Netflix’s Live Action version of Cowboy Bebop is clearly trying to be respectful to the source material

 

More so given the overwhelmingly negative reception it’s received so far from fans of the Anime. I get it, everyone remembers the disaster that was Netflix’s Death Note. Clearly tthis time will be different though.

 

Here’s a side by side comparison with the opening title sequence for both the Anime and the Live Action Version:

 

 

As of now, we know that there will be at least two seasons.

One noticable omission from the first season is seems to be Edward. The interesting thing about Edward is contrary to the name, Edward is actually a girl. If you pay attention, Edward’s gender isn’t mentioned or clarified until the episode explaining her backstory near the end of the series. My guess is the producers were either not sure how to write her story for the first season or they may be planning to make her genderless.

 

Netflix dropped this almost 3-minute teaser I assume to convince fans of the anime to check it out. Given they kept Tank! (the song from the opening sequence), which is one of Anime’s most iconic tracks ever that should be enough for people to know this project is worth checking out at least. I plan to watch along with a few other stuff whenever it is I renew my Netfix subscription. Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop premieres on November 19.

If you’ve read this far and havent watched the anime before–what the hell is wrong with you if that’s true–you have quite a few options:

1. Toonami/Adult Swim (Cartoon Network)
2. DVD/Blu Ray
3. YouTube

…Pick one.

I have it on Blu Ray but first watched it on Toonami/Adult Swim when it was first released way, WAY back in 1998. Toonami has been airing it in reruns ever since.

 

If you have enjoyed this post or other posts I have made on this blog, please consider making a monetary donation via PayPal. Whatever amount you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Future Blog Plans

First things first, I want to repeat what I said at the end of my previous article. Please consider supporting me financially via the PayPal Links above and below. If you’re sharing my articles on Twitter and other platforms, please ask your people to consider giving me financial support as well. I do all this for free but the financial support would be greatly appreciated.

 

This is one of my first blogs and since it’s been a while, I figure I would take the time to explain the direction I plan to move with this blog moving forward. One thing I plan to continue is give analysis of various Anime and Asian Dramas I watch. I also plan to continue giving an analyis of various Dramas and Webtoons I read. Of course, I’ll also talk about Anime Boston as I have been for almost 10 years now.

Something I’ve noticably been making an effort to do more of is delve into current events in Japan outside Pop Culture. I have also been expanding things outside strictly Japan especially when I talk about Manwa (Korean Manga) and Manhua (Chinese Manga), more so because of their increased international popularity in recent years.

It goes without saying Japan won the Cultural War it declared on the West in the Mid to late 90s. Western Cultures scoffed at what they viewed to be a “niche” subculture in the early 2000s but by the early 2010s, it really started to take off. Now, it’s more or less considered mainstream. To say Western society is obsessed with Japanese and Asian/Pacific Culture(s) now goes without saying. A lot of that has to do with the fact let’s be honest, Western Moral Values have become virtually non-existent over the last 20 years. Of course, much of that is because of our own doing–violence, sexual immorality, profanity and crime glorified in our entertainment–so the results of that on our society shouldn’t surprise anyone.

People are looking for decent entertainment that has a lot of the good morals that used to be be all over TV’s first few decades. Until about 30 years ago, parents in America didn’t need to worry about what their kids watched on TV. Obviously, now parents do and then some. I’ll spare you the history lesson but basically, people are just tired of the garbage that is today’s American TV. This is also what makes Asian Programming in general so attractive to Western Audiences. People are seeing things in the vein of what they saw when they were young or in the case of younger viewers, they’re seeing something wholesome.

China and to a lesser extent Korea are known for producing Period dramas alongside Dramas set in the modern age. The Period dramas set in the past give Western audiences a look into life in either country’s history even when there are historical inaccuracies or a hard lean into Fantasy elements. After all, Anicent China was the home of both Buddhism and Confucianism though there are also elements of Taoism as well.

Most of the modern shows I watch highlight the cultural struggles in China and Korea with the influences of Capitalism and other Western influences with established longtime cultural values. When the 2018 American movie Bohemian Rhapsody was released in China, the Chinese government agreed to allow the movie to be shown in the country but there was a catch: The movie had to be edited to remove references to the lead character being Bisexual. The Chinese government does censor international movies, literature and TV shows not just on moral grounds but for political reasons. Of course, the will also censor anything that mocks or goes against or threatens Chinese cultural beliefs as a whole. Yes, really.

While just the idea of government censorship is enough to trigger well…everyone in the U.S., you won’t find a lot of people who oppose the idea of the American Media Industry getting cleaned up. The problem is the industry has made it clear it has no interest or will to police itself so…yeah. I’ll stop there since it’s a topic for another blog though.

