With all the buzz surrounding the upcoming live-action remake series of Cowboy Bebop, it's easy to forget that the original is still there and ripe for enjoying. That's kind of the whole thing with remakes and reboots. It doesn't matter if they're good or bad, as long as the source material is still readily available. Now, it looks like Netflix wants to make it easier, and there are bound to be plenty of binging sessions in the very near future.
Netflix has just acquired the rights to the original Cowboy Bebop anime series barely a month before its own live-action remake of the same name is set to premiere. That's right, all 26 episodes of the classic space western will soon be available for fans to stream just before they angrily tune into the remake on the same service. That's not to say the new Cowboy Bebop series will be bad. But remakes are remakes and fans are fans.
Cowboy Bebop originally premiered in Japan in 1998 and the U.S. in 2001 as part of Adult Swim's first block of shows. While it was still rather niche, as anime tends to be in the States, the series received heaps of praise from U.S. audiences, particularly for its stellar English dub. This primarily came from the performances by voice acting legends Steve Blum, Beau Billingslea, and Wendee Lee in the 3 lead roles of Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, and Faye Valentine, respectively. That's not to mention the young tech genius girl Ed (who currently isn't set to appear in the remake just yet). However, the voice direction for the rest of the cast and the gritty futuristic western setting also came together to really rope viewers in, turning Cowboy Bebop into one of the most widely recommended anime shows for people who don't like anime.
The remake will star John Cho as Spike, Mustafa Shakir as Jet, and Daniella Pineda as Faye. Not only will it retain those 3 iconic leads, but it also managed to snag iconic Japanese composer Yoko Kanno to compose the soundtrack, as she did for the original anime. As if to drive home the remake's intentions, Netflix also recently released the Cowboy Bebop opening credits, showing off a surprisingly accurate recreation of the original show's opening along with some new footage. Naturally, it was also set to the nostalgic jazzy tones of Kanno's "Tank!," which famously played over the anime's intro credits as well.
Even after all that effort, many fans are still apprehensive regarding the Netflix remake. It's not difficult to see why seeing as the streaming service (and the U.S. in general) has a rather rocky track record when it comes to anime adaptations. Netflix's own Death Note starring Willem Dafoe saw plenty of backlash, while the Scarlett Johansson-led 2017 Ghost in the Shell film earned its share of criticisms for both its quality and allegations of whitewashing the characters.
But perhaps things will be different now. Cowboy Bebop's showrunner has confirmed that this won't be a straight remake, instead electing to expand the canon of its predecessor and go its own way a bit. Maybe with fewer shackles tying it to the source material, this new series could have a shot at breaking free from the curse of live-action anime. Either that, or it will be really fun to make fun of. Either way, somebody wins.
The original Cowboy Bebop anime will be available to stream on Netflix starting October 21st, while the live-action series will premiere November 19th, 2021, also on Netflix.
Source: Entertainment Weekly