Cowboy Bebop: If It Ain’t Broke…
By Jakob Johns | Misfit Media Columnist
In the original Cowboy Bebop, 1998, there’s a fantastic scene that sums up the grimy personalities of the main characters: Spike, Faye, and Jet. A warhead containing weaponised viruses are hurtling through warp space towards a populated planet and our hero, Spike Spiegal, is racing after them trying to shoot them down. Faye comes on the comms and offers to helps.
“I can bail you out for 80%,” she says as if everything is fine. Spike asks her is she’s insane, but we don’t know if he’s referring to her casual attitude or the unreasonable price point. Faye is about to leave when Spike gives her a counteroffer, “40%, that’s our last offer!”. Faye responds with “alright – but I get the 60!”
In the original series, this exchange is hilarious because the crew is arguing over prices while an entire planet is in danger of being exposed to a deadly virus. It’s funny and effective enough that when Netflix adapted the series to live action, they kept the exchange – in a way. In the trailer for the new series, you can see the entire thing take place. Our first red flag. Rather than being a conversation during a high-stakes situation, it has been compressed into the characters merely sitting in a diner as Faye says: “I propose a 60/40 split, going my way of course”.
As a long-time Cowboy Bebop fan, recent exposures to the new remake have ignited a lot of thoughts on how these remakes could work, and how they should work. Netflix has tried a few of these live-action adaptations before, and none are particularly successful; most notably, the infamous Death Note film. The film took an immense amount of liberties with the original story and turned it from an intense supernatural thriller into a… tragic romance with 80s soft rock? Somehow? It’s almost impressive that they managed such a dramatic transformation, and to be honest it’s kind of funny to watch.
Netflix learned from the backlash to some extent, and has decided to adapt Cowboy Bebop more “faithfully”. However, are they really doing the old series justice? And, is there even a point in remaking the series if nothing changes anyway? It’s only from the 90s, it hardly needs a visual update (especially since it’s a 90s anime, known for having wonderful hand-drawn animated action). The new series attempts to directly translate almost every visual aspect of the series, from the designs to the colours to the costumes, except they all look like cosplay because of how unnaturally they’ve been brought to a different medium.
The series has prioritised bringing so much over visually and superficially that they’ve forgotten some of the most important parts – especially the heart of the series. Cowboy Bebop is a complex mix of genres that exists to tell a wide range of stories from fun and exciting to introspective and melancholy. It’s a science-fiction western noir; wrap your head around that. The series drifts in tone from ambitious western stories to noirish tales of isolation and grief. In order to do so, the overarching genre of science-fiction allows them to quickly transition to different environments that work better for either genre. One minute, Radical Edward is chasing a train in the desert on a scooter. The next minute, Faye is drifting alone in the snow, forcing herself to believe that she can’t let anyone past her emotional shell of calloused greed.
Faye is my favourite character from the original series, which is why it stands out to me that she’s likely been gutted in the remake. Look back at the humour of the original “60/40” exchange and how much character it builds for everyone involved, and then look at the Guardians of the Galaxy style quipping of the new trailer. It’s not even necessarily that bad, it just isn’t Cowboy Bebop.
So why is it even a remake?
As of writing, the remake comes out in less than a week, and I won’t be able to help watching it since I’m too curious to let it pass. A lot of fans will probably be furious, but anyone unfamiliar with the original series might enjoy it, and I won’t be surprised. It’s going to be a morally ambiguous sci-fi romp ala Firefly or Guardians of the Galaxy with some cool action. But, if you haven’t seen the original series, I highly urge you to try it, or at least give the 2001 movie a watch (since it’s somewhat self-contained). There’s a reason it’s famous enough for Netflix to borrow from in the first place; it’s one of a kind, a self-proclaimed genre unto itself.
