Blog Talkback: "Best. Episode. Ever!" Toonzone Talks Cowboy BeBop

[GWOtaku]

This is the talkback thread for "Best. Episode. Ever!" Toonzone Talks Cowboy Bebop on the Toonzone blog.

Today Toonzone's "Best. Episode. Ever!" feature returns to discuss Cowboy Bebop, a show that has undoubtedly been one of the best-loved Japanese animated series in North America since it began airing on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block in 2001. What this "Best. Episode. Ever!" feature does is simple; we get some of the TZ staff together and we take a little time to reminisce about the episodes we love. No ranks, no winners and losers, just animation fans casually celebrating animation. This means we do get into spoilers, so if you're actually new to Bebop see what you've been missing and then come back!

For a show of such high and consistent quality like Bebop there are plenty of great options for a favorite episode. Our featured episodes are in sequential order, going from the earliest episode all the way to the end. We've made our hard picks and had our say; now it's your turn to sound off. What's your best episode ever? Tell us what you think!

As always, all comments are welcome. Respond to the post, or sound off on your own personal "best episode ever". Or both, by all means!

[Classic Speedy]

I never got around to writing for this article, but I would've either picked "Pierrot le Fou" or "Toys in the Attic". Both were pretty memorable outings for different reasons.

[HG Revolution]

All great choices. I'd probably pick "Brain Scratch", or maybe "Mushroom Samba", for my pick.

[Rud]

My favorite was undoubtedly "Ballad of Fallen Angels", and i wont lie, its pretty much entirely because of the memorable music (and yes, i can in fact recite the song "Rain" word for word) and that line of dialogue where Vicious is talking about how they both have the blood of man eating beasts and Spike says that he bleed all taht blood away a long time ago and then Vicious asking why he was still alive then. It was all just so cool. The part where Green Bird played was the best part.

"Jupiter Jazz" and "The Real Folk Blues" are close seconds/thirds for similar reasons.

...yeah, i dont the best memmory even when it comes to anime/maga that i loved, so it pains me to say that those 3 episodes + the one with the kid who was immortal + taht episode Jacob mentioned are the only ones that i currently remember well enough to coment on.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

Oh wow, you didn't change my use of Eastern order. I half-expected you would.

Oh, and Cowboy Andy is epic. Y'all cannot deny.

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

I'd have to say "Hard Luck Woman". The image of Faye drawing a bed in the sandy ruins of her old house and lying on the ground to the BGM of "Call Me, Call Me" sticks to me more than any other moment in Bebop.

[Chaos Yoshi Mage]

Jupitar Jazz for the reasons in the article is my favorite. I think it might have been the first episode I ever I seen though, so that might have to do with it. Mushroom Samba is probably my second. I was surprised that no one chose it, of course, Bebop is filled with amazing episodes.

[Grave]

Ah, Cowboy Bebop, how great you once were. I remember watching the show vivid after checking out the last episode which was the first episode I saw. I don't want to bore anyone so to make a long story short, I've practically wore myself out on CB after watching it so many times.

In any case, we're talking best episode so I'm gonna say "Real Folk Blues" (no surprise). Darklord gave a great synopsis of the 2-parter, and that's the exact reason why I liked it (with the exception of it be the first episode I saw). It gave me a dosage of everything, and not to mention the song "Real Folk Blues" playing while Spike was taking care of business.

A close second would be Ballad of Fallen Angels and then Jupiter Jazz. I'm not really a fan of the episodes where the attention is focused on Jet or Faye (didn't really discover that until watching it last year)

[Neo Yi]

I never got around to writing for this article, but I would've either picked "Pierrot le Fou" or "Toys in the Attic". Both were pretty memorable outings for different reasons.

"Pierrot le Fou" would have been my pick if I had contributed to this blog because damn, everything about that episode is haunting, chilling, and just downright insane. The idea that this man was able to kick Spike's butt despite the latter's incredible martial arts in mere seconds is a bold testimony to how much of an impression he left on me (oh, and the crazy). I haven't rewatched the series in a while, but didn't this episode lack any music (a key element of Cowboy Bebop) until the very ending when they broke out that disturbing carnival music?