All that said, I am WELL aware of the Sexually Explicit and graphic violence in some Japanese Anime and Manga. I hate it personally and more so when I feel a lot of it is unncessary. I also hate the fact Sexually Lewd content in particular has seeped into video games from Japanese developers being localized in the West. Why do they do it? Because in Japan, those types of games are deliberately marketed to adults. Same for “Girls/Boys Love” Ecchi and Harem genre games.

Don’t even get me started on charcters regardless of medium featured that are physically “child-like” but are actually 18+ AND teenagers under 18 with exaggerated physical proportions being put in sexually suggestive situations or scenes. All that said, the Japanese goverment finally stepped in a few years ago and more so because of Anime like Higehiro where unfortunately concerns someone would try to replicate what they see depicted actually did. This was never a concern for Japanese society in the past but that was before so much of their mass media was as saturated with Sexual Content as it is now.

What I was pleasantly surprised to learn in recent years is there are people on both sides of the Pacific who are basically saying “Enough. All this [Fan Service] isn’t necessary”. It’s commonly known as Fan Service which in Anime/Manga is almost always females being sexually suggestive or Lewd, usually in an over the top or deliberate way. Those in Japan are tired of being stereotyped over it first and its not as socially accepted in Japan as people might think second. Even more so these days. Those outside Japan are pushing back hard against those who oppose content makers who edit out or change sexually explicit content. When you’re older, you realize “less is more” anyways.

 

Moving on. I snuck this in at the end of the last article but I set up a Discord Server! I started using Discord for the first time ever this year and I see it as a potential alternative to some social media platforms. I have Discord on my iPad as well so I’ll be able to follow conversations anytime and anywhere. I’ll add more channels to the server over time as well so it’s not a bad idea to drop in at least.

 

 

I do plan to add a section for Japanese Foods with complete recipes.

Instant Ramen and Cup Ramen have been around for over 50 years but did you know you can and it’s reccommended you spice it up to look like it does in Anime? Instant Ramen and Cup Ramen imfamously got a bad reputation in the late 1990s to mid-2000s in the U.S. but that changed after the Naruto Manga and later Anime were released. Anime Fans in particular began to realize they were mostly eating it wrong their whole lives: The Flavor packet was for the broth BUT it was assumed you would add the protein and veggies yourself. If this isn’t a reason to learn how to cook, I don’t know what is!

I’ll add a new section for Japanese foods before the end of this year. Of that you can be certain. I’ll announce in posts when content is added as well, don’t worry. I won’t just post recipes but more importantly, how you can make certain things without access to an Asian Grocery Store like Super 88. Most Supermarkets in the U.S. do have an aisle or two lined with Sauces, Spices, Seasonings and other Asian ingredients or food products. Those will cover everything I plan to feature over time but if live near an Asian Grocery store, you can ask staff about specifics.

If you’ve never seen the Produce section of your local supermarket, most do sell Daikon–it’s a type of Radish for those who don’t know–as well as Shitake Mushrooms as well as Leeks (Green Onions). If you want Kobe Beef, you would have to go to either go to an Asian grocery store or a Butcher Shop though it won’t be cheap. Alternatively, you can use other cuts of beef instead. Oh and I won’t just feature Japanese food. I also plan to feature foods from South Korea, The Philippines and China to name a few places.

I also plan to add a section for the Idol Industry in Japan and South Korea as a whole to explain some things many of those outside South Korea and Japan may not understand culturally. The Western World knows who BTS is now but until very recently, they were only known in South Korea. The Dark Side of K-Pop and J-Pop Fandoms is touched on in other media but I’m gonna make a section to show folks what could have been the U.S. Pop Scene about 25 years ago. I feel it’s important for folks to be aware at least.

 

…Whew.

Yeah, I know this is quite a lot of big things I have planned moving forward. Your continued support will be greatly appreciated moving forward. Really, I mean it. Thank you ^_^

 

 

If you have enjoyed this post or other posts I have made on this blog, please consider making a monetary donation via PayPal by clicking here. Whatever amount you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I now have a Discord Server! You can find it here. My Discord name is mraurabolt.

Crunchyroll and Rakuten Viki are clearly gearing up to attract viewers for the Fall and Winter

…That’s probably the best way I can think of to put it right now. Before I preview what’s new, I first want to give a recap on some ongoing anime and one legendary reboot that wrapped up over the summer.

 

Ok here we go:

Digimon Adventure, which was a reboot of the original Anime series wrapped up over the summer. The reboot cut out all of the bloat so prevalent from the original series and a lot of that was because unlike the original series, the reboot only aired new episodes once a week. For those who are either too old to remember or didn’t exist at the time, look up Dragonball Z’s original episode count and compare it to Dragonball Z Kai’s.

