One thing I loved was how Oda said no romance between the crew. Romance usually ruins a show for me, specially when its not part of the original work.

Oda was watching them like a hawk the entire time. He made them reshoot so much. The moment he leaves they will screw up One Piece

I think that the biggest reason One Piece was successful was the creator Oda insisted on involvement in the entire process. Beebop's co-creator said he could barely make it past the opening credits (which tells me they never bothered to even ask for his help)

You can definitely tell when a show is made by people who love the source material. And when they hate it. Bebop deserved better.

Chato: Pirates are low tech Franky: I'm gonna do what's called a pro gamer move

9:59 "There is no shame in fulfilling the key expectations of the fans." Well said. Since we are talking about fans of the top selling manga (and I believe it has even surpassed sales of Batman and Superman) of all time; well that is a lot of fans.

The story of Cowboy Bebop, the original, was about people who couldn't move on and always ended up in the same place. It was a procedural story. At the end and beginning of every show the crew was hungry, had enough money to make it to the next bounty, and didn't learn or grow. That unique way of telling their story is what makes it interesting. Each member of the crew had their own personal problem that provided mystery of their past, and an their interesting take on their bounties. These personal problems where dealt with during the show and would make perfect season endings. This is the prefect show to turn into a Law and Order knock off. Their failure is lack of understand of the source material, lack of faith in the source material, bad casting, and bad writing.

As you mentioned, both shows were made by Tomorrow Studios. But I think letting them made One Piece was also one of the right choices, because they actually learned a lot of the lessons about what failed in Bebop. Tomorrow don't take weird decisions inteh script , don't change backstories to increase the drama and the actors didn't antagonize the public. Also great analysis as always :D

The PR being hostile to the fans hurt Cowboy Bebop a lot, One Piece had no PR blunders. I hope this is a change in how the audience is advertised to. One Piece has the benefit that the western dub was censored, fans from the Dub will have less problems. The JP version was not seen as kid friendly, lots of small cuts.

I totally agree with Nami vs Faye's casting choice views. Emily Rudd, as you put it, is "deficient", but she exudes the confidence of Nami and that translates to sexiness. Not to mention her outfit changes matches a lot of the original material. There's all sorts of sexy that doesn't just rely on big badonka fan service, and I think Emily understands that, because she truly loves the character and OP. She didn't even need to address those differences, she just hopes that we enjoy their interpretation of the characters. And we did. I also hate the idea that being a "girl boss" means you don't need help from anyone, but that moment when she asks Luffy for help, that moment of weakness, always always always gets me and makes me respect Nami. To me, Nami is a girl boss in both her strength and weakness. She's an imperfect girl boss. Just like us.

As a One Piece fan, what made me want to give the live action adaptation a chance was the attitudes of the show runners and the cast. First and foremost, they made it clear that they loved and respected the source material. Plus, it was a good call on Netflix's part to release vids of the Strawhats together because the show lives or dies on the cast dynamic.

Great analysis of both. I personally think “fan service” or as you correctly pointed out “meeting the audience’s bare expections” is the biggest factor. I remember when Bebop came out, someone involved with the adaptation said something to the effect that the Netflix version was going to “fix” the anime. It was pretty clear to me that they had no love for the anime going in. I think the cheapness and casting choices could have been overcome if they had respected the source material.

I'm told the creator (Eiichiro Oda) had significant creative control, perhaps explaining why this wasn't yet another adaptation handed to writers who'd change everything for 'modern audiences', ruining the project. While it's not guaranteed to be a winning approach, it's reasonable to assume the guy who created the best selling manga series of all time, individual issues of the manga outselling the entire US comics industry, would have an idea of what the customer likes. If there are normal people still working in Western entertainment, perhaps keep this in mind for future adaptations?

My opinion is Cowboy Bee-bop failed because it was not made for the existing fan base, but was marketed to them, thinking that they would engage the “normies” who are unfamiliar with adult animation (the people the show was made for). In a vacuum the show was not that bad. It was just not grounded in its source material, antagonizing the people that they were counting on to “sell” the show.

