Original subtitles

Here's an audio commentary.

I worked on the layout and the script. I'll be your host today. I'm Dai Sato.

We have two guests today. Let me introduce them.

The first person is Ms. Hayashibara.

Thank you. It's been so long, but I did the voice of Faye Valentine.

It really takes me back. I'm Megumi Hayashibara.

Next up is Ms. Tada.

Thank you. Long time no see.

I played Ed, if I remember correctly. Right? Yes.

Yes, you did.

I'm Aoi Tada. I've just turned 23. Yes, you did.

I'm Aoi Tada. I've just turned 23.

Thanks.

Amazing. You were in high school when we recorded the show.

Right. I was 16 or so when we started.

You used to come to the studio in your school uniform, didn't you?

Yes, I did.

We did the game first and...

I remember she was talking about the entrance exam for high school.

- You're right. - You know, when we first started.

It was even before the TV series.

Yes. I was in middle school when I auditioned.

Neither of your characters appeared until later in the series.

- So the game was the first gig then. - Yes.

That's how it was.

And here's the infamous kiss scene.

Why did we have to... in this scene?

So this episode is "Hard Luck Woman."

Our intention was to ask our guests to choose their favorite episode,

but they weren't given a chance.

The staff, in return, recommended this particular episode.

So, what do you think?

Didn't Aoi-chan select some?

Yes, I picked a few that I liked and from my selection...

the staff chose this one, I believe.

Neither Faye nor Ed appears in the early episodes.

So there was no reason to pick any earlier episodes.

Otherwise, I would have had to talk gobbledygook.

So I selected the one with both of us in it and the one that was memorable.

And that was episode 24.

- Good for you! That's solid reasoning. - Good for you!

I said either one was fine.

As long as we were both in it, right?

Right. As long as we were both in it. As long as we were both in it, right?

Right. As long as we were both in it.

If it were just Faye,

there's an episode in which she gets drunk, hating herself,

and she meets this "queer" guy with big boobs...

- Ah, you mean "Jupiter Jazz." - Yes.

- Kenyu Horiuchi did the voice... - Ah, I remember now.

There was an episode like that.

- But Ed wasn't in it. - I know! We were hardly together!

Really.

Ed was mostly on the Bebop.

Most of our interactions were like "Wow," "ah," "hey," and so on, and...

We'd joke around and that was it.

Here comes the dad.

Ah, yes. Here comes the dad.

We were both featured with a nice balance... almost evenly...

in this episode.

- You're right. - You're right.

Also, isn't this the only time you two went on a journey together?

Yes. Right. Party of two...

Then you two go to Singapore.

This is where the water spurts out.

Ever since then, whenever I see a Merlion,

I always think of this episode.

- Water flowing down? - Right. Water flowing down.

It really takes me back...

The dad was quite a character.

- He certainly was. - He was something.

- There you go! - Water whoosh...

This is NOT a Merlion though. It's just Ed playing with water.

- And YOU are just being dragged around. - Right. Right. Right.

- I see. - Hmm.

I remember that Faye was annoyed throughout the episode...

- Right. - By the little kids.

"But can you find it?"

"Do you know them?"

- It takes me back... - Me, too.

This is when I'm asked to give them my nails.

Right. Right. - Here it comes!

- "Can I have your nails?" - There!

I wonder how they came up with dialogue like that.

- I agree. - Can I have your nails?!

- It's far-fetched. - Big time.

Don't tear off my nails!

- It's something brats would think of. - That's true.

You'd wonder why in the world they'd want something like that!

I really love this nun.

Oh?

I just love her!

She's beautiful yet strong.

She embodies the true strength of a woman.

- Right. - I agree.

She even cuts corners when praying.

Oh, that's right. You have good memory!

She says, "Never mind the rest!"

That's what I like about her.

We still remember the dialogue, like, "Give me your nails, please."

- Right. Right. - Also, "Never mind the rest."

I wonder why...

To reveal a secret, we hardly saw any pictures at the time of recording.

- Right. No pictures! - Yes. Yes.

- We had no colors. - Right. No colors!

- It was mostly lines. - Right.

- It was like that with this episode, huh? - Yes, it was.

Now we watch the video with sounds and it looks so natural.

- But we had nothing at first. - Right.

So, when we watched the finished work, it was like something entirely different.

- I agree. - It's like, "Wow, is this it?"

- You have no choice but to "imagine." - Yes.

