session XII: Jupiter Jazz Part I

Welllllllll fuuuuuuuuuck.

This episode was crazy awesome. Faye jumps ship with all of the crew's money, and Spike chases after his lost love Julia, who we've seen flashes of in Session V. It all goes down on Jupiter's icy moon, Callisto. Spike ends up kicking some serious ass in a bad ass action sequence, and then confronts Vicious in the snow.

Faye meets up with Gren, a badass saxophone player who turns out to be in cahoots with Vicious. Even crazier, Gren has breasts, but male genitalia. CRAAZY.

Episode ends with one of the Red Dragon members, Lin (who seems to have some connection to Spike as well) shooting Spike down in the snow. Last we see is his body, laying unmoving in the snow.

I really hope he isn't dead, but I'm sure I will find out in Part 2.

Session XIII: Jupiter Jazz Part II

Wow.

One of the best episodes of anything, ever. I want to talk about the music first, though. The final track that kicks in near the end, the one that runs through the credits is called "Space Lion" and my God, what an amazing song. I mean, this show has some of the best music I've ever heard. It's fucking fantastic.

I'm also surprised by how well Gren was developed in only two short episodes. His relationship with Vicious was a focal point of this episode, and if they failed to develop it properly, this session might have floundered. Luckily, they pulled it off with ease. This is anime brilliance right here.

All this insight into the pasts of Spike and Vicious is so interesting, but I really want to know more about Vicious at this point. Why is he like he is? I really hope I get some answers, even though I know it isn't really Bebop's style to tell you EVERYTHING.

So far, I would have to say "Jupiter Jazz Part I & II", "Waltz for Venus", and "Ballad of Fallen Angels" are my favorite sessions. They're all really good though, except for maybe "Gateway Shuffle". Eh, anyways, on to the next one!

Session XIV: Bohemian Rhapsody

After Jupiter Jazz, the Bebop crew cools it with a nice standalone episode. The Gate company, responsible for building the hyper-dimensional gates are having a bit of a problem. They've been robbed, and there's a large reward for the capture of the culprit. Turns out, it's a former Gate employee who single-handedly designed the Gates. He then realized there were some design errors that needed to be worked out, but Gate created them anyway, and fired him.

It's a pretty cool story, with an interesting character. Hex is old and senile, and absolutely loves chess. It was fun to see him and Ed go at it, even though Ed eventually lost. It seemed Hex was content at finally having a worthy opponent, though.

Some good stuff. No quite as mind-blowing as the last two episodes, but awesome all the same.

Session XV: My Funny Valentine

We learn a bit about Faye's past in this episode. She was cryogenically frozen around 50 years ago, and thawed out just recently. And the crazy part? The doctors themselves don't even know her true identity. She has no idea who she is.

This episode was alright, I wasn't a huge fan of it. The Faye backstory was interesting, but I dunno...it just didn't jive well with me. Maybe a second viewing would benefit me.

So that will conclude my thoughts on sessions 11-15.

Anime Relations: Cowboy Bebop

Session VI: Sympathy for the Devil

This episode was very interesting. The episode starts with Spike on the hunt for a man known as Giraffe, who's hanging out in a blues music gathering. A nice looking kid is going crazy on the harmonica; it's some good stuff. Spike follows Giraffe to a hotel room, where the aforementioned harmonica kid and his "father" are staying. Next thing you know, Giraffe gets blown out the window and in his dying wish, gives Spike a mysterious ring.

Things get crazy from here. Turns out the kid is immortal and the "father" was Giraffe's friend Zebra (yeah, what's up with the zoo animals, haha?) and he was only trying to save his friend from the kid. Jet concocts a bullet for Spike that contains the stone in the ring, which can reverse the aging and end the kid's life.

Voila! Spike gives him a bullet through the forehead and the kid withers and dies, but not before thinking Spiegel for ending his life. "I'm finally at ease", he says.

I really enjoyed this episode; a very intriguing story...ON TO THE NEXT ONE

Session VII: Heavy Metal Queen

Another really good standalone story. We get introduced to a tough, badass woman known only as VT, though many people have attempted to guess her name many times and failed. She loves heavy metal and has a starship shaped like a guitar. Oh, and she despises bounty hunters.

Long story short, she teams up with Spike and Faye to escape from a crumbling mine. It's some awesome stuff, this episode. I loved the interactions and humor, and especially the soundtrack. I'll be the first to admit it, I'm not a huge fan of heavy metal, but I was really digging the usage of it in this session.

Two very good standalone stories so far; I'm looking forward to the next few.

Session VIII: Waltz for Venus

My God.

The winning spree continues. This was a very emotional episode for me, honestly. Spike impresses Roco, a small-time gangster who wants to learn how to fight like the bounty hunter. Reluctantly, he begins to teach Roco a bit about his fluid fighting style. It doesn't last for long, however, because there are dangerous people after Roco.

He throws Spike a satchel and runs off. Turns out, the satchel contains a plant that can cure his little sister's sickness. He just wants to help his sister, but the plant is worth a lot, and some small time criminals are intent on acquiring it. The tragedy comes when Roco finally manages to pull off one of Spike's fluid movements...because he is fatally shot right afterwards. It's not even his death that hits the hardest, it's Spike's happiness at seeing is pupil achieve something, and then his expression of horror when he gets shot down.

"I wonder, if I had met you earlier, could we have been friends?" Roco muses, before dying.

This was an awesome episode, all around. Spike even performs a selfless act, in giving Stella the Grey Ash seeds. Ah, and ya know what? The gang finally nabbed a bounty. See, I almost forgot to mention that, because the emotional force of this episode was so strong.

Love the music box song as well, which was also used in the pre-opening scene for Asteroid Blues, if I'm not mistaken.

