Outlaw Star/Trigun/Cowboy Bebop

And don’t forget the old Techtv’s Anime Unleashed as well.Which I miss a lot since it was what got me interested in anime in the first place.And I don’t know about anyone else but CB is #6 on my all time favorite

anime list between Serial Experiments Lain(#5)and Case Closed(#7).

My favorite character on Outlaw Star was Melfina,though something has to be said for “Twilight” Suzuka.

I mean you gotta respect a gal who has the ability to slice a moving bus in half with just a kendo sword.

I wouldn’t necessarily go that far, do I love the show? Absolutely, but the episodic nature does work against it from time to time. I’m not a fan of the Godfather series, does that mean I need my sanity checked? lol

Cowboy Bebop isn’t really a western, it’s a crime show. Trigun and Outlaw Star definitely are. I miss them being on TV.

I wouldn’t call Bebop a crime show, that would be much more of a stretch then referring to it as a space western. Crime show Anime are more City Hunter, You’re Under Arrest, Hyper Police, etc. Bebop fits the Space Western mold because of the very western feel it exudes (both aesthetically and plot wise). A bunch of misfits or outsiders being bounty hunters in MANY settings that are the very emobidment of a Western itself. I mean just look at the Bounty Channel they watch, the show is practically screaming it at you.

Bebop, Trigun, and Outlaw Star are all cut from the same cloth of space western but do it in a different way. Trigun is much more literal with the space western. Outlaw Star and Bebop use it as the mindset and how the environment works, the old American West in a future space setting essentially (No guns allowed in this town/planet, Bounty Hunters, Outlaws, and the “Law” eternally struggling for control, peace and chaos.) But most importantly the characters are as colorful as the ones from the west. What do you remember first, the town that was podunk and never had trouble, or the infamous accolades of Billy the Kid, Jessie James and so on.

Slightly off that question but it’s sad how for only a mere year, a blip in time, 3 of the most memorable and best anime ever came out, and then just like that, the Space Western genre, just like it’s parallel to the american wild west, tipped its hat and rode off into the sunset.

Yes.

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jk. But seriously, not liking The Godfather? I respect your opinion, and the bravery to state it, but wow.

Trigun is one of my favorites. The first “Space Western” I ever saw, and at the time, blew me away for its novelty while tapping in to two long-held Western traditions (the wild west and space) consisting of all the things Dagon stated–the rugged frontier, virgin territory ripe for exploration, untamed settlements, lawlessness, etc. There are many other reasons I continue to enjoy it as well, but they are too many to list here and now (one in particular I found fascinating was the dichotomy of Vash and Knives. Their similarities in appearance and common origin, combined with their differing methods of coping in a society that doesn’t want them and questions their humanity, and how they view humanity in general, all seem creatively recreated in Hiromu Arawaka’s work Fullmetal Alchemist).

Cowboy Bebop . Yes, it’s everything you’ve heard: a classic, a tier-one anime, excellent dub, etc. etc. I particularly enjoy re-watching it with my roommate who not so long ago was totally disinclined to even give anime a try. Thanks to Bebop, his biased views have been shattered.

Outlaw Star I literally haven’t seen since it was on Toonami, and even then I saw very few episodes (guess I was too preoccupied with Tenchi and Trigun, or whatever else). It’s on my “must own” list.

While people can of course comment further on their own opinions about the anime themselves, another good followup would be, as Dagon brought up, why do you think this sub-genre burned out so quickly given the success of these three series?

I just want to say that even though the movies weren’t my cup of tea, I still very much recognize their significance to filmmaking as well as their appeal and that they (at least the first one) are considered a classic of cinema, I just would rather watch something else if its on, lol.

While people can of course comment further on their own opinions about the anime themselves, another good followup would be, as Dagon brought up, why do you think this sub-genre burned out so quickly given the success of these three series?

To put it frankly, sales, or more correctly, sales in Japan. Just like with my godfather statement “How could you NOT like the Godfather?” The same could be said of this trifecta that is the Space Western genre, but I think the name of the genre itself tells us why. These shows, despite still being very japanese, resonate with us westerners on a cultural level, we love the Outlaw. We love the guy who lives outside the law but is still “good”, we love the everyman, the guy who has to deal with the demons of his past and so on.

I know for a fact that all 3 have done smashingly good over here, like, REALLY good.Trigun’s Anime Classic re-release is in the top 3 highest selling shows of this quarter for Funimation, Outlaw Star in 2009 was moving 9 million units, making it the 6th highest selling show that year, with no re-runs, no re-releases, in fact I was around when Right Stuf put up a batch of the, at that point out of print, black gold orignal boxsets, there were 200, they were gone in under 8 hours. Bebop of course speaks for itself, it sold oodles over here.

But even despite how well it’s done over here, Japan wasn’t as receptive, I know Outlaw Star and Trigun did pretty mediocre over there when the Anime for each came out, and that was pretty much it. If you ever want to find why companies or corporations do things, follow the money. The only other space westerns I can think of are Coyote Ragtime show and GunXSword.

It’s the same thing over here “Why are there so many crime drama/investigation/investigator shows”? cha-ching, that’s why, lol.

Mmmmmm yes?

I know Japan of all places has very rigid concepts of genre (stemming from manga, the precursor to anime) but a truly great work like Bebop, as novel as it is, I think with it, along with many other films/tv series, you might not necessarily be able to peg into one box. Genres are created after the fact, and it often also holds true for assigning a work into a previously-existing genre. What constitutes a genre? Lots of little things that can be clearly identified that then add up and coagulate into a discernible look or feel. What constitutes the film noir genre? Stylistic choices such as dark lighting, gloomy alleyways, black silhouettes and an overhanging feel of mystery, intrigue and pessimism. Does Bebop have some of those elements? Yes. So, I would say it has film noir characteristics (along with others) instead of worrying about fitting it exclusively into one genre or the other.

Influenced by and possibly with a Western Audience in mind? Absolutely, But targeted DIRECTLY at a North American Audience? Probably Never. The Japanese Anime market and industry is made exclusively for the Japanese in mind. Does that mean they don’t make references? No, many Manga and Anime have used or been inspired by culture in the west, I mean hell Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is almost centered around western pop culture, but is still VERY Japanese.

Trigun, Bebop, and Outlaw Star, no matter how western they are in feel, focus, and atmosphere, are still very Japanese, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Like you and dagon said, it very much pays pays tribute to the Western genre. So, I think it’s not an accident the name is taken from a very popular American TV western (my dad loves it).

Similar vibe with the names of the settlements (New Oregon and so forth). Not only are they little throw backs to America and “The Old West” but they would be familiar enough to be legitimate names human settlers might give to their towns, while at the same time having a level of unfamiliarity and “foreign” vibe to Japanese audiences.

I remember the first time I was introduced to the Nebraska family I was like “omg! Nebraska mentioned in an anime!”