Tag Archives: Cowboy Bebop

Anime Lounge #21: Cowboy Bebop Episodes 1 – 12

Posted on by
Reply

Series: Cowboy Bebop

Episodes: 1 to 12

Premise: Space bounty hunter Spike Spiegel is always in search of his next target, and he finds unlikely helpers in retired cop Jet Black, the mysterious Faye Valentine and later legendary hacker Ed and the scientific genius pupper Ein. Spike must confront his past — running around in the mafia — in order to move forward with his future. How he does it to start leads to more questions than answers, ending with his first confrontation with former friend Vicious.

Is it worth watching?: YES. This is one of the god-tier anime that every new anime enthusiast should be required to watch. Production values, voice acting, cool characters and an awesome soundtrack … this anime has it all.

Breakout character: Faye Valentine. Yes, it could be all of the characters, but Faye definitely stands out. You want to know her deal, why she can’t remember anything and how she will ever get herself together. And then you find out later in the series, and it’s like, wow. The payoff for Faye is amazing, and you still want more.

Where it’s going?: Spike has to take on Vicious once again, reclaim his honor and handle unresolved business. He’s taking the crew along for the ride, and where they end up is the mystery.

Top 5 on The Strip: Burning anime questions

Posted on by
Reply

Big O

1. Big O

What was the event that caused the amnesia 40 years before?

It’s hinted that an event caused everyone in Paradigm City to lose their memories. Every so often the city resets itself, but it’s also explained that a worldwide catastrophe is the cause of the amnesia, and that reality in the series is a virtual reality that resets because of Angel. Also, there is speculation that Roger Smith aka The Negotiator is a robot, but it is never confirmed.

Oreimo

2. OreImo

Which girl did the main character wind up with? And did his parents ever approve of his sister’s eroge collection?

The main character, Kyosuke, basically enters a harem situation with several girls in his life, including his sister, Kirino. All squickiness aside about the potential incest angle, the situation with the girls proves a point about siblings growing apart and then coming together again with maturity. As a side note, their parents find out that Kirino is an otaku and collects eroge but Kyosuke manages to defuse the situation and save Kirino’s eroge collection. The main question there, however, is did her parents ever realize that the eroge collection was, in fact, Kirino’s and that she still had it?

Cowboy Bebop

3. Cowboy Bebop

Did Spike actually die at the end?

Speculation has run rampant that Spike Spiegel, the main character of Cowboy Bebop, didn’t die in the final duel that he has with antagonist/main rival Vicious. According to some fans, Spike managed to survive his gunshot wounds after being shot down in the climactic clash at the Vicious’ headquarters and lived to see another bounty. Personally, we don’t believe so. He was very clearly shown to be dead as well as Vicious and the woman they were fighting for. Spike knew the battle was going to end one way and there was no coming back to Jet and the Bebop.

Legend of Korra

4. Avatar: The Legend of Korra/Avatar: The Last Airbender

Who is Suyin Beifong’s father? Who is the mother of Zuko’s daughter?

Popular characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender Toph Beifong and Fire Lord Zuko each present some interesting questions in relation to their future offspring. It’s stated that Toph has two children that you see in the series, Republic City Chief of Police Lin Beifong and Zaofu matriarch Suyin Beifong. The women mention separately that they have different fathers that neither knew. While Lin’s father is briefly talked about, Suyin’s is not. Zuko, on the other hand, is shown to be in a relationship with Mai at the end of The Last Airbender and to have a daughter who takes on the Fire Lord throne in Legend of Korra. This begs the question of who is the mother of his daughter, Mai or someone else? These questions are never answered.

Bleach

5. Bleach

Does Aizen actually carry out the full 20,000-year sentence?

While we do know that Sosuke Aizen is sentenced to his long stay in prison at the end of his arc in Bleach, we don’t know if he will ever carry out the full sentence. It’s probable that the villain will, given that souls do not die or age like normal in Soul Society and he was empowered by the Hōgyoku, which renders the person infused with it effectively immortal. Even though he was let out of prison in the final act of Bleach, it’s implied that he was effectively held to serve the entire sentence.

Anime Lounge #11: Cowboy Bebop Ep. 1-13

Posted on by
Reply

Anime-LoungeSeries: Cowboy Bebop
Episodes: 1 to 13
Premise: A bounty hunter crew featuring a former syndicate member, Spike Spiegel; a con artist, Faye Valentine; a retired police detective who pilots a ship named Bebop, Jet Black; a genius child hacker, Ed; and a genius dog, Ein, travels around space in the year 2071 in search of their next bounty that will put the food on the table. They also have their own agendas and pasts that come back to haunt them or help them during the course of their travels.

Is it worth watching?: If you consider the fact that Cowboy Bebop is near-universally considered in the top five anime series ever created, the answer is yes. There’s drama, action, perfect voice acting and a history that makes you want to delve deeper into the mysteries of every character in the show. Oh, and the animation is awesome and the soundtrack is amazing.
Breakout character: By the midpoint of the series, nearly every character is considered a breakout character. But if we had to choose, we’d say Ed. She stands out, not because it’s a mystery as to who Ed is, but more about why Ed is even involved. She’s weird but there’s reasons for the madness.
Funniest episode: Episode 11, “Toys in the Attic.” The entire episode revolves around the majority of the crew being bitten by a venomous blob creature. The crew are stalked and taken out one by one, leading to hilarity when Ed and Spike attempt to tackle the mystery of what exactly the blob is and how it got on the ship in the first place.
Where it’s going?: Every episode up to 13 is a build up of the characters and their reasons for coming together on the Bebop. How everyone’s stories intersect and conclude is the basis for the next 13 episodes. Background stories are more fleshed out and characters’ motivations from their pasts are the catalysts for character development.