If you were one of the fans of the original Cowboy Bebop that was skeptical that it could be easily adapted to live-action, consider yourself vindicated. From the outset of this project, adapting a beloved science fiction anime to live-action would have been a tall order that would have demanded a budget to match. Add Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop to the list of flawed live-action adaptations whose ambition exceeded the budget and, at times, the talent. It wouldn’t be the first time this had happened. Just ask the folks who tried to adapt Akira, or to the earlier iterations of Dune. Perhaps this will go down as another unremembered lesson on how animation can be a better medium for a more economic budget. It’s not a completely unmitigated disaster, but the shadow cast by the original will often eclipse this adaptation.

Often described as the gateway drug into anime for those who grew up in the early 2000s, Cowboy Bebop is a neo-noir sci-fi that takes place in the year 2071 and follows a ragtag misfit crew of bounty hunters, known as cowboys, aboard the spaceship Bebop. After 20 years, Cowboy Bebop is back in what hopefully is a faithful live action adaptation that can satisfy existing audiences and bring new ones into the fold.