MAAAAAAN. Cowboy Bebop is on a roll here.

Session IX: Jamming with Edward

The Bebop adds one more to its crew, in the form of Radical Edward, a girl who happens to be a master hacker. This one was also really good, though not as good as the last episode. The whole sentient AI satellite part of the plot was interesting, and it kind of sucks how lonely the thing was.

Edward is a very energetic character, haha. She isn't annoying or anything (not yet, God, I hope she doesn't become annoying) but she's definitely a weird one. And Spike isn't too happy about the newest member of their crew, as his conversation with Jet at the end tells us:

"Jet, do you know that there are three things that I particularly hate?

"Really?"

"Kids, animals, and women with attitudes. So tell met Jet, why do we have all three of them neatly gathered on this ship?!"

Haha. Love the banter.

Session X: Ganymede Elegy

Spike had it in Ballad of Fallen Angels, Jet gets it here.

Even though he already mentioned that he was a cop before, we get some more insight in this episode. He was an ISSP police officer on Ganymede, and they used to call him the "Black Dog" for his determination to get the job done, no matter what.

He visits his ex-girlfriend, Elisa, who left him long ago. He reminisces with her in her bar, and they both discuss the past. Later on, Jet finds out that Elisa's current boyfriend has a bounty on him, for killing a loan shark who was threatening Elisa. Jet is on the chase.

Everything works out in the end, though. Rhint gets out on a minor charge, and Elisa is happy as well. Jet tosses the stopwatch in the river, presumably free of his past.

Really good episode. Gave us insight on Jet, had some great moments, and of course - awesome music!

Anime Relations: Cowboy Bebop

I have never seen Cowboy Bebop...

I'm going to let that simmer for a moment. Okay, we good?

I know a bit about the series. Not much, but over the years I've accidentally run into a few tidbits about the show. Let me get this out of the way first; I am aware that Spike dies. I learned that a few years ago. Is it going to effect my enjoyment? I doubt it. I only know he dies. I don't know when (though I assume it is in the final episodes) and I don't know how. That's pretty much all I know.

I'm going to cover each of the first five episodes with my impressions. This will be spoiler-filled, I guess, since I will be going into specifics. I hope someone finds this and enjoys my reactions.

Session I: Asteroid Blues

The very first episode of this series impressed me; a lot. Given all the hype and praise I've heard over the years, I was entertained the whole way through. Let's talk about the pre-credits scene, before the opening. That almost had me on the edge of my seat. It really gave you an intense, dark vibe that resonated with me. You've got quick cuts of Spike, roses, gunfire; it was awesome. And then the opening theme kicked in!

I'd heard it before, but man it's awesome. After that, we get introduced to our protagonists, Spike and Jet. They're bounty hunters, and they're chasing down some guy named Asimov. That's really all we get, before we're launched into the action.

The animation & art is awesome. It's a dated show, so I figured I would be a bit irritated by dated visuals, but maaaan. Sunrise is known for their excellent work, and this is a prime example. The fluid movement, especially during the action scenes, is astonishing. When Spike and Isaac face off outside that building, and tables are getting destroyed...man. It was crazy.

Likewise, the soundtrack is impressive as well. The pre-opening scene had some very beautiful music to it, as did the opening itself. It has a jazzy feel to it, and it perfectly fits the sort of space western vibe the show is giving off. I really like the closing as well. The show also seems to have a lot of "quote-able" moments, and I think that's just a testament to the frickin' fantastic dialogue.

As you can tell, I'm pretty much in love with this show, already. I hear the show is episodic, so I don't expect a continous narrative. I really do hope we discover the character's pasts, however. I really want to know about Spike's past and Jet's too. I mean, how did he lose his arm? Ah, so many questions.

On to the next one.

Session II: Stray Dog Strut

After the amazing start, I couldn't have really expected the episode to live up to the first. And well, it doesn't. It's not bad or anything, I just wasn't feeling it as much as the opener.

The Bebop did get a new crew-member of sorts, though, in the form of a canine. Spike isn't too keen on it, however (he hates animals and kids, apparently). The humor was great in this episode, as well as the chase scenes. This Abdul character was such an over-the-top villain, I loved it. Overall, this was a fun, humorous episode.

Session III: Honky Tonk Woman

Episode starts off with a woman hanging out in some shop, before being assaulted by several armed men. She manages to hold them off for a second with her own gun, but she is eventually captured. Apparently, her name is Faye Valentine, though she bears a striking resemblance to some 200 year old casino legend or some shit. Interesting. Time travel perhaps? Immortality, I don't know, but I'm curious.

Anyways, Spike and Jet hit up a space casino where drama ensues. There's a few awesome fights, a space confrontation, explosions, insanity, it's all here. I liked this one better than the second one. It's funny how Spike and Jet never manage to get their bounties; I assume this will be a continuing trend.

Session IV: Gateway Shuffle

The best thing about this episode is Faye joining the crew. There's some interesting stuff thrown around in this session, but it's easily the weakest episode so far for me. I just wasn't a fan of it, not sure why. Though I will say it was awesome to see Spike sliding the virus into the leader of the eco-terrorist's jacket. The ending scene was funny too.

Eh, this was a so-so episode for me.

Session V: Ballad of Fallen Angels

YEAAAAAAH.

This was fucking awesome. Got to learn more about Spike's past, albeit not too much, which I like. I like to get bits and pieces at a time. He's got a past involvement with the Red Dragon Crime group (i think that's what it was) and he's forced to confront the past when one of his mentors from the group is killed. We don't learn too much, but we get an awesome fight in a chapel and some great music.

I loved this episode. Through and through. Gotta admit, this Vicious character...is a bonafide badass. REALLY looking forward to the next five episodes. Will report back when I finish those, until then...

See ya, space cowboy.