Cowboy Bebop Netflixs Biggest Anime Changes Explained

Cowboy Bebop: Netflix’s Biggest Anime Changes Explained

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Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop introduces key changes to primary characters and their respective arcs. Here are the biggest changes from the anime, explained.

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Cowboy Bebop Netflixs Biggest Anime Changes Explained

Warning: Spoiler’s Ahead for Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop

Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop introduces key changes to its storyline and characters, which carve a wholly different path when compared to the original anime. Showrunner André Nemec crafted a live-action adaptation true to the spirit of the anime while introducing insightful expansions in terms of primary character trajectories, especially in the case of series protagonist Spike Spiegel (John Cho).

The world-building and aesthetic elements of Cowboy Bebop have been crafted to capture the retro, yet simultaneously futuristic vibe of its source material, its various planetary ecosystems coming to life in interesting ways. Tharsis looks like a seedy metropolis with cyberpunk-esque elements, filled with high-rises and neon hoardings. On the other hand, there is the dusty and arid planet of New Tijuana, sporting a diverse, multi-ethnic culture and a vibrant community.

In terms of changes, the audience is offered a glimpse into Vicious’ mansion, which is inspired by Graeco-Roman elements and sports a lavish, sleek, modern look. While Rester House has not been featured in the live-action yet, the nexus of live jazz performances seem to be Ana’s, where Gren works as chief overseer and Ana’s right hand. With several characters and settings from the Cowboy Bebop anime receiving alterations in Netflix’s new adaption, here’s a look at the biggest changes.

Spike’s Fate At The End of The Series

Cowboy Bebop Netflixs Biggest Anime Changes Explained

Vicious and Spike’s confrontation at the church recreates some of the events that occur in “Ballad of Fallen Angels”, but key events play out in a wildly different way when compared to the anime. Due to Kimmie’s presence in the live-action, Vicious kidnaps her instead in order to force Jet to make an exchange—his daughter for Spike. After Jet and Spike’s plan to rescue Kimmie fails, they find themselves bound at the church, with Vicious making it clear that he would make Spike watch his friends die before killing him. However, Faye arrives at an opportune moment, killing most of the Syndicate members, while Vicious, Lin, and Shin escape upstairs. Spike decides to stay behind, and a fight ensues between him and Vicious, wherein certain shots are a near-perfect recreation of the iconic sequences from the anime.

The arrival of Julia at the church is the biggest change made by Cowboy Bebop, as her actions thereafter completely set the characters on different paths. Blaming Spike for letting her suffer at the hands of Vicious, Julia shoots Spike, prompting him to fall from the church window as his past with Julia flashes before his eyes. As he lands in the water, Spike survives, although severely wounded. With Faye going her way to find her family, and Jet being heartbroken over Spike’s betrayal, Spike is now on his own, as he walks in a deserted alleyway before collapsing on the ground. He is found by none other than the hyper intelligent corgi, Ein and Radical Ed, who are bound to team up together in a potential Season 2 in order to nab more bounties.

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Jet’s Daughter Kimmie

Cowboy Bebop Netflixs Biggest Anime Changes Explained

Jet’s backstory is mostly similar to that of his anime counterpart, him being an ex-ISSP cop who got framed by his partner while on the hunt for Udai Taxim. After his reputation was tarnished and he separated from his wife, Jet became a bounty hunter, later partnering with Spike after the latter purportedly saves his life during a mission. The return of Udai Taxim stirs memories of that night of betrayal, wherein he lost his arm, and a direct confrontation with him reveals that it was his old partner, Fad, who had framed him.

However, it is the presence of Jet’s daughter Kimmie in the live-action which imbues Jet’s backstory with heightened pathos, as it is clear from his actions that he wants nothing more than to be a good father to her. Jet’s primary motivation to earn well as a bounty hunter is to make Kimmie happy, as seen in “Dog Star Swing”, where he pays ₩35,000 for her favorite doll. After the events of the finale, “Supernova Symphony”, Jet seems especially broken by the fact that Kimmie’s life was jeopardized due to his association with Spike, and how close to death his daughter was despite his efforts to protect her.

Faye’s Past With Whitney Matsumoto

Cowboy Bebop Netflixs Biggest Anime Changes Explained

While nothing is revealed about Faye’s real parents in Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop—which is not the case in the anime—she gets a similar backstory with a few alterations. In “Callisto Soul”, Faye tracks down Mark Manley, the man who signed off on her defrosting process from cryosleep and who was working with conwoman Whitney Haggis Matsumoto to scam her. While Matsumoto was a man in the anime, who had pretended to be romantically interested in her to gain her trust, here she is a woman pretending to be Faye’s mother. Having had amnesia for the last two years, Faye’s central focus is to unearth her own identity, finding a lead on a tape given to her by Matsumoto. The tape is similar to the one Faye receives in the anime—a recording a younger Faye made for her future self. By the end of the live-action adaption, Faye finds out that her family home is in Greenvale Avenue, so she embarks on a solo journey to find out more about her parents.

The Near-Absence of Radical Ed

Cowboy Bebop Netflixs Biggest Anime Changes Explained

Radical Ed was an integral part of the Bebop crew, as most of the bounties would be impossible to go after without her hacking abilities and valuable intel. While Ed is referred to in passing a few times during “Binary: Two-Step”, wherein she sends intel about Dr. Londes, nothing in the live-action suggests that she is close to either Spike or Jet, while Faye still remains oblivious to her existence. At the end of the series finale, we see Ed and Ein find a deeply wounded Spike, with Ed telling him that they need to go after Vincent Volaju, hinting that Season 2 would delve deeper into Ed’s character and dynamic with the primary trio.

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Julia & Vicious’ Syndicate Arc

Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop takes the greatest artistic liberties with Julia and Vicious’ arcs, especially the way in which they develop Julia’s character. Despite being seen in the anime a handful of times, Julia’s absence haunts Spike and Vicious, pushing them to enact revenge on one another for the sake of her love. However, this is not the case here, as “Cowboy Gospel” ends with Julia and Vicious together, meaning that she chose him over Spike due to some unknown reason. Moreover, Vicious was a lone warrior in the anime, aiming his cold ruthlessness towards the world to take over the Syndicate. In the live-action, Vicious is more of a coward, hiding behind the accomplishments of better men and attacking with no subtlety or tact. In fact, it is Julia who emerges as the true mastermind, as it is her idea to stage a coup to kill the Elders with the help of the other Capos.

Julia’s predicament in Cowboy Bebop is a precarious and complex one, as she starts off as a sweet, talented singer at Ana’s but ends up embroiled in the affairs of the Syndicate due to her closeness with Vicious. While she soon realizes that Spike is the only person who can grant her freedom and a new life, she is forced to remain with him. Vicious is seen being physically and psychologically abusive towards her, which largely factors into her plan to have him killed during the coup. However, when the plan fails, and she meets Spike at the church, she unjustifiably shoots him for abandoning her, which he never quite did in the first place. Julia’s actions differ greatly from her anime counterpart, as the latter chose to go into hiding rather than shooting the man she loves. Here, Julia not only takes over the Syndicate, hinting at her thirst for power, but also keeps Vicious chained in order to enact revenge for the way he treated her. While Julia has much more agency in the live-action, her actions often come off as self-serving, adding complexity to her dynamic with other characters.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/cowboy-bebop-show-netflix-anime-changes-differences-explained/

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