This 2001 feature based on the anime series of the same name flirts with being the perfect introduction to anime for viewers unfamiliar with the genre, but be warned that some of its cliches might still put off non-converts. Highlights include:-A mostly great English dub, right down to the ancillary characters. Steve Blum will be associated with the wiry, perpetually unperturbed spacefaring bounty hunter Spike Spiegel till the end of his days, and here he imbues the character with an infectious joie de vivre and a flirtatious attitude to go along with new one-time love interest Elektra Ovilo. I also loved Nicholas Guest as the mysterious Rashid, as well as Michael Gregory as the soft-spoken (though stereotypical) Native American chief Laughing Bull.-Impeccable music. Yoko Kanno's versatile and jazzy tunes are layered over explosive dogfights and tranquil strolls in equal measure. Her music remains one of the most vital reasons to watch the original television series, and it is a major draw for this film. Most of the tunes are joyful and exuberantly funky, as if they were lost Motown classics. But there are quieter, contemplative pieces too, especially towards the end of the film.-Jaw-dropping action scenes. The fight choreography here has to be seen to be believed. Scenes from this film have indisputably gone down in animated film history: the hand-to-hand fight between Spike and Vincent on the speeding frail line, the wild aerial battle featuring vintage WWII biplanes and futuristic fighter aircraft; the improvisational fight between Spike and Electra where the former's weapon of choice is a broom handle; the final, vicious confrontation between Spike and Vincent during a rainstorm. These will suck in just about any viewer, and they almost all top even the better fights from the TV series.An interesting plot. There's a bit of a mystery here, so viewers can get their procedural fix too. Interviewing leads and pursuing suspects involves some actual detective work that leads to a sinister bio-tech company with a front as a generic pharmaceutical entity. As in the show, the main characters (Spike, Jet, Faye, Ed, Ein) all go off on their own in pursuit of the truth, rather than sticking together as a group; they're all loners at heart, which especially became apparent in the final episodes of the TV series.-Moroccan Street. The director wanted to explore a different cultural setting than he had in the TV series, and the scenes that take place on "Moroccan Street" provide a unique Middle Eastern aesthetic that feels both respectful and celebratory. The art department was clearly fascinated by Middle Eastern culture, and it shows. Don't know of any other anime that pays this much reverence to the style of the Mid East. What is unfortunately generic is the villain, Vincent. Clad in a billowing cape and with a hilariously dead stare, plus an unintentionally ridiculous voice by Daran Norris, he's about as stereotypical as a self-involved suicidal terrorist mastermind can be. His vampiric appearance is occasionally effective when he sets off bombs or kills one of his lackeys, but his backstory couldn't be any hokier. He creepily romances Faye and Electra; it all comes across as comically emo.Other odd anime-isms that might threaten this film's consumption by a non-anime watching audience include the character of Ed, who is just as loopy as she was in the TV series. She'll be endearing to anime fans and off-putting to everyone else, though Melissa Fahn's performance is great. There's also some slapstick jokes that might feel out of place to neophytes, as well as some cartoony characters like the old coots who help out in the dogfight scene. And the runtime is a bit long at two hours.Still, this is one my favorite anime movies. It's slick, sexy and cool, with a familiar Westernized flair that distinguishes it from other kookier shows and movies in this Japanese medium. I recommend it.

Cowboy Bebop: The MovieThe upside to living on Mars is that you don't have to travel far for your anal probing.Mind you, there won't be much to probe if the terrorists in this anime have their way.Nearly 50 years after a dying Earth was evacuated in favour of life on Mars, the fleeting human populace once again faces extinction in the form of nanovirus. To prevent further attacks, the Martian government issues a generous bounty, which subsequently attracts Faye Valentine, owner of the spaceship Beebop, and her ragtag crew of bounty hunters, Spike Spiegel, Jet Black and a robotic dog.Based on the popular television series of the same name, this feature length animated adaptation will satisfy long-time fans of the series, but struggles to find new fans thanks to its somewhat goofy standalone narrative.Incidentally, life on Mars is pretty much the same as on Earth except the litter floats.Yellow Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca

Like the series, the movie toys with multiple layers of meaning. To me the series and movie both portray how some of us are unable to accept realities we find ourselves in as they are, how we fail to find meaning in what is and instead hold on for a 'how it should be'. A future that one may deserve but may never come true. Just as Spike fails to find meaning in the life he lives with the crew of bebop as he is consumed by his ghosts so does Laurence fail to see past the horrors he has endured. He asks Spike which is real, whether his life ended in Titan and everything after that point is a dream or titan is a nightmare which he fails to wake up from. The question is rhetorical, He already knows which is true but by failing to accept it he can cling onto some kind of comfort or a prospect of vindication. With his dying breath, he admits he was looking for a way out of the nightmare to which Spike ironically replies he should not have been afraid to open his eyes, the very thing Spike fails to do. Not everyone who deserves to leave purgatory gets to do so because there are no doors leading out, to begin with. Cowboy bebop shows this to the viewer in a matter of fact way like its another one of those unavoidable realities of life.

The show is one of the finest examples of anime there is, so when I heard that there was a movie I thought to myself that this could go either way. Thankfully Cowboy Bebop: The Movie went the way I hoped it would, which was that being a movie that complimented the show well and succeeded on its own merits, both of which Cowboy Bebop: The Movie does brilliantly. The animation is both ethereal and haunting, with the character designs and faces expressive. The music is emotionally complex and fits the mood of the film perfectly, when there's action it's rousing, when there is an emotional moment it is poignant and when there is an intensely dark moment it is haunting. The dialogue is very thought-provoking with some nice humour, true to the style of the show actually, while the story has a lot of layers and my attention never wavered. The characters are still the characters we know and love and written just as well. Of course the show had more time to develop its stories and characters, but the movie does more than credibly in both these areas. The voice work is similarly impressive. Overall, I recommend it without hesitation. 10/10 Bethany Cox