Cowboy Bebop

I had the chance to watch Cowboy Bebop before. Why didn’t I watch it?

After watching Cowboy Bebop, it was as if I went through an otaku ritual. I believe that every otaku out there should watch Cowboy Bebop – at least once in their lives – and realize how anime should be done.

The story-telling, the dialogue, the feel, the emotions. Everything was just mixed right. Every episode was unique and almost perfect. Every episode started and ended in a way you didn’t expect. My personal favorite, was Session 20, Pierrot le Fou. That episode sent chills down my spine. I won’t tell why, just so ... anyone who reads this review would feel obligated to watch Cowboy Bebop in its entirety. Session 23 was not bad either; I love the intellectual conversations about who God is throughout the episode.

The characters made this anime. I loved every single one of them (including the supporting characters) and their individual quirks. My favorite was Spike Spiegel, of course. I love it whenever he did jeet kune do, the martial arts system that was developed by Bruce Lee. It was just exciting to watch him fight. Jet Black was just as cool as Spike. I am fascinated at his bounty hunter skills, as well as his past. Any man with a past is automatically cool. I didn’t like Faye Valentine at first, mostly because of her voice, but after you get to know more about her (the anime will reveal her past), you’ll realize that she’s one strong woman. Finally, there’s Ed. She (It’s not a typo) is one wacky kid and surprisingly adorable.

The voice acting really contributed to the characters personalities. Spike, without Kouichi Yamadera’s voice, would never be as cool as he is with him. Jet’s past would almost seep through Unshou Ishizuka’s voice. I already said that Faye’s voice, more specifically Megumi Hayashibara’s voice irritated me in the beginning, but she really brought out Faye’s personality. Aoi Tada’s voice made Ed even cuter. I also have to note that the banter and random discourse between these four are absolutely entertaining.

Shinichiro Watanabe played a huge role in making Cowboy Bebop visually appealing. Watching the series was just so easy on the eyes – the scenes weren’t heavy or overloaded at all. The scenes went on smoothly, and each scene was lovely to look at. The colors were great, and the backgrounds were detailed enough. However, I did not like the 3D animation all too much cause I found it a bit too rough, but considering it was made in 1998, I guess it wasn’t that bad.

Yoko Kanno was another factor that made me love this anime so much. She is one musical genius, and I love her work on Cowboy Bebop. I think there were new tracks for every episode, and each one complimented the scenes beautifully. Each one was different too – Tank! And The Real Folk Blues were jazzy and bluesy, but there were pop, classic, whatever tracks throughout the series too. While Shinichiro Watanabe was telling a story through sight, Yoko Kanno was doing the same through sound.

Truth be told, I wasn’t enthusiastic in watching Cowboy Bebop in the beginning. That’s because I’m not really into sci-fi themes, but Cowboy Bebop was different. The thing I like about it the most is that it’s charisma transcends through time. In three words, it’s a classic.

If you've been a fan of anime for any length of time, chances are that you've come across a bunch of shows that people hail as nothing short of masterpieces such as Neon Genesis Evangelion. Now, whether or not those programmes are perfection is entirely up to interpretation but if there's one programme which has been lauded as as nothing short of a masterpiece ever since its creation, it's Cowboy Bebop. Such a lofty title is not without those who question it, and indeed there are people who happen to dislike Bebop for a variety of reasons. I personally don't think that Bebop is a ... masterpiece (and I do consider it to be overrated), but I do see where the praise comes from. In fact, I do believe that Bebop deserves most (but not all) of the praise that it gets. Let's go into great lengths to find out why.

When it comes down to the actual story, it's rather disheartening to say that Bebop is lacking. The actual "plot" of the show is easily resolved within 4-5 episodes despite being 26 episodes long, so it might seem like there is a lot of filler. That's not really the case whatsoever, since Cowboy Bebop opts for a mostly episodic approach. With the exception of the 4-5 episodes where the plot moves forward, this is a show that you can jump into from virtually any point and wouldn't really get lost, provided you're familiar with the basic concept and the characters. In that regard, Cowboy Bebop may very well be considered analogous to something like Batman: The Animated Series in terms of both style and approach.

Unfortunately, Cowboy Bebop is prone to the same problems that episodic shows of its nature tend to have. If you don't know what I'm talking about, allow me to fill you in. While episodic programmes are easy to get into if you're a complete newcomer to a particular show, the quality of each episode tends to vary quite a bit. Some episodes are absolutely amazing while other episodes are rather tedious to get through. There's also the matter of certain episodes being a bit formulaic in approach. For example, you'd think that a crew of bounty hunters would at least catch a break every now and then but that's not the case at all. No matter what the situation, it's like the Bebop crew would always be down on their luck despite how skilled each member of the team is.

These might seem like relatively minor problems for a show that has a LOT of merits to stand on, but people often forget that this show is hailed as nothing short of a masterpiece. All it really takes is one relatively mediocre episode for someone with absolutely no prior knowledge of Cowboy Bebop to get a sour impression of this programme. So how would you remedy this? Obviously, you'd watch the episodes in chronological order, right? Uh... not exactly. The first four episodes aren't bad in the slightest, I fucking LOVE them as a matter of fact. But those first four episodes might not be the best introduction to a show lauded as much as Bebop is. If you really want my honest recommendation as to how you should view this programme, I'd say start out with Episode 5 just to get your general impression of the programme. If you like what you see, watch the first four episodes next and then keep watching in chronological order. The reason why you should watch it in that order if you're completely new to Bebop is simple: Episode 5 is a spectacular episode which contains virtually everything that this show is known for so if you don't like Episode 5, Bebop is most likely not going to be your cup of tea and if that's the case, watch Samurai Champloo instead.

With all that ranting out of the way, let's talk characters. The biggest strength that Bebop has when it comes down to its characters is the fact that they're played straight. This might not seem like such an accomplishment, but keep in mind that characters meant to be overacted were more or less the norm back in the 80s/90s so for its time, this was a rather huge deal. Another thing that Bebop's lead cast all share (for better or worse) are dark pasts that with the exception of Faye, they all try to avoid confronting. Why is this a good and a bad thing? On the one hand, a dark past that slowly gets revealed throughout the course of the programme makes for some awesome plot twists and they are given a fair amount of foreshadowing so the reveal doesn't come off as an asspull. HOWEVER... the concept of a ragtag bunch of misfits with each member having a dark past is a trope which has become rather commonplace in anime/manga over the course of recent years so chances are that some might find it rather cliché which brings me to another point.

While the leading cast of Bebop certainly does a good job of carrying the story without feeling like cardboard cut-outs a good majority of the time, the fact still remains that they all fall under common archetypes and it gets a little too obvious at times. If you've ever watched a little programme called "Lupin III." you'll be quick to notice that Spike Spiegel bears somewhat of a resemblance to the much beloved Arsene Lupin III with a sense of humour to match (although nowhere near as exaggerated). For that matter, I guess you can say that Jet and Faye are more realistic versions of Daisuke and Fujiko if you want to keep making the comparisons (Jet/Daisuke being the voice of reason and Faye/Fujiko being the "femme fatale" so-to-speak). To be fair, I understand that Lupin III was one of the influences behind Bebop's creation. At the same time, I saw Lupin WAAAAY before I ever watched Bebop so the resemblance is rather uncanny to me. With that said, it's still nice to see an interpretation of Lupin, Daisuke, and Fujiko being played straight.

It's not like they remain static throughout the entire ordeal. With the exception of Edward who's more or less just the quirky and hyperactive computer genius (that still gets a bit of time in the sun regardless), everyone gets a fair amount of development and time on-screen so they're more than just the common archetypes like I've mentioned earlier and in some cases, actually feel like real people rather than you know... characters. With that said, let's talk about secondary/tertiary characters. A good chunk of the episodes introduce a new character whom the Bebop crew ends up dealing with for 20 minutes before their story is resolved by the end of the episode and they are quickly forgotten about. I suppose in that respect, Cowboy Bebop is similar to Mushishi.

