Shinichiro Watanabe, the renowned legendary director known for his amazing works such as Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Space Dandy and his most recent work, Carole & Tuesday, had some harsh words to say about Netflix’s failed Live Action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop.
Forbes conducted an interview with Shinichiro Watanabe, with the topic being about his work life and his fabled story of his work on Cowboy Bebop. He also expressed his thoughts on the Netflix version of Cowboy Bebop as well as his experience working with Animatrix.
The first subject is Watanabe’s life and work, beginning with his childhood. This was the description of his childhood.
“I was like a wild boy playing in the mountains and fields. That meant there were no buses or shops around my house. I used to watch TV, but it wasn’t all the time; I was more into playing outside in the wilderness.”
Watanabe also described his origins of his interest for Anime, as well as his rise to the rankings of the Anime world.
When asked about the Netflix version of Cowboy Bebop, this is what he said.
“For the new Netflix live-action adaptation, they sent me a video to review and check. It started with a scene in a casino, which made it very tough for me to continue. I stopped there and so only saw that opening scene. It was clearly not Cowboy Bebop and I realized at that point that if I wasn’t involved, it would not be Cowboy Bebop. I felt that maybe I should have done this. Although the value of the original anime is somehow far higher now.”
Watanabe also described his difficulties working on The Animatrix. He expressed his incompatibility on the project was being handled, as well as his frustration on the movie production’s lack of direction.
“The original producer on The Animatrix was a really good guy, He understood my work and didn’t give me stupid requests. However, he had to leave due to family issues, but his successor, called Spencer Lamm, was awful. So many requests. Change this, change that. It was very frustrating and if these requests were coming from the Wachowskis, I would at least respect that as they came up with The Matrix. So who was the new producer compared to that? He explained that he was the gatekeeper to the Wachowskis and unless he could be convinced, he wouldn’t bring my work to them.”
“How did he handle this producer he kept clashing with? “When I went to Los Angeles for the recording sessions, I told the team that if I saw that producer I would just punch him in the face, The producer ended up not coming to the recordings, which is unheard of.”
Shinichiro Watanabe is known for his strong passion for making turning his works into masterpieces. Indeed, Cowboy Bebop is one of the most successful Anime shows of all time. In fact, I’d argue that Cowboy Bebop is partially responsible for the popularization of Anime here in the states. In fact, this Anime is beloved by both the old generation and the new generation. That says a lot to be honest…
Nearly two years ago on November 19, 2021, Netflix made a Live Action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop. It ran for only 10 episodes and only had one season. It was cancelled later on. It received mixed to negative reception from both critics and fans alike, with criticism directed towards it’s writing, special effects, editing, and action sequences. The series was also accused of being disloyal to the Anime and not being true to the original source material. Something that Watanabe himself expressed.
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