Samurai Champloo, Michiko to Hatchin and Gurren Lagann are always lumped together. Mainly because they have some of the same production crew working across the shows.
This causes similar signature aesthetics and of course, Samurai Champloo has Nujabes. I’ve constantly heard about Cowboy Bebop in the same conversations, but always as an afterthought. Out of curiosity, I looked up who directed and wrote it, which happens to be Watanabe Shinichiro. He has also worked on a ton of other anime in varying degrees of positions.
Of his works, I’ve seen Death Parade, Michiko to Hatchin, Samurai Champloo, and the ethereal torment that is Zankyou no Terror.
(Torment as in I adore every piece of it to bits and each time I re-watch I have this indescribable sense of longing. I also make a mental note to learn how to play chess. It’s been almost four years and I still haven’t learned how to play chess. Thinking back, I also thought about learning after that (kinda?) epic scene in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone where Ron is on the chess board and (kinda) almost dies then Dumbledore gives the House Cup to Gryffindor when Slytherin would have actually won.
I mean, maybe my opinion is colored because I’d be a Slytherin through and through…but me thinks the headmaster was a wee bit biased. Almost as biased as my spellcheck recognizing every single HP word except Slytherin in this paragraph…haha, spellcheck. Anywho, back to anime…)
If you’ve ever heard about Cowboy Bebop but never checked it out, now here is your chance.
Anime NYC and Subway Cinema are holding a special event at Quad Cinema on April 22nd from 12 pm – 12 am. Cowboy Bebop: The 20th Anniversary Binge Sessions! Will show all twenty-six episodes of the series in Japanese with English subs. I’d love to go, but instead I plan on attending every single Japanese cultural event I was not able to appreciate last year due to work and other general circumstances.
This includes Japan Day at Central Park, JapanFes events (ramen contests, Okinawa Music Festival) and the upcoming Sakura Matsuri at Brooklyn Botanic Garden in April. I will also be sharing photos and stories of the events with all of you, so essentially we will all be going! =)
More info about the anniversary festival here: http://animenyc.com/cowboybebopbingesessions/
There seems to be a cosplay contest as well where you can win cool prizes. There is a fee to get in, but you seem to get a lot for your money’s worth. If you go to the event, be sure to come back and tell me about it!
Have you seen any of the anime I mentioned? Leave your thoughts in the comments, I’d love to hear from you!
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In Asian Spaces 