[hahahigh]

I've been watching old episodes of Yu Yu Hakusho lately. Brings back a lot of memories. The style is outdated and the voice acting terrible, but that show has a special sort of style that's very endearing.

 

[Zorander]

Quote:

 

I loved Clannad  Great.  I just started Clannad After Story like 6+ months after watching Clannad.  I started by reading the wiki of the Clannad episodes, to remind myself of what was going on.  I'm terrible at remembering what I've watched.  I just finished episode 5 and really enjoying it.

Love Clannad too. There's just something about everything in it that leaves a warm feeling in the heart, unlike Air and Kanon.
 
 

Spoiler

Steel your heart by episode 18 though. It's the most touching part of the series IMO and it could even drive a guy to tears.

 

[SoupRKnowva]

i just finished watching the last cowboy bebop, and ive got to say, that they majority of that show was average at best. The last 3 episodes on the otherhand were amazing, but i dont think those 3 episodes can pull the whole show up to be considered great. 

 

[momomo6789]

Quote:

i just finished watching the last cowboy bebop, and ive got to say, that they majority of that show was average at best. The last 3 episodes on the otherhand were amazing, but i dont think those 3 episodes can pull the whole show up to be considered great. 

didn't like it either kinda bored me.

 

[luvs2squizz]

Quote:

i just finished watching the last cowboy bebop, and ive got to say, that they majority of that show was average at best. The last 3 episodes on the otherhand were amazing, but i dont think those 3 episodes can pull the whole show up to be considered great. 

It thought it was good overall, but there are only a few eps I would watch more than twice
 
Right now I'm enjoying Bleach and Gurren Lagann

 

[loveholic]

Break Blade vol. 2 is out. To aru majutsu no index season 2 coming up. Can't wait.

 

[Equus]

Heh...good to hear differing opinions on Bebop.  It's still one of my favorites.  Maybe background or cultural differences or something, but to each their own. 

 
Got to the end of the 2nd batch of blu rays for FMA Brotherhood.  I'm still liking it, and it definitely has me hooked, but it hasn't really completely blown me away or anything.  I have the rest of it on my comp, so I'll finish it off and see what I think as I get farther into it.
 
Have a good one folks!

 

[marvin]

     Quote:

Heh...good to hear differing opinions on Bebop.  It's still one of my favorites.  Maybe background or cultural differences or something, but to each their own. 

I think a lot of it is because Cowboy Bebop's run on Adult Swim was the first introduction to serious anime for a lot of American fans. The newness of the genre made for a larger impact on viewers at the time, plus nostalgia has a way of screwing with objectivity. It's also a rather audience friendly show that manages to appeals to plenty of people who aren't core anime fans.

Another factor may be that Bebop suffers in many ways compared to more modern fare. Dated animation, resolution, and style are the obvious ones. The "cowboys in space" genre is also quite a bit more crowded now. More importantly though, serious shows have gotten away from the episodic format that dominated when Bebop was made and have settled on a far more serialized format. Casual viewers prefer the episodic format since the show remains comprehensible even with missed episodes. Core viewers prefer more serialized shows as plot arcs that last longer than 20 minutes are more rewarding.

 

[tengen]

On Cowboy Bebop, each individual episode appears to be independent out of the overall plot, but the settings contribute greatly towards the whole Bebop world. I found it very fleshed out and more enjoyable than many modern series today. It's the subtlety that matters, little details and hints mixed with humor rather than straight out narration (a-la Gundam 00) that drives the plot and makes it stand out as one of the greats. 
 
I'm not sure what you mean by episodic versus serialization, but in my experience I lean towards recommending OVA / movies to casual viewers, as they are higher quality animation, better writing, and require less time investment. 

 

[Equus]

Quote:

I think a lot of it is because Cowboy Bebop's run on Adult Swim was the first introduction to serious anime for a lot of American fans. The newness of the genre made for a larger impact on viewers at the time, plus nostalgia has a way of screwing with objectivity. It's also a rather audience friendly show that manages to appeals to plenty of people who aren't core anime fans.

Another factor may be that Bebop suffers in many ways compared to more modern fare. Dated animation, resolution, and style are the obvious ones. The "cowboys in space" genre is also quite a bit more crowded now. More importantly though, serious shows have gotten away from the episodic format that dominated when Bebop was made and have settled on a far more serialized format. Casual viewers prefer the episodic format since the show remains comprehensible even with missed episodes. Core viewers prefer more serialized shows as plot arcs that last longer than 20 minutes are more rewarding.

I agree or can see you reasoning on most points.  I was introduced to Bebop by my roommate at the time, who was buying the DVDs as they were being released here in the US, so at the time the animation was pretty on par with more use of CG than a lot of previous works.  So yeah, definitely some nostalgia factor, but I think anyone who hears me gush about Nausicaa or Macross will get that picture pretty quick.
 
As for the episodic nature and some of the style elements, I grew up watching Japanese live-action serials a lot, so while I wouldn't say it's my preference to watch episodic series, I definitely can sync with it easily.  Culturally, I also read more into situations and stories because I grew up in a second generation Japanese household.  Granted,  some or a bunch of what I read into things is probably not what the writers intended, but that's my lens.

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Quote:

     Quote:

I think a lot of it is because Cowboy Bebop's run on Adult Swim was the first introduction to serious anime for a lot of American fans. The newness of the genre made for a larger impact on viewers at the time, plus nostalgia has a way of screwing with objectivity. It's also a rather audience friendly show that manages to appeals to plenty of people who aren't core anime fans.

Another factor may be that Bebop suffers in many ways compared to more modern fare. Dated animation, resolution, and style are the obvious ones. The "cowboys in space" genre is also quite a bit more crowded now. More importantly though, serious shows have gotten away from the episodic format that dominated when Bebop was made and have settled on a far more serialized format. Casual viewers prefer the episodic format since the show remains comprehensible even with missed episodes. Core viewers prefer more serialized shows as plot arcs that last longer than 20 minutes are more rewarding.

i think you did a great job of explaining why so many people like bebop so much. whereas i watched it later in my anime career and so wasnt influenced by nastalgia. Though to be honest, ill never delude myself into thinking my first real anime, Bubblegum Crisis 2040, was anything special lol
 

 

[Calexico]

I had seen 3 or 4 series before watching Cowboy Bebop and still really enjoyed it, for what it's worth.

 

[loveholic]

I think there is a special digested copy of cowboy bebop with only the essential episodes. I believe it was a limited edition JP dvd release with added scenes.

 

[Maxvla]

Bleach Manga.... WOW!! Nerd-gasms...

(#418)

 

[Kukuk]

Quote:

Bleach Manga.... WOW!! Nerd-gasms...

(#418)

 
No kidding!
 
Now how are they going to screw it up?