Board 8 > Gauntlet Crew Ranks the Cowboy Bebop Episodes

(+) Yeah! (+)

Wow outside of the one runaway the bottom half of the outliers are all really close.

StifledSilence posted...

Thanks for running this, JONA. Bebop is something I've watched a ton of times throughout my life, so it was nice to share that with other people.

That sums up my feelings as well.

Great project, though I wish there was a little more discussion going on. No one seems to want to engage on more than the basic level. I'll throw my hat out in that ring one last time I guess.

Hey guys...

Spike: Dead or unconscious from blood loss?

Also what are your rankings of the Bebop crew (feel free to extend it to more cast if you want)? Though I've heard a lot of I hate this character and that character is annoying lines only Ermine and I have weighed in with official rankings so far.
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Oh right, it's finally time for this.

Jet > I guess Ein > Spike > Faye > Ed

How I go. I think anyone that knows me knew Jet would be my fave among the Bebop crew, old time cop and like just is kind of the old brute. Also is the most competent member through this series. Ein was a good boy, Spike dragged down for me as I disliked his incompetence being used for humor at points in the series plus he was a walking suicide squad member at points. Faye... Well, I found her best moments to be her beginning and her closure, since at one point she was played as competent and manipulative, then again, incompetence as humor didn't work for me. As for Ed? Well, anyone that dislikes her finds her annoying and I'm no different.
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Faye > Jet > Spike > Ed > Ein

of the main crew

Faye was easily my favorite since she was introduced. She reminds me greatly of some of my other fave female characters and I think she has the most compelling backstory. I love the humor to her character as well.

Jet and Spike are pretty close for me, but I found Jet's role as sort of the "dad" of the team (well, maybe big bro) really affecting. Spike could get could a little too aloof my tastes sometimes.

Ed ended up growing on me a lot. It helped she wasn't as prominent but still I thought she settled into the team nicely.

Ein could've been higher and I actually expected him to have a bigger role. Cute dog, but not much there.


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Ed > Spike > Ein > Jet > Faye

in most cases in the show Spike would be my favorite, but sometimes he is even worse than Faye so I guess second is a good placement
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Spike > Jet > Faye > Ein > Ed
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Karo posted...

The problem is that we've never been given any reason to care about the character of Julia, nor is she given any sort of personality in her small screentime in the series other than being the most generic femme fatale ever.

Of course the viewer is not supposed to care too much about Julia. We're supposed to care about what she represents to Spike. There's an intentional contrast of Julia, Shin and Lin being characters who we don't really know but are important to Spike compared to characters in the bounty-of-the-week episodes who might have stuck out for us but was just another day for Spike.

Karo posted...

To make things worse, the show doesnt give any closure to anyone but Spike, hey guys its not like we might care about anyone else on the Bebop so lets just have this lame suicide revenge story ripped right out of some shitty 1970s chinese martial arts flick. Does Faye stay on the Bebop? Does Jet continue as a bounty hunter? Does Ed catch up to her father? If you actually want answers to any of these questions then fuck you I guess.

Jet, Faye and Ed are characters with futures, but they're supposed to be uncertain compared to Spike who is destined for his confrontation at the end.
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GenesisSaga posted...

Spike: Dead or unconscious from blood loss?

Definitely dead considering that everyone syndicate-related is dead and the comparison with Gren.

Anyways, character rankings for me is probably:

Faye > Spike > Jet > Ed > Ein

I love them all though
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I'm interested in watching the movie. When does it take place JONA?

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Snake5555555555 posted...

I'm interested in watching the movie. When does it take place JONA?

Between episodes 22 and 23
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JONALEON1 posted...

Does Faye stay on the Bebop? Does Jet continue as a bounty hunter? Does Ed catch up to her father? If you actually want answers to any of these questions then fuck you I guess.
Chuck one more on the pile of good anime series with bad endings.

ooooooof

there's been a lot of rough takes in this ranking but I don't think I've disagreed with one more than this
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Ed > Spike > Jet > Ein >>>>>> Faye

Jet and Spike are real close though; hard to choose between the two. Really I love the way they play off each other more than anything


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Besides the movie, here are some series by the same director, Shinchiro Watanabe, to possibly check out:

Samurai Champloo - Actually, the only other show by him that I've seen. With Bebop being a fusion of sci-fi and jazz, this one has a mix of Edo-era Japan with hip-hop. It has the same episodic structure as Bebop but I never found it to be as thematic as Bebop and I would call it the "funner" show between the two but not exactly the better show.

