A TRAGIC but CLASSIC Finale! // Cowboy Bebop FINALE REACTION!

[@SeanTanktop]

It's a Christmas MIRACLE! We're gonna finish Cowboy Bing Bong before the end of 2024! Seriously tho, Happiest of Holidays and Merry Crimbus to all! We got the movie edit ready to go on the 30th! See you then, but ...Get EARLY Access to the REST OF Cowboy Bebop And THE MOVIE at Patreon.com/SeanTanktop for only $5!!

[@nicktechnubyte1184]

Looking forward to seeing your reaction to the movie

[@KingApeiron]

~ You're gonna carry that weight ~

[@ciberlocki]

Viscius giving the bomb to his bird...

[@KingApeiron]

Lolol you're gonna carry that bomb

[@allyourmoney]

I love Abbey Road. And Cowboy Bebop.

[@willmendoza8498]

I've started thinking of Spike's arc in the show as a slow s***cide. He's been half-consciously looking for a way to end it, and finally finds one here.

[@thewhatness]

I don't know that I've ever sobbed harder than watching this for the first time as "The Real Folk Blues" ushered in the credits. What a show.

[@Im_1n_The_House]

The end credits is “Blue” and that song has stuck in my head for years. I wanna be free. I gotta be free. No black and white in the blue. Life is just a dream you know, that’s never ending…I’m ascending. Like damn, that is a weight that I’ll always carry.

[@KingApeiron]

It's such a sad ending, but the thought of Jet and Faye going on adventures and maybe sometimes teaming up with an older Edward makes me SO so happy.

[@noahrobin1941]

One of my favorite bits of trivia about this series: Steve Blum (the voice actor for Spike) has a tattoo of the audio waveform of Spike’s last line on his forearm. :)

[@VonSnootingham]

Also, the voice director was Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, who also voiced Julia (And Zahra on Vox Machina). This is how the two actors met. They're married now.

[@gust8bit]

Morgan casually wearing the Infinity Stones in her neck

[@ohmybillnye]

The song that plays as the ending fades out(Blue - Yoko Kanno) always breaks me. "No black and white... in the blue" Such a beautiful ending. My favorite ending of any show honestly.

[@LukeJazStone]

This show was always structured as a three act play to me. The first is assembling the crew and flow, then the missions together, concluding with the facing of their pasts and how each handle them. The crew is a rough amalgamation of damaged souls. Fem fetal fish out of water, disgraced cop, abandoned hacker, experimental dog, and discarded third wheel of a crime syndicate menace. they became this entertaining crew but the past always crept up on them showcasing the messed-up parts of their lives. In the several sets of episodes we see them all handle their pasts. Jet's wife and partner issues, Faye's post awakening connections and pre time skip resolution of memory, Ed finding her dad and dealing with his wild antics matching her own, Ein getting to live as a pet rather than a device and concluding with Spike facing the syndicate that could not leave him alone because of his connection to past prime players. Faye clung to the present, Jet learned to let go and abandon those who are stuck in their own mess, Ed reconnected, Ein enjoyed his favorite crew mate as a proper owner, but Spike faced the past for three reasons. He needed to settle his issues with Vicious, see how far he could have gone with Julia, and Keep the crew out of it because running away abandoned Annie, and several others waiting for his return to take over and finally stop Vicious. He clearly cared but the best way to keep them for the fate of getting targeted was to end things himself. There was a clear foreshadowing back with his apprentice episode when he tried to teach a young man doing everything to restore a young girl's eyesight. Sometimes someone with a dirty past can only do what they know best and return to the dirt to help someone else have a bright future. Jet, Faye, Ed, and Ein were clearly on the syndicate's radar. They sent assassins, set them up before in the church, and were planning on taking them out with Spike so he had to face Vicious eventually. Annie and Julia were the last straw. He learned from Grin (the one effected from the experimental drugs to be trans) that Vicious will use friends to reach his goals and then kill them off and Spike was not just targeted because they had a shared relationship with Julia. He saw from the broken people the Syndicate used in missions that they exploit and run down anyone who works for them too. between Vicious and Spike, the Syndicate is now leaderless, and it is open season on who will take charge, but no one will be as adequate as the ones lost. Spike had great intentions that were overshadowed by his personal actions and refusal to admit his feelings to his crew. He gave Faye the closest insight in the eye reveal. He was going not to die but to see if he ever truly lived What he did, changed things and freed the crew from future problems with the syndicate. The sad part was not Spike dying but that none of his crew came to fight to get him out alive as they have throughout the series. Had they several would have died like his friends within the syndicate, but now they have to live without the heart of the group. Spike pulled Jet into that partnership and in the end is just as alone as when they met. Faye was a thief paying off a debt but now she has her memory and only wanted to hold on to the new family she made. She can work with one but he's back to his cold self again. the kid is with her father so that would only be a visit with her and the dog. Her closest bond died without her to have his back pushing him to survive. The show is over. Once the star is extinguished, the rest of the system is cold and fades lifelessly away. It's like a popular show killing off the centerpiece then limbing on for another season before being canceled.

