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Bebop on Blu-rayPOSTED BY JASON FETTERS, January 1, 2015 Share
With a street date of December 16, 2014, Funimation finally released Cowboy Bebop on multiple media formats. This much beloved anime classic from the 90’s is a long time coming.
Fans have had to endure or find Cowboy Bebop streaming online, but I wanted a nice Blu-ray edition.
First, an amusing little backstory. Way back in 1997, when Tampa was such a different city, I was pursuing DVDs at Borders, back in an age when people still wanted a physical copy, when I saw Cowboy Bebop: The Movie on DVD. I was going to pick it up when my uber anime fan said, “You won’t understand it, without watching the series first.”
Well, this sparked a brief debate on series vs movies. Typically in the US, Hollywood will dumb down the story so that most everyone will understand it. This generally isn’t true with anime released in Japan, where you have to see the entire series to make sense of the movie.
So I left Borders without Bebop.
A few years later I was shopping at Moviestop and I saw the movie, this time upgraded to Blu-ray and purchased it for only $9.99 for a new copy.
Ignoring my friend’s advice, I put it in my player and watched it. For the most part, I understood the gist of it. The action sequences were beautiful and the soundtrack was amazing; however I had no clue on who the characters were and how they came together. So my friend was probably right. I still held onto the movie hoping that one day the series would get licensed and released.
Fast forward to 2014 and finally I am able to watch the series and follow up that with the movie. It has been awhile since I last saw the movie so it will be like watching it for the first time.
I have long been sick of dealing with Bricks ‘n Mortars when buying anime and Asian entertainment in general. Unless you are looking for Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan movies, the retail store’s inventory is appalling. So I comparison shopped between Amazon, who had the exclusive edition that was tough as nails to obtain, Deep Discount, and Right Stuf. Now I had just received Christmas money from my dad, so this won’t affect my wallet at all. Right Stuf had the cheapest price at $35 and that’s the one I bought.
I placed my online order on 12/26 and my package arrived on 12/31. Way to go Right Stuf.
Ok, there is also a DVD version, but this review is only for the Blu-ray. If you haven’t made the upgrade to Blu-ray, you need to step up your game.
On the Blu-ray you get the complete series at 26 episodes spread out over 4 discs. You also get some extras that I will get around to seeing after watching through all episodes and digesting it.
I watched episode one, also referred to as sessions, and right off that bat the picture quality is breathtaking on a HDTV. The animation flows so smoothly across the screen that you may find yourself falling in love with such gorgeous visuals.
Next, the Jazz soundtrack is to die for and pure ear candy that will soften the heart of harden audiophiles. The dialogue and sounds really come alive in Dolby TrueHD 5.1. The whole listening experience is engaging as sounds bounced between the speakers on my surround sound system. If you don’t have a home theater with surround sound, again you need to upgrade.
Overall, I am extremely happy with Funimation’s release of Cowboy Bebop.
This one of those special series that both anime and non anime fans can set back and enjoy. So is Cowboy Bebop right for you? Well, main protagonist, Spike Spiegel, is clearly the coolest male anime character of all time. If you are a fan of the following: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Bruce Lee, blues/jazz music, Blaxploitation, Alien (1979,) Midnight Run, Fist Full of Dollars, and the mighty cultural phenomenon known as Star Wars, then you will find something you like.
Give Cowboy Bebop a shot and send me a message on Facebook or an email and let me know what you think.
Please note that this review is for the Blu-ray product and not an in depth analysis of the series, which keeps my review spoiler free.
Buy it today! A must have!
"The Asian Aperture" is ©2015 by Jason Fetters. All contents of Crazed Fanboy are ©2015 by Nolan B. Canova and Terence Nuzum.
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