Original ‘Cowboy Bebop’ Japanese voice cast reunites after 20 years to dub live-action Netflix series

October 13, 2021

The Japanese dub of Netflix’s live-action adaptation of “Cowboy Bebop,” premiering in November, is set to feature the original anime’s voice actors.

Old and new: Netflix announced that the original voice cast of the critically-acclaimed anime will take on their original roles for the Japanese language track of the live-action adaptation, with Taiten Kusunoki replacing the late Unshō Ishizuka as Jet Black.

Kōichi Yamadera returns as the voice of Spike Spiegel, who will be played by John Cho in the live-action version of the series.
Other returning anime cast members include Megumi Hayashibara as Faye, Norio Wakamoto as Vicious, Gara Takashima as Julia, Ken’yû Horiuchi as Gren, Takaya Hashi as the Teddy Bomber, and Tsutomu Taruki and Miki Nagasawa as Punch and Judy.
Hikaru Midorikawa is back as the voice of Lin, with Romi Park voicing Lin’s younger brother Shin, who was originally portrayed by Nobuyuki Hiyama.
Masako Isobe will be the new voice of Spike’s mentor Mao, replacing Kazuaki Itō.

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The show lives on: All 26 episodes of the “Cowboy Bebop” anime, which is currently streaming on Hulu, will also make their way onto to Netflix on Oct. 21, giving fans enough time to catch up on the story before the live-action adaptation is released on the platform on Nov. 19.

Executive producer André Nemec assured fans that the Netflix series will not be “violating the canon in any direction.”
“For me, it’s a great surprise and honor that the ‘Cowboy Bebop’ universe has thrived for over 20 years and will continue onward,” said Shinichirō Watanabe, who directed the original anime as well as consulted on the live-action series, according to Entertainment Weekly.
“‘Cowboy Bebop’ is an important work for me,” voice actor Yamadera was quoted as saying. “I have long anticipated a live-action version. I can feel the strong respect it has toward the anime. I hope that viewers will see the atmosphere of the Spike character that I previously portrayed in John Cho’s performance, who is skillfully taking on the role in this version. There are also many settings and developments that can only be pulled off in a live-action series. I hope that both people who love ‘Cowboy Bebop’ and those who are new to the title can enjoy this new series!”

Featured Image via Netflix Anime

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