‘Cowboy Bebop’ Creator Couldn’t Bear Watching The Netflix Adaptation Of His Work

Shinichiro Watanabe couldn’t make it past the opening scene of the Netflix live-action adaptation of his anime classic, Cowboy Bebop.

In talking with Forbes, Watanabe said Netflix sent him “a video to review and check.” But he couldn’t bear to see more than a few minutes of it.

“It started with a scene in a casino, which made it very tough for me to continue,” Watanabe said. “I stopped there, and so only saw that opening scene. It was clearly not Cowboy Bebop, and I realized at that point that if I wasn’t involved, it would not be Cowboy Bebop. I felt that maybe I should have done this. Although the value of the original anime is somehow far higher now.”

Netflix brought Watanabe into the project as a consultant. But Watanabe claimed in a 2019 interview that any comments he made on the manuscript were likely not heeded.

“I have no choice but to pray and hope that it will turn out good,” he added at the time.

Netflix’s live-action adaptation was not well-received by fans, and received a lukewarm critical reception. It was canceled before a second season.