EX: What can you tell us about the upcoming BEBOP film?

MM: Well...
Kawamoto Toshihiro: Right now, there's a meeting going on, so it's starting to take shape. Please ask the director directly. But he might not tell you much. (laugh)

MM: It's not a sequel to the television series. Yes, it's got those four people and one dog, and it's about those bounty hunters. But those who haven't seen the television series will still be able to enjoy the movie. That's the kind of film we want to make.
Fans of the television series expect a sequel. But the BEBOP series is complete, so there's nothing to add after the end of the last episode. So many television series have movies that are sequels but that won't work with BEBOP. Since the characters worked so well, that will work best. But at the same time, we have to find a way to satisfy fans looking for a sequel.
The television series has a beginning and an end, so the movie is independent from that. It's a separate story unto itself. That's all I can say about it for now.

EX: One thing that BEBOP seems to have started is the episode previews that have nothing to do with the actual next episode (Like the preview for "Jupiter Jazz" when Ed says that the show is over and the new show is COWGIRL ED). How do you feel about that catching on?

MM: Well, the director was writing those during the voice recording. It was all ad-libs. The voice actors were so talented and go into it so well that they did an excellent job on it. It was fun and different.

EX: Well, you've worked on an awful lot of robot shows. Are you tired of them?

MM: I'm not really getting sick of those shows—when I was working on them, I wasn't really devoted completely to them.
When we planned for ESCA, it started as "Let's do a television show. What's good." (Note that BEBOP doesn't have robots.) So we settled on robots. That's why I'm not sick of robot shows. Also, I can break a show into pieces and think about what each part is for; what the necessity is for this and that.
Sometimes to get sponsorship, we have to do things like robots or spaceships, but it always comes down to "what is it for?"

EX: What would you like to say to your American fans?

MM: Please see the movie. Or rather, please buy it. It's going to be a good film for both old and new fans. I know it's not yet decided how it's going to be released in the United States. But in Japan, it's Dolby Digital 5.1, with a new score by Kanno Yoko, which is great, as usual.
I wish that the fans will be able to see it in a good theater with a good system.
And please wait for BEBOP—we're making it now. And maybe in a year or two from now, HIYOU may be in the U.S....