Netflix

[honorentheos]

I am posting in anticipation of Netflix releasing a live action Cowboy Bebop this coming Friday. I have low expectations given live action remakes of amazing anime have a terrible track record.

I became a fan of anime in an era when access was limited. My first exposure was to a show called G-Force that played in the afternoons at a time when we could only watch it in the summer. It kicked off afternoon cartoons and started while we were still in school most of the year. But my friends and I loved it. Years later I found out it was an Americanized version of a very popular Japanese show that, in it's original form, was much more layered. But at 6-8 years old, just because I was reaching the age of accountability didn't mean I was ready for depth in my cartoons. But I do think the emotion in the show was part of the attraction. These weren't Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd characters.

But that wasn't the show that made me genuinely crave anime over western cartoons as a kids. That distinction goes to a show that came on Saturday mornings when I was in the fourth grade - Robotech. Yeah, it was the airplanes turning into robots that first captured my imagination along with running battles in the streets between what I learned to call Mecha and giant aliens. But the hook was really set in through relationship between the title character and the his movie star love interest. I cried as a kid when she died. Cartoons aren't supposed to make you cry. People aren't supposed to die who aren't the bad guys. It may have been the first tragedy in drama I really engaged with outside of books like Where the Red Fern Grows. TV was not the vehicle for tragedy.

A couple of years later Voltron came out and again, it's Americanized version was fun but the bits of story that snuck through are what made it stand out even as it established a knowledge of the tropes.

Skip ahead to my freshman year in high school. One of my friend's older brother had a group of Junior friends we'd hang out with before classes. One of them turned out to be a huge anime fan with a connection in Japan who sent him VHS American machine compatible shows you couldn't get easily in the States. When I told him about discovering Robotech as a kid he asked did I knew that it had been sanitized for Saturday morning cartoons? but he had the series in it's original Japanese version and since I seemed to be a real fan and would appreciate it he'd let me borrow it. That began the next stage of anime fandom for me.

That was around the very early 1990s. By the mid-90s Blockbusters and other venues had made anime movies more accessible if still very niche. Classic movies like Akira were joined by new classics that came to the states almost as quickly as they appeared in Japan. The anime of my youth had a look that had evolved some but the mid-90s saw more obvious experiments in animation styling. It was in this period where Cowboy Bebop arrived. It's style was unique, the animation it's own while recognizable, the world building enticing, and the storytelling masterful. Bebop was a true genre defining show that stands the test of time as few from the era manage.

So this Friday (11/19) Netflix premiers their live action take on it. I can't pretend to be excited because it can't possibly live up to the original. But because it is Bebop I'm unavoidably curious. I do hope it leads some to check out the original. And if it turns out to even be just ok, then cool. The Bebop world is one that feels like it could belong in the 2016/2022 collapse of the matrix we are experiencing.

[Dr. Shades]

Well, honorentheos? It’s been half a year. How was the live-action Cowboy Bebop?

[honorentheos]

Well, honorentheos? It’s been half a year. How was the live-action Cowboy Bebop?

Wasn't a fan. I didn't finish the series it seemed bad enough to not be worth my time.

I recommend just rewatching the original.

[honorentheos]

It may not be up everyone's alley but I thought Arcane was quite good. It is a series based on the lore behind the video game League of Legends. Despite that it doesn't fall into a lot of the usual traps for video game based shows/movies. More showing than telling, no over reliance on expositions, leaving the world open enough that it is understandable by someone that isn't familiar with it.

The animation style is striking, the voice acting good and the story captivating enough that even my non-playing partner found it enjoyable.

The first 3 episodes are out now with 3 more coming for the next 2 Saturdays.

Schmo's thread about the YouTube channel Cinema Theater led me to come back to this thread to see if anyone had mentioned Arcane. I hadn't seen it when this thread was active, only coming to it after someone I respect recommended it for the story. And damn.

This may be the best series I watched in the last few years. I'd put it next to the first season of True Detective in the pantheon. I know nothing about the game and have zero interest in that aspect of it. But I can't say enough about the writing, the animation, the characters in this show. Hands down, I'd say it is must watch television.

[Xenophon]

Schmo's thread about the YouTube channel Cinema Theater led me to come back to this thread to see if anyone had mentioned Arcane. I hadn't seen it when this thread was active, only coming to it after someone I respect recommended it for the story. And damn.

This may be the best series I watched in the last few years. I'd put it next to the first season of True Detective in the pantheon. I know nothing about the game and have zero interest in that aspect of it. But I can't say enough about the writing, the animation, the characters in this show. Hands down, I'd say it is must watch television.

I'm really glad you enjoyed it. I attempted at the time to not overhype it and I also didn't have every episode at my disposal at the time of posting. I've rewatched twice which is pretty rare for me. I'll have to dig into the YouTube breakdown you and Schmo have mentioned when I get some time.

If you're looking for a similar feel the Cyberpunk adaptation on Netflix is also very good, in my opinion. I personally found Arcane more engaging and better story telling generally but I thought it crazy that we got two great animated series in one year. After so many years of trash video game adaptions I've been pleased to see great usage of avaible lore for new content. Not sure why it took my entire life for folks to realise you can use the lore without making it look/feel like a video game.

[honorentheos]

Not sure why it took my entire life for folks to realize you can use the lore without making it look/feel like a video game.

This.

I don't know what drove them to invest in making more than fan service like they did, but I am still shocked over just hard that story hits. There are still moments from it that I can recall and it still gives me chills. It made me look inward in ways I can't recall media outside of books accomplishing. Just stunning.

I'll check out Cyberpunk now, too. Thanks for the suggestion!

[Jersey Girl]

The Good Nurse.

It's a thriller. I highly recommend it. Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander) disappears into the role does an EXCELLENT job of portraying the primary character. Based on a true crime story.

Just watch it.

[Jersey Girl]

The Watcher.

After seeing so many recommendations for this series, I put it on one night and ended up binge watching it until the end. It's based on a true story about a couple who bought a home in Jersey. It's a suspenseful "who dun it" type thing. Honestly, I found myself going through it thinking...it's the neighbor! No, it's the real estate agent. It's that old guy. Wait,it's that other neighbor! No it's definitely the real estate agent! The police are in on it! No wait, it's definitely the real estate agent and I know why!

Wait...what just happened? I know exactly nothing!

I don't know if anyone will enjoy it. I think if it goes into another season, I probably won't bother with it. I can only be twisted into a pretzel for so long before I grow weary of it. I obviously enjoyed it since I watched every episode in one evening. It's one of those things I couldn't look away from...keeps you guessing as I said above.

[Jersey Girl]

Not Netflix related but I didn't want to devote a new thread to this.

Ask me about Mohammad Ali and I might know something. Like he had an almost 80" arm span and was simply magnificent to watch in action. Otherwise I don't know anything at all about sports or teams or any of that. But...this looks interesting enough to make me go to the theater and see it. There is something like an underlying theme there about human striving and triumph.

And that I like.


AIR | Official Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Euy4Yu6 ... uy4Yu6B3nU

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

The Watcher.

After seeing so many recommendations for this series, I put it on one night and ended up binge watching it until the end. It's based on a true story about a couple who bought a home in Jersey. It's a suspenseful "who dun it" type thing. Honestly, I found myself going through it thinking...it's the neighbor! No, it's the real estate agent. It's that old guy. Wait,it's that other neighbor! No it's definitely the real estate agent! The police are in on it! No wait, it's definitely the real estate agent and I know why!

Wait...what just happened? I know exactly nothing!

I don't know if anyone will enjoy it. I think if it goes into another season, I probably won't bother with it. I can only be twisted into a pretzel for so long before I grow weary of it. I obviously enjoyed it since I watched every episode in one evening. It's one of those things I couldn't look away from...keeps you guessing as I said above.

Why do you think you have a fascination with True Crime television, stories, videos, etc? Anecdotally, I believe women are more interested in that genre than men, but I can’t really put my finger on why it’s alluring to them. Like, I could probably offer up man-reasons why sports capture men’s attention. In that vein, do you think you know why women like the True Crime genre?

- Doc