Okay the clip is better in Japanese. I could actually get through it this time. But, it still sucks.

 

This is like something that the Channel Awesome idiots would have in one of their reviews.

 

I hope they fix that tripod for season 2, all those Dutch angles are awfully distracting.

So far it seems mostly boring. The direction is dull and lifeless, the cinematography is either flat or a Dutch angle, and all the sets seem like minimum effort flat surfaces with maximum levels of paint work to make up for their empty, lifeless look. At least the entirely digital visual effects work is pretty good, but when they comp in any live action plate it looks like an FMV game.

I like John Cho so far though. I thought the actress that played Katrina in episode 1 was alright as well.

 

It's really that level of bad?

 

I'm four episodes in now, and I think it's fine. It certainly won't set the world on fire and be a revolutionary rallying point as its namesake, but it's inoffensive. It remixes things just enough to be familiar while still having some new things to show long-term fans of the series, but ultimately like most live-action anime adaptations (American or Japanese), I think the target audience is more towards newcomers and laymen.

There's sort of a tongue-in-cheek hokeyness that I do think works for the series, although that's the aspect that I think might be most polarizing. But there's no way live action can capture the exaggerated, frenetic action of the animation, so the series did need another form of "pep" to stand in for that energy, and so it sort of leans into the retro funk angle that the anime itself maintained in its more lighthearted episodes.

I'm not really sure what I think of this incarnation of Vicious. He's very different from his anime counterpart, but so far I think it works. He's not nearly as menacing (at least, not early on. Maybe moreso later on when he starts ramping up his agenda?), but his expanded role in the series wouldn't have been carried well by his original stoic personality.

One other contentious point is the style of the scriptwork. In the anime, Spike muses to himself often in a very moody, poetic way. Live-action Spike is much more straightforward. While I do miss that aspect of his character, it sort of ties into the mystery of his character, and in how the anime's full story had to be pieced together through context clues. So I'd say that the live-action version does feel slightly dumbed down in that way, but rather than a fault of the production, I think it's more of a concession to the audience. American audiences in general aren't very receptive to that type of cryptic theatricality. Same reason why Blade Runner will always only be a cult classic and not a mainstream success story.

 

Man, I have to say like 80-90% when we focus on Vicious and Julia as main characters, the show slows down and it actually made me appreciate the limited amount of time they had in the anime as mysterious enigmas to Spike's past. I don't blame the actors, I mean if they wanted Vicious to have Lucius Malfoy/Kylo Ren tendencies... So be it. He's just not the threatening villain he was. Julia is actually the better half but she too suffers a little with the writing hammering her down as someone who can't seem to break away from Vicious.

 

It really fits the old Nintendo ads.

 

Ed closeups in the anime: "Well that's kinda cute, I guess?"

Ed closeups in the Netflix series:

 

Watched the 1st two eps, i love Spike and Jet, not enough Fei to judge and i’m not feeling Vicious. So far i like the show and will continue to watch.

 

My biggest issue so far is the way it’s shot. Feels like a Sci Fi channel show. All of the props and scenery look cheaply made and somethings have a plastic like appearance.

 

That looked really stupid.

I haven’t watched the anime, and I go back and forth with watching the live action.
This scene doesn’t help.

 

That Ed scene is the very end of S1. Maybe they will tone it down for S2 if enough people give feedback.

I binged all of it - I enjoyed it. Not a shot for shot remake by any means but I was surprised how little actually changed. Would watch S2.

 

>MFW a fan parody / pastiche is better than the real thing.

Just watch the anime. It's also on Netflix and is really good.
Here's the same scene from the original

 

You know something funny? As someone who doesn't like the original anime I actually enjoyed this version by comparison. Go figure. I mean... it's not the best show I've watched lately but it was fun. Enjoyed the actors in their roles as well. I'll be here for S2 if it happens.

 

I binged the whole thing this weekend. Have never seen the original and I am not a fan of anime. It was alright. I liked Faye and I liked the moments where Spike was quick witted. Jet was alright, but he didn't have enough to do. Felt like it was trying to be "Sin City" too much in parts.

 

I’m guessing they intentionally ramped up her annoying factor just for that scene to give a sense of how Spike perceived her at that moment. He was shot, fell far enough to kill someone, he’s super drunk and face down in the gutter - a personality like Ed’s is going to feel extra grating in a situation like that. I bet she will be more tolerable once integrated into the crew.

Anyway, I thought the series was a blast. For me it parallels the original nicely, not being too different and not trying too hard to be the same. I think they did a great job casting. I actually like this Faye more than the original. I look forward to season 2, and more of Ed.

 

4 eps in and i still like it. It’s like the walking dead TV show, i know everything that is supposed to happen but when it’s completely different or slightly different it’s still a fun watch.

 

I finished it and wasn't happy with the ending, mainly with the change of tone on a certain character.

Wasn't happy with Vicious either. He just came off as an incompetent, childish weirdo.

There's a mystique Vicious and Spike had in the Anime and it just wasn't carried over well.

With Ed, I dunno, that's how I would have pictured a live action Ed to be. She's just weird...acts and talks weird. She's what I thought she'd be.

Jet was perfect.

 

I haven’t finished the season yet and I don’t know if I will but they over did Vicious. I don’t care how Vicious was used as a person to drive the plot. I prefer the anime’s plot driving force of we are bounty hunters trying to make a days living.