#keiko nobumoto

[fght-ff-yr-dmns]

Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' On Heaven's Door

[armzsoup]

Cowboy Bebop for Newtype, June 1998

[penguintruth]

Screenshots from Macross Plus Episode 1.

[loveneverfades]

Spike and Julia

Art by Jesse

[acquired-stardust]

Anime Spotlight #2: Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door (2001)

Happy Halloween! Acquired Stardust's second anime spotlight caps off our two-part Halloween spotlight special. Join Ash for a look back at her favorite Halloween movie to celebrate the season.

Growing up, September ushered in my favorite time of year. Summer heat began to give way to the chill of an upstate New York fall and before you knew it October was here, the gateway to the holiday season, which meant a constant rotation of Halloween movies on the living room television which my mom would have on at virtually all hours of the day. Little traditions like that have colored my early childhood and remained something I enjoy keeping up and coming up with new ones. Eventually, I was overjoyed to be able to share my own favorite Halloween movie with my mother one year when we sat down to watch this together, and I distinctly remember her enjoying it and especially taking a liking to the lovable catlike hacker Radical Edward, a very popular and enduring character actually based on series composer Yoko Kanno. But perhaps we're getting a little ahead of ourselves.

Sometimes getting the band back together isn't all it's cracked up to be. People change. Sometimes creative desires diverge. For many bands there are distinct before and afters. Cowboy Bebop, with director/creator Shinichiro Watanabe's process of thinking of his works in the context of music, was a hell of a series. Anime conquered the west in several steps, from the college campuses importing laserdiscs to Toonami and then Adult Swim, Cowboy Bebop holds a special place in that movement particularly as a bridge for the uninitiated - because it was heavily inspired by western media and of an extremely high quality people into anime often used it to bring those unfamiliar into the fold to great success. Cowboy Bebop has a pretty enduring legacy of not just being the favorite anime of many, but also being the first anime of many who were turned off by the more battle shonen stylings of Dragonball Z that had swept countless youth up into anime fandom in the early 2000s. It's inspired countless people in their own creative endeavors such as the late Monty Oum of Haloid, Dead Fantasy and RWBY fame, and Adult Swim classic The Boondocks also featured tributes. The recent Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade also features an unmistakable musical allusion to Yoko Kanno's work on the series in a chase scene backed by a several-movement jazz track.

Sometimes it's hard for a band to recapture exactly what made it so special in its heyday, but that's absolutely not the case for Knockin' on Heaven's Door, the movie released in 2001 in Japan. Much of what makes the original series work so well, such as an iconic soundtrack and impeccable script, not just returns for the movie but is in top form. A large cast of distinct characters, including several introduced in this movie, are all utilized very effectively. Iconic anime dubbing studio Animaze knocks it out of the park yet again with not only returning actors reprising some of the most iconic roles in all of English-language dubbing but also impresses with Dave Wittenberg as hacker Lee Samson and even the rare anime role from Jennifer Hale before she became quite as ubiquitous as she is now.

Animation and art direction are in top form as well, with plenty of attractive uses of lighting and the framing of shots. Small details such as the hair or clothes blowing in the wind or the falling of an ashtray aboard the spaceship Bebop manage to be almost as impressive as some of the mesmerizing fight scenes. There are also some extremely dynamic uses of the point of view even in slower exposition scenes. You've also got the soundtrack that sees series composer Yoko Kanno return with plenty of the iconic and bombastic jazz the series is known for along with some other auditory treats, and vocalist Mai Yamane also returns for two tracks that are among her best contributions to the series which really says a lot.

Set largely between Halloween and the day before culminating in a tense action sequence at a Halloween parade, Knockin' on Heaven's Door sees the bounty hunting crew of the spaceship Bebop attempt to catch a large bounty in the wake of a mysterious terrorist attack on a freeway. Each character splinters off in their own direction as is series standard, chasing down their own individual leads through their own processes which helps to illustrate not only why this crew contrasts so well in its very distinct members but also showcases a strength of the series in its oozing of characterization with action and dialogue alike.

The captivating push and pull of dialogue between characters that the series is known for is never stronger than in this film, which is a real testament to not only the talents of the late frequent Watanabe collaborator Keiko Nobumoto but the returning writer-voice director duo of Marc Handler and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, respectively, along with the incredible voice cast. There is a reason that Cowboy Bebop is widely believed to have one of if not the strongest English language dubs of any anime, and while other examples in that upper echelon come to mind for me I find it hard to disagree with anyone who finds it to indeed be the finest. Remarkable parity between the television series and movie is a common thread, and the movie even features a number of long running cameos, at least one of which pays off in a big way.

