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Acgott

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I just dont feel like I need to add Disney, just like I dont need the DC app. I pay for Netflix, Hulu, and Prime and thats all I need. I cut the cord for a reason, and it wasnt to add 12 more streaming services that add up to $100 with my internet service.

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17 minutes ago, devils1854 said:

I just dont feel like I need to add Disney, just like I dont need the DC app. I pay for Netflix, Hulu, and Prime and thats all I need. I cut the cord for a reason, and it wasnt to add 12 more streaming services that add up to $100 with my internet service.

Disney is also going to have a show called The World According to Jeff Goldblum...

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On 4/10/2019 at 4:22 AM, RavensTillIDie said:

Always wanted to watch the original Anime, but just never got around to it. Worth it?

I think it's worth seeing it at least once. I posted a longer review elsewhere, that I will share below, since I recently went back and watched the entire series plus the movie. The short end of it though, it's a mixed bag to me. In the USA, there is a reverence for it since it debuted nearly twenty years back. It think the concept really helped pull a lot of people that aren't avid anime lovers, into. The show is more about style than substance in my view. There are 26 episodes, and the film, but only about 5 of them connect to an ongoing story. The rest are just like short 20 minute films with a beginning and an end to the narrative. The main characters don't really have a goal either, so sometimes it's difficult to make sense of their choices, especially Spike. The music is marvelous though, and it's probably the best soundtrack I've seen in any anime. Arguably any animation. The animated cinematography is excellent too. Here is a more in depth take I had months ago that you might want to read if you ever watch it:

 

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It's been a long time, but I decided over the course of about a month to rewatch Cowboy Bebop. I first saw the anime when it came to American television in I think 2001. I was about 14 or 15 at the time. I thought it was pretty amazing. I believe I watched the entire series all the way through once around that time. And then off and on the next few years when I caught it late at night. Sooner or later though, I moved on though. Part of it was leaving high school, and cable TV behind. Cowboy Bebop had essentially become another fond memory of personal nostalgia. 

So when I decided to rewatch the series from start to finish, including the movie, I was excited. I thought most of the 26 episodes were going to be a blast to relive again. However, what I got instead of a much different experience. All in all Cowboy Bebop was a very inconsistent odyssey, that was a marvel with it's music and visuals, but really felt flat as far as engaging me in it's narrative, and characters. 

It's been a few days since I finished "The Real Folk Blues Part II". I just keep coming back to the same conclusion in my head. The aspects I did like about the show couldn't compensate for what nagged me. I was thinking maybe it was mostly down to me not like the episodic presentation. However, I know I've liked episodic shows in the past. After thinking about it a while though, I settled on two things: 

First off, the lack of a complete goal for the characters. Spike, Jet, Faye, Ed, and Ein are all essentially living a life of destitute through the series' run. There really isn't an endgame for anyone except "just trying to get by" as bounty hunters. The hint of what we get in an overarching plot is whittled down to about 4 or 5 episodes. Even then, there really isn't a goal for our main guy Spike. The situation in the final two episodes essentially drops on his doorstep by no consequence of his own. There is a buildup to it, but Spike isn't involved. This could have easily happened in the first episode as much as it did the last two. To me the show could have either been 5 episodes as much as it was 26 plus the film. 

Second issue, would include the nature of the characters. Spike himself, and his inconsistent motivations for seemingly involving himself in situations that he really has no business being apart of...but does so anyway for no motivational reason at all other than some romanticized dialogue provided. This dialogue really doesn't mean anything other than contradicting his apparent nature sometimes. He's not a Good Samaritan, but is when the show needs him to be. A really good example of this is in episode 6 "Sympathy for the Devil". He really had zero reason to take that kid down, especially after the reward money was gone when other dude got killed. Spike and Jet also let Ein, Ed, and Faye crash on their ship for really zero reason at all. Spike bellyaches about this, but it's brushed under the rug. 

None of these people, except Ein and Ed are supposed to be particularly likable. I get that. They have battle scars. In particular Faye didn't ask for the situation she was put in. That still doesn't excuse her behavior a lot of the time. I'd like for some more proactive thinking for these people, but I know life isn't like that all the time. Vicious, the closest we get to an antagonist, is pretty one dimensional also. He's just selfish prick that wants power within organized crime. 

