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The Cowboy Bebop Attic was built to take a closer look at the mountain of information sprinkled throughout this classic anime, from the Led Zeppelin and Hemingway references to the Alien parody.
Of course, the ambiguities leave much to debate too. What really happened to Spike in the end? Why is Jet called a "running rock" and Spike a "swimming bird"? Was the fengshui episode near the end really just a filler, or is there more to it than meets the eye? What is the hilarious episode Toys in the Attic really about? And in the vein of popular culture, did you notice the similarities between Cowboy Bebop and the movie Inception? Take a closer look at the essays and feel free to join in the discussions. [ Leigh ]. |
[ Site Updates ].
// April 2018 [NEW!]: Hello! Two updates: firstly, we have a swanky HD version of the much sought-after Session XX on the interwebs at last. Many thanks to Attic reader and Bebop fan, Alpha Catch, for reconstructing this. What a great way to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this amazing show. Check it out here.
On a non-Bebop note, I am still alive with a few Bebop essays on the back burner. Still busy writing, though it's a completely different beast these days and has nothing to do with Cowboy Bebop. Actually, I'm writing... a novel. Yes, apparently my brain didn't think the long winded essays on this site were enough and is now knee-deep conjuring a 70,000 word story, one that's been stewing in my head for years. It's a strange one and I have no idea whether any agent or publisher will ever want to pick it up but hey, if you don't try, the answer will always be "no", right? Anyway. Very much doubt anyone cares what I'm up to outside of this Attic but just so you know, I haven't completely forgotten about the essays. Keep the comments coming - it's always a joy to hear from another fan of the series!
// February 2017: Bohemian Rhapsody is viewed as a filler session but in this new essay, A Meditation on Bohemian Rhapsody, I wanted to offer some thoughts on it from the vantage of a chess player. Hope it gives a deeper appreciation of the session and the series as a whole.
// January 2017: Here's an often-overlooked topic amongst the CB fandom: what language does the Bebeop crew communicate in when talking with each other? The hints are sprinkled throughout the series, and the answer is not what you think... Have a look at my new essay, The True Language of the Bebop Crew, where we dive into the giveaway scenes.
// December 2016: We're done with another year, and interesting reader comments about the ending of the the Cowboy Bebop series continue to pile on in the essay Between The Lines. Head on over to join in the debate in the comments section! Also, in another one of my essays (Parallels and Ironies) I briefly touched on and dismissed the prospect that Spike's surname (Spiegel) held much thematic significance. A reader wrote in and offered an interesting perspective, focusing on the events in Waltz For Venus to illustrate his points. It definitely makes for a thought-provoking read! Head over here to check out his guest essay: The Hidden Meaning Of Spike's Name.
// December 2015: Bebop Attic came online in 2005. In other words, this is the website's ten-year anniversary and it's truly becoming an old attic. When I first launched this site, I had no idea that ten years on I would still be getting new subscribers and new readers emailing to weigh in on the series. When I wrote the first essay for Bebop Attic, I was still a teen. In the time since, I've gone to college, gotten jobs, learned Japanese, gotten a black belt in karate, ran a 250km ultramarathon in the Sahara, cycled 1,000km along the Nile River, gone to Antarctica, picked up photography, learned to dive, hit my 100th dive, and moved to 5 countries across 4 continents... amongst other things. Which is to say, A LOT has happened. That this site has survived through the chaos of life thanks to curious readers is something I didn't at all anticipate and am wholly humbled by.
Thank you for keeping this site alive with your guest essays, emails, comments after each essay, and subscriptions. It's pretty amazing that Bebop Attic has evolved from a one-(wo)man show to becoming a repository of many people's ideas.
Anyway, this is getting long so I'll stop the verbosity here. Take comfort in the fact that we won't have to do this for another 10 years ;) Here's to 2016 and, hopefully, many years more at Bebop Attic - and if you've ever wondered how the Bebop crew would look like if they were real, check out this incredible wallpaper by artist Djamila Knopf:
On a non-Bebop note, I am still alive with a few Bebop essays on the back burner. Still busy writing, though it's a completely different beast these days and has nothing to do with Cowboy Bebop. Actually, I'm writing... a novel. Yes, apparently my brain didn't think the long winded essays on this site were enough and is now knee-deep conjuring a 70,000 word story, one that's been stewing in my head for years. It's a strange one and I have no idea whether any agent or publisher will ever want to pick it up but hey, if you don't try, the answer will always be "no", right? Anyway. Very much doubt anyone cares what I'm up to outside of this Attic but just so you know, I haven't completely forgotten about the essays. Keep the comments coming - it's always a joy to hear from another fan of the series!
// February 2017: Bohemian Rhapsody is viewed as a filler session but in this new essay, A Meditation on Bohemian Rhapsody, I wanted to offer some thoughts on it from the vantage of a chess player. Hope it gives a deeper appreciation of the session and the series as a whole.
// January 2017: Here's an often-overlooked topic amongst the CB fandom: what language does the Bebeop crew communicate in when talking with each other? The hints are sprinkled throughout the series, and the answer is not what you think... Have a look at my new essay, The True Language of the Bebop Crew, where we dive into the giveaway scenes.
// December 2016: We're done with another year, and interesting reader comments about the ending of the the Cowboy Bebop series continue to pile on in the essay Between The Lines. Head on over to join in the debate in the comments section! Also, in another one of my essays (Parallels and Ironies) I briefly touched on and dismissed the prospect that Spike's surname (Spiegel) held much thematic significance. A reader wrote in and offered an interesting perspective, focusing on the events in Waltz For Venus to illustrate his points. It definitely makes for a thought-provoking read! Head over here to check out his guest essay: The Hidden Meaning Of Spike's Name.
// December 2015: Bebop Attic came online in 2005. In other words, this is the website's ten-year anniversary and it's truly becoming an old attic. When I first launched this site, I had no idea that ten years on I would still be getting new subscribers and new readers emailing to weigh in on the series. When I wrote the first essay for Bebop Attic, I was still a teen. In the time since, I've gone to college, gotten jobs, learned Japanese, gotten a black belt in karate, ran a 250km ultramarathon in the Sahara, cycled 1,000km along the Nile River, gone to Antarctica, picked up photography, learned to dive, hit my 100th dive, and moved to 5 countries across 4 continents... amongst other things. Which is to say, A LOT has happened. That this site has survived through the chaos of life thanks to curious readers is something I didn't at all anticipate and am wholly humbled by.
Thank you for keeping this site alive with your guest essays, emails, comments after each essay, and subscriptions. It's pretty amazing that Bebop Attic has evolved from a one-(wo)man show to becoming a repository of many people's ideas.
Anyway, this is getting long so I'll stop the verbosity here. Take comfort in the fact that we won't have to do this for another 10 years ;) Here's to 2016 and, hopefully, many years more at Bebop Attic - and if you've ever wondered how the Bebop crew would look like if they were real, check out this incredible wallpaper by artist Djamila Knopf:
