Cowboy bebop the real folk blues parts 1&2

[Guest Renegade]

Since this will be a spoiler thread right off the bat I don’t see the need for spoiler tags.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I finally saw the final two episodes of cowboy bebop…and I don’t know how to feel. The episodes felt really out of place, I mean if you want to change the mood of the episodes at least give it a couple of episodes of build up.

 

The death of Julia: It’s quite hard to give a crap about a character that you’ve only seen mere moments of in previous episodes, her death did not move me in any way.

 

Spike’s actions: Spike seemed to contradict himself during the episode, at one point he says to Jet how he hated the story where the cat mourned the death of the white Cat, then he goes after Vicious. If Spike’s past really has gone for good, then why is he after Vicious? Revenge? To fully rid himself of his past? It just doesn’t seem to fit…

 

The death of Spike: The soul seems to have a recurring theme of birds taking flight (some examples: Chessmaster, Julia and how Vicious’s bird explodes rather than takes flight) but I still fail to see the significance of Spikes death.

 

The aftermath of the crew: Cowboy bebop practically revolved around the interaction of the crew, I WANT to know what happens to the crew, after 26 episodes I want to know what happens to Jet, Faye and Ed.

 

To summarize the real folk blues left a sour taste in my mouth, the pacing was bad and there was virtually no build up. Although in the defense of the ending, Spikes final “…bang” before dropping to the floor and the music accompanying the credits was quite impressive.

[Guest CED Ordonez]

It's been awhile since I've gone through the Cowboy Bebop series, but I happen to catch the second part of The Real Folk Blues last night.

 

First off, I agree with you with your analysis on Julia and I wonder why was she so important to Spike. The only thing I could garner was that she was probably great in the sack or something along those lines.

 

As for the death of Spike, watch the series from beginning to end and eventually you piece together that Spike was left for dead once by the Red Dragons and basically resurrected through the miracles of science and technology. What does he eventually do with his second lease on life? Right the wrongs and basically destroys the Red Dragon syndicate...then dies.

 

For the final episodes themselves, Spike's shootout in the Red Dragons' building leading to the final fight with Vicious is still one of my favorite moments in anime, though it still disappoints me that the final battle is way too short and completely anticlimatic.

 

I think the reason it seems so out of place is that the instances in which the focus is placed on Spike and his interaction with Vicious and the Red Dragon syndicate are few, far and in between. If I remember correctly, only five episodes have any focus on the Red Dragon story arc: Ballad of the Fallen Angels (Session 5), the Jupiter Jazz two-parter (Sessions 12 & 13), and The Real Folk Blues two-part finale (Sessions 25 & 26).

 

And as for my thoughts on Spike's final story of the cat that died a million deaths, I don't think he's being contradictory at all. Jet hates the story he tells about the man who died looking at Mount Kilimanjaro because of the message. Spike hates his own story because "he hates cats." I believe the "I hate that story" part was thrown in merely as a nod to Jet's diatribe and that Spike is indeed revealing his true feelings about his situation through the story.

 

Overall, when I come to think about it, Cowboy Bebop is one of those cases where if you look at each episode individually, they generally have golden qualities, but they seemingly lose their luster when you try to piece them all together.

[Guest Crucifixio Jones]

Spike storming the Red Dragons headquarters and the accompanying music has to be the most kickass sequence in anime. That's a man who knows he's gonna die giving a last ditch effort to do something he's waited a LONG time to do. It's awesome to watch. Even someone who hadn't seen the previous 25 sessions would likely find Session #26 intriguing, impressive and compelling and I'm sure it would make them want to catch what they missed.

[Guest Human Fly]

I've been picking up the DVDs over the last year when I get the cash and I just finished the series the other day. My thoughts on the ending are this: It seems like the only possible ending, while at the same time being the ending that you didn't want to see. You don't want to see it because you like Spike and want to see him put his demons to rest, but not die while doing it. I thought the little bits at the end of the credits were sad too with the star fading and the last shot of the fallen Spike, and "You're Gonna Carry That Weight".

 

Off topic somewhat, but check out the movie if you get a chance. The animation is great, and it is entertaining. It also gives a little insight into Spike's thought process of the last episode.