[@ThomasLeonardStudio]

The white doves when Julia got shot was total John Wu vibes

[@tiger-stripedcat7199]

There are doves for Spike at the end too.

[@ImpeccableZentertainment]

I saw this finale as a young teen and it fucking changed me

[@AirsoftTim92]

I STRONGLY suggest Samurai Champloo next. It was also directed by Shinichiro Watanabe and features a lot of the same talent, including Steve Blum as the flagship character. It's very much the spiritual sequel to Cowboy Bebop. But hiphop instead of jazz, and samurai instead of space cowboys.

[@tiger-stripedcat7199]

Julia was a complete woman that we were intentionally given the briefest of glimpses into. Yet, despite her limited appearances, important elements of her character were conveyed. She was an intelligent, badass ex-syndicate member. Shin called her Julia-sama. She had rank. She was a boss. Not Spike or Vicious’s arm candy, but their peer. She was arguably smarter than Spike, Vicious, Faye and Gren. She realized the threat Vicious posed to Spike's plan while Spike was too lovestruck. When she was given the ultimatum of either killing Spike or them both dying, she manipulated Vicious into believing she would comply with his order then escaped him, thus protecting Spike. She then went on the run and was hunted for years because she would not kill Spike even to save her own life. She’s the one that realized that Vicious was spying on Gren and she’s the one that quickly deduced where the spyware had been planted. She had Shin feeding her information from inside the syndicate and she had info about Spike and the Bebop. When she ran into Faye, she stopped to give Faye a getaway ride, incurring personal risk to help the woman who had helped her. She realized who Faye was and extracted information from her without Faye realizing it. She then positioned Faye to carry out a task for her. From what we saw of her, it was clear that she was a realistic and pragmatic woman who was deeply devoted to the man she loved. She was poised, had a quiet confidence and an analytical mind, yet also had a very nurturing side. We saw this in how she nursed Spike back to health and how she agonized at seeing Annie in so much pain. She drove like a professional racer and did not flinch when shot at. She managed to outrun the syndicate for three years on her own. When attacked by the syndicate, she and Spike moved together as if they had fought back-to-back countless times. Julia could have killed Spike to save herself at any moment. She refused. This was a woman with agency, loyalty and character. She made her own choice. She had honor. She loved just as deeply and fought just as hard as Spike did. This is the woman Spike Spiegel fell madly in love with. His other half as he put it. It was HE who was not complete without HER. And you didn't even have the decency the play Faye’s complete quote about Julia, which revealed that she was anything but “mid”.

[@thrasherthetic]

Woo! On to the movie. Good times ahead.

[@joshjames582]

After all these years, I still think about Spike when I look up at the night sky.

[@SnowAnayathatweirdgirl]

With each passing decade Cowboy Bebop continues to be a classic. It’s a sad ending but so damn good.

[@Bjango]

Thinking way too hard on a dude with a false eye. The whole thing was a metaphor for living in the past and present. The inability to let go, so it's what made Spike face his past

[@Garland41]

If you want another 90s anime. I always recommend Trigun.

[@williamclose6978]

This or Hellsing. Both are great.

[@Dannydarko27]

Thanks for the Christmas miracle happy holidays everyone and remember, you're gonna carry that weight.

[@VonSnootingham]

Heeey we finally got here. Glad you got to experience this perenial classic. A couple notes: 1) It's never confirmed whether Spike died or not. The creator, Shinichiro Watanabe said in a 2006 interview, “I've never officially said that he died. At this point, I can tell you that I'm not sure if he's alive or dead.” He wants people to fill in their own conclusion and take what lessons that want from it. I think most people, myself included and it seems you as well, think he died. 2) The reason why the violence ramps up in this episode is that they were straight up making a John Woo movie. That's why there were so many doves. In fact, most of the final assault on the Syndicate base is John Woo homage. I think there's a shot that was directly recreated from a Woo movie, I thought the shot of Spike coming out of the elevator, but I can't find a source on this. Regardless, the pair sliding their weapons back to each other is taken from A Better Tomorrow II. 3) The backstory with Spike, Julia, and Vicious is this. Spike was a rising star in the Syndicate. Vicious joined and Spike was his partner and taught him the ropes. Vicious had a girlfriend, Julia, but she and Spike started fooling around behind his back and fell in love. They wanted to escape, so Spike planned to use a particularly dangerous mission to fake his death, then have Julia join him in their escape. But Vicious found out about the affair and the plan and forced Julia to kill him at their rendevous or else be killed herself. She never met with Spike and went on the run instead and they both have been in hiding since. Spike never knew what happened to her, assuming Vicious had killed her.

