"First Impressions of an Anime Noob." As the name implies, I have never seen Cowboy Bebop before. Here's the extent of my knowledge: the show aired in the late 90s, it involves space travel, and was made by a Japanese studio. It's often regarded as one of the best animes (or is the plural anime? This is even further proof of my ignorance...) so what better way for me to get into the genre? My only other exposure to anime is a smattering of kids shows like Pokemon and Yu-gi-oh, or maybe whatever's on Adult Swim that I'm not really paying attention to in the background.
In case you haven't guessed, I'm a Westerner. American specifically. Sad to say, my overall consumption of Eastern media is quite lacking, and not for any dislike of the style or culture. But it seems like what little I do experience is Westernized in some way. When I gave the original Oldboy a watch, I liked it well enough. Turns out the way I watched it, with the hammily-voiced English dub, was the most abominable way I could have experienced the film. Watching it with the Korean audio is another task of mine on the backburner.
Deadly Premonition, one of my most favorite video games, was made by Japanese studio Access Games under the direction of the auteuristic SWERY65. A "Westophile" of sorts, he modeled the game after American shows like Twin Peaks, put the setting of the game in America, and used American voice actors. Swery's wonder and amazement of the most mundane details of Western culture are what make the game so charming.
And I now find myself in a similar state of wonder and curiosity after recently playing Katawa Shoujo, a Japanese-style visual novel lovingly crafted by Four Leaf Studios, a Western company. Set in a high school for disabled children, all implications point to this game being some smutty dating sim. Expectations are subverted when it turns out the disability issue is handled with respect, relationships grow naturally, and the sex scenes are as realistically awkward and non-sexy as you'd expect teenage virgins to be. It's crowning feature, to me, is the surprisingly intense connection to the characters - something I'm not entirely sure would have had the same effect had its art not been anime.
That brings me to today, and my newfound curiosity in Cowboy Bebop. One thing I know about anime is the intense devotion of its fans, from weeaboos to cosplayers. Can I experience anywhere near that level of excitement in something so foreign to me? Katawa Shoujo has given me hope, and we'll see how I react as I watch and review Cowboy Bebop.
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