Sci-Fi Storm

I received the DVD of Cowboy Bebop: The Movie and finally got the time to watch it so I can give you a quick review before it comes out tomorrow…

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, based on the series, is about a group of bounty hunters on (a remarkably Earthlike) Mars who suddenly find themselves involved in a situation that involves a biological attack – one that could wipe out everyone. Of course, they’re in it for the astronomical reward. It is directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, who recently did two of the segments of The Animatrix as well as Macross Plus.

Bear in mind I am not an anime expert, but I do enjoy watching it when I can. This review is also somewhat rushed as I’m going on vacation…

The anime style in this is one of the better ones. Pretty straight-forward standard anime, without the (for lack of a better term) “organic-architecture” styles often found in sci-fi anime (and which I don’t particularly like). Mars of 2071 is remarkably Earthlike – to the point I’m wondering if it really was supposed to be Mars – some English translations tend to take liberties with such things, but I believe the translation to be pretty direct in this case.

They story was quite interesting (especially in light of the current political climate), but did seem to run into a couple of dead spots I’ve seen from time to time in such stories, where too much license is taken in order to tie things together. The “expose” scenes, where character backgrounds or plotlines are revealed, where typical with a static scene and a character talking on a relatively monotone voice with occasional vague flashback images.

Overall, I’d say the movie is typical for its type, but above average.

The DVD itself is not especially out of the ordinary, but anime “purists” will like the fact that it comes with both Japanese and English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio tracks, plus a French audio track and English and French subtitles. The default mode of the disk is Japanese with English subtitles. The sound was quite good.

Also included are a number of behind-the-scenes making-of featurettes, a couple of music videos, plus storyboards and artwork.

To sum it up, one of the better sci-fi anime films I’ve seen in a while in a decent package. Definitely one for the anime buff.

Now, can someone clear something up for me? I haven’t seen the series, but what is the deal with the geek girl with the name “Edward”? At least I believe it to be a girl…but I’ve never seen a girl named Edward before… 🙂