To the stuff I liked. Shinichirō Watanabe as a director really had a great vision for the overall atmosphere that was incorporated. The animation is great, and the music organization by Yoko Kanno is maybe the best thing about Cowboy Bebop. Every piece fits where it's utilized. That is where this show shines the brightest. Shinichirō Watanabe said somewhere that he essentially wanted to make this show a series of short films within 20 minutes. It's clear once you start watching a few episodes in, that this is the case. A story with substance isn't a priority. I do like a lot of the episodes for what they are. A well told story a little over 20 minutes in. A lot of the segments I thought were boring as a kid, turned out the be the ones I liked the most. Just looking through the list now, I'd say "Wild Horses", "Brain Scratch", "Ballad of Fallen Angels", "Jamming with Edward", "Jupiter Jazz parts I and II", "Bohemian Rhapsody", and "Pierrot le Fou" were the ones I liked the most. There really weren't any episodes outside a couple that were a struggle to get through. "Cowboy Funk", and "Speak like a Child" were tough sells. Actually, I might include the film. The top notch animation, and music were great, but I didn't find the story that interesting. Vincent the big bad, was just a loon where I didn't understand why he didn't just shoot himself to find his door to another world. It was clear the film went on way too long, and should have been drastically cut down. 

All in all, I think the show is a little overhyped. I'd been said that Cowboy Bebop is the anime for non-anime fans. I'd probably agree with this notion. A lot of the cultural motifs that are seen in other anime aren't present in Cowboy Bebop. At least, if they are there, they aren't distracting in the slightest. I'd still recommend it to someone that hasn't seen it, but with the caveat that a quality story isn't what you're going to get. Just ton of short stories you might find entertaining. It's probably going to be a long while before I revisit this show, but I am looking forward to the take that Netflix is going to provide. Maybe one day I'll try reading the manga as well. Just to see if the narrative storytelling, and characterization is any different.

 

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3 hours ago, devils1854 said:

I just dont feel like I need to add Disney, just like I dont need the DC app. I pay for Netflix, Hulu, and Prime and thats all I need. I cut the cord for a reason, and it wasnt to add 12 more streaming services that add up to $100 with my internet service.

From what I've read, they are going to package Disney+ with Hulu and ESPN+ so it covers all. 

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5 hours ago, devils1854 said:

If thats true, than thats worht $12-15 a month, and Id be more than willing to pay.

I would agree... Except I already get Hulu for having Spotify premium... Which I didn't even know until Spotify sent me an email recently telling me I had access to Hulu as part of my subscription.

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19 minutes ago, rob_shadows said:

I would agree... Except I already get Hulu for having Spotify premium... Which I didn't even know until Spotify sent me an email recently telling me I had access to Hulu as part of my subscription.

I was in the same boat. Glad they let me know though so I could catch up on the Handmaid's Tale before S3. 

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2 hours ago, THE DUKE said:

We're already sold because my kids love Disney stuff (ages 5-12), but if that also includes ESPN+ then i'm totally on board.  Considering getting ESPN+ anyway for the NCAA baseball and basketball coverage.

+1

If it includes all that, could be a netflix killer.

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1 hour ago, seminoles1 said:

I did wonder how Hulu was going to play into this since Disney is now the majority shareholder.

If they offer a good deal on a combo package then I'm all in.

I'd pay $19.99 a month for a Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+ combo deal provided that I get at least 4 HD screens and no commercials on any of the apps.

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Well, ****.  Alicia Vikander is returning for a Tomb Raider sequel.  I got rid of my copy of that Tomb Raider because I thought it would be a great starting movie, but that it needed a sequel at least, preferably a third, to be worth owning, and now it's actually happening when it was literally not happening. 

 

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11 minutes ago, Outpost31 said:

Well, ****.  Alicia Vikander is returning for a Tomb Raider sequel.  I got rid of my copy of that Tomb Raider because I thought it would be a great starting movie, but that it needed a sequel at least, preferably a third, to be worth owning, and now it's actually happening when it was literally not happening. 

 

That was a surprisingly solid movie.

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