Unlike Mushishi however, Bebop actually does have recurring characters and they do what they do rather well without becoming a distraction. Of course, that still doesn't change the fact that I consider most of them to be like the cabbage merchant from Avatar: The Last Airbender. The standalone characters in Cowboy Bebop on the other hand are hit-and-miss for me. This goes back to the problem that most episodic shows tend to have with varying degrees in quality. Sometimes, I got REALLY attached to the character(s) introduced in one episode and was disheartened to never see them again and other times, the character(s) introduced in another episode were so dull to the point where I felt like the episode was dragging on.

When it comes down to substance, Bebop falls a little flat so you may be wondering why you should even bother watching it if it's not the epitome of perfection. The answer is very simple: Cowboy Bebop is among the most influential anime of the 90s and its influence can still be seen to this day. In its heyday, Cowboy Bebop achieved a lot of success due to various factors. From its Space Western setting to the well-choreographed action sequences, a soundtrack composed by Yoko Kanno consisting of mostly Jazz and Blues tracks to an amazing English dub where everything was played straight and was allowed to air uncut due to the fact that it was the first anime series that [adult swim] picked up (coincidentally on the same night the network made its debut), it seemed like the odds were stacked in Bebop's favour from the very beginning. Let's not forget the aesthetics because it would be a travesty not to do so.

For one thing, this is the best-looking TV show from the 90s without a doubt, and to this day it still looks amazing. It's one thing for digital animation to be fluid, but to see that same sort of fluidity with cel animation where each frame was drawn by hand without losing any sort of detail whatsoever really just shows the meticulous amount of time and effort the blokes over at Sunrise put into the art and animation. That's actually kind of funny (in an ironic sort of manner) given that Sunrise was kicked off the animation team for Batman: The Animated Series because of the fact that nearly all the episodes that Sunrise took a part in had to be redone multiple times (or even re-animated in America) because of the fact that virtually everything was off model. I'm guessing that they were basically looking for a way to get back at Bruce Timm and Paul Dini for kicking them off the animation team, so they decided to basically bring out their A-game to their next project which just so happened to be Cowboy Bebop.

Going back to the soundtrack, what I love most about it (aside from the fact that it was composed by Yoko Kanno) is the fact that the OST isn't an afterthought of any kind since there are multiple scenes throughout the show which forgoes dialogue completely and instead rely on the music to actually convey the moment. It's the little things like this that make it so much more difficult for me to pick who's my favourite composer since the only other composer I can think of who'd actually do such a thing would be Kenji Kawai given that there were similar moments in the Ghost in the Shell films. What's more is the fact that a combination of jazz and blues among other such genres really helped give this show a unique flavour which has yet to be mimicked. Say what you will about Samurai Champloo being a carbon copy of Bebop when it comes down to story/characters, but one thing's for certain: Bebop's style is something that Champloo just cannot imitate (and that's a good thing, since Champloo's got its own style which works amazingly well for it).

Another thing that Cowboy Bebop has going for it? An absolutely spectacular English dub which is so good to the point where dub haters generally make an exception for this show. This goes back to how everything was played straight in Bebop from the get-go. In the past, English dubs of anime varied quite a bit in quality. Some dubs like the DiC dub of Sailor Moon changed up the dialogue so heavily edited for content and censored to high heaven to the point where it makes 4Kids' One Piece dub blush. Other times, dubs were actually pretty damn good (such was the case with Neon Genesis Evangelion and Yu Yu Hakusho) but were unfortunately butchered when they aired abroad due to the fact that those shows were airing on children's programming blocks and standards back then were much tighter than they are now. That was never the case with Bebop since it was aired on an adult programming block and as such, it was able to forgo most (if not all) of the censorship regulations during its broadcast on [adult swim]. Aside from that, we also had wonderful voice actors working on this like Steve Blum, Wendee Lee, and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (fun fact: McGlynn also directed the English dub of Bebop) and a slew of many others, all of whom gave excellent performances.

Aside from the visuals and the audio, what other merits does Bebop have? Well for one thing, its style is something that allowed it to achieve widespread success with Western audiences. It's impossible not to notice that a good majority of anime these days require you to have some pre-existing knowledge of Asian culture in order to properly understand what's going on. Haven't you ever wondered why films like Akira and Ghost in the Shell (and to a lesser degree, Studio Ghibli movies) were huge hits back in the day? It was mostly because these were films that nobody needed any knowledge of Japanese culture to enjoy. Yes, Akira and Ghost in the Shell both took place in Tokyo, but it was really the the concepts, the gloomy atmosphere, the action, the blood, etc. which drew in Western audiences. It was taking place in Japan, and yet it didn't really feel like Japan at all outside of naming conventions, but that's a minor detail in comparison to everything else. It helps that unlike the former two, Bebop actually had virtually all the signs, posters and such in-universe written in English rather than Japanese in the original dub. Don't even get me started on the subtle cultural references and its film noir overtones because if I did, you'd be here for hours reading this review.

So when you combine all these things together, it's no secret as to why Cowboy Bebop is as lauded as it is now. I can certainly see why it wouldn't really be everyone's cup of tea (especially given some of the flaws I mentioned earlier). Regardless, its influence can't be denied. For all its worth, Cowboy Bebop is certainly a show that deserves most (but not all) the praise it gets. I get the feeling that if it had more of a plot to it and didn't rely so much on being badass and awesome to make people forgive its lack of a plot, it would definitely receive more praise than it already gets. The stage was set perfectly, so I question why Wantanabe and the rest of the Bebop team decided to opt for a mostly episodic nature when the ones where the "plot" actually progresses were nothing short of spectacular. Oh well, I guess it's too late to find out why... unless Wantanabe decides to do to Bebop what George Lucas did to Star Wars. Thankfully, Wantanabe seems to have more integrity than that.

Anyway, that's it for my first review on this site. Please be gentle, senpai.... (>/////

This is the best anime ever made.

Why?

Because it isn't anime.

There aren't any anime conventions in it. There is no anime soundtrack. There are no schoolgirls, no tsundere, no moe, no giant robots.

This is a TV show.

... Anyone can watch it and enjoy it.

It has a plot, but it's also episodic so you can just sit down and watch it.

It's about bounty hunters, something Sergio Leone made popular--and put to good use here.

The characters are well put together with distinctive personalities (and an Homage to Lupin). Bruce-lee-esque Spike that looks like he's out of a 70s action flick, a Tarantino Movie, and stole his wardrobe from Lupin. Jet, the sensible foil to Spike--cop turned bounty hunter. Faye Valentine, the typical scantily clad woman. But her gambling problem, poignant backstory, and the fact she's out of place in the "future" world rounds her out perfectly. You could argue that the comedic "Ed," a hacker child, is the least fitting out of the four, but honestly odd episodes like Mushroom Samba and when she searches for her father seem to redeem that. And finally there's Vicious, the cold hearted syndicate killer and perfect antagonist to Spike. His katana to Spike's guns.

The settings are our solar system in the near future, with creative takes on each planet/moon--everything is beautiful and fitting, like Mosques on Venus, a sprawling Mars, crater-ridden Earth. Nothing extravagant, but the backgrounds are always there, noticeable, and fitting for the story. Shootouts in cathedrals, homage to kung fu, Tarantino, Leone.

This is good because it's derivative of things that work. It has a great jazz soundtrack that doesn't fall prey to squeaky j-pop music and also matches the mood. The backstory is a simple one of the betrayal between men and women. The pacing is fast and uncluttered.

