10 Things Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop Adaptation Misses From The Original Anime

Cowboy Bebop was not the first anime to be adapted for live-action audiences. Both Death Note and Ghost In the Shell were adapted for American audiences. And both had less than favorable responses. As soon as news broke that Cowboy Bebop would be adapted, it was met with pushback. Faye was criticized for her appearance and many wondered how the jazz-inspired beloved anime would translate into live-action.

Cowboy Bebop only lasted a season, quickly being canceled by Netflix. But that gives merit to the understandable criticism of the adaptation. When adapting a foreign language property that is treasured among fans, not everyone can be pleased. There are many elements that the Netflix adaptation missed from the original property.

Faye’s Personality

Faye Valentine is first and foremost a con artist. When she meets up with Spike and Jet in the anime, she differs from their bounty hunting personalities. Ultimately she joins their ranks, but she is a good addition because she has a separate set of skills. Her intelligence and ability to improvise on the fly are a great contrast to the gun blazing attitude of the rest of the crew.

The live-action version adaptation of Faye was heavily criticized because of her appearance. But it is how the show veers from her personality that is sacrilegious. In the Netflix show, Faye is a brash, gunslinging jokester. She is just another bounty hunter and it disrespects the fully fleshed-out character that she was in the anime.

The Bebop Is A Family

The Cowboy Bebop anime is a story about loneliness. In the vastness of space, Spike, Jet, Faye, and ultimately Ed were the loneliest people in space and found a family through each other. Jet knows about Spike’s past with the Syndicate. They accept Faye onto the ship even though she double-crossed them. The emotional weight of their experiences bonds them together.

Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop has the crew at each other’s throats most of the time. The Bebop is dysfunctional, full of infighting and disagreements. Although the crew in the anime did not always get along, they were united in something very powerful that the Netflix adaptation did not understand. They cared about each other and chose to stay together in the face of a cruel world.

The Stand-Alone Bounties

One of the saddest oversights from the Netflix show was missing out on the stand-alone bounties. The stand-alone episodes took a look at the types of things the crew needed to do to survive. A running gag in the anime was how the audience rarely gets to see them pull off a successful bounty. Episodes like “Heavy Metal Queen” demonstrated how hard the bounty hunting lifestyle was.

In a short season, the live-action adaptation depicted every bounty or episode tied to the main villain in some way. When it wasn’t, these anecdotes were used only for comedic relief. The audience never saw the struggles that the crew went through to survive.

Vicious’ Mystique

What makes Vicious have one of the best arcs in Cowboy Bebop and be a compelling villain is his mysterious nature. Vicious is rarely seen in the anime and seldom heard. His quiet calculation is more terrifying specifically because the audience does not see him. When Spike does encounter him, the viewers are reminded of his quiet malice.

Vicious becomes a caricature in the adaptation. He is given unnecessary backstory and ironically becomes cartoonish the more scenes he is given. He is unhinged and impulsive, making him so evil that he becomes an unbelievable character. This is what destroys what made his character so interesting in the original. Even worse, the live-action show took away his giant pet bird.

Radical Ed

Ed is the heart of the Bebop. Their humor and intelligence set them apart from the rest of the crew. A young hacker, Ed is on their own and insists on joining the crew. Ed becomes closest to the ship’s Corgi, Ein. Ed’s decision to leave the crew at the end of the anime series is one of the most emotional moments on Cowboy Bebop.

As Netflix declined to renew Cowboy Bebop for a second season, there are many things that the show will never get to. Radical Ed is one of them. While the beloved character arrives on screen for the cliffhanger, the audience will never see the entirety of Cowboy Bebop’s found family.

Gren’s Connection To Vicious

Gren is an important character to the anime series because of his connection to Vicious. He is another one of Vicious’ victims. Faye stumbles upon Gren while separated from the Bebop crew. Gren reveals that he had once considered Vicious a friend but was double-crossed. They fought together in the Titan War until Vicious framed him. Gren ended up in prison and desired revenge. This episode arc was important as it shed light on the atrocities Vicious had committed.

The live-action counterpart was changed significantly from the source material. Gren in the live-action Cowboy Bebop is not extremely powerful and a softer, less aggressive version from the original. This change may have been to update the character for modern audiences. However, this disrespects Gren’s arc from the anime. Gren’s character is glossed over as is his trauma. Like Vicious, Gren just becomes a caricature.

Justice For Ein

Ein is central to the Bebop crew, as any of his human counterparts. The ship’s Corgi is defined by his intelligence. On many occasions, Ein demonstrates an understanding that far outreaches the crew. The running joke in the anime is that Ein is the smartest being on the ship, but none of the crew realizes it. Though Spike vocalizes dislike of women and dogs, it is clear through subtext that Spike loves everyone on the ship. Ein is part of the crew which is not evident in the live-action series.

Though enhanced in the Netflix show, Ein does not appear to demonstrate any increased intelligence. He is disrespected by the crew in this version. Multiple times characters threaten to eat the dog and at one point Ein is abandoned on the street. He does not reappear until the end of the season when it appears that Ed has rescued him. Ein is just treated as a punchline.

The Horror Of Mad Pierrot

Mad Pierrot is one of the most terrifying villains on Cowboy Bebop and is regarded as unpopular by Reddit fans. But what makes him such a realistic villain is the randomness of his evil. When Spike first encounters Mad Pierrot in the anime, it is by happenstance. After stumbling into the street one night, Spike runs into Mad Pierrot in the midst of slaughtering an official. Mad Pierrot was an experiment that was deemed a failure. Because of this, he was left to rot in a facility where he regressed to a childlike state. He is frightening because his infantile mind is contrasted to his extreme violence.

The live-action adaptation misses the point of Mad Pierrot. The show connects Mad Pierrot to Vicious which makes the storyline much less frightening. Vicious hires Mad Pierrot to kill Spike. But that is not the point of his character. Mad Pierrot is another casualty of the technology of the time. The Netflix show only uses him as a plot device.

The Film Noir Feel Is Lacking

Film noir is an important element of the anime version of Cowboy Bebop in both its aesthetics and subject matter. While the anime employs the use of jazz, its dark themes are what defines the sci-fi noir. Film noir is historically a bleak look on society. Spike’s story in particular is not meant to have a happy ending. Cowboy Bebop is the tragedy of someone who tries to let go of the past, but can’t. Many of Cowboy Bebop‘s best quotes revolve around these themes.

The Netflix adaptation leans into the aesthetics of film noir, but not the themes. The show uses jazz on a surface level to signify a noir feel, but ultimately, the tone of the show is optimistic and does not understand the darker themes of the anime.

Faye and Spike’s Complicated Relationship

There may be some disagreement on the subject of Faye and Spike’s relationship. But there can be no doubt that at the very least, these two characters care about each other. Although they never admit it to each other, Faye and Spike love each other. So much so that Faye begs Spike not to go after Vicious and to stay on the Bebop. Spike could choose his future over his past, but he doesn’t. This unspoken affection makes for a tragic ending.

This ending will never be realized on the Netflix adaptation. In fact, it was never hinted at. This potential for devastating heartbreak did not seem to be in the cards for these two, even before the show was canceled.

About The Author

Carolyn Jenkins
(109 Articles Published)

Carolyn Jenkins is a voracious consumer of film and television. She graduated from Long Island University with an MFA in Screenwriting and Producing where she learned the art of character, plot, and structure. The best teacher is absorbing media and she spends her time reading about different worlds from teen angst to the universe of Stephen King.

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