To point out, Rudd fits early Nami. The image used for anime Nami really didn't happen until the time skip where Oda embraces big breasts for most of the female characters instead of more reserved like early in the series. It's sort of a joke that over the series Nami somehow gets really busty from her first appearance.

God I'll never not be furious that Firefly was cancelled

One focused on staying true to the source material and being fan friendly. The other actively and gleefully antagonized the fans.

No doubt the cast behavior was a great game change Nobody menton that Nami wear more clothes than the anime or that she doesnt use sex appeal or seduce the villains Nobody bad talk the franchising neither the fans Every critique of the cast was answered with positive optmism, not attacks

It's a personal opinion but it might also have to do with the fact that the original Bebop was a half hour show and nearly all of the episodes were self contained and complete stories. The story beats and pacing were almost master classes in telling a good story with minimal fluff. It's like a classic short story from a skilled writer like Kipling or Wodehouse. Trying to stretch that into an hour long format (I know it was closer to 45 minutes but I still think in terms of broadcast tv with advertisements) was a mistake. Especially when they tried to turn Vicious and Julia into the Joker and Harley Quinn to pad the run time. By comparison One Piece not only had more material to draw from but the stories often continued from one episode to another so it was easier to find material for the longer episodes.

There's an anime that most people have never heard of called 'Black Lagoon' that's practically identical to Cowboy Bebop in every way- from the characters to the story, from the setting to the tone, and because it's set in contemporary times rather than the future, it would be *much* easier to adapt than Cowboy Bebop was, so if the makers really *have* learned their lesson from their failure, then they should take a stab a Black Lagoon. If they do it right, then it'd practically be a license to print money... 🍄

I appreciate your experienced take. I agree the casting for Spike was off, but I think they got Jet right. A bounty of the week, where you weren't sure if Fey would double cross them or not would have been great.

It's truly weird that "fan service" is used as an insult or criticism. Fan service means giving the fans exactly what they want. If Hollywood were a real business then giving their customers exactly what they want should be their mission statement.

To even further recognize the casting choice for Nami, her chest size is spot on for how the character was drawn at the point of the story the live action takes place, so there isnt even any inconsistency to compensate for

Y'know one true moment to test how woke this show is: the scene with Zoro and Kuina speaking after she defeats him when they're younger. She bring up facts of biology, but he argues fighting against the odds to fulfill your dreams is worthwhile. I thought they handled that bit super well.

Even with your reputation and intelligence, you'd make a better Chief Creative Officer at Disney than the current regime.

One Piece I feel was learned on the fly after what happened with Bebop. The development for this show was kept under wraps where we really didn't see any footage of it until a month or so out. We only had casting to go off of for the longest time and the only video content released was the actors showing how much they've been training to be their characters. The first episode of One Piece also felt very much like Bebop with its quality, but it ramped up heavily episode 2 onward. I think they made the first episode first some time before, and after Bebop's failure they stuck their heads down and fixed the rest of the season with what they knew, and made a better product as a result, both in film making and marketing.

7:48 Well, a large part of that is how Oda changed his style over time. Nami grew in size a lot. The actress they picked seems to match her style of the beginning arcs of the show. (From what I remember)

For One Piece: While it isn't a perfect replica of the manga or anime (which would be impossible), it manages to stand on its own while remaining deeply respectful of the original One Piece characters and world. For these reasons, it's appreciated by both die-hard One Piece fans and newcomers alike. The care and love for the source material are evident in the easter eggs and subtleties, such as Garp simply mentioning Bogart by name, or skipping the Shushu scene but cleverly referencing it at the end of the episode, or omitting Richie (likely for budgetary reasons) but still alluding to a dancing lion. I'm so glad someone finally understood that an adaptation doesn't need to be an exact copy; it just needs to honor the characters, world-building, themes and ambiance of the source material.

I am sad because I was very hopeful for the Cowboy Bebop and could not care less about the One Piece. One Piece is undoubtedly an excellent anime, but it was after my days in the genre. I am happy for the fans of One Piece.

