Review: Cowboy Bebop Best Sessions (2003)

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Corgis are much maligned. Nobody thinks of them as being particularly groovy. Eddie from Frasier is cute, Lassie was smart and you don’t want to mess with Inspector Rex. But mention corgis and one thinks of the fat rolling bundles nipping at the Queen’s feet or soft targets for bored pitbulls.

Not so Ein, the super smart Welsh corgi from Cowboy Bebop! The life of the party, loyal friend of Ed and a saviour in many critical moments for the Bebop crew.

I would keep writing about Ein, if it wasn’t for the other 3 humans who keep tagging around her.

This Best Sessions DVD is a collection of 6 of the best episodes from the series remixed and re-edited under the supervision of the director, Shinichiro Watanabe. There are 2 discs in Best Sessions, Disc 1 being 3 of the director’s choices and the second disc consisting of 3 of the audiences’ favourite. The very funny ‘Mushroom Samba’ [Session 17], in which the Bebop crew gets high on some very potent magic mushrooms, features as one of the choices. [Ein puts in a great performance in this one] Best Sessions also comes with a very cool Lichtenstein inspired reversible cover.

If you are already a fan, you probably already have it!

Those who haven’t had a taste of Spike and the gang could possibly get into this special edition set, although I suspect after seeing this, you’d want the whole set! So why fight it, get them all!

The adventures of this rag-tag team of bounty hunters who travel on a tattered old ship, makes for some comical, dramatic and always unconventional adventures. Always broke, hungry and of course, always chasing after the biggest bounty — it has all the right ingredients for some crazy times in space.

The opening of Bebop is still hands down the best in anime history. With its positively delicious retro inspired graphics and funky music, by the time, “OK, 3-2-1, let’s jam.” rolls by, you’d be bouncing around the room dancing. OK, maybe I’m a little hyperactive but I’d be surprise if you didn’t tap your feet or sway your head to the beats..

Speaking of music, the brilliant Yoko Kanno has made the soundtrack, comprising of jazzy and blue numbers, the unseen major player in Cowboy Bebop. The sessions on this DVD has been remixed into Dolby Digital 5.1 [for those audiophiles out there!], so it ensures that you will enjoy your repeated viewings of Cowboy Bebop with great pleasure.

For those who may have missed Deni’s rant from a few months ago, Shinichiro Watanabe has a new series cooking, innovatively titled Samurai Champloo. Yes the title is predictably quirky but heck I don’t think he can do wrong. He was right about corgis, wasn’t he? Woof.

10 rubbery Eds out of 10.
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