Customer Reviews

Cowboy Bebop Complete Sessions Vol. 1-6 Collection

5 star:		(348)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

I really don't like anime. It's true. Growing up in the '80s and seeing the reruns of '70s imports (like Speed Racer), not to mention the whole Pokémon thing that hit while I was in high school, I know some people out there like those things but I find them repulsive and annoying. Silly caricatures with gigantic eyes and frame rates of about 2 per minute, almost like watching a slide show with really bad narration.

Then a friend pressured me to watch Cowboy Bebop on Cartoon Network. He knew my reservations about Japanese cartoons, but pushed me into it anyway (it was a Saturday night, I wasn't doing anything anyway...) and I haven't stopped thanking him.

This series is good. Not good, great. This is the program that anyone who says "cartoons are for kids" should watch. The first thing that I noticed was that the episodes were each standalone. Most of the popular animations of today are very series-oriented, if you miss one the next one probably won't make sense, and the whole thing feels soap-opera-ish. But not Bebop. Oh, it's true that there's an ongoing storyline, but you don't have to be familiar with it to enjoy any given episode. In fact, it might be good to watch them out of sequence once and then in order, you'll get everything on two different levels.

Then there's the music. It is easily the best music in a cartoon, possibly the best in a television series. Just like I don't like anime, I don't like jazz. Or so I thought, but many thanks to Yoko Kanno for proving me wrong on that count. It's original, it's catchy, and even though I didn't much care for a lot of it initially, it now has so much emotion attached to it that I have added it to my regular listening. I definitely can't say that about any other television series ever.

Oh, the characters. Where can I even begin? They have complexity and depth, worthy of some of the best movies to ever come out of Hollywood. They each have their own backgrounds, their own motives, they have personality. After twenty-six episodes, it's hard not to develop an attachment to at least one of them. You don't have to take my word on this; I've seen many others who agree with me on this. Besides, you could watch it and decide for yourself.

As far as I'm concerned, this is essential viewing. Not everyone might agree with me, but I have a feeling that there are many out there who would absolutely love this show if they saw just one episode. It turned me on to anime, and I'm pretty hard to sway in opinion. If you're into anime, this is a must. If you can bring yourself to realize cartoons as something other than Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse, this is probably for you, too. It's for adults of all ages, and appeals for so many reasons.

By the way, the dubbed version may be better. Nothing against the original cast, and it's not a personal aversion to subtitles (I usually prefer subbed to dubbed), but the English cast are incredible. I've never seen that kind of attention or acting in translation. And, because of the nature of the show, I think it just feels better.

A message from the converted.

Just a side note:
This item is a limited edition. When it hit the shelves, you could buy it for about $120. It came with 6 dvds, a special box, a soundtrack, and all of them were numbered. Since they were limited, Bandai stopped making them a long time ago. Unfortunately, if you're a fan of the series and don't own the Perfect Session box set, you're stuck with buying them individually if you want a NTSC region 1 version that has good quality video. You will find two different price range sets in the "New and Used" section. The first range from about $200-$300, this is someone or some store that has an actual Perfect session box set and since it's now a rarity, has raised the price. The other is a 3-disc "bootleg" and the price usually ranges $30-$60. The video quality is horrible and unless you just want a copy of the series and don't mind the poor quality, I really wouldn't reccomend it. I know the price tag is very appealing, but if your looking for a quality copy, you're going to have to buy a Bandai version, either by spinging the money for the Perfect session or by purchasing them individually.

I have never written a review before, nor do I plan to often in the future, but I felt that I ought to give it a shot here.

I'll leave out a lot of preliminary posturing and tell you straight up. As a long-time anime fan who has seen it all, from two-bit pulp series like Pokemon and Dragonball to art-house favorites like Akira and Princess Mononoke, I can say that Cowboy Bebop is, hands down, the finest anime ever produced for the small screen.

As with all creative works that are based on words (or a combination of words and images) the most important thing in a television series, be it anime or otherwise, is the writing. Needless to say, the writing in this series (Keiko Nobumoto receives the "Screenplay" credit, which I can only assume means that she was the head writer) is utterly fantastic and the translators have done a great job of conveying the real meaning and feel of the Japanese dialogue in English, rather than just translating word for word [Note: this applies to the subtitles, I NEVER watch dubbing; and yes, I do speak Japanese]. The individual episodic plots are well constructed and there is always the spectre of the overarching "uber-plot" mysteriously tantalizing you in the background. The characters are well-realized, interesting and three-dimensional, with the notable exception of Ed, the hacker, whose annoying presence is a result of the production company's desire to pander to a particular demographic of Japanese viewer. Fortunately, this character is not much used and the other three, Spike, Faye and Jet, are so cool and so interesting that the series could consist solely of the three of them sitting around, playing Mah Jongg and there would still be enough sexual tension and biting wit to keep it enthralling.