[@Ijustwastedyourtime0]

Was waiting for this one for a while.

[@CurseTheCosmos]

Now that we’ve completed this masterpiece, maybe we could get Shinchrio Watanabe’s follow ups: “Samurai Champloo” or “Space Dandy”?

[@TomVCunningham]

I'm kinda surprised that they didn't know where the movie took place in the chronology. People, myself included, posted multiple comments that the movie takes place between episodes 22 & 23.

[@dweblinveltz5035]

Jet went back and dealt with his past, though. It ended with him thowing away the old watch and walking away. He let Spike go deal with his past, too, but it didn't end so well.

[@markvicferrer]

There was an space western unofficial trilogy of Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star & Trigun. In particular, Trigun is more timely as a reboot series has come out because the 90s version veered from the source material relatively early and you can have two reaction series from both shows.

[@brianyaniro4797]

I can't believe I've seen several rectors guess bomb in the bird. Was it telegraphed that much?

[@Advent3546]

Watching this finale at 11 years old was something else man. When The Real Folk Blues hit it was transcendent!

[@mariebourgot4949]

Thank you for the video and happy holidays to you too! :)

[@Sinvare]

One of the most satisfying endings in fiction. Starting with the Real Folk Blues and all the way through. A masterpiece. That weight carried from the ending feels complete. It would be nice if it was a happy ending, but it is the farthest you can get from a bad ending.

[@ooo_111_ooo]

Originally I only watched the series up until Jupiter Jazz part 2 around age 15. I felt myself falling in love with the world and decided to stop watching to preserve that feeling of hope haha. I loved those first run of episodes alone for years until you started reacting to the series! After watching your reaction to the first episode I practically binged watched through the entire series including the second half I originally omitted. Absolutely gut wrenching. Top 5 series OAT for me. Glad you all enjoyed the show 🤍

[@timgreenwald1043]

You're gonna Cowbop that Beboy...

[@matthewpaul6904]

It's pretty heavy, but honestly any other ending wouldn't fit this world we've experienced.

[@BalbazaktheGreat]

Merry Christmas, guys. Looking forward to the film.

[@tigerwoods3729]

dont get me wrong i liked cowboy bebop a lot immediately after i finished it, but its really one of those things for me where i only came to absolutely adore it after a bunch of years went past, its very adult in its themes even though the tone can definitely be a bit melodramatic at times lol

[@loafofbread775]

I think the reason people were speaking in metaphores in these episodes is because, while Jet, Fae, and most of the other characters are examples of saudade, Spike is the generality of the saudadic tension, with Julia and Vicious representing the hope and pain that comes from it. It isn't until julia dies that Spike rid himself of the Vicious pain that comes with hoping the past will return. Since Spike represents living with sauade, once Vicious and Julia are gone, he is no longer experiencing saudade, and can no longer exist. That is why he dies, or atleast that's my take.

[@tiger-stripedcat7199]

The tiger striped cat would be reborn after each of his deaths. A metaphor for how Spike would face deadly situations and cheat death every time. Yet, once the white female cat (Julia) died, the tiger striped cat (Spike) ceased to cheat death. He died his final death and never returned. Buddhists view the world as a suffering-laden cycle of life, death, and rebirth known as samsara. The escape from samsara is known as a release from suffering (a.k.a. Nirvana). Once this stage of spiritual enlightenment is reached, the individual breaks free from the cycle of death and rebirth. Meaning the person will physically die a final death and will no longer be reborn. As happened to the tiger striped cat. At the end of the series, Spike has broken free. He has been released from suffering. He has died his final death. His soul ascends. The Buddha also taught that when Nirvana was achieved, that person would finally be able to see the world as it truly is. This is what Spike and Laughing Bull were talking about in the movie. Laughing Bull: "Know this Swimming Bird. This blue eye perceives all things conjoined. The past, the future, and the present. Everything flows and all is connected. This eye is not merely seeing reality. It is touching the truth. Open the eye of truth. There is nothing to fear." What does Spike see at the end of the series? He sees Julia and he sees himself reflected in her blue eye. His love is his eternal truth, and he dies with a smile on his lips.

