Bebop Musings

And I have to apologize for the tardiness in getting it posted. It has been a very busy month for me and next month is going to be even worse. Eeek.

ANYway, please check out Trina’s Spike’s Julia and Spike’s Faye – Old and Young and weigh in with any comments and thoughts you might have on her observations.

I do recall reading somewhere that an anime convention is to have younger, more innocent characters depicted with larger eyes. It’s interesting, then, that Julia, Spike, Jet, and Vicious are represeted as small-eyed old fogies and Faye is not. She’s supposed to be anything but naive and she is, technically, far older than all of them.

Ed still wins out in the gigantic eyes department, though.

I’m delighted to announce a new essay: Jessica “Yahikochan” K.’s There’s Something About Blue. Jessica takes a look at the use of the colors blue and yellow in the series, especially in how they pertain to Spike’s memories. Thank you, Jessica!

Please drop by and read over her essay and, if so inclined, leave a comment as well.

I’m moving my son off to college tomorrow and then taking a much-needed break til around Sept 7 — in the wilds of Northern Wisconsin, where I’ll have no internet connection. Yikes! So if anyone has a comment in moderation, it won’t show up until I get back to approve any pending comments.

For visitors from the USA, have a safe and relaxing Labor Day weekend!

I’ve added a few new plugins to manage comments: format “quick tags,” a comment preview feature, and a plugin that will allow people to edit their comments for up to fifteen minutes after it’s been posted. Everything seems to be working, but let me know if there are any problems.

Paul Binkley has sent in a great essay on the parallels between Cowboy Bebop and the folktale of Urashima Taro, which is featured in Session 18, Speak Like A Child. Please come read it here and leave a comment.

Thanks Paul!

Looking over the site the other day, I realized there are no discussions about Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door, the movie. I think there has been references to it in several essays, but I would love to have someone take an in-depth look at the movie and how it fits into the series and/or if it added anything new.

Interested? Send away! Submission guidelines are here.

And, again, thank you all for your support!

Spike and Faye: Different Conceptions of Worth - A Cowboy Bebop character study, submitted by Radishface. This is a really nice essay looking at how the past has shaped their perceptions of what makes life “worth” living. Check it out!

And now, for the most part, I’ve caught up with all the emails and submissions sent to me. I had received a few really interesting emails on a couple of essays here, and I’ve added those as comments so others can read through them and respond, if desired. This includes a comment from Eric on Mirror Image, information on the Long Timeline from Lo, and another comment (essay length!) from Lo on Who’s Shooting At Who?.

Again, comments are moderated. Once you have a comment approved, future comments by you will be automatically posted. This is pretty much a necessity due to comment spam and troublemakers.

From an email sent to me by Dara C:

I would like to point out that they never officaily killed off Spike and as we all know he has a wonderfully nasty habit of coming back from the ‘dead’. Here is some profoof he may still be alive.

“I’ve never officially said that he’s died. At this point, I can tell you that I’m not sure if he’s alive or dead. I think probably rather than being yelled at for killing Spike, I think … people are more upset that I might make a continuation.” - Watnanbe

Sorry if something like this has been sent to you before.

This is from Watanabe’s interview in the Daily Texan. FWIW, here’s a few more excerpts from the interview:

DT: You said in your lecture that the characters you relate most to are Mugen and Spike. Care to explain?

W: First, I’m often shooting people and slashing them up with a sword … It’s a joke. [Laughs] Spike and Mugen aren’t very straightforward in expressing themselves. For example, even if there’s a girl they like standing right in front of them, they don’t pursue her directly - in fact, they do the opposite, they ignore her almost. I think that part is kind of like me. If I was to sum it up, it’s kind of like being a little contradictory or rebellious.

DT: Are you talking about Spike’s relationship with Faye?

W: Of course. Sometimes I’m asked the question, ‘What does Spike think of Faye?’ I think that actually he likes her quite a bit. But he’s not a very straightforward person so he makes sure he doesn’t show it.

DT: Episode five of “Bebop,” “Ballad of Fallen Angels,” seems to be foreshadowing the events of the final episode. Is there a connection?

W: Actually all of the episodes that contain Vicious that come out in “Cowboy Bebop” are directly related to the ending. Even before I made the first episode, I already had the ending in mind. Even though I had the ending in mind by myself, I was opposed by my staff. They were upset because they were saying that we wouldn’t be able to make a continuation. So I told them I’d think about it a little more, but ultimately I decided to go with my original idea.

DT: Have you received any negative feedback for Spike’s death?

W: I’ve never officially said that he’s died. At this point, I can tell you that I’m not sure if he’s alive or dead. I think probably rather than being yelled at for killing Spike, I think … people are more upset that I might make a continuation.

DT: I’m sure you’ve heard the next question a thousand times, and I apologize for asking again.

W: Then I pass. [Laughs]. I’m joking.

DT: When are we going to get to see more “Bebop”?

W: Someday … maybe, someday.

But, again, to quote the original poster at Jazz Messengers: However, I feel compelled to point out that Japanese love saying “maybe” in answer to questions in order to avoid saying “yes” or “no”, so that “maybe” could mean just about anything. So don’t get your hopes up. More importantly, don’t start anymore retarded internet rumors.