The Expanse works because even though it's high space technology which is quite realistic, it centers on much more basic story qualities: tense standoffs, political intrigue, smart action and loyalty. Not to mention also the music score is 🙌

These are really interesting points about the way TV shows work. Will you ever do a video on the unsung heroes of TV productions? I would love to hear more about line producers.

7:10 - its worth nothing ODA picked the actors for each role, that helps. In General, Oda having veto rights saved this series from a number of disastrous reported changes.

I could never imagine Cho giving the eye speech from the end of the anime.

I saw your take on O P and decided to give it a go. Wow thanks Chato. I had no prior knowledge of it at all and was hooked from the start. It took me back to my younger days of watching programmes without a message ( if you know what I mean ). Perhaps people who make shows like this have finally understood that their audience understand the limitations of what they can do and just want a fair stab at producing shows that stay as true as possible to the source material. Lets face it LOTR by Peter Jackson did it, as did the studio behind Arcane. Again thanks Chato. Keep up the good work. I do miss your telephone calls skits that you did.

Im so happy Oda was heavily involved in this as he picked the cast

Because the one piece live cast respected the audience while Cowboy Bebop’s cast didn’t.

When I first saw the One Piece manga, I did not take a like it because of the weird art and whimsical tales. But after I got to know the world and its history, I got to love the anachronistic machines and extensive world building. What's more, it gets more and more exciting with each arc.

When Nami asks Luffy for help... just thinking about it gets me! Amazing casting!

"bringing characters you like in the living room" - nailed it.

Fun thing about animation vs live action. Cartoon characters don’t need 6 months in a hospital when they get injured before they can continue working. Cartoon characters also don’t do stupid shit in real life. If the one piece crew suffer any scandal, it's over. While if a single animator does anything, he gets right back to work.

You're the first person I've ever heard who said SAO's second season was better than the first. I'd love a video from you explaining that, because popular opinion is very much the opposite view, and your takes on show quality are always interesting.

Chato, I’m now upset, sir. I want that version of Cowboy Bebop that you just pitched, sir. That was exactly how I understood the anime. At first, I was thinking of a Sherlock Homles version of Cowboy Bebop but I can definitely agree on The Rockford files version. Mind you, I was a kid during that show but I definitely remember he was a detective and he gave his own commentary on things, I think. Overall, thank you for giving us a glimpse behind the scenes of somethings. It’s making sense on how some of our entertainment is failing so hard. It looks like a lot of amateurs are around within the “woke” crap, in my opinion. Last, going back to Cowboy Bebop, I really wanted to see that Spike and Vicious fight played out in live action as you suggested, but some amazingly good liberties could be taken for a series final. Oh well, I’m just dreaming now.

Informative and well put together! This was a pleasure to listen to. Thank you!

Wow, A calm, rational & thoughtful critique of anime. Hell has frozen over & I couldn't be happier. Keep up the good work. Take care and have a good one

If they had put Daniella Pineda in a costume that was closer to the anime and had her act more sexy than tough (I thought she'd been cast because she seems to have been something of a sex-pot in her previous movies), people would have liked her just fine as Faye, lack of boobs notwithstanding. Hell, even the costume they went with would have been okay if she had just acted like Faye, relying on deception more than fighting to get what she wants. Having her sashay along with the jacket slipped off her shoulders would have gone a long way toward evoking a Faye-like vibe. But as portrayed, her character was unrecognizable and that was her REAL problem.

i totally agree with you on Bebop. if it had more Bounty of the Week stories, new ones that weren't in the anime on top of the ones we saw, that would have been fun. and i stand by that 50 year old John Cho should NOT have been 27 year old Spike. Firefly is the best live action Bebop we're gonna get

What i love about Cowboy Bebop and other short anime, is that they respect your time and provide a high quality story.

Except for the fact that Oda was extremely involved, the creators themselves had questions that made Oda wonder on some details that he previously never considered, this shows that the rest of the crew was also actively seeking input from Oda without being dismissive. Now it could all be for publicity that such tit bits may as well have been made up, but I hope that they are true and will help keep the live action adaptation on the right course.

"Rockford Files" or... "Peter Gunn" in space?

