You're Gonna Carry That Weight, The Point of Cowboy Bebop

What exactly is the point of Cowboy Bebop? A question that has been asked many times. And admittedly it's a bit pretentious. Let's take a deep dive into Cowboy Bebop and find the point of a bunch of misfits finding meaning while facing their pasts. Wait...

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Merch!

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Twitter - @A_FlyingWalrus
00:00 Introduction
03:19 In the Past
05:51 Jet
09:34 Faye
12:49 Ed and Ein
16:06 Spike
24:10 The Point

[AFlyingWalrus]

Thank you so much to everyone that has joined me so far as I rant about things I love, primarily writing. I remember when I was hesitant to share my opinions on the internet because I wasn't "qualified." You have all shown me I was very wrong about that assumption.

[freazeezy]

There's a writing rule for dialogue that says characters should never say exactly what they mean. Everything they say should be filtered through who they are as a character. Nobody on the beebop ever says exactly what they mean. It's always a "story" they heard or a joke. Everyone is indirect. It's so well done

[MegaSim]

What I found most compelling about this show (though I didn't realize it when watching, tbf) was this theme of moving and moving without actually reaching your goals, being lost in the process and being fullfilled by that alone while still experiencing the loss of not accomplishing what you set out to do in the first place, but accepting it as part of life

[attaxolotl]

if i had a nickel for every cowboy bebop video essay titled “you’re gonna carry that weight”, i’d had 3 nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird it happened thrice.

[shalambam]

The fridge episode is a one off, but it also showcases the main theme of the show in 20 some minutes. When you put things off for too long, they’ll catch up with you.

[thedeepsteak]

To me they are all parts to a single person the grounding father figure, the rebellious teen, the self destructive stoic and the whimsical child. To me they represent the stages of growing up.

[bdinaravideo]

I think Ed has the most chances of changing her life. She is young and doesn't carry as many regrets and memories as the rest of the crew. I think, that's why her leaving Bebop felt so significant. The mood shifts immediately.

[botanical_chloride_]

This show really got me, it simply was and then simply wasn't, fizzling out as each got both closure and the melancholic acceptance that it will not and cannot be the same as it once was because regardless time will continue to move forward even while you yourself remain stuck in the past.

[LoneLeeGH]

Cowboy Bebop came into my life during THE darkest time in my life. 2003, I'd always wanted to see a "real" anime as the Dragonballs and Digimons of the world didn't appeal to me yet. Having started the series on Session 5 Ballad of the Fallen Angels, I was hooked. How a show could be melancholy but humorous with a soundtrack and provide characters that stood out above anything else that was on TV.

Granted, I was only 13 years old at the time but a head above the rest so to speak. It was a soothing adventure with characters I was slowly growing attached to. Then I watched the Hard Luck Woman.

See, I was essentially homeless at the time. Living in my aunt's garage, abandoned by my mother. So that sense of belonging really hit hard. REALLY hit hard.

Cowboy Bebop was my rock from then forward. Many anime came and went but that was my mainstay. Rewatching in it's entirety 40 maybe 50 times, I kid you not.

I was lucky enough to meet the cast a few years ago at a convention. They were fantastic. And at that point it felt like my life had come full circle. I was working, living on my own, looking forward to the future.

Sorry for the boring story, but tremendous video and for some unexpected spilled tears remembering the weight I used to carry.

[noahfeldman]

I think what really draws me into Bebop is how human the characters are. It’s a small step beyond just relatable. But really human and “real”, like I’m looking into their lives and how deep it all gets for them. From Faye literally missing out on her entire life, or Spike having to try to leave everything behind for the woman he loved, just everything. Absolutely love it.

[tully]

“See you cowgirl, someday somewhere”
I’m not crying 🤧🤧🤧🤧

[UltraHD.]

When Ed joined the crew, me: what an annoying character.
When she and Ein left: crying my eyes out.
This episode, them leaving, Fay drawing and laying down in her imaginary bed, the silent egg eating massacre (with 5 plates!) and then, THAT song, must still be one of the most heartbreaking things I ever watched.
And later, one of the best finales to any show I know.

[baliorne]

cowboy bebop is the only show that can be a western, sci-fi, mafia, bounty hunt, but every moment feels real

[TachiFrypan]

When asked, I always describe Cowboy Bebop as "A group of main characters, all from different genres, floating on a spaceship and doing side quests before completing their epilogues".

[GGs-cu]

"Call Me Call Me" was my favorite song. I think it expresses the yearning for someone to call you home and ease the frustration of both having no place to belong to in the universe and not knowing how to find that place either. The way Faye tries to cling to her forgotten past is kinda like how someone might reminisce on foggy childhood memories and use the nostalgia to remember what home feels like. The song playing over the sunset scene hit me hard, as if it was a song I used to listen to long ago and had been longing to listen to again.

[pheonixo]

I think what makes this anime so particularly special is how well they make you feel melancholy sadness throughout the entirety of the show. The anime was so good I wish I never watched it. Now I have to live the rest of my life knowing how good it was and live with the fact that its over forever. We're all going to carry that weight.

[MSakura-fppl]

The reason why I love CB so much is the arrangement of characters.
The four main characters are one confused by the past (SPIKE), one living in the past (JET), one searching for the past (FAYE), and one not caring about the past (ED).
In the end, those who are confused by the past and look for the past make a break with their past, and those who live in the past and don't care about the past accept their past and move on.
You can literally apply this to life. In your teenage, you barely remember things when you were kid, just like Ed did. Nothing struggles you, or you might not even understand what your past means to you. After you grow up, you become more like Jet, in which you need to deal with the past that haunts you, take responsibility, and more. Later on, you forget things just like Faye. The memories are lost, and the people you used to live with are no longer vivid in your head. And finally, life comes to an end.

Seeing all those stages of life joined together really got me. Feels like we met different friends and finally went our separate ways, which is exactly how life goes. Because after all, we're gonna carry that weight.

[nikotsapaliaris]

25:45 That was my favourite side episode. The writing was and symbolism was just top notch. The kid is someone out of time, who can't die. He's accepted his fate, and is just essentially living as an empty husk, waiting for the day that will kill him. He's symbolic of Spike, and when Spike finally kills him, he reaction forshadows spikes at the end.

[SilverSpoonRiche]

Faye's video still makes me tear up. I never knew "You're gonna carry that weight" was referring to the audience. Bravo! Thanks for making me revisit feelings I didn't know I had for this show. I too was going through tough times and loved great shows like this to get me through.

[jellyc]

A big point of Faye’s last conversation was her accepting and coming to terms with the fact that she was in love with him romantically not just that she considered him his family. The story he tells her about his eye and how he had died once before was his way of telling her that she wanted something he could not give her. It’s her accepting that which she already knew, the man she loved could not love her back the way she wished he would or could. Her sadness is about losing Spike in two ways. She knows that he’s not only not coming back but also that he doesn’t/can’t love her the way she loves him. It’s heartbreaking on multiple layers.