The Bebop crew reaches a crossroads. For some, the time has come to move on. For others, it’s time to settle old scores
once and for all. When Vicious stages a
coup and assumes leadership of the Red Dragons, everyone’s in danger, even
Spike long lost love Julia. But when the
greatest tragedy imaginable happens, the time comes for the final showdown. Spike vs. Vicious-who will walk away…will
anyone walk away. It all ends here.
Sigh, as they say, “All good things must come to an
end”…but man did Bebop get one heckuva show stopping ending. There’s a lot to cover in this final review
and hopefully I can touch on everything.
Let’s get rolling then.
The set starts with the slow but still interesting
Episode 23, which has the crew going up against a mysterious cult leader who
may be more than he seems. What I liked
about this episode was seeing the crew acting like a team. Not that we haven’t seen it before but
watching Jet, Ed and Ein (holy crap the data dog finally shows off his skills)
work out the secret of Londes was awesome.
Spike and Faye had some ok moments but mostly this was Jet, Ed and
definitely Ein’s time to shine. Also
notable was the cancellation of the Big Shots bounty hunter news show,
signifying that the end of the series was near.
Then to nail that “End has Come” notion in further, we
bade a fond farewell to everyones favorite hacker and data dog duo. I love Ein debating several times whether or
not to go with Ed or remain on the Bebop as both are clearly important to
him. But clearly, as much as Jet has
raised him and Spike and Faye has had their back and forth moments, Ed is the
most important person on the Bebop to Ein and for them to go running off into
the sunset (supposedly after Ed’s dad) is the perfect ending for them. It’s a shame that Ed and Ein haven’t gotten a
spinoff show of their own but like much of this show, it’s probably better that
way to maintain the unique legacy of this series.
And it’s probably a good thing Ed and Ein took off when
they did because there was sadly no room for comic relief or levity in the slam
bang two part finale “The Real Folk Blues”.
Bullets and blood fly and Jet takes a shot in the leg as Vicious and the
Red Dragons returned to shake things up a bit.
Gloom and doom were everywhere here and for the first time you felt like
this might really be it for the crew of the Bebop. And when Vicious ended up victorious in
ending the lives of the former Red Dragon leaders, the stage was set for
something epic. Hell, the theme song
doesn’t even play in the last episode, just a quiet black title screen,
chilling.
But of course there was one element that still needed to
appear and that was Julia and wow, what a woman. Blonde, mysterious and possessing an instant
draw and likability, she had some great scenes with both Spike and Faye (the
latter of which she got a fun highway action sequence with). And while we didn’t get all the answers to
Spike’s past with her (just a couple of minor extended versions of images we’ve
seen before) it was still good to see Julia and Spike reunited if only for a
short while. Still, the way these
episodes were going, a happy ending just didn’t seem likely and while Spike did
manage to blow away a bunch of Red Dragon hitmen with a shotgun, he still lost
Julia. The look in Spike’s eye said it
all…no more running.
Which led to one heart wrenching farewell for Spike and
his best friends. He and Jet share one
last meal and stories they hate while Faye tearfully begs Spike not to go to
his death. Oh Faye and Spike. Theirs is a relationship that many fans of
the show hoped would evolve into something more. And why couldn’t it? Spike’s a good looking bad ass and Faye
is…well a good looking bad ass with nice legs lol. They compliment each other and get along very
well but because of his love for Julia, Spike could probably never love Faye as
more than a close friend. If things
could have ever been more with them, we will never know.
And as a special rendition of “The Real Folk Blues”
(appropriately titled See You Space Cowboy I think) played in the background,
Spike wagged a one man war through a skyscraper of Red Dragon soldiers to get
to Vicious. Every hit Spike took made
you worry. Would he even make it to
Vicious and even if he did would he be able to kill him? The answer to that was built up to in one of
the best Anime duels ever. Finally, we
got the rematch we were denied in Jupiter Jazz as Spike and Vicious clashed
sword against gun one more time, resulting in wounds, a stand off, a slide of
weapons to each other and one final blast…bye bye Vicious you amazingly evil
bastard.
Which brings us to one of Bebops most fascinating
aspects: the ending. Spike descends some
stairs as stunned Red Dragon soldiers look on.
Spike stops, smiles, raising his hand in the form of a gun and says the
final word of the series…BANG, and then falls.
Cue the start of “Blue” (Yoko Kanno’s beautiful final track for the
series) and a slow drag of credits leading to one final image of the fallen
Spike. NOW, when I first saw this
series, the end was how I saw it: Spike defeated Vicious and died from his
wounds, sad ending. However, director
Shinichiro Watanabe is pretty playful with his replies to Spike’s fate. Did he die…or is he simply sleeping? Truth be told, the latter is possible because
it’s Spike and passing out after a fight is something he would do. But, as hard as it is to say sometimes, I
like Spike dying in the end. It’s a
suitable conclusion for his arc and while he didn’t get to be with Julia or his
friends, he finished Vicious off for good.
He finally earned a rightfully deserved his long rest.
Final Thoughts:
I know many hope that Spike’s alive so that one day there
can be a sequel to the series. But in a
way, it’s better left to just these 26 episodes. Cowboy Bebop may not be completely perfect
but it’s flaws are overshadowed by it’s sheer fun and unique vibe that has made
it able to gel with audiences who aren’t just into Anime but also scifi,
action, westerns, film noir, jazz. If it
does succeed at one thing, Bebop blends a lot of elements together into a world
anyone can love. The characters, action,
stories and especially Yoko Kanno’s music are always remembered long after a
viewing. I think it’s safe to say that
if it’s one Anime anyone should see before they die…it’s Cowboy Bebop.
9/10
Hope everyone has been enjoying the classic reviews so far. Starting next week it's a double dose of Ghost in the Shell: Brand new 2nd gig review on Monday and the beginning of the Season One Review of Stand Alone Complex the rest of the week. Get ready for the cyberpunk take over everyone.
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