If you didn’t know, Cowboy Bebop is ready to tackle unexplored territory this year. It has been decades since the franchise put out new content, but Netflix hopes to change that soon. After all, the streaming giant has been working on a live-action adaptation of Shinichiro Watanabe’s classic anime. And thanks to a new promo, fans over in Japan are cautiously optimistic about the project.
The whole thing kicked off online when Cowboy Bebop debuted an official teaser. The clip, which can be found here, is more like a mini-episode than a trailer. The short shows Spike on a mission with Faye and Jet Black at his side. John Cho leads the trio as the intergalactic bounty hunter, and over in Japan, this promo was dubbed by the anime’s original voice cast.
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As you can imagine, this release piqued curiosity as fans new and old were eager to see Netflix’s work. Koichi Yamadera returns as Spike while Megumi Hayashibara took care of Faye. Taiten Kusunoki is heard playing Jet Black following the death of the character’s original actor Unsho Ishikuza. And to round out the returning cast, Norio Wakamoto can be heard voicing Vicious during his short cameo in this teaser.
Thanks to SoraNews24, a slew of reactions have been sourced from Japanese fans as far as Cowboy Bebop is concerned. Despite mixed opinions to date, this mini-episode did earn more praise from fans abroad with one netizen writing, “It looks awesome! A different vibe than the anime, but it’s still Bebop!”
Of course, the original voice cast earned all the praise for their return to Cowboy Bebop. Others were less impressed as Netflix does have a mixed history with live-action adaptations. The Witcher has done extremely well for the service while Death Note’s film adaptation polarized the fandom. But when it comes to Cowboy Bebop, it seems fans stateside and abroad have hope that something good is on the way.
How do you feel about Cowboy Bebop‘s big comeback? Do you plan to check out this Netflix adaptation? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.