Anywho, Digimon Adventure basically cuts right to the point. If you watched the original series, you’ll notice a few changes made to the reboot with certain characters. Most notably with Patomon having a split evolution. Aside from evolving into Angemon, Patomon gets an alternate evolution to Pegasmon. Another interesting change is the kids stay in the digital world until the end. In the original series, they are able to return to the real world after a certain point and this is how we originally meet Tai’s sister Hikari. What happens instead is she is introduced at the beginning and is later pulled into the Digital World.

For those who never saw the original series, you can just watch this instead. Prepare to binge though. At the time the original series was released, yes it was compared to the Pokemon Anime. Digimon are different from Pokemon in two ways. One is Digimon with human partners only Digivolve Temporarily in the Anime. Aside from Mega Evolution, Pokemon permanently evolve. In the case of Pokemon like Eevee that had multiple evolutions, you would need a LOT of Eevee to get all of its evolutions.

The other difference is Digimon can speak human language while almost all Pokemon can only say their name. Team Rocket’s Meowth explains he gave up learning PayDay to learn the human language as well as learn to walk on two legs (Meowth usually walk on all fours). Meowth is able to translate the Pokemon Language though. That aside, any other Pokemon that can speak to humans are almost always a Legendary Pokemon or highly intelligent. You also almost always see such a Pokemon in a movie.

 

As a reminder, the Manga turned Anime is not based on any existing game from the legendary Dragon Quest/Warrior video game series. With the new OP that debuted a few weeks ago, it seems we are fast heading towards the series finale at this point. Dai reluctantly teams up with his estranged father Baran to take on a common enemy. While the two are fighting Hadlar, Baran notices a danger that may make beating Hadlar lethally impossible. King Vearn is confident Dai and Baran will not survive their encounter with  Hadlar, who is already planning to fight to the death. It will be interesting to see how things unfold.

Hyunckel, who was nearly killed in the previous fight was considered too injured to fight anymore. That doesn’t stop him from dragging himself to the Field of Death to join Popp, Maam and Crocodine on the battlefield. Even without Dai, the unlikely friends are prepared to overcome the odds stacked against them.

 

If you passed on watching Boruto up to now because you felt the story should’ve ended with Shippuden, hopefully a major character death and a second one teased at the end of the Kara Arc will change your mind. This is a major spoiler but given the fact it’s all over the internet since the episode first aired two weeks ago, I won’t give a spoiler warning.

During the final battle with Isshinki, Kurama offered Naruto a deal that would give him a massive power boost but it would require a sacrifice. Naruto assumed it would mean death and he was right. Just not his. After the battle, Kurama reveals he only told Naruto half the story: The only one who would die would be him, not Naruto. He didn’t tell him the truth up front because he knew Naruto wouldn’t have agreed to it otherwise. Before disappearing, Kurama explains normally a Jinchuriki would die with their Tailed Beast but because of what Kurama did, Nauto’s life would be spared. The loss of Kurama means Naruto no longer has Superhuman strength and Chakra but he’s still really powerful.

Kawaki, who suffered extreme abuse and torture for most of his life gets the final victory over Isshinki by making a Shadow Clone and using it to fool his former benefactor. It was a great fist-pump moment and closure for him to say the least. Naruto offered to make Kawaki a Genin and he simply replied “I’ll think about it”. Amado defecting to the Leaf was what made that victory possible. Seeing him get a happy ending was also satisfying all things considered. Some might not agree with the fact he was able to easily neutralize the threat of Momoshinki taking over Boruto again after the emotional build to that point but all things considered, I’m totally fine with it. Both Boruto and Naruto have been through enough to that point.

Everyone in the Kara has been eliminated except for Code though based on the preview for the next episode, that loose end appears to be on the shelf for now. The next episode takes us back to the Chunin Exams which were interrupted and put on hold quite a while back. Ninja exams tend to get put on hold quite a lot in the world of Naruto, don’t they? Based on the preview, Sasuke and/or Orochimaru may be involved in the Chunin exams so we’ll see. It’s sure to be quite interesting to say the least!

 

The Second Season of Yasha-Hime: Princess Half-Demon recently started and out the gate, we get a bit more story development regarding Sesshomaru, Rin and Setsuna in particular. As was revealed in the first season, Sesshomaru pretended to ally himself with Kirinmaru to protect his family as well as Inuyasha and Kagome. We find out why Sesshomaru stopped the girls rom killing Zero in the latest episode and why she said “If I die, she dies too!”

