That’s disappointing. Much of the hate seems to come from the tone being too unserious for people?
I watched the original only once, at least a decade ago. But my memory is that it was pretty goofball.
Ed is not exactly a super serial character. The gang is terrible at bounty hunting. Do they ever collect even one? They’re perpetually flat broke. And Big Shot is practically Space Punch and Judy.
Anyway, I liked this version.
I’ve not watched the live action, but from the clips that I’ve seen it absolutely reminds me of Red Dwarf, which I also have not seen.
It absolutely had Red Dwarf energy. I didn’t expect that going in, but once I adjusted, I found it to be an enjoyable presentation. Not my preferred take, but a valid one.
I watched the first episode of the live action show and couldn’t appreciate or fully understand the world and the tone of the show. I had heard there were mixed to negative reviews so thought maybe it wasn’t going to be worth watching more. I had never watched the anime so some weeks later decided to watch the anime for a bit and see if that interested me. I enjoyed the anime; the music, the themes, the story, the wild characters (both main and recurring), etc… However by the time I neared the end of the anime series I felt it was beginning to overstay its welcome due to the amount that the main characters relied on each other and spent time together yet seemed to barely understand each other beyond superficial aspects and fighting prowess. And it was odd that they didn’t seem to talk to each other, at least on screen and probably off screen too. Plus, seemingly-selfish bounty hunters that are almost never shown successfully collecting on bounties yet doing things for the greater good of the solar system was odd.
Then I went back to the live action show and with an understanding of the tone of the original and the situation with the world (solar system) this show was set in I immediately appreciated so much more about who everyone was and what was going on. I enjoyed how they translated the anime to live action, though the observation of cosplay is understandable but I thought the campy stuff was a decent way to translate the vibe that the animation had with things like extreme (impossible IRL) camera angles exaggerating movement and such. I enjoyed that the main characters on the Bebop started getting to know each other and actually having extended conversation that we got to witness. It made much more sense that they became a crew and why they traveled together, even if they weren’t becoming best friends destined for the long-haul. Faye wasn’t perfect but I thought the actor did a great job with her and the character had more depth and was more believable than anime Faye IMO, who was borderline psychopath in the anime (yes, that could be justified because of what she had been through, but it always bugged me). When the season ends I had a lot more emotional connection with all of the characters positions/situations and it felt earned, if not always super elegant. At the end of the day, the acting throughout the show filled in a lot of what I felt was missing from the anime. Live action facial expressions and line delivery does a lot where the anime was lacking.
What @thewhaleshark said about the dynamic between Vicious/Spike/Julia as well as Jet’s motivation was spot on, I thought it was a nice twist to expectation and I enjoyed the flashbacks throughout the different episodes.
The observation comparing Vicious to Lucious Malfoy is also spot on, after episode 3 or so I went on IMDB to figure who the actor was because he was tickling something in my brain that I couldn’t put my finger on. Yes, a little bit Geralt with the white hair but it was the facial expressions and the way he delivered his lines that really got me. It took me a bit of research to fully convince myself that Vicious and Lucious were definitely played by different actors.
I wouldn’t mind a season 2, but I felt like they told a decent story arc while leaving plot hooks they could have used in the future.