And the ending is satisfying.

This is also the only anime where the English dub is peerless and so much more fitting than the Japanese version.

Watch it in order, or just watch one episode.

If you have to buy just one anime for your collection, you can't go wrong with this--the replay value is excellent, like watching your favorite childhood action films on the weekends that you never get sick of.

This is the exception to anime, not the norm.

And something like this comes out every decade or two. It's impossible not to enjoy. If anime was more like this than the shit that's around now, it wouldn't be seen as a distraction for socially maladjusted shut-ins.

I started because it's supposed to be a classic, but I was disappointed. There were certain aspects that I enjoyed, such as the music. There's a different style of music every episode, reflecting the theme and setting of whatever's going on, which is pretty unique.
The main thing that turned me off was the story-line. There are a few recurring themes, but it is mainly episodic, with maybe one arc that lasts and entire two episodes. The individual stories of each episode are generally okay and sometimes go deep into the backstory of the characters, giving the audience a better idea of who they are and ... where they cam from. However there's just nothing to pull everything together. Each character has a few episodes to illustrate their backstories, but there's just nothing to pull it all together.
Overall, I think it's worth watching. It's a classic, and it's only 26 episodes. I just think that it was so over-hyped (being a classic and all) that I was just expecting more.

At its core, Cowboy Bebop is the story of Spike Spiegal, Jets Black, Fay Valentines, Edward, Ion, Vicious, and Julia. But that's where the whole anime, in itself, drives a whole lot more in its 26 episodes. It leads us through a universe somewhere around 2080s space - I'm not sure, because in one episode one of the characters died in 2071 - where we still have the planets of the Milky Way, but because of the presence of orbital gates and space travelling and colonization, all the planets are now in themselves environments with interactive stories to tell. And yes, a lot of stories ... happen in either the planets (Jupiter, or Mars, or Earth, or Pluto), or their moons (like Titan, for instance).

For instance, Cowboy Bebop doesn't refer to either Spike or Jet, but rather the spaceship they use which has been named "Cowboy Bebop". Now, unless you had seen all the episodes, this small little thing might have been missed out. Its not a spoiler by any means, but it is stated to illustrate how the anime is presented.

While it is preferred to watch Cowboy Bebop in sequence, the episodes themselves are arranged like vignettes with only the characters forming the core bond holding them together. All of them. In the case of Cowboy Bebop, the best thing are well developed characters, even when they occur for one episode only. They not only interact with their environment (like bounty hunting, or hacking systems, or going to bars to drink, or even casual conversations between non-interactive characters who are very minor, for instance), but even amongst themselves are very... organic.

While the fight scenes and battle sequences in Cowboy Bebop are limited, they are nevertheless well handled. My personal favourite fight scenes are from the ending moments of "Hard Luck Woman". But in terms of personal favourite episodes, I'd choose "Pierre le Fou", "Cowboy Funk", "Mushroom Samba", and "Heavy Metal Queen".

In terms of characters, however, I'll be sadly blunt here, and by saying so I do solemnly want to inform everyone reading this review, that this is a massive spoiler, so be warned: Julia is a bitch. I'll not tell you why, but after seeing Cowboy Bebop, you'll realize this as soon as you reach the arc "The Real Folk Blues".

Cowboy Bebop has its moments of contemplation, and it also has its moments of melancholy as well, but it does its best to integrate these alongside countless other emotions into the universe it is set in. Again, I repeat, the universe Cowboy Bebop is set in, is very dynamic, and in this anime it is very well executed.

This is a classic by many significant anime standards, and it doesn't come as a surprise why most traditional anime fans tend to bash modern ones. Its a timeless tale, and it is presented well. And it deserves to be recognized.

All in all, a deserving watch.

Cowboy Bebop is a household name to anime fans. Either you've seen it, or you've at least heard about it from your friends. Being one of the original anime aired in the US via Cartoon Network, it served as a gateway anime for many, a taste of what Japanese animation has to offer. Because of this, many people give it glowing reviews as a masterpiece, and a textbook example of what a good anime is. I am not of those people. I'm from the latter group of people, who heard the reviews about how good it was. So naturally, I ... had to see if the hype train was real, if it's really that good, or if people think it's better than it really is because of the sentimentality of it being(probably) their first anime. Here are my thoughts:

Story:6
The story of Bebop is a bit convoluted, in the sense that it's a roller coaster of fillerish material and key plot points. What I mean by that is that the series definitely has its ups and downs, with the down episodes seeming to have no point to the overall progression(essentially filler), and the up episodes having lots of action and plot in a 20 minute block(these are of course, sprinkled throughout the 26 episodes). While Bebop does a great job of tying everything together into a cohesive story by the end, I found that in the midst of it, I could never expect what was going to happen in the next episode, which makes it hard to follow the story as you watch it. So overall, the story overall is good, but falls apart episode to episode. I wish the main plot was emphasized more throughout the whole anime, as opposed to the last 4-5 episodes.

Art:8
The artwork in this anime is good, so much so that I was surprised when i found out it was 15 years old. Obviously it won't look as good as your 2014 summer anime, but the art style definitely complements the overall feel of the anime. I think if you redid the anime with modern animation, it wouldn't hold up well at all. You pair a sort of western feeling anime with a sort of choppy grainy animation, and it definitely works. No complaints here.

Sound:10
What I said for the art holds even more true for the sound. In my opinion, the sound is what really carries this anime. The music in this anime is very jazzy, ranging from upbeat to emotional pieces, from the sultry orchestral opening to the subtle guitar/piano background music scattered throughout. I don't think the creators could have done a better job of pairing music with animation, because the music really does set the tone well. Even if you're not the type to actively listen to the music in your anime, I bet you'd be surprised by how easily you could pick out a song from Bebop if you heard it somewhere else. Hell, I bet if you gave me a piano I could learn the opening by ear, and that's saying something. It's that memorable.

Character:7
The characters in Bebop are a likeable motley crue of varying personalities. No one is particularly fascinating(although the dog Ein is hilarious), but no one is particularly boring either. They're just a very normal, dare I say average, group. No Makoto-esque characters that make you want to swallow a spoon and/or yell at your screen(damn you School Days), and no *Insert stereotypical heroine from harem anime here*-esque characters with the emotional depth of a puddle. I will say that the characters are developed well throughout the anime, so the filler I mentioned earlier did serve a point. Although, considering your main cast consists of 4 characters and a badass dog, character development should be a given considering 26 episodes is significantly longer that your typical 12 episode animes, and you've got such a small cast to work with.

Enjoyment:7
I usually judge my enjoyment factor by how many episodes I can watch in a row before I want to do something else, with 1 episode being painful to watch(School Days, Aku no Hana) and 5+ being "Holy shit! Is it that late already?!?"(A Certain Magical Index, Clannad). Bebop scores in the 2-3 range, usually 2. The reason I'm scoring that in the middle is because of the roller coastering(Adding that to dictionary) between episodes. You finish one episode that's awesome, and action packed, and makes you want to punch a stranger because "fuck yeah!".....and then the next episode is kinda boring. Usually I stop after a boring (and I'm using boring here to contrast the exciting episodes, not so much that the episode it self is terribly boring) episode, which is about every other episode.

Overall:7(Worth watching once)
Overall, Bebop is a good anime. Is it worthy of the more recent Attack on Titan or Sword Art Online hype train that it still garners(For those of you who have been lambasted for not watching those while they were airing like me, you know what I' m talking about), I don't think so. It's worth a watch if you haven't seen it already, but it's not worth seeking out for anime enlightenment. It's not your anime Mecca, and I challenge anybody who thinks that it is to watch it again without bias, because I bet if you're one of the people who watched it when you were younger, you'll find that it's not as good as your remembered. You'll probably still enjoy it, but it won't seem as fulfilling the second time around.

