Cowboy Bebop

[GinaSzanboti]

Just in time for you all to play along with the home version,
here are the eggs I noticed in Sympathy for the Devil:

This one's been staring me in the face forever, but I never got it
until now. The brand of dog food Faye steals from Ein is Dog One
- or maybe it's One Dog? or 1 Dog One? Both the numeral and the
word appear on the label. And of course, Ein is German for one...sort of.
"Eins" is the word for one, but einhundert is one hundred, einthusend
is one thousand. Einstein means "a stone." So I think "ein" is
sort of the combining form of one, or equivalent to "a."
Any Germans care to clarify this?

On a post behind Spike as he's listening to Wenn play while Fatty
narrates Giraffe's story, there is a small, but easy to read sign
with "641" on it. It seems meaningful, because it's just there
for no apparent reason, yet it sticks out like a sore thumb.
Just thought I'd mention it. Any guesses?

As usual, computer screens are where the best eggs hide. Giraffe
and Zebra's files just happen to be identical, except for their
names, right down to the odd statement in Giraffe's file that he
joined up with Giraffe. The files also mention that both were active
in "the 'Gate' protest movement," which I just thought was interesting,
in light of Bohemian Rhapsody. Does this imply that maybe Hex recruited
others to his cause at some point?

The files also note that both were employed by Sakai Co. Ltd.
A quick google found many companies with Sakai as part
of their business name, but the one that is simply Sakai Co. Ltd.
designs and manufactures, of all things, emergency escape slides (since 1956!).
Oh, and ball nets and steel structures. I'm not even sure what the
heck a ball net is, but I guess there must be a market for them.

There's one other interesting (to me) find in the files, but I'm
saving it to resurrect my Bebop-a-loo thread.

My favorite egg in this whole episode can be seen (on dvd, anyway) when
Jet and Faye are looking at old newspaper coverage of Wenn. There is a
photograph of Wenn shaking hands with some guy, with a man in a
wheelchair behind him. The egg is in the caption to the photo, which
reads, "Vincent 'Chin' Gigante, centre, a reputed Mafia godfather,
being escorted from home to the Federal court." Hmm, maybe that was
Gigante in the wheelchair then!

The article below it begins, "GOD is my lawyer..." you can make out
bits and pieces of the article, which mentions his trial in NYC, and
his insanity defense. It's all real, and the text was most likely from
a real, fairly current article when Bebop was being made. I guess
they didn't want to fake it with "Lorem ipsum dolor..."

Gigante was arraigned in 1996 on federal murder, labor racketeering
and other charges following a ruling that he had been feigning
insanity for 30 years in an effort to avoid prosecution for his Mafia
activities. Gigante underwent open heart surgery Dec. 10, 1996. He
was released from the hospital a month later. He went to trial that
summer, was convicted of racketeering, and sentenced to 12 years in
prison in December, 1997. He was later convicted of other charges but
cut a deal, so if he lives to see 82, he'll be out in 2010.
(or he could already be dead, for all I know) [update:  he died in prison on 12/19/05]

(Edited because I can't take the page stretch anymore! Gah!)

Message Edited by GinaSzanboti on 10-15-2004 08:33 PM

[VLN]

as usual, it's nice to know that there are still so many things i haven't noticed after so many times of watching bebop . . . nice job on the eggs in "sympathy for the devil," Gina (i've also noticed that you now have icons for your smilies. did you get a new pc?)

anyway, about the dog food and "ein." i think you're right that ein is "one" or "a/an" in german. never thought of that . . . (btw... it might be common knowledge but i'd still like to point it out, that ein on bebop is named after einstein)

i've always thought that "one" on the can was a pun of some sort; in japanese, dogs bark "wan wan" instead of "bowwow" or "woof woof."and "wan wan" also means "doggie." since japanese people pronounce "one" and "wan" the same way, i thought "one" on the can was a pun on "wan," as in "wan wan." did that make sense at all? but like you said, there's also "1"on the label, so it might have been a pun on "ein."

