of the series ... as well as a good bit of silly fun". In the second episode review, Beveridge said it "seems to be following much the same kind of pace and structure" as the OVAs. Its animation was compared to Darkside Blues; ANN's Erin Finnegan described it as "gritty" animation, but that from episode five, the animation quality looks more modern and much less gritty. Beveridge said the anime's idea is simple, but added it is "also not a show you see often since it doesn't center around teenagers, schools or the harem concept". He said it is not "a great show", but that "it gives us something different than the usual"the reason it is "enjoyable". Popularity and legacy Cobra made Terasawa, who at the time was 22 and was little known, famous. Approximately 50 million copies of Cobra have been sold, making it one of Weekly Shōnen Jumps best-selling manga series of all time. The anime television series was a major success in France in the 1980s. Le Mondes Frédéric Potet said it "marked a whole generation of young viewers", and Joel Metreau of 20 minutes asserted it gained a cult following. Alexandre Aja and Luc Besson are among the French filmmakers that are fans of the series. Cobra has been influential on anime, manga, and video game creators. According to French scholar Marie Pruvost-Delaspre, its humorous style and sexual innuendos influenced manga City Hunter (1985), and Shinichirō Watanabe's anime Cowboy Bebop (1998) and Space Dandy (2014) owe their nostalgic appearance and the ironic tone, respectively, to Cobra. Manga author Kentaro Miura was influenced by Cobra's Psychogun on creating a prosthetic hand for Guts, the protagonist of Berserk (1989). Cobra's "provoking look", ironic style and capacity of changing from a little smile to a serious face also inspired video game designer Hideki Kamiya to create the character of Dante from the Devil May Cry series. Thirty years after the original manga's publication, the OVA adaptation Cobra the Animation has been well received by fans; it was among the best-selling anime for two weeks, and the sixth volume of the anime series was one of the best-selling DVDs for one week. Proposed live-action film In 2008, Buichi Terasawa said he received a Hollywood offer to purchase the rights to a live-action film adaptation of the series. He stated it was "off-the-record", and that if it happened it would be