[Ducard]

You're right, it was pretty haunting. Pierrot le Fou also has several Batman references, which makes the episode even better.

[Darklordavaitor]

Yeah, "Pierrot le Fou" is one of the few I considered doing, until I noticed that TRFB wasn't picked yet. It's one of the slickest Batman: TAS tributes I've seen, and it works on its own if you're unfamiliar with the show.

Despite Bebop's short run though, there are too many good ones we could have chosen. There's that and a couple of others, some even taken by you guys, that I could have easily wrote about in an instant.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

"Pierrot le Fou" would have been my pick if I had contributed to this blog because damn, everything about that episode is haunting, chilling, and just downright insane. The idea that this man was able to kick Spike's butt despite the latter's incredible martial arts in mere seconds is a bold testimony to how much of an impression he left on me (oh, and the crazy). I haven't rewatched the series in a while, but didn't this episode lack any music (a key element of Cowboy Bebop) until the very ending when they broke out that disturbing carnival music?

Oh man, I remember that one. I really found it surprising Spike tail was being kicked around so effortlessly. The over all look was also pretty interesting, too. Man, I should rewatch it soon. O.o

[ensatsu-ken]

Ah, Cowboy Bebop. In all honesty I think anyone could take just about any episode of the show and list it as a favorite and it would come off as a valid choice for their own reasons. What I love so much about this show is how diverse it is yet how quality it is in most of what it tries to do. It can do action-packed episodes, serious drama, and in the case of GWOtaku's choice, brilliant comedy.

Ultimately, though, I think I'd have to agree with Darklordavaitor, as The Real Folk Blue's are also my favorite episodes in the series. Avaitor already put it pretty excellently, so there isn't much else I can say, but basically the emotional impact of those episodes has really stayed with me ever since I've watched them, and to this day I feel that there couldn't have been a more perfect conclusion to this series.

Heh, After reading people discussing their favorite CB episodes, I'm really tempted to go back and watch the entire show again, myself.

[Bw_Kaleidescope]

I'd go with either Ballad of Fallen Angels or Hard Luck Woman for me.

-Ballad: I think this entire episode is so flawless. I know that CB's style is for every episode to become its own story; but this one really takes the cake. I really think that anyone could watch this episode, and have their minds blown. There's so much going on! I love everything from the beautiful Ave Maria to the action-packed stand-off in the church, to the sweet/funny concluding scene between Spike and Faye where she was humming (out of tune) for him.

-Hard Luck: What I think is so special about this episode, is everything that leads up to it. The majority of this series consists of random events happening in these characters' lives. There's seemingly no reason to get attached to anybody, because these people are all just living for themselves. But watching Ed interact with her father always bums me out a little. Up until that point she had just existed, and I'd never questioned why she was so eccentric, but seeing how consumed her father is in his work, and how little attention he pays her just made me feel bad for her. It made me realize how lonely her life must have been until she joined the Bebop crew. Faye's story in this episode also makes a big impact on me because when she finally finds out about her past, she also finds out that she's ultimately left with nothing because time didn't freeze with her. Also, watching Spike and Jet try to cope with the fact that the girls left is also a little gut-wrenching. Even though they didn't want them in the crew at the beginning, and they never expressed anything positive towards each other; their absence still hurt them, and I always found that to be powerful. This episode never really moved me to tears, its not about crying; its about realizing the intensity of isolation.

[Kitschensyngk]

Favorite episodes?

How about "Jamming with Edward", the debut of my favorite character? Ed never gets dull no matter how many times I watch the series, and Melissa Fahn's voice was perfect for her child-like personality.

I also loved "Heavy Metal Queen", "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Mushroom Samba", though the latter had some moments of confusing dialogue where it seemed like characters somehow knew what Ed was saying two seconds before they arrived and even responded to what Ed was saying to who she was standing next to.