"Okay, 3, 2, 1, let's jam!"
Today we are going to talk of something special, my very first, and favourite anime of all time: Cowboy Bebop. That's because today the blu ray boxset arrived, and it's fantastic, and I've waited for it ever since they invented the blu ray. But first, a little history!
Back in December 2001, a few months after my sister left us, I had to undergo my first, and very painful surgery. For three months my movements had to be almost completely limited, and I was stuck at home, in pain, and bored out of my mind. My mom kept me company every minute she could, but being a very Catholic woman, every day at 6 pm she would leave the house for Mass, and I would be stuck on the couch watching the tv and waiting for her. So, one day around 6 pm I'm stuck on the couch channel surfing, and I end up on this japanese cartoon, where these two characters are in an elevator talking to each other, and one of them is describing a dream he had with Charlie Parker in it. My parents were huge jazz fans, so my mind went "is he talking about Charlie 'Bird' Parker? I must see this!", and twenty minutes later, I was hooked. It turns out it was the third episode of the show, and they were actually reruns, one episode a day every day. Two days later they aired Ballad of Fallen Angels, and it completely blew my mind. After that, everyday I'd watch the new episode, and then enthusiastically narrate it to my mom. I'd gone from grumpy and in pain to singularly and cheerfully obsessed with this wonderful story. We watched the final episode together, because even God had to wait for that. :D And then I found out about geocities websites, anime music videos, fandom, all because of that show.
So that's what it means to me. Now, what it's all about! Cowboy Bebop is a 1998 anime from Sunrise, set in 2071, following the adventures of a bounty hunter crew and their spaceship, the Bebop. It homages many different cinema genres, from western to pulp fiction, from horror to science fiction. The music, composed by Yoko Kanno, deserves its own essay: Kanno formed a blues and jazz band, the Seatbelts, to perform the magnificent soundtrack, which covers almost every genre, reinventing and recreating them. The music is a vital part of the series, basically a main character in itself. Here's the opening:
And here's a bonus picture with the first edition dvds. Look at my pretties:
It's a masterpiece, and one of the most influential works of art that have ever crossed my path. I'm not kidding when I say I would be a very different person today if I hadn't watched it that fateful February. ^^
So now I know how I'm going to spend my evenings for the next couple of weeks! \o/
Back in December 2001, a few months after my sister left us, I had to undergo my first, and very painful surgery. For three months my movements had to be almost completely limited, and I was stuck at home, in pain, and bored out of my mind. My mom kept me company every minute she could, but being a very Catholic woman, every day at 6 pm she would leave the house for Mass, and I would be stuck on the couch watching the tv and waiting for her. So, one day around 6 pm I'm stuck on the couch channel surfing, and I end up on this japanese cartoon, where these two characters are in an elevator talking to each other, and one of them is describing a dream he had with Charlie Parker in it. My parents were huge jazz fans, so my mind went "is he talking about Charlie 'Bird' Parker? I must see this!", and twenty minutes later, I was hooked. It turns out it was the third episode of the show, and they were actually reruns, one episode a day every day. Two days later they aired Ballad of Fallen Angels, and it completely blew my mind. After that, everyday I'd watch the new episode, and then enthusiastically narrate it to my mom. I'd gone from grumpy and in pain to singularly and cheerfully obsessed with this wonderful story. We watched the final episode together, because even God had to wait for that. :D And then I found out about geocities websites, anime music videos, fandom, all because of that show.
So that's what it means to me. Now, what it's all about! Cowboy Bebop is a 1998 anime from Sunrise, set in 2071, following the adventures of a bounty hunter crew and their spaceship, the Bebop. It homages many different cinema genres, from western to pulp fiction, from horror to science fiction. The music, composed by Yoko Kanno, deserves its own essay: Kanno formed a blues and jazz band, the Seatbelts, to perform the magnificent soundtrack, which covers almost every genre, reinventing and recreating them. The music is a vital part of the series, basically a main character in itself. Here's the opening:
Click to viewAnd here's a bonus picture with the first edition dvds. Look at my pretties:
It's a masterpiece, and one of the most influential works of art that have ever crossed my path. I'm not kidding when I say I would be a very different person today if I hadn't watched it that fateful February. ^^
So now I know how I'm going to spend my evenings for the next couple of weeks! \o/