Netflix has canceled its live-action anime adaptation of Cowboy Bebop less than a month after its first season premiered… and fans are actually relieved about it.
The series looked promising and was hyped to the point where anyone who knew about the anime had acknowledged its existence.
However, that’s not enough to erase the already high standards and skeptical mindset that anime fans often have when it comes to live-action adaptations.
The 10-episode series debuted on November 19 and got over 74 million hours of views worldwide. But its popularity significantly decreased over the weeks, with many people discontinuing it after watching just the first few episodes.
The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news of the cancellation and mentioned that Netflix made the decision to cancel Cowboy Bebop by balancing the show’s viewership and cost.
A lot of fans were split about their opinions on the show. It received a 46% positive score according to Rotten Tomatoes’ critics ratings, with the audience ratings standing at a 56%.
Based on the 1998 anime series and the 2001 anime film, Cowboy Bebop stars John Cho as Spike Spiegel, Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black, and Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine. Although the actors do a fairly good job, the series still fell flat.
To say the adaptation was disappointing would be an understatement, but that’s how it goes each time Hollywood tries adapting iconic animes.
There are more bad live-action adaptations than good ones, and speaking of bad adaptations, one can’t help but mention Dragon Ball Evolution (2009), Ghost in the Shell (2017), and Netflix’s Death Note (2017).
(I still have nightmares about Netflix’s Americanised version of Death Note.)
Not to bash the streaming service too hard as Netflix definitely has put out some absolute gems with original animes like Devilman Crybaby, Kakegurui, and Baki.
However, Netflix still needs to change the formula of making these live-action adaptations because it does not look like the company intends on stopping anytime soon.
With more live-action adaptations of One Piece, YuYu Hakusho, Pokemon, and a Gundam movie in the works, one can only hope for the best.
About Cowboy Bebop
Cowboy Bebop is an upcoming Netflix live-action adaptation of the Japanese anime series of the same name. The series is developed by André Nemec and written by Christopher Yost. It consists of 10 one-hour-long episodes.
It stars John Cho as Spike Spiegel, Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black, Daniella Pineda and Faye Valentine, Elena Satine as Julia, and Alex Hassell as Vicious.
It is scheduled to be released on November 19, 2021.
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