[scoobdog]

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VLN wrote:
(btw... it might be common knowledge but i'd still like to point it out, that ein on bebop is named after einstein)

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You know, I've heard that but I've never seen the source on that.

[GinaSzanboti]

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VLN wrote:
(i've also noticed that you now have icons for your smilies. did you get a new pc?)

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Did hell freeze over? No, I think it's just the way you have your preferences set, whether you see them or not? They still show up as emoticons to me, although I guess other people's smileys and bots and other faces show up on my screen when they've set their prefs for such. Beats me, must have something to do with the latest Lithium "upgrade."

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VLN wrote:
i've always thought that "one" on the can was a pun of some sort; in japanese, dogs bark "wan wan" instead of "bowwow" or "woof woof."and "wan wan" also means "doggie." since japanese people pronounce "one" and "wan" the same way, i thought "one" on the can was a pun on "wan," as in "wan wan." did that make sense at all? but like you said, there's also "1"on the label, so it might have been a pun on "ein."

---

I think I vaguely knew about "wan", but I hadn't thought of it here (funny how animals speak different languages too ). Knowing the Beboppers, it wouldn't suprise me if it was intended to be a triple pun on Ein, wan, and 1. The double pun of wan and #1 makes perfect sense as a Japanese brand name just by itself.

[ApathyInc]

nice job, you two.  you keep pointing 'em out; I'll keep remembering just how little I actually know.   

[VLN]

well, i don't know why, but i see them smiley icons in your posts, and come to think of it, in scoob's posts, too... (i don't think he uses icons either) it must be the boards, then... i've always had my preferences set to show smileys, but never saw your posts or scoob's posts with icons until now.

scoob--
about ein named after einstein... i admit that i haven't confirmed the souce with my own eyes, but i think i've heard it on numeral occasions that it was explained in one of those data books. again, i do not own these data books (yes, i tried to find them at used book stores while i was in japan... no luck what so ever), so i've never seen the source. but it's pretty well known, i think, that ein is named after einstein.

i guess one thing that can prove this is this new song yoko kanno wrote for the upcoming bebop game. it is called "einstein groovin'" or something like that (it has "einstein" in the title). it's obviously about ein... if it isn't, i don't know what it's supposed to mean.

btw, this song, along with a couple of new songs written for the game, will be released in december 2004, as a part of the bebop's greatest hits album called "cowboy bebop: tank! the best." sorry this is ot news, and might even be old news to some of you, but thought i'd mention.

Message Edited by VLN on 10-23-2004 04:19 AM

[scoobdog]

That's very interesting. It would be a roudabout way of revealing his name, but subtle nonetheless.

This question may have been asked before and it probably has a very obvious answer, but...

Is Ein called "Ein" in the original Japanese dub? I don't have any really reasons for asking this question other than a hunch.

[GinaSzanboti]

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scoobdog wrote:
Is Ein called "Ein" in the original Japanese dub?

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Yes.

[scoobdog]

Cool. (Too lazy to break the DVDs out myself right now. I'm kind of ashamed.)

[VLN]

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GinaSzanboti wrote:

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scoobdog wrote:
Is Ein called "Ein" in the original Japanese dub?

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Yes.

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what's interesting, or not, is that ed is almost never called "edward" in the japanese dub. it's always "ed," except for the time when she first said her full name in "jammin' with edward." i think in the english dub, they usually call her "edward." is that because it sounds better? i have no idea. and this is totally off topic.

[ApathyInc]

they do call her "Edward" a lot, don't they?  hmm.  I don't know if they use it more than they use "Ed," but that is weird.  could it have something to do with mouth flaps?  (that's the term, right?)

edit:  oh, yeah, she tends to get Edward-ed a lot when she's in trouble.  she has too many names to be middle-named, so maybe that's what's going on.

