Last weekend was my first experience with the crew of Serenity. Even with slightly heightened expectations from all the hype the movie has been receiving over the past few months, I was completely blown away at just how good this movie was. Sure, the emphasis is on the great cast of characters, but it seemed like the backstory of the characters as well as the entire universe was so fully defined, that at any time, the smallest detail could be pulled out and used to progress a major plot point at a moment’s notice.

Having such depth available was the most impressive part of the film, and it makes sense considering Serenity is famously based on Writer/Director Joss Whedon‘s cancelled sci-fi TV series Firefly (of which I hadn’t yet watched prior to the feature film). Influences fly around like space debris – Asian culture is fused with the Wild Wild West, with a pinch of Star Wars. But as I watched, I couldn’t help but connect the real influence behind Serenity – Cowboy Bebop.

Yes, the circle is complete. A movie, based on a TV show, heavily influenced by – and almost blatantly borrowing from – one of the greatest Japanese Anime shows ever. Seems tailor made for a SpotAnime.com expose.

The similarities are staggering. Let me break them down:

Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds vs. Spike Spiegel – Both are space “cowboys”, so to speak, but Whedon would probably rather call them referred to as “ronin” defined by Wikipedia as a masterless samurai. It also states, “Ronin might be hired as yojimbo, bodyguards or mercenary fighters”. Both the Serenity and Bebop crews wandered the galaxy as just that, bouncing from one bounty to another just to keep food on the table, lead by their always-stubborn leaders (Mal and Spike), but at the same time haunted by a sense of conscience to do good.

Their scruples are probably a result of a past they would rather forget. Mal was a Captain who is haunted by the lives of the many casualties he lead during a universe-wide civil war. Spike’s history is much more mysterious, consisting of disjointed flashbacks as a member of the Japanese Yazuka (Mafia) and ties to a Syndicate leader named Vicious.

Both have broken hearts – Mal’s courtesy of Inara, and Spike’s thanks to a “vicious” love triangle with Julia – but their pride gets in the way from any outward appearance of it.

It is funny that Yojimbo was an Akira Kurosawa film, remade as a spaghetti western in A Fistful of Dollars starring Clint Eastwood. To add to that, Shinichiro Watanabe, director of Cowboy Bebop, directed Samurai Champloo as his follow-up project, about…you guessed it, a band of wandering samurai. Talk about going full circle and slamming it in reverse.

Jayne vs. Jet Black – Both characters can be consider the “muscle” of their respective crews, although Jet seems to have more of a substantial background. Former member of the Inter Solar Systems Police, enhanced by cybernetics, and the owner of the crew’s vessel, the Bebop (coincidentally, both “captains” are not the original owners of their respective ships they command – Serenity was Inara’s ship). Both Jayne and Jet seem to be connected primarily by rock-hard physical attributes and gruff personalities.

Zoe vs. Faye Valentine – Both women would rather carry a gun than a makeup bag, but can still turn a man’s head as fast as they can throw a kick to it. Beauty and brawns are the name of the game for these two, although Zoe has her head on much straighter than Faye.

Kaylee/Mr. Universe vs. Edward – On Bebop, Edward was part-Engineer, part-computer hacker. Separate those two parts and you get Kaylee and Mr. Universe. This might not seem like much of a similarity, but dig a little deeper and you can find more solid connections. Ed as a teenaged girl and Kaylee as a young woman, both act immature, both talk more than they should, and both have a knack for tinkering. And just like Mr. Universe, both have never found a computer they couldn’t hack and have a constant need for companionship.

Shepard vs. Laughing Bull – Laughing Bull is a Shaman who provides Spike with guidance and shelter throughout the series and movie. Shepard is a Shaman who provides Mal with guidance and shelter throughout the series and movie. You can’t get much closer there. And especially when a Shaman is a supporting character in both universes, the influence is obvious.

The Operative vs. Vicious – Hmmm…both are mercenaries with clever names, seemingly indestructible and carry katanas as their weapon of choice. It may be a stretch, but I doubt a villian as cool as Vicious would go unnoticed by Whedon.

River vs. Melfina – For Bebop fans, who is Melfina you ask? Well, she’s not a Bebop character at all, but a character from the other Bebop…the poor-man’s Bebop…Outlaw Star. And it’s interesting to trace back the main plot of Serenity and think how Whedon, as a (presumed) fan of Cowboy Bebop, could also be a fan of Outlaw Star.

In Outlaw Star, Melfina was an experiment created for a group of merciless galactic rulers called the Kei Pirates. She is part-human, part-machine, created from an ancient genome from a being known as the “maiden”. The maiden is the only one capable of finding, and navigating the way to the Galactic Leyline. The maiden is also the only one capable of accessing its great powers (source). A ship, the Outlaw Star, was created specifically for Melfina to link up with and navigate to the Galactic Leyline. A desperate, ragtag group of space journeymen (I said it was the poor man’s Bebop) find themselves in the possession of the ship, and Melfina, after a job; and on a journey to the far reaches of the galaxy to uncover the riches of the Galactic Leyline, all the while in pursuit by the Kei Pirates.

In comparison, the crew of Serenity find themselves in the possession of River Tam, a reader who has escaped the experimentation and captivity of the Alliance. By reading the minds of Alliance officials while in captivity, River “is the only one capable of finding, and navigating the way” to the hidden planet of Miranda and the secrets it holds. The crew of Serenity set forth to Miranda, all the while in pursuit by the Alliance.

Sound familiar?

Serenity vs. Bebop – To say the two ships share similarities is like saying a Passat is a lot like an Accord. Cars don’t deviate from the basic form much – they have doors, windows, an engine in the front, four wheels, etc. So I can’t go much on physical characteristics between the two. But I think any fan of Firefly would say Serenity is as much of a character as any of the actors, and that can be said as much about the Bebop. As well as the Millennium Falcon, to which Serenity has also been compared.

Just as the cowboy-samurai association mentioned above, the mythos surrounding Cowboy Bebop and Serenity are well connected – “Cowboy” Bebop meets the very Wild Wild West of Serenity; how the characters in both use conventional, even antiquated, weapons; and how every city is decorated and adorned with Japanese and Chinese lettering and culture (although, to be honest, the cities in Bebop look decidedly American, but the anime/Serenity link can still be associated).

I think the facts above are evidence enough of Bebop’s influence on Serenity. And this isn’t a knock on Whedon’s creative abilities, because he still delivered one fun movie. But or those of you who haven’t been “cross-cultured” by Serenity or Bebop, now is a perfect chance to do so.