"The work which becomes a new genre itself will be called Cowboy Bebop"

Cowboy Bebop is one of the few shows which can actually be called Epic. Not an epic such as the Homeric poetry but epic as Webster’s Dictionary says “extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope.” It’s a word that shouldn’t be used lightly. Cowboy Bebop is the standard by which Anime should be molded after. It achieves near perfection in creation and at the end there is a feeling of fulfillment. No other anime has a more complete and satisfying ending.

The story element is ... where many great animes get their strength from but Cowboy Bebop is actually weakest here. The story is very individualized, rarely do the events of one episode effect other episodes. Yet despite this “episodic” design, actual plot is occasionally used and by the end it feels like the plot has always been a part of the show like a shadow that had just been noticed.

In other anime I can’t think of too many action scenes that can come even close to those in Cowboy Bebop. Motion is almost always drawn smoothly and action scenes are incredible to watch. As Spike says, “like water.” The artists did a superb job in being able to create a certain mood through lightening and the vibrant/dull of colors. The artwork altogether is incredible and visually everything feels natural.

The sound was particularly enjoyable. There was a good amount of jazz music which fits Bebop well due to the uncertainty which is the foundation of jazz music. I wasn’t too fond of the opening theme though(I’m probably the only one). But in eps 5 near the end and at the conclusion of eps 26, the music is beyond incredible. It honestly speaks about the show in ways words could never describe and help elevate Bebop to levels rarely achieved. But like I said, for some reason I hate the opening theme.

Because the story is sort of “weak” the characters are the driving force of the show. This is where Bebop is made. The characters are all vastly different and don’t really fit any particular clichés, which is quite refreshing. All you need to know is that you won’t find more original and more entertaining characters anywhere else.

If this anime doesn’t speak to you or inspire you, don’t worry because it is extremely fun to watch. Bebop won’t put you in stitches for the full 20 minutes nor will it try to force you to enjoy the show. Instead it does it’s own thing and you can’t help but smile while watching. The Bebop crew is just pure fun and I guarantee you will enjoy it.

Conclusion: Cowboy Bebop is not my #1 personal favorite show, but it is the most complete and perfect anime out there. It is in all sense of the word, A Masterpiece. Bebop may not be exactly what you want for an ideal story anime, but in no way does that take away from it. The light hearted and random episodes are fun all the way through. The characters are very likeable and create a great atmosphere. The visual style and sound combine with the other elements in a perfect blend to make a perfect show (or as close as you can get). This may not be your favorite show but you will not be disappointed and at the very least you will finish with a smile feeling as satisfied as if you finished eating a great meal.

Shinichiro Watanabe's Cowboy Bebop is one of the legends of anime. It's a program most anime viewers have heard of regardless of whether they've watched it in full or not and thanks to the multiple airings it's received over the years on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block it's a small number indeed who've never seen at least an episode. I can safely say that before I purchased Bandai's recently released complete collection I'd seen most of the episodes on television in one order or another so I wasn't watching anything strikingly new but this does mark the first time I've watched Cowboy Bebop ... in full from beginning to end in the order it was intended and as a result I feel I'm up to the challenge of writing a proper critique of what I saw. The back of the case for my complete collection informs me that Cowboy Bebop was "voted (the) greatest anime of all time!" Sale's pitches aside its an odd thing to say. Unless you're a member of a doomsday cult I'd think it's safe to say we have a fair bit of time left till we have to decide what the greatest anything of all time was. That said I had a lot of fun watching Cowboy Bebop and while I don't think it's one of anime's greatest contributions to visual media I can certainly see where it's reputation comes from.

Cowboy Bebop takes place in the year 2071. Decades earlier a system of gates was established to allow for easy travel throughout the solar system. However, due to a fatal instability in the gate system that was ignored by the contractors, a disaster known as the Gate Accident occurred. As a result of the accident most of Earth's surface was destroyed and humanity spread out to more habitable places on or around other planets. This leads to a kind of neo-Wild West scenario with the central government and law enforcement agencies in a weakened state leading to a kind of lawlessness. It is an institutionalized system of bounty hunters that picks up the slack and this is the concept much of the program centers on.

The setting, as mentioned, is a kind of neo-Wild West in space, hence the "Cowboy" half of the title. Unlike Trigun, for example, which takes place in a setting that, steampunk elements aside, is virtually identical to that found in American Westerns, Cowboy Bebop plays out in a setting very much like the present. Its science fiction but the world is nonetheless recognizable as being our own. Some elements stand out on occasion from the rest of the world as though they were transposed straight out of a typical American Western with little thought to consistency with the rest of the setting (for example the occasional conspicuous presence of individuals dressed in ponchos and sombreros), but it all works nonetheless to create an intriguing world for the story lines to play out in.

I tend to think that one the reasons for Cowboy Bebop's monumental success is the fact that it is a very fun, easy show to watch. It doesn't make any demands on the viewer with its highly episodic nature and lack of any real overarching plot. The closest Cowboy Bebop comes to having one is the story of Spike's past and even then it only occupies five episodes out of the total twenty-six. By and large, episodes either focus on the story of a specific bounty or on developing the main cast and their pasts and even though Spike's story is given the most attention it still suffers from the limited amount of time it receives. In fact, if I were pressed, I'd have to say that the main story line is not exclusively about Spike's past at all but about everyone's. The members of the crew of the spaceship Bebop all have troubled pasts which they all eventually have to face up to and that they will either overcome and move on or be destroyed.

To it's credit Cowboy Bebop possesses a well-developed essentially likable cast of characters. Spike, Jet, and Faye are all interesting characters and even Ed, despite remaining largely a question mark throughout compared to the rest, is still a fun character to watch. Problems arise, however, with members of the supporting cast, specifically those involved with Spike's past. His past is revealed with a wonderful sense of subtlety throughout via the use of flashes of memory, succeeding to tell a complete story despite the time constraints. However Spike's old associates from the Red Dragon syndicate don't come out so well. Julia and particularly Vicious receive very little development. Some characters from stand-alone bounty hunting episodes are more developed. Often the most understanding that is provided about these characters comes solely from Spike’s reactions to them which, to be fair, often proves to be enough.

On the audio/visual front Cowboy Bebop is quite the success. Character designs by Toshihiro Kawamoto are consistently appealing and the animation is smooth utilizing a nicely done blend of two dimensional and computer generated animation. For the purposes of this review I watched the dub for Cowboy Bebop which is regarded as one of the best with good reason. All members of the cast fit their characters well and convey believable emotion when needed. Yoko Kanno should need little introduction for her role in composing the soundtrack, focusing primarily on jazz while providing a fair variety of other genres throughout. All in all a very high quality production even ten years later.

Overall, for me, Cowboy Bebop isn't a favorite, my main gripe being my issues with the story line. However, despite that it proved to be a very fun, perhaps even addictive show to watch. It has a wonderful soundtrack and a cast of characters well worth remembering after the final credit scroll. For this I award it an overall rating of 8/10.

The story is pretty much episodic and not traditionally serial like the majority of anime. Each episode, they watch a show for bounty hunters that provide them information on the latest thugs that are out there ranging from petty drug dealers, to big time hitmen, and universally threatening terrorists. But I felt there are some certain episodes that the series could have lived without. Like episode 11 where a blob comes out of the refrigerator.

What I really like about this anime is that it's very character driven. Like Spike despite having a very reckless nature and can crack wise jokes, tends to have a ... very indirect and not so straight forward personality if you try to have a normal conversation with him. He’s not really anti-social, it’s just that he’s not a people person, and is really private. Ed is just this whacky genius kid and you have no idea what goes on in her head. Faye is the freeloader. And Jet is who you can say is the parental figure aboard the bebop. These personalities equal to some very great chemistry and very realistic interactions because of how the characters express themselves and their general personalities.

In terms of art and animation quality, this anime was the gateway between the 1990s and the new millenium. It perfectly mixes CG and 2D art. One of the other animes doing it that around this time was Initial D, which wasn’t really as amazing as Cowboy Bebop’s but still cool. But Cowboy Bebop just perfectly blended it together and did not make you lose a certain grip of what you were viewing.

The action of this anime ranges from John Woo style explosive stand offs, aerial dog fights, and martial arts. So you’re getting everything in terms of action. A lot of scenes were influenced by Kung Fu and John Woo movies. Like the climatic battle in episode 5 is based on John Woo’s the Killer, and all of Spike’s movements when he does hand to hand combat is all based on Bruce Lee. His footwork, his stances, the way he lunges, all of it. And of course Spike is a student of Bruce Lee’s martial arts philopshy, Jeet Kune Do, meaning the intercepting fist. There is one episode where he tries to teach a guy martial arts and he even uses one of Bruce Lee’s famous and iconic quotes of “be like water.”

The design is very distinctive and the characters are diverse but you see some references to other animes in it. Like Spike’s clothing style and his color scheme does pay homage to Lupin III. And I can’t say for certain, but Faye’s design does remind me of Major Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell with her look and the hair color being purple. The space ships are quite original and have a great design to them. They have excellent frames where it matches their aerial agilities in combat or in high speeds.

Thanks to the addition of Yoko Kanno, then expect top notch music in this anime in its own respective style in compliments to the atmosphere. The jazz and blues soundtrack is one of the other most associative qualities this anime has that makes it so great. It flows so well with the action scenes by making you sit back and enjoy the excitement, and yet it also reflects the easygoing personality Spike still manages to maintain in his fights against tomato can opponents. And sometimes, it will have some more powerful sounding songs like Rain that goes so well with the scenery. Tank, the opening theme gives somewhat of an old school feel to it like you’re watching a 1970s action movie and the song alone is good enough to show you’re going to see something that goes beyond your expectations.

Both the Japanese and English versions are excellent. It really doesn’t matter what version you’re going to watch because both tracks just do an accurate job of making you feel the characters. However, my only problem with the dub is that the black co-host in the bounty hunting tv show sounds more like a southern white guy. But moving on, both Koichi Yamadera (the voice of Ryoga in Ranma, Togusa in Ghost in the Shell, and Kaji in Evangelion) and Steven Blum really bring out Spike’s laid back, humorous, serious, and not so straightforward personality.

Seiyuu legend, Megumi Hayashibara (the voice of female Ranma, Rei from Evangelion, and Lina Inverse from Slayers) and Wendee Lee approach Faye’s character as being mysterious, captivating, broken hearted, and yet is somewhat of a motivator.

And Unsho Ishizuka (the voice of Miyata-san from Hajime no Ippo, Sasaki from History’s Strongest Disciple Ken’ichi, and Bunta from Initial D) and his English corresponding actor, Beau Billingslea, both do an excellent job of portraying Jet as being somewhat part comic relief, but yet has a grouchy personality at the same time and brings out the big brother/father figure to the Bebop.

In the past, lots of people have talked about a sequel. This anime does not need a sequel. The ending is perfect. The director should not have gone out and said there is no conformation or any implication of what the ending really meant. I really love 100% conclusive endings. I rank this the 2nd best ending behind Ashita no Joe. But on the other hand, I can understand making a prequel. I’d like to know how a run out cop and a runaway hitman teamed up to become bounty hunters. Like make a story of how Spike and Jet met. Make an OAV about Faye during her past. I like to know more about the characters to get a better understanding of them, and I feel this series would be a bit more complete, not saying the series is, but some of the small things did leave me curious.

So if you like martial arts action, dog fights, John Woo, Dog the Bounty Hunter, sci-fi, and space opera mixed with a story that doesn’t really have to be linear, but driven more by the characters, than this is for you. It’s very, very great, but short of perfect.

"Well here’s another great moment in the legend of Spike, famous bounty hunter and dog walker."
-Spike Spiegel

Due to my increasingly robust backlog I rarely take the opportunity to rewatch an anime. For the sake of Cowboy Bebop, one of my few critically acclaimed series, I decided to make an exception. My re-analysis was sparked by a conversation I had recently with a friend, in which she asked me what I loved so much about the series. For some reason, I couldn't rattle off a list or even a few distinct reasons as to why I hold the series in such high regard. This led me ... to grow curious of my thoughts if I gave it a re-watch. This was my gateway anime, the series that truly drew me to the medium in the first place, and I find it only fair to remove the nostalgia goggles for a bit and give this series a second look. Did it stand the test of time? Is it still a 10 out of 10? Well, there's only one way to find out. I'm reviewing this from a purely critical standpoint so it may get rather lengthy. Minor spoilers ahead.

Although it debuted in the late 90s, I was first introduced to Bebop about a decade ago, the summer of my junior year in high school (I realize I just dated myself). Up until that time I had always looked at anime as gimmicky or childish, cartoons lacking intellectual plot lines and flooded with girls sporting cat ears, with ultraviolent shock factor. When I had discovered Adult Swim on Cartoon Network, I was ecstatic. I would willingly stay up into the wee hours of the morning powering through shows like Bebop, Outlaw Star and Samurai Champloo, expanding my anime resume and loving every second of it. I think specifically in Bebop's case, the anime is subconsciously praised more for what it accomplished rather than its content. It helped spark a western anime revolution with entertainment fans in Europe and North America, creating a series approved by both avid anime connoisseurs and casual viewers. Not only did Bebop succeed, but it did so without tasteless fan service, harems, bad English voice acting or most anything else Americans commonly complain about in anime. In retrospect, I am so grateful to this series for opening my eyes to the medium and showing me how enjoyable anime can truly be.

When it comes to plot content, Cowboy Bebop is actually kind of bare-bones. The over-arcing storyline serves more as a backdrop then a focal point of the series. Spike Spiegel, a lethargic space bounty hunter stricken by the grief of losing his lover collects rewards from nabbing various criminals around the galaxy. His partner, Jet Black acts as the perfect balance in personality to Spike, exuding wisdom as well as common sense. They encounter a seemingly insurmountable amount of bad luck, pick up more crewmembers and come to terms with the ghosts of their past. Those ghosts are perhaps stronger for no one other than Spike, who has thoughts of his mistresse's killer looming in the back of his mind, waiting for a final battle with a one time friend spanning the length of the galaxy. Spike even sports a fake eye, a testament to his imperfection.

Throughout Spike and Jet's escapades in space, Cowboy Bebop explores a plethora of themes including loss, existentialism and loneliness. Each episode ebbs and flows with distinct tonal shifts accompanied by peppy jazz medleys along the way. The editing is quite fluid. I've always enjoyed the way this era of anime (Serial Experiments Lain, Visions of Escaflowne etc.) would create points of pondering or intellectual thought and didn't just slam the subject matter in your face. Although the anime is episodic in nature, this almost works to its advantage, adding snippets of various symbolism in its environment and dialogue. Even more cheeky episodes like the one where the crew discovers psychedelic mushrooms, help to illustrate the boredom one must face in the life of space. There are even moments where characters seem to be intoxicated or having some sort of transcendental experience, crafted almost entirely by the mind's ability to meander basically anywhere. Viewers have the unique ability to witness these themes vicariously through the crew and sympathize with them accordingly. This is definitely a quality of the anime I didn't appreciate the first time I watched it, but now that I'm older I do.