In this case, “She” is Rin. In the latest episode, it’s revealed Zero–She’s Kirinmaru’s sister as a reminder–put a curse on Rin shortly after Jaken hid the girls. She then linked herself to Rin so that if one dies, the other would too. This basically ensures Sesshomaru or anyone who knows about the link can’t kill her. This is also why he stopped the girls from killing Zero at the end of Season 1. The reason Rin was placed in the Tree of Ages was to stop the curse placed on her from spreading. Time for her has stopped biologically. Presumably she will remain there until Sesshomaru can figure out how to sever Zero’s link with her as well as break the curse on her.

One interesting development was the revealation Riku, who turned on Kirinmaru was actually born from one of his horns. Everything Riku sees and hears, Kirinmaru can see and hear. Zero is actually the one who tells him what he really is and you can tell after he learns this, it’s likely Kirinmaru knows his every move to now. Riku turned on Kirinmaru and had been secretly helping Towa for the last few episodes. Now that he knows Kirinmaru knows everything, that makes things more complicated for him. We’ll have to wait and see how things unfold moving forward.

 

…Moving over to Asian Dramas on Viki.

I neglected to comment on this last year but Viki has moved more of their existing content to its Standand and Premium Subscription tiers. I was a little annoyed to see some titles that were Free for me before now being locked behind a Premium subscription though the ones I have in mind were dramas I already watched. I do have a Standard Subscription and though I do plan to upgrade to Premium at some point in the future, it would have been great if Viki at least sent an email to let people know a show they watch or have on their watch list is changing tiers.I  renewed for another year this past September. The Standard Tier is $50 a year while the Premium tier is $100 a year. I will always prefer annual subscripions–I have one for Crunchyroll also–because you save longterm. $10 a month is $120 a year but $50 a year or $100 a year means you save $70 or $20 a year.

I mean I get those who don’t want to be locked into an annual subscription and more so if they don’t watch much but that’s a good reason to do the annual sub: You don’t feel pressured to watch at least once a day. With an annual sub, you can go weeks without waching and with series still in progress, you give time for several new episodes to be released. With Viki, I’ve only watched shows with all Episodes available so far personally though.

 

 

 

Anyone who’s been reading the Webtoon True Beauty probably already knows about the Live Action adaptation that was released on Viki in 2019. If you’ve only seen the Live Action Drama, get the Webtoon app and read it so you’re caught up. The TV Series ends with Suho being forced to leave for Japan to attend to his father, who suffered a stroke.

If you’ve never seen the Webtoon, here’s what’s happened since then and warning, MAJOR Spoilers:

• There is a time skip of a few years. Everyone’s a Young Adult now.
• Jugyeong goes to College, majoring in makeup (obviously).
• Jugyeong and Seojun start dating (!)
• Seojun sees Jugyeong’s bare face for the first time, he compliments her for it
• Seojun enters the Pop Idol Business at Jugyeong’s urging
• Jugyeong finds part-time work as a Makeup Artist
• After rumors about their relationship spreads online, Jugyeong breaks up with Seojun (!).
• Suho returns from Japan (!)
• Jugyeong gets a Stalker but fortunately, Suho eventually steps in.
• Seojun learns Suho is back, the Frenimies pick up where they left off.
• Suho learns Jungyeong and Seojun were dating while he was away (!)
• Jugyeong learns a friend is in an Abusive Relationship
• Jugyeong, Seojun and Suho end up spending a weekend together
• Suho and Seojun come clean about both having feelings for Jungyeong and settle the contest “like Men” (they get into a fistfight), Suho wins (!)
• Jugyeong shows her two high school friends her bare face for the first time.

 

That’s where we’re at to now. If you’ve been following the Webtoon to now, this is nothing new to you. If you haven’t read it yet or haven’t read much this year, go get yourself caught up! Oh and yes, I do think there is and should be a Season 2. I would end Season 2 with Suho’s return. End with a cliffhanger for Season 3.

 

 

Speaking of.

This is another Webtoon with a Live Drama Adaptation: My ID is Gangnam Beauty. I watched the Drama in full on Viki earlier this year but only last week did I find out it’s based on the Webtoon of the same name. With True Beauty, I started reading the Webtoon first and by the time the drama came out the current story was well past where the TV Series leaves off.

…I’m gonna read the Webtoon from the beginning so I’m caught up the story. Basically, the exact opposite of where I am in regards to True Beauty. The Webtoon App is free by the way. I have it on my iPad but you can also read on your phone or computer.

 

There was more I was gonna cover but with the next post I have in mind, I decided to cut things short.

I’ll mention this on my next post but if you’ve been liking my articles to now, please consider supporting me financially via the PayPal Links above and below. If you’re sharing my articles on Twitter and other platforms, please ask your people to consider giving me financial support as well. I do all this for free but the financial support would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

If you have enjoyed this post or other posts I have made on this blog, please consider making a monetary donation via PayPal by clicking here. Whatever amount you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I now have a Discord Server! You can find it here. My Discord name is mraurabolt.