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R2 DVD Reviews
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Written by maehara
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Saturday, 14 May 2005 12:36 |
 Cowboy Bebop's another case where R2 buyers are lagging well behind the rest of the world - the UK's only getting its Bebop fix now. Better late than never, though, especially with a series as good as this one...
6 - Sympathy for the Devil
Spike and Jet are on the trail of a new
target - a fugitive known as Giraffe, who they've tracked down to a
jazz club. While Jet catches up with an old acquaintance he meets
there, Spike's left to stay on Giraffe's tail. Giraffe himself is on
the tail of a young musician, Wen, a child prodigy who had been playing
at the club they were at earlier. His meeting with Wen results in
Giraffe being criticially injured, and with his dying breath he asks
Spike to help 'him', and passes him a stone ring. Spike has no idea
what Giraffe wanted him to do, but Jet's friend from the club has some
information which may explain things...
7 - Heavy Metal Queen
VT's
a rare creature - a female in the normally male trade of interplanetary
trucking. He usual hangout is filled with bounty hunters today - a
high-value bounty by the name of Becker is rumoured to be passing
through - and she's not happy. Her husband was a bounty-hunter and
she's developed a deep disliking for them, so it's not long before VT
and the bounty hunters are at each other's throats, but Spike manages
to get on her good side. It's not long before VT becomes their one
lead in their search for Decker...
8 - Waltz for Venus
Things
not to do: hijack a passenger shuttle when Spike Speigel & Faye
Valentine are on the passenger list. They're on their way to Venus, and
aren't about to let any hijackers spoil their plans. One of the
passengers, Roco, is so in awe of Spike's performance, he's determined
to become his student. Spike gets tangled up in Roco's plans a bit more
than he intended, though, when Roco turns up on Jet's list of possible
bounties...
9 - Jamming with Edward
Bebop arrives at Earth
just in time to hear about a huge bounty that's being offered to find
an unusual criminal - someone seems to have hacked into the control
system for the laser satellites orbiting the planet, and is using their
access to draw doodles on South America. All their enquiries point to
one suspect: Radical Edward, an almost mythical hacker, but when Ed
makes contact with the Bebop, "he's" not what the gang expected him to
be. Ed's worked out who was responsible for the satellites' drawing
exploits - she's quite happy to share the bounty with the rest of the
gang, but she has a request first...
10 - Ganymede Elegy
The
Bebop's returned Ganymede, Jet's homeworld - the main reason for the
visit is to drop off a bounty, but there's also the small metter of
Jet's ex, Elise. While Jet goes to visit Elise and catch up on old
times, Spike receives word of a new bounty - Rhint Celonius, a common
thug who's wanted for murder. One complication: Rhint is Elise's new
partner. Spike's not one to let sentimentality get in the way of a
payday and sets out to pick up his new target. When Jet hears of the
price on Rhint's head, his policeman's sense of duty takes over, and he
takes on the job of bringing him in, regardless of his connection to
Elise...
 
I challenge anyone not to like Cowboy Bebop - it's mixing
of science fiction, western and comedy makes it one of the rare shows
that really should appeal to anybody. It's also a series where
you can very easily lose track of time while you're watching, it does
such a good job of dragging you in.
As usual, you get a bunch of standalone episodes for your money, and four out of five a pretty damn good. The fifth (Heavy Metal Queen) is just so-so by Bebop standards, by that still makes it worth checking out. Best of the bunch is Ganymede Elegy - Bebop's always at its best when digging into its characters pasts, and that's waht you get here.
The jury's out on Ed - some people hate her, some people love her. I still haven't decided, even though I first saw Bebop several years ago. Even if you fall into the 'hate' camp, though, she's not enough to really ruin the show.
A true classic series, and well worth checking out, if you're one of the few people out there who hasn't already.
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