COWBOY BEBOP-KNOCKIN’ ON HEAVEN’S DOOR

An edgier side story to the Bebop universe that doesn’t miss a beat

Abstract: Set in between the last few episodes of the Cowboy Bebop series, the movie tells a side story that, quite frankly, was written a little too well to qualify for just a side story. While hunting for a bounty, Faye witnesses a detonation of a tanker trunk releasing some kind of chemical, nuclear or biological agent set off by a man named Vincent. What started as a normal job quickly mutates into a planet spanning conspiracy, and the only one with all the answers is Vincent himself. Of course, there’s just 1 little hitch: Vincent’s been listed as dead for years…

The story was written in a believable way that would even fit in today’s world, and that’s quite a feat. All the seiyuu reprise their character roles here, so continuity’s not a question. The art’s top-notch, and of course being Bebop, the music delivers. The movie itself doesn’t stand alone though, so if you’re not familiar with the series the idiosyncrasies of its characters might throw you a bit. But if you’re a Bebop fan, you need to add this to your collection. Platinum all the way.

Background: As I mentioned, this flick’s set right before the end of the series when the series itself started taking a real serious turn, so the feel of the movie fits into its place in the Bebop universe well…

Things don’t change much on the Bebop. In other words, everyone’s still starving, flat broke and looking for the next big mark and the movie’s no exception. And at the start, it seems that Faye’s found it. They’re on Mars (Of course) and she’s tailing a mark in a tanker truck trucking (Pun intended) down the highway. Ed’s feeding Faye info as Faye closes in, and then the plan hits a big snag: That ain’t Faye’s mark driving the truck.

And then things get fun.

The unknown driver gets out, detonates the trunk, and jumps off the highway seemingly to his death. But you see, there are 2 problems with this scenario: The first is that the truck released some kind of deadly agent into the air that The Man (Derogatory American slang for the government) can’t ID, and second is that the suicidal terrorist wasn’t so suicidal after all. He didn’t die when he jumped. Heck, Faye doesn’t even see his body.

Ex post facto with Ed doing the digital searching (No Google for her!), they find that the terrorist’s name is Vincent, and that, according to official records he’s already six feet under. Hhhmm…Well, whoever this character is, the Mars government has offered 500 million woolongs for his head, so every skip tracer and his mother in the universe will be after him, dead or alive (Again, pun intended). Each member of the Bebop crew tries to dig up leads on their own, and each runs into their own problems. What kind of problems? Oh, like maybe military fighters, deadly biological agents and a seemingly invulnerable opponent. No biggie…

Materials and Methods: There’s nothing to dislike about this production. The character art by Toshiro Kawamoto is exactly like what you remember from the telebi series, so no one’s going to complain. The use of CG was prolific, but it was done well and didn’t appear obtrusive in the least. All the same seiyuu came back for the movie, including Uber-seiyuu Megumi Hayashibara as the femme fatale Faye (Rowr) and Koichi Yamadera as the ever-cool and hip Spike (Ryoga from Ranma ?, Kaji from Shinseki Evangelion). Them and the rest of the cast pick right up where they left off from the series.

And, of course, the music. Bebop is nada without the music, yes? Well dudes and brudes, you won’t be disappointed. Yoko Kanno’s reached something of legendary status in a very short time, and it’s really no wonder why. The music ranges from jazz, hard rock/heavy metal, honkytonk and my fave, a sort of punk-blues solo. This lady knows what we want and she delivers in spades.

Results: It’s very hard to pin down why Bebop’s so darn good. It’s just got perfect combination of characters, plot and music that makes seemingly disparate components gel together, and the movie’s no exception.

First off, ya’ll know I’m a big fan of good storylines, and this movie’s got it. The only knock I have against the movie, and admittedly it’s a minor one, is that if you’re jumping into the movie cold without watching the series the characters are so weird and funky the plot and tempo of the movie’s going to be lost on ya. But when you can take modern day issues and make a good anime out of it, it gives the viewer that much more of a connection, and since dying at some fanatic’s hands due to something released into the air is big on everyone’s minds right now, I’d say they have that covered.

Plus, to add to the real world feel they’ve incorporated a lot of the real world into the production. For example, in a move that makes military fanboys happy, several real aircraft and weapons were incorporated into the plot: A Douglas P-40 Warhawk, a Lockheed P-38 Lightning, a Japanese Zero, an F-18 Hornet, and a Grumman TBF Avenger (I think) among other planes cover the aerial aspect well. As for the firearms, you’ve got Glocks, H&K MP5’s…Okay okay, so I’m showing my colors, sue me.

And if weapons systems aren’t your cup ‘o ocha, it looks like the production staff also picked up and transplanted earth cities on Mars, including New York and I’d assume what is Morocco or Algiers. And these recreated cites come complete with the requisite peoples, sights, sounds and smells for the appropriate settings.

The DVD itself was top notch. Then again, considering Sony put it out it’d have to be. The main menu is a CG of a Mars city though the cockpit of a personal fighter that’s accompanied with appropriate music. Load times weren’t a problem, and they put a lot of extras on this disk, including interviews with the production staff, seiyuu and their American counterparts, character biographies and music videos.

Speaking of the music videos, what I found rather amusing is that in Yoko Kanno’s interview, she states that she didn’t think anyone would like her music. Boy, for all our sakes, am I ever glad she was wrong.

Conclusions: Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door is a top-notch production. I just wish (And I’m sure you do too) that more follow-up attempts to successful anime series have the same quality that this movie did. You’re going to be very hard-pressed to find something to dislike about this flick, so just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. Platinum.