[@shainewhite2781]

Merry Christmas 🧑‍🎄🌨️🎁⛄🎄

[@BenTanner92]

With one word to end it all……..BANG!!!!! This show is outstanding

[@cje499]

So proud of Sal jokingly predicting Vicious' escape

[@sombrashadow0013]

With this now done, I highly recommend Samurai Champloo. It's done by the same creator and is incredible. It has a very similar vibe, but instead of it being Sci-Fi with jazz elements, it's Edo Period Japan with hip-hop.

[@JoshBou]

I feel like you wanted the quiet part out loud. Like, the way most fans take it is that because spike knows Vicous so well that he knows Vicous won't stop at him without it needing to be said. Just like how they traded weapons back to each other without any verbal bargaining. But that could just be copium, because ultimately this is a tale of a man who's despite his best attempts is unable to out run his past. But yeah, I'm a long time fan who loves the series and hates the ending, but not because it's objectively bad, but because it made me love the characters so much it just wasn't the ending I wanted. Much like most anime that aired on Adult Swim at the time.

[@williamclose6978]

The movie is great. I can't wait to see y'alls reaction. I would recommend Tri-gun or Hellsing.

[@robbieking4070]

👈 *_Bang~!_*

[@FelipeWalker2]

Forever my favorite anime.

[@TimedRevolver]

I think the point here is that this was the only way Spike would ever escape his past. Vicious would never stop hunting him, which would put the Bebop in danger. With Annie and Julia dead, Spike wouldn't let that go. The way I heard it is Spike and Vicious were being literal. The only person able to kill one of them is the other. And so to make sure Vicious was dead, Spike had to die too.

[@Henchman-cv8np]

Great show! Great reaction!

[@otakuevolution2131]

Thanks for reacting to my favorite anime!

[@CaesiusX]

It's my understanding the movie takes place between episodes *22* and *23.* I suppose, for some, watching it after the series ruins the intended emotional response. But, for others, I guess it allows some to finish on a different note. One they might even prefer.🤷🏼‍♂️

[@MrInuhanyou123]

Spike could not die unless he finished his past. He alluded throughout the series of watching a bad dream and being unable to wake up. In the end, the story of several people meeting up, dealing with their respective pasts one way or another and then parting is such a great thematic idea that runs through every episode. Even the ones unconnected are dedicated to furthering the characters and relationships. Its genius. A true classic

[@tiger-stripedcat7199]

It's not that he finished his past. It's that he confronted it. The ballad that plays just before Spike and Vicious's final battle declares his undying love for Julia. The lyrics are explicit that even after his own death he will be in love with her. He also finally sees Julia with his eye that sees his present just before he dies. The symbolism is profound and is foreshadowed in Jupiter Jazz.

[@MrInuhanyou123]

@tiger-stripedcat7199 that's what I meant yeah

[@DaisyAzuras]

The movie takes place a couple episodes before the finale

[@sunnyblack9725]

You might be too in tune with Vicious. Bomb in tha bird😂

[@setbos5385]

Bang

[@itzjorsh]

I cried so the first time I saw the finale... I was 14

[@mmartinez9802]

Spike isnt perfect.. none of then were. Thats the point. Spike gets in his own way. That bang.. call back to the sympathy for devil.. spike gets that weight. Heaviness lifted for him but enstilled on us.

[@313gwar]

Fantastic 10/10

[@itzjorsh]

Blue by Yoko cano

[@Renoistic]

When I watched this as a young'n my favorite episodes were these story-relevant ones because or how serious, mysterious and action-filled they were. Nowadays I vastly prefer the world-building random episodes. Like you mentioned - I care more about the world and the crew than Julia or Vicious. The story just isn't nearly as great or profound as I thought back in the day - I just hadn't seen anything like it back then. We all know you have a death-wish Spike, no need to spout all these campy poetry lines about your eyes 😂 And Vicious/Bicious has always been a lame, underdeveloped villain, and Injust can't get into their little love triangle. That said, those John Woo-inspired action scenes STILL hold up really well.

[@tiger-stripedcat7199]

Cringe.

[@smashedbread]

Someone who is below "mid" calling Julia mid is ironic. Julia is a badass and sexy as hell because of it

[@TulpaKing]

Weight. Carried.

[@SVNBob]

Always.