Kids on the Slope - I don't know too much about this one aside from it being a slice-of-life high school show. It does have a focus on jazz though, with the same composer as Bebop's music.

Space Dandy - I haven't seen but Gen and Ermine can probably attest to the quality of the show. Definitely seems more comedic than serious.

Terror in Resonance - A thriller show involving terrorist teenagers. I think I watched a couple of episodes with Wickle and while it was intriguing, it was something that didn't really fit what we usually watched. Also has the same composer as Bebop, but not jazzy.

Carole & Tuesday - Two musician girls join up and it seems like a show that's all about music. Apparently, it takes place in the same city as the Bebop movie.
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Faye > Spike > Jet > Ein > Ed
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Hmmm Terror in Resonance is only 11 eps, I might check that out.

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Space Dandy is a lot of fun yeah.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N37jpdRIY2c" data-time="

JONALEON1 posted...

GenesisSaga posted...

Spike: Dead or unconscious from blood loss?

Definitely dead considering that everyone syndicate-related is dead and the comparison with Gren.

Charon brought up a good point though. I don't know if he came up with this himself or read it on a wiki/another forum, but Laughing Bull could've mistaken Spike's star for that of Vicious. Then again that might be a straw to desperately grasp at for people who really want Spike to be alive there. I'm with you. He ded!
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Spike is definitely dead. I think if he wasn't, the movie could have taken place after the series instead of in the middle of it. Not to mention, his death is the poetic, symmetrical ending that equals the end of the syndicate.

As for rankings, I'd say Ed > Jet > Spike > Faye > Ein

I really want to put Ein higher, but they simply didn't do enough with him. Brain Scratch was really the only time they used his "data dog" capabilities and even that was limited. Ed, Jet, and Spike are all pretty even, as they all shine in different ways to me. Faye is slightly lower due to her poor treatment of the Bebop crew at times, but I also like her quite a bit too. This is especially true with her backstory episodes, which I felt were collectively the strongest of everyone. But I can firmly say I don't dislike any of them, that's for sure.

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Faye > Jet > Spike > Ein > Ed

Spike is super dead.
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Spike is just SLEEPING ok?!
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JONALEON1 posted...

Carole & Tuesday - Two musician girls join up and it seems like a show that's all about music. Apparently, it takes place in the same city as the Bebop movie.

...

I didn't realize this, and if Genny didn't go to sleep when she did I actually was finally going to suggest she watch it. So, guess it's in here that I recommend this show to Genny.
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5

Hours

Later

I've seen every single one of these except Carole and Tuesday which is a fairly new anime, and Terror, which I never heard of. Coincidentally Wickle I just added Carole and Tuesday to the front of my to-watch queue yesterday. You should follow the anime and manga topic! Snake let me know how the other one is please.

I've enjoyed every one of those Watanabe anime for different reasons

Samurai Champloo has a similar theme to Cowboy Bebop, but with a completely different tone, and setting, being set in feudal Japan.

Similarly Space Dandy shares a somewhat similar setting to Bebop, and the titular character is another bounty hunting space cowboy but hoo boy this one ain't a thing like Bebop. It sure as hell is a fun ride though.

So if you liked the correlation between music and action in Bebop but didn't like the overarching plot, or vastly preferred the character centric episodes I would recommend one or the other of these.

Kids on the Slope is a lot more real than anything else by this director. Honestly this is one I would only recommend to JONA or charon, maybe KBM. I think the rest of you might find it boring because, though it does have a strong musical influence this one is way more of a slice of life character study with none of the action that is the lifeblood of the previously mentioned anime. Honestly, some of the content within might hit you hard and cause you to look at your own life skeptically. It's hard to describe. Tl;dr Trigger warning for this one. The lead male reminds me of a cross between charon and JONA and I hope eventually the both of you watch it so that you see what I mean.

