Although the world of video games is celebrating after the latest great adaptations such as The Last of Us or Arcane, the anime industry has not yet hit the key to make a good live action. Although One Piece aims high, Netflix failed to hit the nail on the head with the flesh and blood adaptations of Death Note and cowboy bebop.
The latter, despite the good intentions of the studio, was light years away from the original work and was canceled after a disastrous season. Many have been critical of the series, but the one that has resonated the most in recent days has been that of its own creator, shinichiro watanabe who commented during an interview with Forbes his thoughts on this live-action.
“For the new Netflix adaptation, they sent me a copy to review and see if it seemed like a good adaptation. The series began with a scene in a casino, so It was very difficult for me to continue watching it. I stopped watching the chapter in that first scene. Clearly was not cowboy bebop, and in that moment I realized that if I’m not involved, I never would be. I felt like maybe I should have, but it’s true that in some ways the original anime now has a much higher value.”
It is true that Watanabe’s reaction hurts and is very harsh, but if there is someone who can criticize the series openly, it is its creator. The live action from Cowboy Bebop arrived on Netflix on November 19, 2021 and starred John Cho as gunslinger Spike Spiegel. Although the series was supposed to last several seasons, canceled after a month of its premiere due to negative reviews and low viewership.
The big problem with adaptations is trying to emulate the anime as much as possible, which is extremely difficult knowing how complicated it is to replicate certain types of designs or animations. However, there is still that aura of hope to see good adaptations to real life, with one piece as a big headliner for this year on Netflix.