You read the script and it's almost like recording a radio drama.

Right. And the visual elements are sort of references for us.

They're not complete pictures. They provide only expressions.

I can't eat that.

Yeah, because a whole fish is in it.

Look at Ed's bowl. I see a leg sticking out! Isn't that a frog?

- Look at Ed's bowl! - Yeah, you're right!

Oh, no!

She eats anything.

"I've only come here to eat a meal."

She's so cute.

Her face is all twisted for a change.

- Oh, I know it's the dad's... - Photo.

Don't you think it will become reality in the near future?

Y'know, the jiggly thing she opens up to see her dad? A hologram?

- Ah, yes! The one with 3D effect! - Does that already exist?

I don't think so.

It must be very close because LCD screens are really thin nowadays.

If you think about Beta decks...

I know what you mean.

This will definitely become reality in the future!

- I think it will be scary if it becomes real. - Scary? Why?

I feel like the humans will be overpowered by computers.

- I kinda understand. - Hard to believe it's coming from "Ed."

I'm an "analog" person. I'm not good at using computers.

- What about e-mailing via cell phones? - To me it's kind of a pain...

So I don't use it much. I'd rather call.

- So you'd rather speak directly. - I wonder if that's the case.

Now here's Ed's dad.

- Right... the dad... - Ah, it's Mr. Mclntire!

Oh, yes, that's right.

Doesn't he swallow a raw egg?

- He looks like a macho man. - He was too sweaty and unbearable!

He had such a dominating presence.

Wonderful.

I hear that he was inadvertently modeled after a Mr. Nagashima.

- What? Really? - You mean the "Let me see" person?

That's right.

When you listen to him talk, you might recognize the speech style. That's right.

When you listen to him talk, you might recognize the speech style.

Like he gets confused with names?

There's a fairly well-known anecdote in which Mr. Nagashima...

you know, he has a son...

- he forgot about him. Therefore... - He left him twice or so at a ballpark, right?

Yes, and that's the basis for the storyline about Ed being left at a day care center.

What?!

It would have been too obvious if the dad was exactly like him, but...

this character was so distinctive that I never noticed the similarities.

- Right. That's the scoop. - I didn't even notice.

I had no idea until now.

- Now it's about Faye's past. - Yes, it is.

I wonder what I would do if an old lady like this said I was her age.

- It must've been painfully sad. - I can imagine...

It's shocking...

And this background and setting make it even more painful.

In this episode Faye had a special continuing theme throughout.

The nun from earlier also says that emotional ties are important.

That also ties in with the end of the episode when Faye takes off.

First, emotional ties are mentioned, then this scene and she takes off.

I think the story is well-layered.

- That's my observation. - It's well-written. Absolutely.

In case of Cowboy Bebop,

there were never any lines that confused us or...

caught us off-guard as out-of-character lines.

Nothing at all!

When you are too in tune or in love with your own character,

you tend to identify yourself with your character, whether good or bad.

Though the scripts are written by writers or the directors,

there are times when you might think "Why would I say this?!"

So you'd have to ask questions.

You'd understand if they told you what it led to,

but if they say you can go ahead and change it...

you'd get sort of suspicious, you know.

But nothing like that ever happened with this series.

- There were no redundant lines. - You're right.

- They paid great attention to pauses. - Right.

Oh? She's feeling something here.

Ah! It's so painfully sad!

- This is like a typical example. - There's no room for voice actors!

- Oh, no! That's not the case! - Something like, "Hmm?" or "What?!"

- There's no need for ad lib. - No need to say those things!

Their expressions and pauses between the lines say it all!

That's very rare for an anime series! Or even in a drama. Right?

- Nowadays everything is explained. - That's true.

There are more books these days on how to express one's feelings.

Look at her hair!

It's just amazing...

All four of them have completely different personalities, but...

you can tell that they all care about each other without explicit explanation.

The theme of this episode is "family."

- Look at his eyes... - Family... family...

The chickens were a pseudo-family...

- There goes an egg. - Ooh, that's gross!

Yuck...

Pseudo-family, huh?

Mclntire... Mclntire...

He can't remember names...

- Ah, I get it now. - He keeps calling him Mac something...

That's why he sounds like that certain someone!

Right!

He swallowed another one!

Here comes a hearty laugh.

Ah! There it goes!

Let's go!

"Hurry, Macky-Mike!"

Now it's "Macky-Mike"

I guess names are nothing but symbols.

