Cowboy
Bebop (Tengoku no tobira), directed by Shinichirô Watanabe,
is a Japanese animation. The film has a schmaltzy filmscore,
intended to be jazz; hence, the name "bebop." The
central characters are bounty hunters, referred to as "cowboys" at
an early point in the film, and the location is Alba City
on Mars in the twenty-second century (which has a copy
of Tokyo Tower). The bounty hunters track criminals, dead
or alive, to get the reward. At the beginning of the film
we see them in operation at a convenience store, which
yields only enough bounty for a diet of dry noodle soup
in a styrofoam cup, just the kind of item found in a convenience
store. Later, a big explosion occurs, and many are found
dead. The cause at first is unknown but appears to be biological
terrorism. The explosion is some sort of warning about
the release of microscopic robots on Hallowe'en night;
the villain is Vincent Volaju (voiced by Daran Norris).
Although medical authorities do their best to cope with
the crisis, their role is soon preempted by a civil defense "homeland
security" agency. Next, the army takes over, again
ineptly. Clearly, the cowboys have been set up in the film
to come to the rescue at the end, led by handsome Spike
Spiegel (voiced by Steven Jay Blum). The plot is simple,
and those who enjoy colorful animations will have nearly
two hours minutes of visual joy. MH
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