So yeah... by the time I finish Carole and Tuesday this topic will probably be gone, but if it ain't I'll review that one too.
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This was a great list, JONA. Thanks for throwing us this new curveball to our ranking projects!
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Yeah, I had quite a bit of fun with this project; thanks to JONA for both the unique idea and the great source material. I'm sorry I didn't comment more throughout the ranking process but I've been pretty busy with shows recently. (On which note I have been singing in the Distant Worlds concert this week in Seattle - singing backup for Susan Calloway in particular is absolutely thrilling.)

I was definitely happy to finally have no excuses to put off watching Cowboy Bebop anymore, and I'm the better for it, because it's a fantastic show
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I'm also going to take this opportunity to officially announce the next Gauntlet Project: Movie Musicals, Part 2: The Golden Age! Due (tentatively) on December 1, this list is comprised of both critically acclaimed films and high-profile flops, all noteworthy for one reason or another, with a particular focus on the "golden age" of the '50s and '60s, and the 21st century renewal of interest in the genre. Some (but not all) of these are fairly long, so I would recommend getting going on the list soon.

*Worth noting: It has been pointed out that 1959's Porgy and Bess is a quasi-"lost film" that is extremely difficult to find as it has never been released on any home video format. I am considering replacing it with something else, given its general inaccessibility, but the decision has not been made yet. To weigh in on said decision, please visit the Gauntlet channel on the B8 discord or send me a PM, and let me know what you think.

Here is the list of 35 films:

42nd Street (1933)
On the Town (1949)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
Kiss Me Kate (1953)
A Star is Born (1954)
Guys and Dolls (1955)
Jailhouse Rock (1957)
South Pacific (1958)
Porgy and Bess (1959)*
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
Help! (1965)
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
Doctor Dolittle (1967)
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967)
Oliver! (1968)
1776 (1972)
Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
A Star is Born (1976)
The Wiz (1978)
All That Jazz (1979)
Hair (1979)
Fame (1980)
Yentl (1983)
Dancer in the Dark (2000)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Rent (2005)
Dreamgirls (2006)
Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)
The Last Five Years (2014)
Into the Woods (2014)
La La Land (2016)
The Greatest Showman (2017)
Mamma Mia! 2: Here We Go Again (2018)
A Star is Born (2018)

Several days late here but...

NBIceman posted...

Hard Luck Woman for #1 or I'm rioting.

*riots*

In all seriousness, second place is actually a little better than I was expecting for HLW so I'll take it. Good fun list, had fun reading it.

Jet > Faye > Spike > Ed

As far as this goes...

Spike: Dead or unconscious from blood loss?

Since the consensus seems to (unsurprisingly) be "dead," I feel obligated to at least offer a devil's advocate argument against.

- Spike has survived worse injuries elsewhere in the show
- The star falling at the end could be for Julia or even Vicious
- In Real Folk Blues Part 1, one of the Red Dragon elders tells Vicious, "You cannot choose how you will die, nor when." Maybe Spike doesn't get that privilege either.
- Spike's disdain for cats could be a wink-wink-nudge-nudge that he doesn't necessarily have to meet the same fate as the tiger-striped cat.
- "You're gonna carry that weight" could be directed at Spike, having to live out his days with the weight of Julia's demise on his shoulders instead of taking the easy way out and dying.

If you put a gun to my head, I'd most often be more inclined to agree and say that he's probably dead. But sometimes I like to think he survived, and sometimes I can talk myself into believing it. Maybe Cowboy Bebop isn't quite as bleak as it likes us to think oftentimes, in the same way that Spike isn't really the man he tries to portray most of the time.
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Note: Porgy and Bess (1959) has been replaced with The Blues Brothers (1980) due to the impossibility of finding a source for the former that isn't a low-quality, shortened bootleg.

This is updated in Discord right? So we can afford to let this purge now that Bebop discussion seems to have ended. Just confirming.
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