He's so absent-minded that he thinks Ed is his son!

That's right.

- Father! - Right, that's what she called him.

Wow, she's so sexy. There's really no room for a voice actress.

Right here I'm not uttering a word!

Not even a reaction sound.

On top of that, the VCR in her room...

it appeared in an episode full of gags. Do you remember?

- It had to be picked up from a basement. - Right... in Akihabara.

Now the item in such a knockabout episode appears so sadly here.

- Attention to details like a prop. - Exactly. Continuity is excellent.

- You wouldn't usually notice such details. - You're right.

Maybe that's why it was hard to pick just one favorite episode.

That's understandable, because they're sort of connected all together.

The way her memories are depicted is impressive too. How can I say this?

It's not a series of events in linear order.

A collection of images are shown one after another with a bang each time.

- Painfully sad... - That fly-away scene is so sad...

Maybe this is what a revolving lantern is like.

Revolving lantern?

They say one's life flashes in front of one before he or she dies...

Ah, you mean like flashbacks?

"Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry..."

I love this line!

She ends up saying, "Sorry." She's never said it!

First time, right?

Whenever she bumps into someone, the other person is always at fault.

She'd usually say, " It's YOUR fault, because you're the one standing here!"

But here she says, "Sorry."

Faye might have been a different person before she regained her memory.

Isn't that what we briefly see here?

- She looks like a well-off girl, too. - Right. Right. Right.

You know, she says, "Hooray for me!"

- Ah, that's right! - Ouch!

- Ouch... ouch... ouch... - Hooray, hooray, hooray for ME!

I know! I remember now!

I thought that was so funny.

Right. Aoi-chan and I laughed about it and we were kind of embarrassed.

- But guys were really "touched." - Unsho-san said he liked the story!

Right. He did say that.

Guys got all romantic, but we were really embarrassed.

Right. Cheering yourself is a bit much. "Good morning to me" might be better.

- Girls were disenchanted, unlike guys. - Is that so?

Two opposite sentiments on Bebop.

I see. I was moved by it, to be honest...

- Ah, you're a typical guy! - I guess so.

- We perceive things so differently. - You must prefer it to be clear-cut.

"Good morning to me" might be somewhat acceptable, but still... right?

- I thought it was kinda cute. - Right. It was cute, but...

Anyway, it was certainly a good story. - Yes.

Ah... there he is.

Ed's dad...

This is the only high scene for these two in this episode.

Ah, you might be right.

- They hardly show up. - They're left behind.

It's the complete opposite of the usual pattern.

You're right. I'm usually the one left behind, protecting the ship.

Right. Right. Right.

"Yes! Happiness comes in the form of a map!"

"We are creating maps to save the Earth!"

He sounds so naive and I guess Ed and her father share that in common, too.

- I wonder what her mother was like. - Exactly! I'd love to find out.

She chose this guy as a spouse...

and regardless of what happened later...

I wonder how the Mother is doing.

- It's either they divorced or she died. - I would go for the "she died" version.

- Like as soon as she gave birth to Ed. - Yeah, that sounds more like it.

So Ed was raised by her dad and he ended up leaving her at the orphanage.

She was left and forgotten at a daycare center.

- That sums it up. - He's tough.

A mother will never leave her child at a daycare center no matter what.

Right. There's no way!

That's not gonna happen.

So she died... we've decided to kill her off!

We're adding to the story line!

This particular story is so interesting that it allows us to read between the lines.

Yes. I agree.

- What? Is this the Bebop? - Yes, it is.

- Isn't Ed piloting right now? - Right. Right. Right.

Really?

Besides, she's using the radio controller that she used when she first appeared.

This is another great example of continuity.

Amazing... we recognized it instantly.

Wow, watch out!

That's impossible!

What's up with this "flexibility?"

Indeed...

"This is father-person."

Father person...

She probably got her hair from her mother... like the color.

Her skin color is just like her dad's.

Ah, you're right.

- She's on the darkish side. - Right... rather dark.

What kind of greeting is that?

He's so out there.

It's like, " Here's a souvenir. Sorry. Now have some eggs."

That's right. Then they'll eat eggs like crazy.

- Now I remember! - It's painfully sad... they do it silently.

That really made me cry.

Ay-yi-yi...

I originally heard that Ed would get off the ship here.

I wondered how the story would go.

So when I read the script, I was deeply moved.

I cried just by reading the script.

I know. Then, after this, the story turns more serious with the battle and stuff.

