<p>In session 18 (Speak Like A Child), a map of Japan, and the surrounding area, is shown on screen around the 10m40s mark. The orientation of the map is &quot;upside-down&quot; but the words are not flipped, indicating this was an intentional choice.</p>
<p>Is there any significance to the orientation of the map? Perhaps, in Japan, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South-up_map_orientation" rel="nofollow noreferrer">South-up map orientation</a> is more common than in the west? Or was there a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetic_reversal" rel="nofollow noreferrer">geomagnetic reversal</a> in the Bebop universe? Or maybe the words on the map were also upside-down originally and it was flipped when it was localized for US audiences? Or am I just reading too much into it?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-03T00:43:27.360Z
Welcome to Anime & Manga! FWIW, [this is the same scene in the Japanese broadcast](https://i.sstatic.net/lq91M.jpg), so perhaps anything regarding localization might be disregarded. There's a possibility that it's to imply that it is a fictional map/universe, like [the upside-down world map in *Attack on Titan*](https://anime.stackexchange.com/q/4615/2516).
Aki Tanaka
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-03T01:25:21.727Z
There is no right side up in space tho
кяαzєя
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-03T21:18:21.083Z
@кяαzєя Can you cite a scene in the show where that kind of sentiment is expressed? Or one of the authors, directors, or animators expressing something to that effect?
Justin Hendrickson
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-03T22:49:22.843Z
You have to think about it this way, in space, which direction is up?
кяαzєя
<cowboy-bebop>
"Upside-down" map in Cowboy Bebop
# "Upside-down" map in Cowboy Bebop
Posted by: username_0 on 2023-06-01
In session 18 (Speak Like A Child), a map of Japan, and the surrounding area, is shown on screen around the 10m40s mark. The orientation of the map is "upside-down" but the words are not flipped, indicating this was an intentional choice.

Is there any significance to the orientation of the map? Perhaps, in Japan, [South-up map orientation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South-up_map_orientation) is more common than in the west? Or was there a [geomagnetic reversal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetic_reversal) in the Bebop universe? Or maybe the words on the map were also upside-down originally and it was flipped when it was localized for US audiences? Or am I just reading too much into it?
**Tags:** cowboy-bebop
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Welcome to Anime & Manga! FWIW, [this is the same scene in the Japanese broadcast](https://i.sstatic.net/lq91M.jpg), so perhaps anything regarding localization might be disregarded. There's a possibility that it's to imply that it is a fictional map/universe, like [the upside-down world map in *Attack on Titan*](https://anime.stackexchange.com/q/4615/2516).  
> **username_2**: There is no right side up in space tho  
> **username_0**: @кяαzєя Can you cite a scene in the show where that kind of sentiment is expressed? Or one of the authors, directors, or animators expressing something to that effect?  
> **username_2**: You have to think about it this way, in space, which direction is up?  
---
## 0 answers
