i meant to write up more about this last time i watched, but
i think a lot of Super Legit Movies/Novels/Etc have this interesting property where, not all aspects of it will appeal to me at all times, but something really good just grips me each time, and more importantly, what that thing is changes over the years.
when i watched Bebop in high school i adored Spike. i mean, how could you not? he is kind of a badass, he has this shady past, it's tragic seeing that past catch up to him, etc etc. the gut-feeling passion he has for Julia is a gut-feeling passion i related to at that age; the feeling that what was going on now could resonate for years and years made total sense because everything feels so intense, and so on.
when i rewatched it about a year ago, though, it was Faye who spoke to me. deeply. i didn't think Spike's story was handled badly this go-round, mind, but it did feel a touch melodramatic, a touch less relatable, a bit more i've-seen-this-before.
but i found so much more to admire in Faye than i remembered. i'd thought of her as kind of a throwaway/background character my first watch, and the fact that she's got the fanservicey body type can feed into that misperception. but watching this time, i adored how cunningly she navigated the bounty-hunting world; her brother-sister sniping interactions with Spike were delightful; in all her random impulsive "lol Faye fucked off again with all our money" episodes i felt her rootlessness, how hard it was for her to feel settled, i felt that a lot. "speak like a child" became my new favorite episode—hnngh, that ending is a heartbreaker, but it's also just such a shock to see the youthful-optimistic Faye, and contrast that with the Faye now, and realize that those two Fayes make total sense together because you're older, you have a better idea of how people change, etc
and her arc benefits a lot from the fact that, though she doesn't really act like it, she's the only character i feel like who still has a lot ahead of her, and thus her trajectory is one of more growth and self-discovery, rather than huntedness and remorse. (and the show knew this, too. "at least you have a past," faye complains bitterly to spike at one point. "and you have a future," he says.)
it would've been bad if i rewatched it and was like "ugh spike is so dumb why are we spending all this time on him"; i don't think a Super Legit Show should have grating or sloppily-handled aspects. but i can deal with "spike's fine, just not my thing, but ohmygod Faye yes." middle-school me needed a melodramatic tragic action hero with depth and intrigue; young-adult me needed to see a faye confused and alone and navigating a crazy future, and i could deal with spike being a bit on the action tropey side in the meantime :P
i can't wait to see what'll grip me if i watch it again in ten years.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2017-05-10 07:05 pm (UTC)i meant to write up more about this last time i watched, but
i think a lot of Super Legit Movies/Novels/Etc have this interesting property where, not all aspects of it will appeal to me at all times, but something really good just grips me each time, and more importantly, what that thing is changes over the years.
when i watched Bebop in high school i adored Spike. i mean, how could you not? he is kind of a badass, he has this shady past, it's tragic seeing that past catch up to him, etc etc. the gut-feeling passion he has for Julia is a gut-feeling passion i related to at that age; the feeling that what was going on now could resonate for years and years made total sense because everything feels so intense, and so on.
when i rewatched it about a year ago, though, it was Faye who spoke to me. deeply. i didn't think Spike's story was handled badly this go-round, mind, but it did feel a touch melodramatic, a touch less relatable, a bit more i've-seen-this-before.
but i found so much more to admire in Faye than i remembered. i'd thought of her as kind of a throwaway/background character my first watch, and the fact that she's got the fanservicey body type can feed into that misperception. but watching this time, i adored how cunningly she navigated the bounty-hunting world; her brother-sister sniping interactions with Spike were delightful; in all her random impulsive "lol Faye fucked off again with all our money" episodes i felt her rootlessness, how hard it was for her to feel settled, i felt that a lot. "speak like a child" became my new favorite episode—hnngh, that ending is a heartbreaker, but it's also just such a shock to see the youthful-optimistic Faye, and contrast that with the Faye now, and realize that those two Fayes make total sense together because you're older, you have a better idea of how people change, etc
and her arc benefits a lot from the fact that, though she doesn't really act like it, she's the only character i feel like who still has a lot ahead of her, and thus her trajectory is one of more growth and self-discovery, rather than huntedness and remorse. (and the show knew this, too. "at least you have a past," faye complains bitterly to spike at one point. "and you have a future," he says.)
it would've been bad if i rewatched it and was like "ugh spike is so dumb why are we spending all this time on him"; i don't think a Super Legit Show should have grating or sloppily-handled aspects. but i can deal with "spike's fine, just not my thing, but ohmygod Faye yes." middle-school me needed a melodramatic tragic action hero with depth and intrigue; young-adult me needed to see a faye confused and alone and navigating a crazy future, and i could deal with spike being a bit on the action tropey side in the meantime :P
i can't wait to see what'll grip me if i watch it again in ten years.