So, if Ed had stayed...

she would have freaked out. There was no more room for goofing around.

Now I remember... Aoi-chan came to the studio although she had no lines.

- Yes, I did. - Really. - She continued to come.

So you were outside the booth then.

Because she was on the Bebop for a long time...

I didn't like not being on it at the end. So I went on my own.

Yeah... two more episodes to go.

Since I wasn't on board at the beginning, I wanted be there at least at the end.

Well, what can I say...

I really admire how Aoi-chan felt about her character.

But it was this series itself which drove us to feel that way.

Yes, definitely!

It's not like, " I'm not scheduled for recording any longer."

You felt so sad about not being able to be there.

Right. I was so frustrated!

- There are no other shows like that! - Indeed.

As for me...

this was my debut work like Aoi-chan.

So I didn't really realize at the time.

But, now I think back, it was such a great show to work on with a great staff.

- I agree. - It really hit me later.

The dialogues didn't feel like dialogues. They were more like talking to oneself.

When Yama-san was practicing right next to me or vice versa...

I'd say, "What did you say?"

I'd think he was talking to me and ask him what he wanted.

But it turned out that he was just reading the script.

- Everyone was really into the show. - And it was so real...

But, whether good or bad...

Mr. Yamadera and... what's his name? I mean the main character.

Spike?

Right. Spike! Spike?

Right. Spike!

They were totally different.

So, after testing or something and I'd be sitting on a couch comfortably...

he'd come in really cheerfully, saying, "Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!"

I used to get mad at him. I wanted him to stay in the Spike mood longer.

Ah, how sad! He's peeling the egg shells!

Ein...

This is the big moment of decision...

It means Ein made up his own mind to leave with Ed.

- He turns back right here! - Yeah, right here!

It's like, "See ya, Dad!"

It takes me back... Daddy Jet...

Actually Jet took care of Ein most.

- He almost turns back once... - Ah, what a cute... corgi...

Every time I see a corgi on the street, I think it's Ein.

Me, too...

"Hey, it's dinner time..."

Ah, this is so sad...

He's gone...

Ah! He's annoying. He's acting cool!

This kind of stuff is... annoying...

Also, they don't say a word.

Besides, Jet is wearing an apron.

Bye-bye, huh?

Drawing the right angle neatly...

Faye drew a bed on the ground.

- Ah, this is so sad. - Yes, indeed...

Similar voices...

You just don't know what to say around here in this episode.

They're eating the eggs!

Oh, no! They keep eating them!

Well, I don't know about guys, but...

for example, at a farewell party, or something like that...

there are times when you are so charged emotionally and...

you just can't say anything like "Thank you" no matter what.

- All you can do is to say nothing. - Yes, I can relate to that.

You can't even say, "By the way..."

Therefore, egg-binging...

Egg-binging?!

It feels like something will snap.

You're not supposed to talk at a time like that.

- Ah! - Both of them...

They're gonna develop allergies for sure!

Eating so many eggs at once when they usually don't eat decently.

- That's true because they've been poor. - Yes. They've been poor.

At one point they were...

Anyway, Ed will grow up to be pretty...

when she's older...

I'd love to see Ed all grown up.

- I'm a little concerned about her. - When will she change her life?

Ah, it's over.

So, see you... someday... ladies. Ah, it's over.

So, see you... someday... ladies.

Usually you'd see "space cowboy" in that spot, but this time it's "cowgirl."

- That's right. Another example of... - Details they pay attention to...

Like the episode with the fridge says, "The End?"

- You mean the mysterious creature? - Yes, yes.

Details...

Right. Each episode is full of variety.

So, we've already reached the end.

We sure did.

This may indeed be the last gig for you...

- On Bebop... - Yes.

Could you give us your final words on Bebop? First, Aoi-san...

You never know if this will be the last or not...

- You wanna do more. - Sure, of course.

When I say I wanna do something, things tend to happen.

That's something to be happy about, but when I watch this show again...

I realize that it has taught me so many things.

I always say this but...

I've learned a lot from the character, staff and others on the team and...

they've all made me who I am today. I strongly believe that.

Thank you. What about you, Ms. Hayashibara?

I have nothing more to say.

I might be being unkind, but...

I'll just stick to that. I'm being unkind. It's almost like "That's that!"

- So, anyway... - You just have to understand...

I hope you enjoyed the audio commentary.

- See you somewhere, someday. - Certainly.