News has broke, Netflix’s live-action adaptation of the beloved anime, COWBOY BEBOP, has been cancelled after one season. No reason has been given why the show was cancelled, but it’s no doubt due to the reception of the show as a whole. And it’s an easy guess that it’s the show’s divisive reception, with both fans and critics alike, was a driving factor in it’s cancellation.
Myself? As much as I was excited about the show, also majorly apprehensive as I also haven’t watched it yet. Mainly I was around when it came out in installments at my local Suncoast on VHS, back before widescreen and HD were the standard. I know I’m not alone in saying the original anime definitely holds a special place. Between it’s stories, animation, and most certainly the music from Yoko Kanno and the Seatbelts… but definitely was worried what shape the live-action adaptation would take.
It’s funny, as I write that, finally get the fandom of adaptations from books, and the outcry when an adaptation doesn’t fit their imagination. Kinda feeling the same thing here. I think the main reason I haven’t fired it up yet, as much as I love BEBOP, John Cho, and the promise of new music from Kanno, is what they changed. And if you’re a fan of the anime, you know they’ve changed something. If anything, you don’t make an investment like this in a show without expectations of building a franchise. And at risk of spoilers for those who haven’t seen the anime, you got to make changes if you want a franchise. Because with a direct adaptation, a franchise is not going to happen.
And I just don’t know if I want to put myself through that. But sounds like I might just have to. And if what I fear will happen, cleanse the palette by binging the anime immediately after.
But from the sounds of things. If you’ve seen the Netflix show, sounds like it ended on a cliffhanger, and plans were in place for a season 2. What did you think of the show and it’s cancellation? Drop your thoughts on the Fuzzybug Twitter Page today!
COWBOY BEBOP, both the live-action and anime, are streaming now on Netflix.