After thinking about OP, I know why I like it so much and it's like a breathe of fresh air. Not only is it fun adventure, but it's about the characters blowing into town or a place and helping people, much like the ol' "Wandering Hero" TV series of the 70's and 80's that I used to watch as a kid. Maybe that's not so much "fresh air" but nostalgia for what made me a TV addict in the first place. IIRC, when they were promoting the LA Cowboy Bebop I thought they said they weren't going to be remaking the original stories. I assumed that meant they were going to do new stories, much like what Chato suggested, a bounty of the week. We already know where the characters end up. The LA shouldn't have gone anywhere near that. The CB anime movie did it correctly: just tell another story that falls somewhere between the original series episode 1 and 26.

"There are no laser blasters, computers, memory chips, space ships, or futuristic cars to worry about." For now. Just you wait. 😂

"Fulfilling the key expectations of fans." Yes, also known as the paying customer. Who wants a product which isn't deceased.

Remember when Keanu Reeves was supposed to play Spike? Yep, I'm that old.

Cowboy Bebop failed because the overall casting was bad and they completely ignored the show's themes (loneliness and being tormented by the past). The final straw for me was changing Jet into a divorcee who had a daughter and Faye being in a lesbian relationship with some background character.

Never got into one piece anime because of the commitment. But dear God they nailed it to the floor after looking at the live show myself and improved on it. The show don't tell is resounding in many of the episodes.

Love the Sword Art Online shoutout! That first season was incredibly good

Why is "fan service" a bad word. Why would you not want to make the fans happy. I love your analysis. I really like the idea that we have only have at best a guess as to what will be successful when green lighting a project. Mostly I think that adaptations that are faithful to the source material are the ones that are successful. Can you point out some adaptations that completely diverged that were successful?

I just finished watching the One Piece live action yesterday, and I gotta say I loved it. Godoy as Luffy was outright infectious with his child-like optimism, and overall good nature. I'm not sure about Usopp, and Sanji because I haven't gotten that far in the anime yet, but Mackenyu, and Emily Rudd nailed their characters as well. When I first started watching the anime I stopped at around episode 7 because there were a few other things I wanted to watch, and knew watching OP would be a massive commitment/time suck. Now that I've gotten past that I can start watching it again. My hope is the network execs finally see where they've been making their mistakes, and correct them for future projects. We don't need romance, social representation, or any of that other bullshit they've been slinging. The only representation we need is representing the original characters we love accurately. If you want to represent gay people in a story, write your own damn story, and leave them out of the ones they don't belong in. This weird fixation on sexuality, and romance needs to be put to rest when it comes to shows like OP. Not everyone wants to see it, and not everyone cares. We just want to be entertained, and to keep that entertainment as original as possible when concerning adaptations.

Romance doesn't ruin a series but in a story about adventure and with an epic scale it would be hard to fit in any meaningful way.

You are a blessing.

There's no need to be modest: you are a genius for any number of reasons. Comedy is clearly one of them. But your experience as a former network executive gives a unique insight that your comedy makes relevant to us regular joes. I think TV has an opportunity in streaming for new productions to go deep into storytelling but streaming services aren't taking great advantage of. It's sad because now is when we need new stuff, not retread old stuff.

You lot are forgetting another important detail...One Piece is one of or the greatest manga in Japan. Netflix could never ever mess with One Piece, that would be unforgivable. Even more with their past history with other franchises, Japan and the rest of the fanbase would not ever forgive Netflix.

Netflix execs shocking revelation - "What we learned is that fans are expecting you to be true to source material."

An actual once lord of Hollywood talking here about something of which I know not what. Two thumbs up regardless. (Because I like his voice.)

I got the same feeling from Cowboy Bebop live action, that I get from modern Star Trek or Star Wars shows. They are not respectful of the source material or canon, and seem aimed at insulting and belittling the earlier productions and their fans. One Piece may have it's flaws and differ from the Anime but it never feels like it is insulting it's origins and most importantly the fans!