Another portion that works towards Cowboy Bebop's advantage is the lack of internal monologue with the characters. Instead of overtly telling the viewer what each character is thinking, the writers leave the inferring to our own minds. It's what some critics like to call the "intelligence test" with movies and TV alike. Sometimes monologues can detract from a series if not done properly or too often by taking the viewer out of an analytic role. Similar to this is how the entire environment is constructed. Everything feels very matter-of-fact, much like you're just dropping in as a fly on the wall with little or no introduction to the setting. The narrative is never ruined by a character abruptly stopping to explain something, which would be entirely unnecessary based on how well everything is illustrated in Cowboy Bebop. It gives you a warm fuzzy for how real life in futuristic space would be like. Even as the show concluded, with the lead character's fate being in question, there was no long drawnout speech, just the ending scenes for the viewers to decide the overall outcome. Bebop ends up being that show that can either be watched all at once or at a 1 to 2 episode a night speed. It's perfect to enjoy after a long day at school or work or just wanting to relax and enjoy some good quality entertainment.

In a perfect world an anime would balance intellectual and story driven elements with finesse. Unfortunately, this is one area that Cowboy Bebop suffers. If you don't appreciate the characters or get interested in the symbolism side of things, there isn't much else left to keep the anime afloat. Lucky for me I was able to appreciate the references and themes more this time around, so it didn't putter out or feel boring to me. There were instances where I became distracted, which were annoying, causing me to skip back and there aren't a lot of times where I was glued to my seat with excitement. It's one of those shows where you have to sit back and just take it all in, which isn't necessarily for everyone. The episodic approach offers multiple vignettes where a story is built up and concluded, all in 20 minutes. This is a difficult task to tackle, which often lead to creating many one-dimensional villains and making me feel quite unattached from their cause, whatever it may have been. The ending also appeared to be more of a plot convenience than a justifiable conclusion. It's almost as though Shinichiro Watanabe (director) ran out of storyboard and decided to put into place a rather cliche' ending on the series. These negatives stand out like a scratch on a new car, as they prevent the series from truly being a masterpiece. Most people would be apt to forget about these points however, since the general consensus is that Bebop is the pinnacle of Japanese animation.

The characters and Cowboy Bebop are undoubtedly one of the stronger points of the series. Watanabe did a great job of portraying the characters as relative opposites, in both demeanor and appearance. Spike is clean-cut with a dry personality, while Jet is patriarchal and political with a more rugged attire. Apparently Watanabe originally designed Spike to wear an eye patch, but the producers wrote it off early in development. Honestly, Jet serves as the entire parental unit a board the crew's ship. He's responsible, he cooks and is in charge of overseeing all the major repairs the ship undergoes. Faye, described by her Japanese voice actor as an "ugly" woman, does a fantastic job causing trouble and avoiding basically any responsibility for it. However, her enigmatic past makes her rather redeemable as a character and leaves a large area open for interpretation. There really isn't a heavily endowed, brain dead dame in Bebop. Speaking of enigmatic, the androgynous Ed has some mysteries of his own... or should I say "her" own. Dopey and unpredictable are just a few words to describe the hacker. Apparently, Ed's personality was crafted based on Yoko Kanno, the notorious composer of Bebop's OST. She must have been one interesting woman. Oddly enough, Watanabe originally proposed Ed as a male, but was gender swapped to even out the sausage fest. And let's not forget the most adorable anime pet in existence, Ein... the laziest/cutest data dog in the galaxy. Each of the characters exhibit some robust skeletons from their past and experience obvious signs of boredom and abandonment along the way. Spike's intriguing involvement with his rival Vicious is fueled by rage and revenge, two qualities not normally promulgated in Spike's personality. At the same time, It's a relationship I feel could've been expanded upon a little more. There are too many anime that falter when giving proper depth to antagonists, and Cowboy Bebop succumbs to the same issue.

If you hadn't already realized, the music is vital to Cowboy Bebop's storytelling and scene progression. Jazzy, upbeat tunes are juxtaposed with hand to hand combat and perilous situations, but everything seemed to click. Yoko Kanno had worked wonders with Sunrise Animations, and Bebop is quite possibly her magnum opus. It's one of the few anime soundtracks I could listen to standalone, without people questioning what the hell I was listening to. It truly sounds like tracks out of a movie. Both the English and Japanese voice acting is impeccable, with props given to our lord and savior, Stephen Blum for his portrayal of Spike and Melissa Fahn as Edward. The OP is iconic, with superb, James Bond-like animation and the ED never really aged poorly for me. Overall, many present day anime could learn a thing or two about Bebop's music and how important it is to the series. Without the soundtrack, this anime would "ok" at best. Animation has already been covered briefly, but I reiterate how well the artists created such a vivid depiction of space and the future. The character models were all very unique and their faces were emblazoned with personality.

Although I still very much appreciate this anime, I didn't enjoy it as much the second time around. Maybe it was half out of expectation or previous involvement, but something didn't feel as interesting to me. Still, I would urge just about any anime fan to check out the series if not already done. If for no other reason than to experience how great this time period was for anime in general, and how it paved the way for the growing industry. Like I previously stated, most people my age hold the series in such high regard due to pure nostalgia or how it opened their eyes to the medium of anime, I know it did for me. It's a series you can sit down and talk about even with non-anime fans, and believe me that's hard to find. I would prefer the series not be remade, as Watanabe suggests, but would be interested in a western, live-action adaptation. I think a successful American release of Ghost In The Shell will open the flood gates for future adaptations. As always, thanks for reading the review and be sure to check out my other works!

Cowboy Bebop is hailed as one of the greatest anime of all time, which acts as a testament to how the drug called nostalgia can be so addictive in clouding critical thought. It's by no means a bad series, but neither is it fully original nor amazingly executed.

If I were to sum up the series in several words, I would choose "style over substance." The art is good, as is the voice acting for both dub and sub, and the music is fantastic. However, those are just dressing for the feast that is a series and unless the actual meat of a series that is ... plot and characters has much substance to it, there's little taste to gain from it's flavours overall.

That said, the plot can be hit or miss. I find the sci-fi setting to be decent, but it's not executed to anywhere near it's full potential. You won't be finding the thematic exploration that space can provide in series such as Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Gundam's Universal Century or Planetes, with the space setting being used primarily just to allow the series to stand out from the norm. There are story elements I do like, such as the ending being solid. However, most of the episodes are skippable due to the series' episodic nature, which shows how loose the narrative is. The majority of it tends to be just tributes to western cinema, which whilst nice, don't really offer much to the series itself.

The main drawing point for most is the characters, though even they aren't anything too grand. They are at least consistent, so none of them are bad, but the only one who stands out as being much more than average is Faye with her search for identity. Spike is alright with his dual nature of goofy yet experienced, though the trope has been done far better elsewhere such as Onizuka from GTO or Kenshin from Rurouni Kenshin. Despite the focus given to his past, especially in the last two episodes, we don't really get much in-depth exploration for his timeline or psychology. Jet is a stereotypical gruff guy with good intentions and Ed is just the trope of a child genius. Finally, there's the main villain of Vicious who, despite his history with Spike, has little personality to stand on his own as a character and purely serves as a foil to Spike.

