Cowboy Bebop and Outlaw Star...

[Drizzten]

First off, I haven't seen an ep of CB. I have seen the first 8 eps of OS and I was wondering how the two stack up to each other. I've heard on review sites that they are quite similar, with the whole space pirates/bounty hunters/cute girls thing. Please enlighten me!

[Schizm]

Well, I havn't seen much of Outlaw Satr, but I have this great AMV of Rancid's 'Maxwell Murder' that uses footage from both series and the seem to look similar.

[BigShot Jordan]

I haven't seen Outlaw Star either(i'm waiting for it to appear on Toonami on Jan.15th).It looks really cool though.

In my opinion there are three shows that fall into the western/bounty hunter/futuristic sci-fi/ vibe.These shows are Trigun,Outlaw Star,and Cowboy Bebop.

but even though these shows have almost the same genre,they have hardly any resemblence to each other other than that they are in the same genre(well Lagato Bluesummers from Trigun does seem to resemble Viscious in a few ways.)

I'll explain what i mean:


The Old West, one of the most romanticized periods of American history, has fascinated people for years. What was so romantic about that lawless period and region of America? A key element is the sense of adventure; after all, a new frontier was being discovered, explored, and settled. People gave up their comfortable, settled lives to move out into the raw wilderness and try to tame the land into some sort of recognizable civilization.
The lawlessness of the Old West also contributed to the adventure. After all, towns and campsites were few and far between, communications were sporadic at best, and the law was only upheld by the sheriff of the local town. It was an ideal setting for those less scrupulous individuals to make a living by preying on the citizens and hiding out in the wilderness with their booty.
Given this rough environment, with dangers lurking seemingly behind every corner from the wilderness and outlaws, it became a place where only the strong could survive. Those who could survive beyond the safety of the local town were seen by the others as an exceptional individual, perhaps even superhuman. Pecos Bill, Billy the Kid, and many other larger-than-life figures have sprung from this period in American history, mixing a little bit of truth with a great deal of fantasy and exaggeration.
Countless American Western films have been made, and these old legends have been told and retold since the American film industry began. But this period of history has appealed to those outside American culture. Italian movie director, Sergio Leone, who invented the spaghetti western and made a career out of making them, certainly was fascinated by this period.
Many Japanese animators and manga artists have also felt the pull of the Old West. For perhaps all of the reasons above, or perhaps for reasons of their own, lately creative people in the anime and manga industry have been drawing on the Old West for inspiration for a new type of series mixing science fiction with elements of the Old West. And, while this idea is not entirely new, the forms of anime and manga seem particularly well suited to tell this type of story, the Space Western. And 1998 was the year of the Space Western anime television shows in Japan.

see you space cowboys.

[Hybrid]

I doubt they will be that similar. Cowboy bebop was one of the few animes aimed at the older audience, and just from the previews i can tell outlaw star looks kinda kiddy. The character designs in bebop look a lot better i think, im not anticipating outlaw stars showing too much because ive heard good and bad, with bebop however, i heard nothing but good. But if you want to get so general as to say "they are both in space" or "the both have bounty hunters" then i guess they are similar, just like saying dbz is "fighting" and eva is "mecha", countless other animes are about fighting to save the earth. Its the combination of all things that set an anime apart from the rest. But from what ive seen of outlaw star, it looks good, but not spectacular. And not something i would invest money into dvds for.

[Drizzten]

Well, I've really enjoyed watching Outlaw Star and just about every review site I've been to has made some sort of passing reference to Bebop...so I was curious.

So you think Bebop is tilted towards an older audience? Are there any non-spoiler examples you have?

[BigShot Jordan]

There are some scenes of graphic violence in the later episodes,The characters tend to swear a lot,and the content of the show has more of an adult feel to it sometimes.There is a seen in episode 17 where a man slices a cut in somebody's neck and blood sprays out everywhere.




see you sapce cowboy.

[Drizzten]

Thanks, I'll check it out.

[Hybrid]

I was more talking about how the characters are older and the storyline seems to be more indepth than an anime targetted at a younger audience. Bebop isnt just about bounty hunters fighting guys, i dont know if outlaw star is or not, but bebop has a lot of themes in it, and conveys a message. You dont just have a high school kid with super powers that has to save the world, bebop is about more than that, and i think thats why it is more for the older audience.

[Morbius]

Just to add to what Hybrid said I also think the music helps it appeal to older audiences. It's not a bunch of crappy J-pop like they have in most anime series. It's jazz and bebop and a wide range of really good music.

There also isn't a lot of ecchi or hentai themes that would normally please the teenage boys. The series focuses on the story and doesn't try to distract you with stupid sexual humour or slapstick antics.

I think it's just that the series doesn't go to any extremes and it reamins very realistic. There's no super powers or unrealistic violence and all the characters are very human.

[Drizzten]

Sounds better and better every time I hear of it...

[Hybrid]

Originally posted by Morbius
Just to add to what Hybrid said I also think the music helps it appeal to older audiences. It's not a bunch of crappy J-pop like they have in most anime series. It's jazz and bebop and a wide range of really good music.

There also isn't a lot of ecchi or hentai themes that would normally please the teenage boys. The series focuses on the story and doesn't try to distract you with stupid sexual humour or slapstick antics.

I think it's just that the series doesn't go to any extremes and it reamins very realistic. There's no super powers or unrealistic violence and all the characters are very human.

Man i cant believe i forgot that!! Thanks for bringing that up morbius. The music is great, definetly some of the best music i have ever heard on an anime. The opening song alone is great, not to mention the fight scene music and bg music throughout the series.

I have to agree with what morbius said 100% couldnt have said it better if i labored over it for days. Im glad there are some bebop fans here (i have no idea why but not many people seem to know about bebop) so im trying to tell as many people as i can about it, even though im still new to it lol. Its definetly an awesome anime and i would recommend it to anyone except for younger kids (5-12) and old people (60-110). So if you are like anime at all, bebop is a must see in my book.

[The cruel angel's thesis]

yeah, bebop is definetly equal to eva in my book. Every single character in that show is incredibly likeable (yes, even the bad guys, even if they can get pretty evil) and while we're on the subject of bebop music (the best in any anime) how many and which bebop cd's do all of you have?
I have all of them except for "vitaminless", and the first OST is still my favorite.

walk...in the rain...in the rain.....

[Melusine]

Being the only one here (?) so far to have seen both, I have to say Cowboy Bebop is *way* better than Outlaw Star. Outlaw Star is one of these 'we have this one big quest but we're going to take a whole bunch of little side-trips along the way so we can stretch it over 26 episodes' series. I saw the first four episodes after renting them, and then saw episode 17 or 18 a few months later, and felt like I hadn't missed a thing - they weren't a bit closer to their ultimate goal! *rolls eyes* The characters aren't anywhere near as developed or interesting as Bebop's, the themes are less mature, it's not as funny or as dramatic... well, what more is there to say? :) I do like the Outlaw Star opening theme, though. Not as cool as Bebop's or Trigun's, but still pretty rockin'. ;)

later

mlc