Netflix’sCowboy Bebopwas unfortunately canceled despite only just premiering on the streaming platform. The show was highly teased, covered, and talked about ahead of its release, but now it unfortunately met its end.
Cowboy Bebopis a live-action adaptation of the popular anime series that served as the “lost episodes” of the popular show. The adaptation took its own creative freedom with some of the choices while making sure to keep some elements accurate to the classic animated version.Cowboy Bebopset up many storiesfor a potential season 2, but it looks like Netflix decided not to renew it.
RELATED:Netflix Cancels Live-Action Cowboy Bebop Series After One Season
Three weeks after the premiere, Netflix decided to not renewCowboy Bebopand it was mainly due to the drop off of viewership after the first week. There’s always potential for a big comeback, but the drop off may have been too steep for Netflix to have faith in the show. There’s also the argument of the negative reviews the show received, which may be in part due to thechanges made between theCowboy Bebopanimeand the live-action series. Immediately after the show was canceled, cast members John Cho (Spike Spiegel), Mustafa Shakir (Jet Black), Daniella Pineda (Faye Valentine), Elena Satine (Julia), and Mason Alexander Part (Gren) shared their thoughts on social media.
The critics were mixed, but of fans of the classic anime weren’t too big on the live-actionCowboy Bebopshow either. One bright thing about the show is that it managed to get into Netflix’s top 10 television shows list during its debut. The finale of the show marked theintroduction of Radical Ed (played by Eden Perkins), so it’s a shame fans won’t be able to see this character come to life.
Anime adaptations, like video game adaptations, have a very bad track record. On paper it’s cool to imagine the world of fan favorite shows in the live-action space, but in practice it rarely comes out the way they envisioned. The acting is rarely as good, the actors don’t often look like the characters, the arcs get shortened or axed, and the costumes look clumsly, clunky, and ridiculous. Sadly,Cowboy Bebopseems to be just the latestexample.
Hopefully there’s an understanding of this concept and someone is able to figure out the formula. It may also help to understand that not every anime deserves an adaptation and some would be better suited with a 3D CGI movie rather than a live-action film.
