Cowboy Bebop Review

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1998, 2001, adult swim, America, American, anime, blu-ray, Bruce Lee, Cartoon Network, Cowboy Bebop, crime, Crunchyroll, DVD, Edward, Eine, Fay, Funimation Now, Japan, Jet, Kids on the Slope, One Piece, Samurai Champloo, Shinichiro Watanabe, space, Space Dandy, Spike, western

I remember watching this when Adult Swim first came out back in 2001 and I think the first episode of this series I saw was episode 5 “Ballad of Fallen Angels”. Watching this I was a little lost until I saw the whole show start to finish. People today have reviewed this in America since it came out in 1998 and surprised at how American it was. Also, it’s still on Adult Swim being rerun and rerun since that’s how good it is.

The director Shinichiro Watanabe also did Samurai Champloo, Space Dandy, and Boys on the Slope, which I haven”t seen yet. Though I did see Samurai Champloo and Space Dandy and they were amazing and I will get to those shows soon. Even heard Cowboy Bebop in Japan wasn’t much of a bit hit, but here though it WAS a bit hit probably because it’s so appealing to the western audiences.

The story is about the near future where people are in barely in space and crime has gotten so bad that bounty hunters do most of the work. There’s also a lot of homages to the western audience as well and can get cerebral too at times. It also has a lot of character building as well, like our main hero Spike Spiegel taking Bruce Lee’s philosophy of the water to heart.

Half of the show is creating this world and the characters that will soon meet up together as well. Like the fighter Spike, the ex-cop Jet, the dog Eine which is super intelligent, the con artist lady Fay, and the kid hacker Edward. At the end, I was kind of sad just because these shows were so good back then but if Cowboy Bebop did go on it would probably get too boring or take forever. Almost like One Piece, not that I hate One Piece it’s just like it’s afraid to end, also hope it won’t end up being the exact opposite of what it’s about like some shows that go on almost forever. You can also see my One Piece review for that but it’s kinda short.

Anyway, this anime is a legend and a must watch regardless of how old it is. The voice cast for the English dub I think did so good they do other voices as well. It’s on Funimation Now and Crunchyroll and you can get it on DVD and Blu-ray as well.

 

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Sonic Boom TV Show Review

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American, Amy Rose, animation, Cartoon Network, CGI, Dr. Eggman, dvds, french, Hulu, Hulu Plus, Knuckles, Miraculous Ladybug, Shadow, Sonic, Sonic Boom, Sticks, Tails, TV show, video games

First I was a bit hesitant and thought this show was just a bad cash in for the video games. After watching the 2nd season with my cable subscription and the 1st with Hulu and the show is pretty solid. Also, the animation is pretty good with the CGI as well. The jokes are funny and the voice cast is pretty good and the stories notch up with the formula a bit to change the variety every now and then.

Now I’m bingeing this show and it’s getting better now or at least from what I’ve heard. Sonic has a team of friends to help stop Dr. Eggman and his evil plans. Sonic’s friends, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Sticks, help him out and they all have their own personalities. Sticks is kinda paranoid with all her conspiracies and it can get annoying fast. Knuckles is kinda dumb, Tails is the tech guy, and Amy is kinda a good two shoes. Eggman is more of Sonic’s frienemy in this show and isn’t as menacing as he was in the other shows.

Even at one point they talk about the multiverse a bit and introduce Shadow and a different version of Eggman that can shapeshift. Hope the DVDs come out here in America soon since they’re already available in Europe though. Also, this cartoon is an Anericain/French production like Miraculous Ladybug and I will get to that show soon as well.

This show is also on Cartoon Network but it’s aired pretty early so either try to wake up early or something like that. I hope the DVDs can make it here in America soon since it’s getting better and the first season is on Hulu if you want to watch more of this show.

Malcolm X: A Graphic Biography Review (Spoilers)

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1960's, biography, Book, civil rights, comics, Elijah Muammad, graphic novel, Hajj, Islam, Malcolm X, Mecca, Muhammad Ali, Muslim, Saudi Arabia

When I first heard about Malcolm X, I thought he was an aggressor. Who wanted these race problems to be reversed at times, after reading this though I think of him differently now. In the book, it says his violent death would be his destiny and it shows his last picture of him and his rifle.

The book start’s with him growing up where Malcolm’s family moves north to escape getting lynched back in the south. They had a hard time and kept moving at times then his father leaves him and then his mom is committed a little later. Malcolm then gets expelled for a prank and then is sent to reform school then sent to some special home before he could go there.

His adopted parents were also a bit racist as well, he did good in school but some people didn’t like him, like one of his teachers. Malcolm also requests that his half sister be his guardian and she accepts his request as they go to Boston. Her home was in a where Malcolm enjoyed the people while going out at night. He then becomes a hustler and learned to dance in his spare time. As he got older he also went to Harlem to find more opportunities as well.

Malcolm at one point tries to help a black sailor but the sailor turns out to be an undercover cop. Malcolm then gets sent to a police station for questioning and is let go but after that, he knew the police would keep an eye on him. During the draft, he tries to act crazy and it works and is later sent to jail where he finds Islam. Malcolm also looks up to this guy Elijah Muhammed when he first starts to convert to Islam.

He even starts to study a dictionary to help him write better and kept reading books to stay sane in prison. The book also mentions all the other civil rights movements that were going on in the 1960’s as well. Malcolm also gets Elijah’s blessing to marry a girl, Betty, also makes his biography which becomes a bestseller. At chapter 10 though to talks about Elijah Muhammed’s adultery with some women of Islam.

Malcolm then meets a boxer who wants to join and then the boxer calls himself Muhammad Ali. Malcolm then took the Hajj in 1964 which is the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia every Muslim must take at leat once in their lives, there is an exception if you can’t afford to go there though. When he gets back home he later went to a presentation where he kinda knew he’d be targeted for assassination. He was killed at the meeting but people like Malcolm X I think just end up being martyrs since his dream and MLK’s dream didn’t die.