There’s a poop joke somewhere in here, but I’m not gonna drop it.Screenshot: Netflix / Kotaku
Since dropping the first official trailer in late September, Netflix has tweeted a few side-by-side comparisons of Cowboy Bebop, showing how the upcoming live-action adaptation compares to the original anime series. One takeaway of mine? It looks promising. The other takeaway? It really needs some color.
Take, for instance, this scene below. From the anime’s ninth episode, “Jamming With Edward,” the titular ship, the Bebop, lands on a body of water on Earth. What the anime depicts is a vibrant mass of blue as the industrial brown of the ship breaks the water’s gorgeous surface, creating a cascade of striking waves. The live-action adaptation has a similar scene, but everything is brown: the ship, the water, the buildings in the background, even the sky! The whole thing looks flat, lacking the anime’s eye-catching color palette.
This isn’t the only drab-looking scene either. The Cowboy Bebop Twitter account shared a couple more comparison clips that further highlight just how colorless the live-action adaptation appears to be. But the one that strikes me is the one below from the fifth episode, “Ballad of Fallen Angels.” It sees Spike Spiegel and major antagonist Vicious fighting in a church, their figures illuminated by a big, beautiful stained glass window behind them. What’s actually an evocative scene due to the religious iconography and shot composition is rendered rather emotionless, again because of the flat colors.
The delightful sequel we never thought we’d see 20 years later, we finally have more content to explore and 171 more Pokémon to take cute little pictures of as they dance around and eat apples.
I’m not the only one who thinks the live-action adaptation needs color. Copious replies to the side-by-side comparisons are from series fans wondering just what the hell happened to all the colors, not just the blue. Some have even taken it upon themselves to “color correct” parts of these clips.
It remains to be seen whether the live-action series will strike the original anime’s familiar vibe, but the colors I’m seeing don’t instill too much confidence insofar as how the thing looks. And that’s important for Cowboy Bebop—it was a looker, with a rich color palette and impressive visuals for the late ‘90s. We’ll see when the 10-episode series hits Netflix on November 19.
If you want to do some good in the world and get a whole bunch of games in return, then the itch.io Bundle for Ukraine is a decent way to go about doing it. The bundle features almost a thousand games, and you can pick them all up for just $10. Including in those games …
If you’re anything like us, you probably spent this past weekend playing Pokémon Legends: Arceus, catching all manner of creatures, some big, some small, and others that are so menacing you have little choice but to run. You may also spot familiar Pokémon sporting a different look in the Hisui region, one of which is …
Screenshot: Turtle Rock At first glance, Back 4 Blood might seem like a paint-by-numbers co-op shooter whose lineage traces back to Left 4 Dead. You might think you know the drill: point, shoot, pick up weapon, point, shoot again. Make it to the end of the level. Try not to die. But there’s a deceptive …
Lego games have exploded in the last decade or so. The mid-noughties Star Wars games kicked it all off, and since then we’ve seen an endless stream of intellectual properties moulded into the blocky shapes that Lego is known for. One of the many successes Lego has had is Ninjago. Introduced in 2011, there’s been …
If you like monsters, going on adventures, and having the option to show your dominance in a competitive arena, Summoners War is the game for you. Com2uS released Summoners War: Sky Arena in 2014, the game is one of a few titles that are responsible for pioneering mobile esports into what it is today. As …
This week, Brian is away on vacation, so he digs into the inbox for this episode of All Things Nintendo. Joining him is Game Informer creative director Jeff Akervik. The two answer questions surrounding topics of Zelda, Mario, Smash Bros., Pokémon, and plenty more! They wrap up the show with a controller-focused Definitive Ranking, followed by an …
Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop Live-Action Series Needs Some Damn Color
Since dropping the first official trailer in late September, Netflix has tweeted a few side-by-side comparisons of Cowboy Bebop, showing how the upcoming live-action adaptation compares to the original anime series. One takeaway of mine? It looks promising. The other takeaway? It really needs some color.
Read More: Netflix’s Live-Action Cowboy Bebop Intro Is Good
Take, for instance, this scene below. From the anime’s ninth episode, “Jamming With Edward,” the titular ship, the Bebop, lands on a body of water on Earth. What the anime depicts is a vibrant mass of blue as the industrial brown of the ship breaks the water’s gorgeous surface, creating a cascade of striking waves. The live-action adaptation has a similar scene, but everything is brown: the ship, the water, the buildings in the background, even the sky! The whole thing looks flat, lacking the anime’s eye-catching color palette.
This isn’t the only drab-looking scene either. The Cowboy Bebop Twitter account shared a couple more comparison clips that further highlight just how colorless the live-action adaptation appears to be. But the one that strikes me is the one below from the fifth episode, “Ballad of Fallen Angels.” It sees Spike Spiegel and major antagonist Vicious fighting in a church, their figures illuminated by a big, beautiful stained glass window behind them. What’s actually an evocative scene due to the religious iconography and shot composition is rendered rather emotionless, again because of the flat colors.
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The delightful sequel we never thought we’d see
20 years later, we finally have more content to explore and 171 more Pokémon to take cute little pictures of as they dance around and eat apples.
I’m not the only one who thinks the live-action adaptation needs color. Copious replies to the side-by-side comparisons are from series fans wondering just what the hell happened to all the colors, not just the blue. Some have even taken it upon themselves to “color correct” parts of these clips.
Read More: Cowboy Bebop’s Original Japanese Voice Cast Returns To Dub Netflix Series
It remains to be seen whether the live-action series will strike the original anime’s familiar vibe, but the colors I’m seeing don’t instill too much confidence insofar as how the thing looks. And that’s important for Cowboy Bebop—it was a looker, with a rich color palette and impressive visuals for the late ‘90s. We’ll see when the 10-episode series hits Netflix on November 19.
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