The show also has a great deal of variety in the flavor and character of its episodes, demonstrating the writers' versatility. Some installments are funny, others action-packed and others quietly introspective, or a combination thereof. The sci-fi (the anime takes place in a world that is both futuristic and retro) is very tight, and one of the show's real strengths is the realization of the world it takes place in. All the little details are in place and watching the show really can transport you.

Aside from the writing, the direction and overall look of Cowboy Bebop are beautiful and utterly cool. If you are at all a fan of jazz music or the jazz era in general, you'll love the color scheme, the inking and the lines. Director Shinichiro Watanabe does a fantastic job of creating the feel of coolness from days gone by while keeping you all the while, decidedly in the future. He plays with angles, rapid cuts, stills with voiceover, extreme close-ups and many other techniques, some of which can only be accomplished in an animated medium. He also makes great use of computer graphics, which not only helps bolster the futuristic feel, but gives Cowboy Bebop access to effects that few other animes have. All in all, the direction and production values, from the opening credits on, is totally top-drawer. It's not surprise that Cowboy Bebop was one of the more expensive anime series ever produced.

As for the music, what can I say? It features the compositions of perhaps the most-talented, versatile and interesting composer in Japanese show-business and certainly the greatest composer of music for animes alive today: Yoko Kanno. Her score to Cowboy Bebop takes all the best elements of jazz, pops, rock, classical and blues and wraps it all up in a score so wonderful that it is impossible that any TV series anywhere ever had a better one. If you're interested in the feel of the series, but don't want to commit to a DVD, try one of the OST Albums and I guarantee you'll pick up the DVD the next day.

I could go on, I could talk about the series itself, let slip some small details or give you a taste of the show's dynamic, but I think I've said enough. This is one of the few animes that I have ever seen that really is cool, fun and never, ever insults your intelligence. If more animes were like this our dates would perhaps not walk out on us upon the mention of our membership in the anime club. This is the epitome, the entelechy, the exegesis of all that is good about anime. Get it.

One final thing. ... likes to put what other people have bought as a recommendation underneath a product description, but this really does not provide any kind of meaningful help in most cases. Therefore, if you like(d) Cowboy Bebop I recommend the following:
1. Macross Plus: The Movie - Done by largely the same team as Bebop, utterly brilliant mecha series, the best of the Macross shows. (Also available as a 4 part mini-series)
2. Trigun - Fun anime series that may have been the inspiration for The Matrix. Only slightly less engrossing or cool as Bebop, it has some great characters and develops them to a great degree.
3. Gasaraki - Utterly fantastic political/fantasy/sci-fi drama. One of the best plots ever in an anime. A slow starter, but worth the wait. Also uses CGI, great production values.
4. Outlaw Star - A very poor man's Bebop. Nowhere near the production values or writing quality, but has it's moments and can be very funny. Fun if you don't expect too much.

I have been a huge fan of the show for years, well since '98. I certainly give the series eight stars, to hell with five, eight is what it deserves. But beware of this item.

First, this is not being sold by Amazon, but by a third-party seller. Second, please take note on the number of discs that the seller has written down as to what the set includes.

My wife went online to Amazon to get me a birthday gift a couple of weeks ago and she went looking for the complete Cowboy Bebop series. She found this and thought perhaps it was a fluke in the pricing since the stat page says "7discs." She ordered this one and she loves me. I have a wife who gives me anime. I am lucky.

But this set only has three discs. Yes, it does have every episode from the series but there are ZERO special features. No behind the scenes or anything like I know the original is supposed to have.

The video quality is OK. Slightly better than if you recorded it off of the TV with a VCR. Not great, but not bad. I will stay with this copy though because it was a gift, but I really have to recommend paying the money for the official 6-disc version. If you just want the episodes, then get this. Its not bad, but not good either. Kinda' like Purgatory.

