Cowboy Bebop Highly recommended

Publisher
BEEZ
Director
Shinichiro Watanabe
Production
Bandai, Sunrise
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
26 episodes
Year
1998

Cowboy Bebop UMD V. 1 (PSP)

By David Rasmussen
6th Aug 06

There are series out there which are your “essentials”. Series that should top your list of Animes and Mangas that you simply must experience. Cowboy Bebop is one of those series… but does that also go over to your list of must have PSP UMDs?

It is not the newest UMD release mind you, and good luck on that one by the way because there hasn’t been an Anime out on the PSP UMD format for awhile now (the only one that has the most releases on the PSP is Geneon’s Samurai Champloo, which presently has four UMD volumes totaling eight episodes in all).

But since Cowboy Bebop IS one of those essentials you need to get ahold of, be it DVD or PSP UMD, we’re talking it up here… just don’t, you know, hang your star on the hopes of having a complete PSP UMD collection since so far nobody is working on Cowboy Bebop PSP UMD V. 2 from what I can see of it… kinda sad, but true. Still this is about as good a time as any to snatch this up if you can find it (my copy has finally arrived), and (such as it is) this is also about as good a time as any to talk about why you should (or maybe shouldn’t) get ahold of it… just, you know, don’t hope for more right away as you only have the Cowboy Bebop the Movie UMD to pick up along with this one at present time (there hasn’t been any movement towards a Cowboy Bebop UMD V. 2 that I’ve seen of overall).

You know the drill, but if you don‘t here‘s what you need to know about Cowboy Bebop… oh, wait, I already reviewed this (remember my Cowboy Bebop Remix DVD V. 1 review?)! But one more time…

Don’t stop me if you heard this one before, because you HAVE heard this one before.
It’s 2071 and the solar system is a wild place to live in. Earth is for the most part uninhabitable, after an incident with a “stargate” type system smashed a huge chunk out of the moon which had set up a deadly debris field about the Earth. As for the rest of the planets in the Earth system? The rest of the planets now have colonies and people living there full time, and business is good (for either good or ill). And it is in this climate a few good bounty hunters are needed… and wouldn’t you know it! This series provides that!
And things haven’t changed in the future.

There are still cool guys & hot ladies in the future. Terrorists and criminals are still around, and people still want them locked away. Money is still the root of all survival (only not the way it is in “Bet On Soldier : Bloodsport”… and yes, that’s the actual name of an actual shooter), and Koei is still making Dynasty Warriors and Romance of the Three Kingdom games… which they will do until we and our descendants die for all eternity.

We have Spike (the lead of the series), Jet (the “investigative genius” according to the box), Faye (played by everyone’s favorite female English voice talent, Wendee Lee), Ein (the “data dog” Welsh Corgi who will NOT be considered a food substitute… unless in case of emergency) and Radical Ed, who does not appear in this DVD. Her first appearance is in Cowboy Bebop Remix DVD V. 2.

You know the drill, you know the episodes… and reading my Remix DVD V. 1 review will tell you about the episodes. So, then, that being said let’s see how it fares on the PSP.

Spin the UMD… and…
Uh… good? Well it’s not DVD Player but it’s not horrific all the same. You should probably either have an earphone piece or one of those PSP sound system attachments for it of course if you’re watching UMDs a lot (since the PSP’s audio is not exactly booming on it’s own merits if you know what I mean), but it’s not a horrible experience watching a UMD on the PSP.

Now as for the episodes? Get ready to be surprised but… BANDAI does a great job of it by giving you the content of a DVD for the most part (with the exception of the extras and a few points here and there) while others have been kind of… well… giving you less.

While Geneon has been giving you about half the content of a DVD on their UMDs for instance, packing 2 episodes (hybrid in either English or Japanese audio), BANDAI gives you a full compliment of DVD content in episodes (5 episodes in this case) AND both English/Japanese audio AND subtitles!!
You can’t go wrong with a deal like this! All the episodes of a first volume DVD release, and BOTH Japanese and English audio to boot? That is not bad, especially since the others who are releasing UMDs are expecting you to work with less (and that’s abit off in my books).

Even if it means improved visual and maybe improved audio quality can you really tell the difference? I have watched both Cowboy Bebop UMD V. 1 & Read or Die UMD V. 1 (which came in at that two episode limit (50% of the DVD) and I couldn’t really tell much of a difference between the two except for possible little quirks in presentation of visual and audio (which may just be me).

