I’ve got zero issues with space Winnebagos.
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My logistical question is “if they can’t afford basics like food then where do they keep getting the cash to repair, refuel and re-arm four spaceships?” We’re not just talking gas money; those things shoot missiles and stuff and frequently get torn up pretty bad in battle.
I can accept that situation as part of the willing suspension of disbelief that goes with the show, but it doesn’t strike me as very realistic.
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Nothing except copyright law and the incessant demands of industrial capitalism says that the material can’t be revisited.
Yep. That’s my Captain’s Yacht when I get the promotion.
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I think that’s where all the money goes, along with the fines and damage for all the stuff that gets busted up when they capture someone. Life revolves around the ship, it’s the glue that holds them together. Much like Firefly.
In my mind it is one of those long-term situations that they perceive to be a temporary situation. I guess that’s why I find it really realistic. That’s how a lot of us live, believing that this is just a temporary thing and the door to normalcy is right around the corner, and then you look up and it is years later and there’s still no beef in the special beef and bell peppers.
Spike: There is no beef in here. So you wouldn’t really call it bell peppers and beef, now would you?
Jet: Yes, I would.
Spike: Well, it’s NOT!
Jet: It is when you’re broke, alright?
Spike: What happened to the million woolong reward we got for that last guy?
Jet: The repair bill for that cruiser you wrecked… and the one for that shop you trashed… (Spike sinks into his seat) …and the medical bill for the cop you injured… KILLED THE DOUGH!
Yeah, but then you have to live… somewhere. I get the feeling that nice places are extravagantly expensive and, given the choice between the Bebop and New Tijuana they probably hold onto their belief that the next big score is right around the corner and soldier on. Just like most of us do, lol.
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Do you know what? You’re exactly right.
However, nobody can suck the joy out of something like an anime fan who thinks something is a little bit wrong.
They have this ability to be endlessly, mindbuggeringly boring about one single subject that even atheists and prog rock fans are impressed by.
I watched one episode with my son, the anime fan (not that kind) and we thought it was ok.
Not bad.
Pretty good.
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It could be like that guy who has a souped up hot rod or customized car and can’t afford rent or other basics.
Though they did have two instances of running out of fuel (Faye’s) or being very low (Bebop).
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Yeah but if said guy regularly couldn’t afford food and then trashed his Ferrari in a high-speed chase I wouldn’t expect him to be able to cobble together enough money to get his car fixed in short order.
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But if he’s living in his Ferrari…
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If you can’t afford lunch then you don’t magically come by enough money to repair a Ferrari just because you happen to be living in it.
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Yeah. Hmmm…The economics of the show iirc are completely shambolic and chaotic to extremes and the sword for hire who feeds his blade before himself is just already kind of a trope in a lot of stories about mercenaries. So I always took it as part of the establishment of character and environment. Like it shows the priorities and also the seemingly insurmountable dysfunction of the world they live in. But realistically, I only think that because I like thinking about shows I enjoy watching that way, and it’s been a whiiile since I watched it actually.
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I think that the idea is that food itself (especially food that wasn’t made in a lab) has become something of a luxury item in and of itself after earth became largely uninhabitable.
Also, because of what happened on earth, there is plenty of junk lying around to salvage, so I doubt that they would get much for their ship or anything on it if they tried.
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This. I imagine Jet picked up the Bebop for cheap after the Gate Disaster, when no one needed large fishing trawlers anymore.
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Usually in these stories there’s an innovation between our time and theirs. Like in The Expanse, their drives are efficient enough to burn the engines all the way to the destination to provide gravity. It’s probably like living in an RV, except for the criminally high gate tolls and all the money they waste paying for damage that Spike causes.
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If ever a boingboing thread needed a big old “A WIZARD DID IT.”…
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like the rich people eating Ganymede sea rat as a delicacy vs. Spike’s instant noodle cups or Jet’s beefless bell peppers and beef (which kinda begs the question of where did he get the peppers?)
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The dish being referenced is this, so there is more to it than bell peppers and beef, but that’s a good point. (The meat used does not have to be beef in the Japanese version of the dish.)
Just for fun, here is someone trying to recreate it.
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YUMMERS! I will try that!
I sometimes forget where in the world you are - of course you understood the original. in the english subs the dish was called only “bell peppers and beef”.
I like your actual version better.
still going to try to make it, too!
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Be sure to make some with beef (or pork) for comparison, too. It’s pretty good stuff!
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