Cowboy Bebop is another anime that has been ordered for a live-action reboot by Netflix. Photos of the cast in costume have been released, some Cowboy Bebop fans have taken to the internet to complain about unrealistic expectations that the anime had set not being "accurate."
Faye Valentine's animate costume consists of a low-cut yellow top, shorts, and a red cardigan that's often tied around her waist. Actress Daniella Pineda, who has been cast as Valentine, pays homage to the anime character's outfit with a more practical look. Pineda responded to criticism from fans who were unimpressed by her live-action attire, reminding them of the reality that it's impractable to perfectly mimick Faye's physcial being.
“First, I wanted to apologize to the fans that I did not anatomically match the Faye Valentine character,” the actress said. “Six foot, double-D sized breasts, two-inch waist. You know, they looked everywhere for that woman and they couldn’t find her, it was kinda weird. So they just went with my short ass, I know, am I right?"
Pineda continued, “You know, we tried, but doing stunts in tissue paper, things disappear, they rip, sometimes just got lost… Anyway, like I was saying, that original costume, they made a couple of them, but like I said, they got sort of slurped up in my various crevices, never to be retrieved again, so we needed to build something that could withstand the test of time.”
Some have supported the actress as she addresses the backlash around her casting and character design; others have trying to alledge the response as Pineda "insulting fans." Pineda's comments seem to come from a place of understanding that female leads aren't meant to be purely over-sexualized, especially when the standards are not applicable to what's possible for live-action productions to achieve.
Cowboy Bebop premieres as a Netflix exclusive on November 19, 2021.