This past weekend, Netflix released the new rendition of Cowboy Bebop's legendary opening sequence. Although reactions to the new intro were all over the place, it’s hard to look at this new version without recognizing how faithful it is to the original anime.
Suffice to say, the new Cowboy Bebop has plenty of callbacks to the 1998 series, most notably the usage of the anime’s epic “Tank!” theme song, but it’s only by looking at both versions next to each other when the true level of detail begins to shine. Netflix’s live-action Cowboy Bebop is already under tense scrutiny due to the company’s terrible history with anime adaptations, along with series creator Shinichirō Watanabe voicing certain concerns about it.
Maybe that’s why the “Still Watching Netflix” channel posted the side-by-side comparison of the intro sequences, which really highlights the frame-by-frame recreation of some of the anime’s most memorable shots, along with entirely new footage. The clips do fade away fully into the new Cowboy Bebop opening about halfway through to catch a brief glimpse at some other characters like Mad Pierrot, Teddy Bomber, Julia, Asimov, Katerina, and, of course, the cute live-action Ein that’s already winning over fans.
There are also a few iconic scenes being teased already, like the ones featuring the series’ villain Vicious, who is destined to go one-on-one against Spike in their epic church fight, although Ed’s absence does stand out quite a bit. The androgynous teen hacker is confirmed to be a part of the series, though with Netflix not aiming for a Cowboy Bebop remake and Ed only showing up in later episodes of the anime, she could become be something that’s being saved for future episodes.
Cowboy Bebop remains one of the best anime from the '90s, so any adaptation is bound to meet high levels of criticism. However, even this early on actor Daniela Pineda’s costume has been on the receiving end of fan outrage over changes to the original source material. At best, the new Cowboy Bebop is giving mixed signals by bringing back Yoko Kanno, but it is also keeping Watanabe worried since he has “no choice but to pray and hope that it will turn out good," provided producers don’t listen to his advice.
An anime legend such as Cowboy Bebop will always have potential, but the West has rarely done Japanese animated content too much justice. At least when it comes to the intro, Netflix seems to have passed the mark.
Cowboy Bebop will be exclusively available on Netflix starting November 19, 2021.
Source: Still Watching Netflix | YouTube