Many times, adaptations fail drastically. They might be made in good faith but the loyalty to the source material derails regardless. Netflix, surprisingly, stands in both the good and bad ends of such cases. Faithful adaptations receive not only love from the fans, but also the creators. No matter how good an anime, manga, or book may be, as long as the people behind the adaptation cannot understand it, it would not matter.
While on one hand there exists One Piece, an adaptation loved by fans of the manga and the anime; there also exists Avatar: The Last Airbender. The series is flawed through and through and it almost felt as if a show that meant so much to the fans, lay discarded by showrunners, who couldn’t understand its essence. However, it isn’t the only one, as the obvious failure, Cowboy Bebop, also deserves its place in the same list.
Netflix’s Big Blunder of Bad Adaptations
Every live-action adaptation comes with the understanding that there can be more than one type of audience trying to view it. It is not just for those who have familiarized themselves with the source material, but also for those who wish to experience something new. However, there also exists the kind of audience that puts a series on just for the sake of it, and another that knows absolutely nothing about it.
As a result, there can be a whole mishap of who to please and who not to. Some shows prioritize and find a way to deal with problems as they appear. It helps them understand most audiences, but also results in the creators accepting that they cannot make everyone happy. At the same time, there comes the understanding that staying faithful to the source material is not everything, it is also depends on the execution.
When it comes to Cowboy Bebop, the show holds a special place in the hearts of anime fans. The series is a perfectly balanced joyride for all those who wish to indulge in a mixture of genres, but also want to experience a series made of pure passion.
Cowboy Bebop’s Lost Potential
The live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop is lackluster, to say the least. All that fans had been hoping to see seemed to be sucked out or pushed in hastily. What made the original anime so special wasn’t just the visual appeal, but the way the story was constructed. The characters did not feel new. They felt familiar not just to others but even to the audience. Despite never having experienced it before, there was a familiar feeling about what was being presented to them. There was thrill and there was darkness.
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Creative liberty can set an artist free. It can allow them to explore bounds that they otherwise wouldn’t, and once that imagination is set free, oftentimes, masterpieces get made. The characters are well-defined and the story is balanced. The pacing never seems to falter and neither does the vision. Many would even agree that the soundtrack has a nostalgic edge to it if they were to come across it now.
There was a lot that fans loved about Cowboy Bebop, so for it to be turned into a faithful adaptation was important. It almost felt like a distorted shadow of what made the original series so good. In an attempt to try everything, nothing came into being. It may not be the worst out there, but it certainly had many conflicted views. So much so that in its wake, Avatar: The Last Airbender almost felt like a perfect adaptation.
Cowboy Bebop and Avatar: The Last Airbender are available to watch on Netflix.