A big factor was that Ichihiro Oda (the Creator) had to approve everything, this allowed for him to let the Producers/ writers. directors to go rouge

I always thought that Spike Speigel was Jewish and Faye was openly a 22 year old Singaporean beauty? It's disappointingly normal that Netflix completely ignored the characters for their brainless casting.

You just HAD to bring up Firefly, didn't you?!? **Sobs** Wash! It's always too soon!

The one time fan service actually is an insult is when you can tell they don't give a crap about it, just wanting to shove a certain idea or scene in there to shut up the fans of the original material. You can usually predict that this will happen when the interviews before the show or movie comes out involve the creators of it not showing any interest in keeping faithful to the original material. They'll often throw in an easter egg that only the big fans would even notice, but they'll do it ham fistedly. Chewbacca being allowed to keep the medal he found in a box of stuff at the end of episode 9 instead of being given his own medal, for example. Fans had much worse to complain about in that movie, but it was still a topic of complaints about mishandling the franchise.

Daniela Pineda single-handedly blew Cowboy Bebops chances - People weren't willing to give it a chance after she went off on the fans. Honestly I didn't think Bebop was bad at all....Although I've never seen the cartoon it was based on I have watched plenty of Sci-Fi shows and it's a perfectly serviceable 6/10 compared to say Star Trek: Picard and Kenobi at the bottom of the rankings or Firefly and Stargate SG:1 at the top of the rankings. If Daniela Pineda had kept her mouth shut people would have been less aggressive with their bad reviews and outright boycotts of the show.

Dude you just drop Sword art online like it is nothing :D I loved that show or the first two seasons of it, great stuff :D You keep surprising.

him : "One Piece doesn't have laser.." me : "..yet. One Piece, my good man, have everything" 😂😂😂

Having zero experience in the realm of movie/tv production I may just be talking out of my ass, but I have some thoughts on at least the casting bit. I get that having a big - or at least recognizable - name attached to a project is important, and often is really the only reason a project riding the line even gets greenlit, but there are definitely things that also have to be taken into consideration, especially when you are dealing with a property that has an in-built fanbase. One of the big ones, I would think, is whether or not the person you are looking to cast has a history of shooting their mouth off and pissing off their audience. You might be able to dance around that with a fresh property, but 1) when is the last time a fresh property saw the light of production day, and 2) fans who know ridiculously minute details of the property you are adapting are going to pay attention to the production, know what was said, and take it as a personal insult (because it almost always is). You can't hire somebody who pulls a Brie Larson or Rachel Zegler and expect to keep any fan who has even an iota of self respect. (Of course, the main problem is that so many of the people doing the hiring agree with the Bries and Rachels, and have never been able to figure out why calling somebody a racist bigot doesn't engender a whole lot of goodwill from the people they're verbally lambasting.) You can get away with fudging SOME semi-major details in casting IF the person you are casting is not a raging a-hole. Case in point John Constantine, who is blonde and British. Keanu Reeves is neither, and yet he was fantastic in the Constantine movie, and apparently there is a push from the fans for a sequel. Keanu doesn't talk shit, much less about fans, and is pretty universally liked. Hugh Jackman is way too tall to play Wolverine, but people got over it because he's a likeable guy and he played the part well. Meanwhile, Brie Larsen, who has the overall look of Captain Marvel down, is not liked by the fans at all, because she's a bitch and talks shit about fans.

I hope Oda stays alive and stays in the live action show for a long time

"Let's kick it some more!" -- perfect timing on delivery there!

Chato's delivery is more chill this week. Perhaps he's exhausted by his work on the upcoming The Prisoner episode?

Honeslty the comparison with Faye and Nami shows how subtle changes can have great difference, especially with writing and over all quality. We didn't get to see whether they are actually going to tone down Nami's outfits in the future as we don't see the time skip designs, but I have a feeling I wont mind if they do. If the story is good and the acting is good, making slight changes to appeal to an audience that is more prude about sexualization doesn't matter too much. Faye wasn't bad because of a wardrobe tone down, she was bad because the writing and directing was bad, the design change just didn't help is case, and its a superficial thing that is easiest to point to when we cant verbalize the rest of the issues we have with the show. Overall, its a hard balance to strike, but adaptation should both make the fans happy and bring a new audience. If you only try to get a new audience while being loosey goosey with the accuracy it fails, and if you only appeal to fans without expanding or bringing something new to the table then theres no reason to make it in the first place. OP made itself easy to get into for new fans, while also simultaneusly being the most faithful and most creative adaptation we've seen so far, with every change being deliberate in how they can enhhance the show and work better for a live action format.