For anime fans of a certain age, Cowboy Bebop is held with an extreme reverence and often tops the list of favorites. While it may not be my personal favorite, it's pretty high up there. Regardless it's impossible to dispute the sheer quality in every single aspect of the series, and Knockin' on Heaven's Door exemplifies so many of the strengths of the series at an impressive feature-length runtime. It's also a tradition around our house to watch this every Halloween in celebration, inspired by all the movie marathons around my house growing up. The stunned silence I watched this film in for the very first time as a child will be something I never forget, and it goes without saying that it's my favorite Halloween movie pretty easily. Hopefully it will be an experience you don't forget any time soon either.

A gem hidden among the stones, Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door is undoubtedly stardust.

-Ash

[haveyoureadthismanga-poll]

[roskirambles]

(Archive) Christmas Movie of the Day: Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

Originally posted: December 10th, 2021

Ah, Christmas. A holiday marked by prosperity. Where families gather together to sing and dine, where children laugh while they exchange presents and colorful lights envelop the celebration. So what does a man like Satoshi Kon do for such a season? A film that is none of these things yet still manages to surpass most movies about this festivity by a landslide.

Well, to say there's none of those things is a bit of a hyperbole, but let's be real: this is a movie about outcasts, a group of people that can't afford them for one reason or another. It's an alcoholic hobo, a transsexual and a runaway teenager finding an abandoned baby. On Christmas eve. So… joy to the world!

Don't underestimate this offbeat set up, however, as it isn't just off beat for off beat's sake. It allows the story to delve into the parts of society people often forget, even in the times where it's said people should look out for the poor. A tale of the marginalized getting a glimpse of where they don't fit while also showing them with sincerity and humanity, never looking down on them. And the thing is, despite the lacks and needs of some people, the personal flaws of others and some heart-wrenching hardships they have to endure, the film is still hopeful, heartwarming and genuinely funny.

Seriously, when this movie isn't tugging your heartstrings it's making you laugh with some outlandish gags and deadpan humor. The main trio really bounces off each other in funny and compelling ways; the more you learn about them, the more you want them to heal the issues they carry with them. And there is a hopeful light waiting for them.

It's a movie about reunions, compassion, doing the right thing expecting no reward, and finding the ways to forgive yourself. In a nutshell, Satoshi Kon captured what many fail to even grasp in more pompous attempts: What is universally meaningful about Christmas and what makes for a good Christmas miracle.

[witchw0lf]

[thebrisingamen]

Browsing Tumblr, find the Samurai Champloo Post I just did unlocked some memories.

Then I discover that the primary screenwriter for one of my favorite series (Wolf's Rain) and one the most popular series in the West (Cowboy Bebop) passed away just a little over a year ago T^T

I'll miss seeing her writing, well anything

[calvincell]

Completed what must collectively be my 15th or so full rewatch of Cowboy Bebop & just getting to those final episodes reminds me of why I consider the Bebop Crew to stand alongside the likes of the Strawhat Pirates in One Piece & Guts’ Party in BERSERK as one of the all time best Found Families in fiction.

Similar to what the creators accomplished again in Samurai Champloo, the creators of Cowboy Bebop have a fantastic knack for convincingly splitting up a wayward cast of misfits while simultaneously still making it an emotional gut punch seeing a family in the purest sense of the word, a group of people whose faults and talents enrich & complement each other so beautifully and naturally that their eventual mutual love is a matter of course (even if they don’t admit as much), split into their own separate lives to possibly never see each other again. It’s such a bittersweet feeling that never fails to make me teary eyed during those last handful of Bebop episodes.

[graphicpolicy]

Tokyo Godfathers gets a special screening to celebrate 20 years

Tokyo Godfathers gets a special screening to celebrate 20 years #anime #animation

Anime Expo Cinema Nights invites you to celebrate Tokyo Godfathers, the acclaimed holiday classic from master director Satoshi Kon, as it returns to theaters to celebrate its 20th anniversary with a 4K restoration under the supervision of the original art director and producers. When: Screens Dec. 11th (sub), Dec. 12th (sub), Dec. 13th (encore of choice) On Christmas Eve, three homeless…

[armzsoup]

Illustration by Toshihiro Kawamoto for Animage, April 1997

[penguintruth]

Screenshots from Macross Plus Episode 4 (the conclusion).

[loveneverfades]

In Jupiter Jazz, Spike declares that Julia is his woman. The phrase has a special significance. Nobumoto uses it to single Julia out as the person that Spike loves. His other half as Spike proclaims in The Real Folk Blues.

The fact that Nobumoto continued to define Julia as Spike's woman in an interview following the end of the series is very revealing. It gives insight into how Nobumoto and thus Spike saw Julia.

[livewildlivefree]

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

I hope you all have a Spooky Day!