The element of characters is still executed competently enough to place the series slightly above average, but that's about as high as it goes. It at least improved on the eccentric episodic ensemble of Lupin III as a purely fun series and as far as episodic space series go it surpasses Space Adventure Cobra due to character decisions having a permanent impact on the plot, but it's no golden standard for the medium. Overall, Bebop only really stands out as a case study in the history and rise of anime's popularity in the west and if wanting an anime with a wide array of themes and well-developed characters, there's the true peak of the medium that is Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

Overall ranking - 5.5/10

*SPOILERS FOR COWBOY BEBOP IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY SEEN IT SOMEHOW*

I'm sure that I'll hardly be able to add anything new here given that most of this show's praises have been sung more than the OST has been replayed by anyone who has seen the show, but what the hell? If Spike could go up against a Syndicate, then I can still find some things to say, at least presumably. Back to the preamble and enough of the rambling. Back in 1998, this wand the most popular show. Anime was just starting to really hit a boom with the US market, and back in the ... day, this was like, the show you'd always sneak out to your friend's house or purposefully break your 9:30 PM curfew to watch if you were a kid in middle-school. Nowadays, it's one of the most celebrated anime to date, with thousands upon thousands of loyal fans who always spread the series like a loud bang from a gun in a giant echoing hallway with people in it who somehow rejoice the sound (if you get the inside joke I made). Now why is that? What makes this series stand out as one of the few classic anime (10+ years old defines a classic if it's often considered great) to make it to the top 30, among the likes of Code Geass, GTO, Spirited Away, and Legend of the Galactic Heroes? What makes this to often be considered Shinichiro Watanabe's magnum opus? Well, let's find out, shall we?

STORY: 10/10

A large chunk of this series is set on individual missions for the Bebop crew to try and make some money off of, usually to fail due to unforeseen circumstances, like their bounty dying, or someone screwing everything over for them, or whatnot, and a lot of them are fairly episodic. Sure, a lot of them are used to flesh out bits and pieces of the Bebop crew in sometimes tragic ways, but there are just there to fill up the run time, at least that's what it feels like. The ultimate plot behind it is that Spike Spiegel was once part of the Red Dragon Syndicate, but after Julia starts falling in love with Spike, Vicious loves up to his name and takes everything over and chases after Spike, so in order to escape, he fakes his death and joins up with former cop, Jet, and together, become bounty hunters, or Cowboys, if you will. After some missions gone awry, a dog, a troubled gambler who was in cryostasis for 70 or so years, and a genius hacker who is also a little girl, all join the crew, to Spike's initial dismay. Before I dive into the real meat of what makes the narrative of the show so special, I have to call attention to their taste in music and culture as a whole, with each title being a reference to a song or even a style or genre of music, as well as episodes that are blatant references to certain types of film, like Mushroom Samba's blacksplotation or the city noir crime detective style of Ganymede Elegy. It's always fun to see a show's episode titles have that much care and style put into them, especially when there are series out there that put no goddamn effort into their episode titles at all.

This series does a great job fleshing out the characters piece by piece, revealing how tragic their back stories are, like those of Jet up until his individual episode in episode 10 and Faye until hers in episode 18 with the video tape from her childhood, which has to be one of the saddest moments in the show. This series also likes to convey emotion more than anything else, specifically the various emotions you experience through life, without resorting to melodrama, which is rather refreshing for a show that relies mostly on pathos, with scenarios like the bell peppers and beef scenes surrounding a tragic case in the first episode, as to signify that this is the crew's way of trying to let it not get to them as they live another day scraping by; eating while trying to put everything past them in order to not be miserable, even after the crew splits temporarily in episode 23. Episodes 12 and 13 are where things start taking a turn for the darker, as after another square off with Vicious, we start truly learning of how badly everyone has it, except arguably for Ed. Admittedly, we already got to see it with Jet a few episodes prior, but that's 1 out of 3. The first time we really get to see the overarching narrative for Spike is in episode 5, and this is sort of taking a back seat for more adventures and scenarios that flesh out everyone. In episode 24, we finally meet Julia, and this is the point where everything comes spiraling down, as in the last 3 episodes, the crew eventually splits for real, Spike meets Julia again, Vicious truly takes control of the syndicate by force, Julia is killed, and Spike storms the syndicate to face off with Vicious once and for all before dying by saying us catchphrase to the cops that surrounded the building, culminating in one of the best ending in anime akin to the likes of Gurren Lagann, and again, Code Geass. "You're gonna carry that weight" has been ingrained in the minds of just about everyone who has seen this show since, like the characters, we gotta live with our life choices as some of them come back to haunt us, a message that's infinitely more poignant for adults as they've already started coping with this.

CHARACTERS: 9/10

The Bebop crew is widely considered to be one of the most iconic main casts in anime history, and for damn good reason, from their lavishly executed backstories, to their charismatic nature. The man who embodies this most of all is of course, Spike Spiegal, a total badass who hates kids, pets, and women with annoying attitudes. He kicks ass with style and smoothness akin to Bruce Lee (even paraphrasing him and having a similar fighting style), and generally comes off as someone you wanna see in just about any scenario life can bring, which this show is always more than happy to oblige. He has this sort of charisma ther just gels with his combat. It sucks that his past sucks, but that's a key part of the show; that your past will always come back to haunt you until you put it to rest. Jet Black is a former cop who cooks bell peppers and "beef" (cuz there is none), and is a very stern man who hates it when Spike goes off on his own, because it often screws with the mission, and with the money. It's always fun to see the two interact, and in fact, it's always fun to see him interact angrily with anyone, and that's surprisingly hard to get right. Then again, this is Cowboy Bebop.

Faye Valentine is a gambler with an attitude, and a charming mistress who was in stasis for 70 years, uses gambling to wash it all away after the pain of being deceived by a man she was growing affection for in this new, advanced, and alien age. I think what really makes her the most depressing of it was is seeing what an adorable child she was and not only how much everything about her childhood home and friends have changed and disappeared, but just how much darker and more scheming she became. Ed is a hacker who, unsurprisingly, acts like a child, and even plays with the dog named Ein, since of course, he is one. All of them are really likable characters for different reasons, even of most other characters don't have enough screen time for us to really connect with them, especially when some of them die. Though, that's kind of the point. We see the crew having small interactions with these guys we'll rarely see again. Just like the crew, we're just people wandering into the tail end of their now tragic life stories, with one exception: Vicious. A renegade syndicate member who wants revenge and control, feeling betrayed by Julia's affair with his best friend Spike. A typical setup for the hellish rivalry between two friends. Overall, this still quite a lovely cast, especially the awesome and emotionally broken Bebop crew. If they didn't have such bad luck with cases, I'd bet lots of us would wanna join them.

ART: 10/10

Some of you may be (unjustly) disconcerted by how old and classic the artstyle is, but this is one of the most fluidly animated shows I've ever seen, surpassing the likes of FLCL, and for it to keep that up for 26 episodes, two whole seasons of anime, is damn impressive. The mid 80's to late 90's perfected anime shading, and this was one of the lucky series to recieve such treatment, especially when it comes to the small ship Spike often pilots. Hell, it looks more polished than most anime today, and it's been nearly 2 decades since this show aired. The show's rendition of the clsssic visual technique of Itano Circus (coined and originated by the legendary Macross franchise since its original installment), shown off in episode 4, is a sight to behold, as are the amazingly fluid fight scenes. Then again, considering how fluid Spike's Bruce Lee inspired fluid fighting style, it's only natural that the series would go that far. The character designs also look both impressively stylish as well as realistic, the latter of which is something you don't often see in anime. The OP in particular as this type of jazzy flare to the art that you'd never see in any other OP, and the ED has blue images, complementing the song's name. The explosions and action look very gritty, really nailing the impact of whenever someone chucks a gernade in the middle of a fight, and overall, this show is definitely worth watching for the crisp and fluid visuals alone.