Message Edited by ApathyInc on 10-25-2004 12:52 PM

[VLN]

i really had to dig this thread up... and it shouldn't be that way. i miss gina... where has she gone...

anyway, this one probably does not qualify as an egg, but just for fun i thought i'd post.

in ep. 9, "jamming with edward," the bebop crew goes to earth to find a notorious hacker named "radical edward." spike, who was initially not interested in the hunt, asks jet for a souvenir, and jet brings back "piyokos."

well, piyokos are based on a famous japanese pastry called "hiyoko," and they look exactly like piyokos (they'd probably taste the same as piyokos as well, but there's no way of knowing... since we can't taste anime).

http://www.mi-na-mi.com/gazou/hiyoko-t.jpg

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~wn7t-ymd/hiyoko1.jpg

although hiyokos are known as "meika" or "famous pastry" of tokyo and people who go to tokyo often buy them as souvenirs, they were originally sold only in fukuoka (a prefecture in southwestern region of japan called "kyushu"), and my grandparents, who are from fukuoka, used to bring hiyokos as souvenirs when they visited us.  ah, good ol' days.

so yeah, when you visit japan, don't forget to buy piyokos, or hiyokos. they are actually sold at train station kiosks in tokyo, just like how piyokos were sold in the episode.

[scoobdog]

That's pretty interesting. What do you suppose it says about tourism in the Bebop age?

Gina's been pretty busy with work, lately, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you keep her thread going. She is visiting periodically, so I'm sure she'll stop in when she has the chance.

[MED401]

I'd wondered what those piyokos were supposed to be.  Now I know.  Thanks

[VLN]

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scoobdog wrote:
That's pretty interesting. What do you suppose it says about tourism in the Bebop age?

Gina's been pretty busy with work, lately, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you keep her thread going. She is visiting periodically, so I'm sure she'll stop in when she has the chance.

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i have absolutely no idea what it says about tourism in the future...  obviously, "nothing good comes from earth" anymore, according to jet... but i guess people still went there since the kid at the train station seemed to be selling souvenirs to tourists??

good to hear that gina's doing all right.

[GinaSzanboti]

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VLN wrote:
well, piyokos are based on a famous japanese pastry called "hiyoko," and they look exactly like piyokos (they'd probably taste the same as piyokos as well, but there's no way of knowing... since we can't taste anime).

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I am alive and well (wish I could say the same for my computer...) and trying to get back to the boards.

Thanks for posting about this. I'd always figured that the "piyokos" were intended as a Bebop version of "Peeps," those little bird-shaped Easter-time confections full of sugary, marshmallowy goodness! In fact, because of the tooth-cracking hardness implied, and the fabled indestructablility of Peeps, I'd guessed that they were supposed to BE the original Peeps, preserved from the 20th century and renamed to market as souvenirs! If anything survives to 2071, it'll be cockroaches, Peeps and Twinkies.

So, what do hiyokos taste like?

[VLN]

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GinaSzanboti wrote:

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VLN wrote:
well, piyokos are based on a famous japanese pastry called "hiyoko," and they look exactly like piyokos (they'd probably taste the same as piyokos as well, but there's no way of knowing... since we can't taste anime).

---

I am alive and well (wish I could say the same for my computer...) and trying to get back to the boards.

Thanks for posting about this. I'd always figured that the "piyokos" were intended as a Bebop version of "Peeps," those little bird-shaped Easter-time confections full of sugary, marshmallowy goodness! In fact, because of the tooth-cracking hardness implied, and the fabled indestructablility of Peeps, I'd guessed that they were supposed to BE the original Peeps, preserved from the 20th century and renamed to market as souvenirs! If anything survives to 2071, it'll be cockroaches, Peeps and Twinkies.

So, what do hiyokos taste like?