But even then, only slight quirkitudes can’t counter the fact that Cowboy Bebop has it’s full compliment of episodes over half the batch of episodes from Read or Die DVD V. 1 which are on Read or Die UMD V. 1.
That means you’re getting a better deal from Cowboy Bebop UMD V. 1 even if you are paying an additional bit of money ($18 versus $13.50 for Read or Die UMD V. 1 if you’re buying from Right Stuf International, for instance).

And since BANDAI is offering a few of these good deals (Cowboy Bebop UMD V. 1, Ghost in the Shell : Stand Alone Complex UMD V. 1, Gundam SEED : Empty Battlefield and Escaflowne) you can (and should) make room in your UMD collection for some BANDAI pick-ups. I’m working on picking up GITS : SAC UMD V. 1 myself for review, and I’ll let you know when that comes in.
Ok, breakdown time.

Cowboy Bebop Breakdown the UMD Version 1st
What’s Hot?
Basically the same as the Remix DVD V. 1 review… really. That, by the way, is the big selling point of UMD V. 1, in that it contains 100% episode content (5 episodes) in comparison to what, say, Geneon is putting out with Read or Die UMD V. 1 for instance (2 episodes out of a 4 episode DVD).
This means you won’t have to buy double the UMDs to get the same content as one DVD, which is a cost effective thing in my book. So bravo to you BANDAI! Bravo!

What’s Not?
So, what do we have to be down about on this UMD? If it’s not the content of the Anime then maybe what we’re going to be down with is the way it translates into the PSP UMD. So, then, how did it pan out? It pans out fine, so you’ll find nothing wrong with that here. You might need a good headset or those speaker attachments for the PSP, of course, but it’s only par for the course as a PSP owner that you’ll need that anyway if you’re going to dedicate any amount of time just to the watching of stuff on your PSP (either via UMD purchases or downloads via the internet). (NOTE - I’ll see if I can throw down a review of PSP attachments for that purpose sometime this fall).

Moments to Remember?
Basically the same as the Remix DVD V. 1 review, with the added bonus of getting a full plate of DVD episodes on a UMD (which I haven’t seen done by anyone else yet).

What to Ignore?
Once again we’re not talking content as we’re talking the way the content is presented on the PSP UMD format. That’s the only sticking point to consider… sad, but true. But if you like the series so damn much you’ll be glad to hear that with only a few attachments (those speakers) you’ll be happy with your decision to purchase Cowboy Bebop UMD V. 1 for your collection. The series in and of itself has no faults on it’s own merits, so if you can live with it being on PSP UMD (and the need for a new accessory that you might not have considered buying before), you won’t mind the format no matter what I say about it.

Oh, and now there’s word of a new powerpack for the PSP that offers 20% more energy than before which, well, is not that much of a breakthrough (since it add only about 18 or so minutes to your battery life) but at least it’s more time detached from a wall electrical socket to roam with.
In short stick to those guns and buy this is you want it so.

Overall?
You know how I feel about this one, so that is not the question here. The real question here is how it fares on the PSP UMD format? Five episodes on one UMD? How does that turn out? Good.
Now if Geneon put out Read or Die (for starters) with that kind of 100% turnabout then I’d really be up on the whole PSP UMD thing… but so far only BANDAI is giving the full plate of viewing to dine on which is a bright shining star in my PSP UMD reviewing of late.

Now please BANDAI, DO MORE UMDS!! Let’s see Planetes on UMD, (dot)hack//SIGN, more S-Cry-ed (I know BANDAI has one UMD out to date), more Cowboy Bebop (of course), more GITS : SAC, etc.
There is so many BANDAI series, so little UMDs representing them to date. We need more.
Long story short (sorry, too late I know) if you are a fan of Cowboy Bebop then you must go out and get this one, because true fans will be wanting it for the road… if possible considering operating a PSP is akin to having bladder control problems (with you needing a guidebook for every electrical power socket you can plug your PSP into while your traveling to recharge it every 1 ½ to 2 hours).
Just get it, it’s one of those worth having if there was any Animes worth having on the PSP.

UPDATE
Right now I have two more titles on my plate for your consumption in the coming days and weeks, with a third to be ordered up soon. Starting up on the plate is the next review, with next coming up being Read or Die UMD V. 1, which (if it isn’t in this batch of reviews) should be soon.
After that it’s an order I have out waiting to be filled for Hellsing UMD V. 1 (containing episodes 1 to 3), which I’m actually still waiting on as the order has to be filled by TRSI.
After that -- well, I’m still thinking about that. Stay tuned for updates.

-- David Rasmussen 6th Aug 06

Cowboy Bebop Images