A big challenge for Bebop vs OP is that one of the biggest strengths of the anime Bebop was that is was cool AF. Everything in Bebop was cool... The characters, the music, the style, the action, the settings (even the rundown ships). Bebop was that guy people know who is effortlessly cool. He can wear a weird outfit... Still cool... Drive a weird car.... Still cool... Have messy hair... Still cool... Etc etc. That kind of cool is impossible to copy. Which is why live action Bebop is incredibly difficult to create. Its possible but very challenging. Especially when the people making it didn't even understand the original.

As one of the few that enjoyed both series i would have to agree with some of your criticisms of of Bebop. Maybe a more episodic arrangement would have been better, but the again i never watched the anime. So i wasnt aware the show was like that.

It's not about pleasing the fans at all. It's about understanding and respecting the source material, what made it successful, what makes it appealing? Translating those things into a different medium and out to a whole new audience who can learn to appreciate it. I've been watching the one piece anime and the characters and storylines surrounding them have been fantastic. It's based on the most popular manga of all time. There's no reason to change anything about it's spirit, yes that happens to make current one piece fans happy, but it also lets it appeal to new fans of the ip, because for one, you're not letting your ego take over and say, "yeah millions of people like this already, but I'm going to change it and make it better."

Bebop LOOKS simple, but it's very subtle and deep. One PIece has a unique visual style too, but is MUCH more straightforward than the subtle slow burn of Cowboy Bebop's noir tale. It's not just about the future, it's about the nuance.

I made the same comparison with Bebop and Firefly, and the Bounty of the Week thing as well. It could have been so good. Too many factors ruined it. I think we also need to thank Oda for being such a bulldog. He was latched onto their backsides with his teeth every step of the way. That man was *not* going to let his baby get hurt.

Bebop was so bad, I wasn't going to give One Piece the time of day. Your review of O.P. got me to give it a chance and I love it!

Pre Coffee monologue delivery by Chato.

I tried one piece after your review, but the red head girl boss was a big turn off for me and I couldn’t finish episode one. Had potential though

Just started watching Netflix One Piece. It's fun, funny, and has heart. Good stuff.

Just discovered your channel. Keep it up!

respect for saying all that in such a calm way. sub and liked! keep the work up good sir love to hear more

A good comparison Chato. Thank you for this.

omg I just found your channel, and I love it! so different pacing from the other reviews! also love the name "Chato" hahahah

I had my doubt but after seeing their costumes, I was convinced

I trust Paul. He's been there, done this, done that, and I am not a bit surprised that he's seen a lot of anime series

Dammit why didnt you get to produce cowboy beebop! Following your model would have been awesome

Well not yet but lasers and some other advanced technology is on the way. The best way to describe the world of One Piece is that each arc is set to a different genre you go to one island and it’s a spy thriller the next one could be a island lost to time full of dinosaurs and another it’s like your five hundred years into the future.

I can really appreciate your knowledge of quality anime, as well as the best structure for a series, as opposed to a mini series. As a cinephile, I truly value your opinion, Chato.

“There are no laser blasters” hahahahah yet, we can save that for later. Great analysis gained a follow.

I'd like to point out that Nami "ampleness" was added later. In early one piece she had similar proportions as Emily.

While my wife and I were watching One Piece I pointed out how Nami, who is not a feme fatale the way Faye is in Bebop, still manages to be far sexier and powerful in the live action One Piece than Faye is in Bebop. Thanks for pointing that out, Chato!

First time coming across your channel, well done sir. You're low key hilarious.

I never thought of Firefly as a live action version of Bebop. But, now that you say it, I can absolutely see it. It has some of its own original ideas, of course, but there are parallels I had never considered before.