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glad to have you back, gina.

hiyokos are basically sweet bean paste wrapped up in hiyoko(chick)-shaped sponge cake. the outside sponge-cake layer tastes like sweet pancakes; the paste inside tastes like... well, sugar, combined with mashy beans. you know this if you're familiar with japanese pastry, but they use different variety of sweet bean pastes as pastry fillings. hiyokos have white bean paste, as opposed to more popular red bean paste.

apparently, when they were used to be sold only in fukuoka, the hiyokos were made with lots of fresh eggs and tasted great... but since they started to mass produce the stuff, the taste of hiyokos deteriorated due to the different kinds of additives/preservatives they threw in... i haven't had one in a long time, but it's not necessarily one of my favorite treats.

btw, i don't think they intended to imply that piyokos were tooth-cracking...  i never got that impression, but that's probably because i knew what piyokos (hiyokos) are. they're soft and sweet as pancakes.

Message Edited by VLN on 11-26-2004 10:42 PM

[ApathyInc]

cool!  I knew there had to be something going on with those things . . . but VLN doesn't recommend them.  *makes a note of it*

[GinaSzanboti]

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VLN wrote:
btw, i don't think they intended to imply that piyokos were tooth-cracking...  i never got that impression, but that's probably because i knew what piyokos (hiyokos) are. they're soft and sweet as pancakes.

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You make them sound sort of like Twinkies. I guess I got the impression that the ones in Bebop were stale and hard as rocks because of the way Ein bites into it. It sounds like he's crunching down on a dog biscuit. Jet seems to be working his jaws with some effort as well.

[GinaSzanboti]

Moving along to Waltz for Venus, there are really only items of mild interest in the ambient signage, nothing to get excited about. But for those curious folks without dvds...

When Spike cashes in the bounty, the police "atm" machine says, "Thank you for your hunting. The slit of right side is for money card use. We recomend [sic] you to use money card for receipt." I think it's interesting they spelled "receipt" correctly when most Americans can't, while misspelling recommend. Oh, and if you've ever wondered what Spike's signature looks like, it's on the back of his "money card" as he withdraws it from the machine.

The bounty for Huey, Dewey and Louie was 1.5 million wulong. To me, split three ways that would mean Spike, Jet and Faye each get half a mil, but Spike only gives Faye 400,000 wulong. I wonder if she got short-changed or if there's a reason she gets a smaller cut?

Elevator signs: "Observatory - you can see one off any time. We support your nice trip every day."

The computer screen scoop on Grey Ash:
_______________

Angiospermae Dicotyledoneae/Archichia mydeae/Cactales/
Cactaceae/Coryphantha

A few red flowers, green broad leaves (first leavl [sic]) grow on dark green stalk like cactakes [sic].
There are second leaves with red edges on the pant [sic] near the root (we have no idea what is their part).
Alpine plant
Inhabits specific high mountain, and cannot be in thick atmosphere with Helium, especially in Venus. Seed have special virtue in Cryptofelt (Venus endemic).

Cryptotexuosa Fee, 4 Man. foug [?? can't read that] 17.2941; C Chr Mar Suppt II, V. Venus Miq/Ann. Lugd Bat.
_______________

As far as the taxonomy of the plant, all those classifications are real, except I can't find anything at all on "Archichia mydeae." The genus Coryphantha includes some 55 species of cactus, but none of the pictures I found look anything like the Grey Ash plant. I wonder why they didn't make up a species name for it?

[MED401]

I have an idea why Faye may not have gotten her whole share.  Could Spike have been withholding Faye's share of expenses?  I mean Jet and Spike would have known that Faye couldn't be trusted to return to Bebop with any funds.  If they wanted  payment of either Faye's past or future expenses they'd know to get it before she hit the casino or track or whereever she was depositing that day that was better than the bank.

[ApathyInc]

that's what I was thinking.  in fact, given Jet's rant at the beginning of "Asteroid Blues," I would guess that they all give up a share of their earnings to take care of expenses.

[Alchemistress]

Plus, Faye has a couple outstanding invoices with the Bebop... (repairs, fuel) -- which I think is what both MED and Apathy are saying, I was just remembering that Jet gave her an invoice at one point...

[InUyAsHaFaN11]

Bebop Easter Eggs, lol

[R.I.P.CB2004]

bebop=one of the best animes...i wont get tired of it for a while...if ever