I give the series a five and that should be painfully obvious. It's pretty much one of the best sci-fi animated series out there harking back to times of BubbleGum Crisis and Gundam 0083 when those were the best thing around. The point of this review is to state something a little less obvious and that is to BEWARE OF PIRATED/BOOTLEGGED copies of this series that Amazon sellers want to fence over the internet. You might as well rip them yourself for free and not bother buying their shoddy product. Unsuspecting buyers need to note one of the main descriptions the seller gives you: "Import" and when the CD count in the set is less than the one advertised. Basically, you should return this crap and give the sellers bad points for failing to state these are Chinese pirated copies of the lowest technical quality. It's no use reporting this to Amazon, so again, buyers beware.

Everyone knows that Cowboy Bebop is good, and that if you don't own it already, you better get off your ... and buy the DVD's. That's a given. I just wanted to let people know that this "boxed set" is really just all 6 individual DVD's bundled together. Nothing new...no fancy box...no extras. If you missed the real boxed set or have just been holding out for the discs, you should pick this set up. ...you're getting a very good deal and it's worth the investment.

This item as listed does not actually exist anymore. The Perfect Sessions was a limited edition set that came in a very nice box, each of which was numbered by the manufacturer. I found this out the hard way after I ordered it and got a bootleg. The chances are very likely that any seller claiming to have this item is, in fact, only selling bootlegs with very bad MPEG video quality.

Amazon should really remove this listing from their service so that no more affiliates can con people like they are.

But as luck would have it, there is finally a real complete series box set out now. Go get the Anime Legends Cowboy Bebop remix.

I already had the European Cowboy Bebop set, but since I wanted the NTSC version as well, I bought the new perfect collection.
Of course Cowboy Bebop is great, and it ranks number one on my list of all time favourites, however, the advertisement on this site is misleading.
You will only get the 7 disc version if you order from a manufacturer and pay the full price. Buying one from the "Used & New" section will get you only the three disc version.
However, there is no way of knowing this before you order, and that's why some people (like me) feel cheated.
There's no note that says that the one you are buying is the three disc set, and I think that's pretty lousy because that way people get their hopes up for nothing. Not everyone can afford $190 for a box set of anime, especially with the economy gone under here in California.
If you're on a budget and you want to see a quality anime without a whole lot of extras, simply get one of the Used & New. If you have money to spend on hobbies like this, you should definately buy one from the manufacturer.

Ok i have no idea where to start with how ****ed up this thing is... First of all it's BOOTLEG, YES BOOTLEG, it's not real, it's not the perfect sessions collection, no it's what some random guy decided to cook up in his basement with a photocopier and a dvd burner. Some of the disks u buy WON'T EVEN RUN, alright. Don't fall for it, you're not getting a real copy, if u want The Perfect Sessions, you're going to have to go to ebay and pay 150+ for it, you can't find new ones anymore, it was made in 2001 and then bandai stopped making it. DON'T FALL FOR THIS SCAM.

This is far and away the best anime series I have seen so far. What an excellent collection. Where does one begin? More mature themed than Outlaw Star, and more episodic, the writing of the stories is far and above anything else currently out there. I watched all the DVDs one after another to collect the whole experience after having seen the first couple episodes on Toonami. Unlike Outlaw Star with its severely extroverted cast, the characters in Bebop are very slow to peel away their facades to show their histories. Spike, Jet, Faye, Ein, and Edward begin very mysteriously in their own way. Each protagonist has their own sordid past they attempt to deal with while shielding the others from it. Spike, the lanky, Lupin-like face man shows his serious side in the Ballad of Fallen Angels which contains a wonderfully operatic scene where he is thrown out of a window of a church, in the rain. He flashes back through an earlier harsh episode of his life as he and the stained glass fall in tandem, in slow motion, to a beautifully tinkling music box score. There didn't seem to be a journey of discovery the way there was with Outlaw Star, driving the series. However, the build up to the last few episodes was very impressive. I was reminded of the epic sweep of the DeNiro movie `Heat' as Spike set out to confront his nemesis, his love, and his past. It left me feeling quite drained watching it to the last. While I wouldn't go so far as to say the characters are likeable, they are compelling in their own flawed ways. The use of music was also very advanced in the series, ranging from classical arias, to punk, to metal, to techno - all to the benefit of the plot and the fluid movements of the combatants. Very highly recommended, I just hope I can find something similar in the future.