SOUND: 9/10

The soundtrack was done my Yoko Kanno, and that just sells the show right there, doesn't it? A lot of the OST, while not inherently memorable, definitely captured whatever scenario the crew finds itself in during any given episode. Plus, with emotional songs like "Green Bird", "Stella no Moor", "Memory", Waltz for Zizu" (hey, Digibro used it emotionally), and "Good night Julia", how can you go wrong? The OP, "Tank" done by The Seatbelts, is a very cool and slick jazz song that amps you up for the show perfectly. You might find it contradictory that I said a lot of tracks aren't that memorable, only to list a lot of really amazing tracks, but there are so many pieces in the show that for even a decent fraction if the OST to be amazing, is to show how amazing it is as a whole. The ED on its own is pretty good, but the moment your tears truly fall is when you hear the full version of the ED "The Real Folk Blues" by The Seatbelts FT. Mai Yamane, which is a beautifully done emotional song with a final 2 minutes they can release the feels epically.

The dub is often heralded as one of the best of all time, and I can't really disagree. It's up there with the likes of Gurren Lagann in terms of dub, which is really fitting given how amazing both shows are. All of the voices sound truly real, more so than most dubs or most performances of any show, and it all gels really well. Steve Blum does Spike Spiegel, and if you're a straight girl, you probably felt pleasure from that fact alone given this man's voice. Everyone else does a really great job as well, and rarely does it fell awkward in the slightest.

ENJOYMENT: 8/10

Like I said, some of the middle episodes were almost fillery, and a bit boring (namely Mushroom Samba) but it was all worth it, not just for every episode that revealed much of any character's past, but also for the final few episodes. The show is smooth, and slick, like a good jazz song, and it often carried me through some of the weaker moments, followed by some really strong emotional moments. The show is definitely an entertaining one, and the badass yet tragic finale was definitely the highlight of everything. Looking back on and/or rewatching the show is when you truly appreciate the show's brilliance, and I wouldn't mind rewatching it sometime in the future.

OVERALL: 9/10 RAW SCORE: 92/10

This is definitely an impressive show that Watanabe worked on. It may not be a personal favorite, but I can easily see why someone would list it as one of theirs. It does a great job presenting the many different emotions of life, and does it brilliantly. Definitely a worthy show for anyone, especially one who loves to experience sci-fi. If you watch this show, you're gonna carry the weight, just like the rest of us. With all that said, I bid you adieu.

Cowboy Bebop... widely considered as a masterpiece. I personally thought it was good, but I would have trouble placing it at masterpiece status.

I decided to watch Cowboy Bebop because it was done by Shinichiro Watanabe, who also did Samurai Champloo, which is one of my all time favorites. If you watched Champloo, Bebop is similar in that both follow an episodic format, where there is some kind of a story or plot, but the story itself is not as important as the journey. In Champloo, this was the search for the sunflower samurai. I guess in Bebop the main plot focus could be considered Spikes ... backstory and the whole situation with Julia.

Cowboy Bebop is about bounty hunters Spike and Jet and there adventures as bounty hunters and the other bounty hunters, Faye and Edward who they meet along their journey.

Story 8/10

Art 8/10

Sound 8/10

Characters 9/10

I think the most interesting part of Cowboy Bebop is I guess the main protagonist, Spike Spiegel. Although I do not necessarily the episodic format to be a bad thing, I feel that it sometimes took away what was the most interesting part of the show, which for me was Spike's backstory. Spike is a very interesting character - he is very mysterious, not to mention that he is very skilled at his job.

Enjoyment 8/10

Overall 8/10

Had some moments which where interesting/entertaining, however I have trouble recommending Cowboy Bebop as a masterpiece as some people do. Still a show worth watching if you enjoy the genre.

Cowboy Bebop. Perhaps the greatest anime TV show created thus far. It's a massive mixture of genres, but is mostly sci-fi, comedy and action with a western vibe and a touch of film noir.

The story of Cowboy Bebop, or the lack thereof, is probably the weakest link to the series. This series does not have an ongoing story. However, the story is NOT the main focus of the show. Each episode can stand on its own.

The main focus is the immense variety of entertainment that this show provides. Many episodes are done in a different style. Some are dedicated to character development (what I call ... the chill-out episodes), some are dedicated to character back-story (each main character gets about 2 or 3), some are dedicated to pure action and fun, while some are psychological thrillers or even social commentary.

The second main focus is the characters. Each main character is very well developed by the end of the series. It seems that the creators found the perfect kind of characters that would compliment the crew of Bebop. And what's this perfect formula? Contrast. Each character in the crew of Bebop has a very unique personality. Putting characters that do not fit together creates very interesting and funny situations, indeed.

The music is top-notch in this show. It ranges from jazz, funk and bebop to pop, classic rock and choir singing. Very memorable and compliments the scenes well.

By the time you finish this series, you will probably remember many of the times where the crew were just hanging out, living their everyday life. I think these scenes are what make the show. It wouldn't be the same without this contrast to the action throughout the show.

Overall I give Bebop a 10 out of 10. It's extremely enjoyable; the production design is amazing, and it has lovable and memorable characters, as well as amazing music that perfectly compliments the show.

Do you miss the days where outer space felt like a place where people went to work, did their laundry and lived their average lives, instead of a futuristic, chrome-plated, automated, flashing, beeping gadget? I certainly do. Titles like “Star Wars” made space feel like someplace that you might live someday, instead of a place where everything was shiny and new, and nobody ever had to do manual labor. Cowboy Bebop is on to something with the way it portrays outer space. At least, that’s what avid fans of the series may tell you.

Being one of the more popular anime titles out there, does it ... really live up to all the hype? Hopefully, this review will answer some of those questions for you. Diehard fans of the series may not like some of the things that I’m about to say, just to give you fair warning.

Story (4/10)—Whoa, hold on a second! Didn’t you just spend the first paragraph of this review praising the anime? Yes, people who inevitably will question me, I did. However, this particular chunk of the review won’t be so lavish with praise.

Allow me to explain myself. The 4/10 makes it look like I hated this show. Let me assure you that I did not hate it.

The story of Cowboy Bebop takes place, you guessed it, sometime in the future in outer space. It follows the adventures of a bounty hunter named Spike and his buddy, Jet, a fellow bounty hunter. While this sounds like a stereotypical journey through space boredom, it’s actually quite refreshing. Spike and Jet live in a space world that somehow reminds you of the old west. The entire start of the story just feels organic. You get a good sense of who the two characters are, and what they’re doing.

So, why have I given the story such a low score? Well, quite simply, it was the startling lack of depth to the story that killed it for me. For the first several episodes, the show feels, well…episodic. There isn’t really a whole lot of story to connect the events of the first several episodes together. The only real common thread is Spike and Jet collecting bounty after bounty. Now, much to my surprise, this actually wasn’t a bad thing at first. I can deal with a few episodes where the plot isn’t apparent yet, if done well. And these episodes were! There were very good, and quite fun to watch! The atmosphere drew me in, the characters were intriguing, and the action was well-executed.

However, as any viewer will, I eventually began to get curious about the past of the characters, and how they’ve come to be where they are now. After a few episodes, you finally start to get a few painfully brief glimpses into Spike’s past as he comes face to face with an old enemy. However, this tension is quickly dropped in favor of some more episodic adventures.

Fast forward another several episodes, and you get some more overarching plot involving this aforementioned villain. This particular adventure is split into two episodes, which got me very interested. However, the story drops the overall plot AGAIN and doesn’t pick it back up until the final two episodes. I really am not exaggerating, folks; aside from an occasional, brief flashback, the entire plot takes place in the space of about five episodes.

So what are the other twenty-one episodes? Well, most of the other episodes are fun little adventures that involve some new villain every time, and put the characters in some sort of funny/amusing situation. Enough for some people, perhaps, but not for me. What really hooks me into a show is good, solid, well-planned plot. And Cowboy Bebop plain and simply failed to deliver. And on top of all that, the ending is…well, to avoid spoilers, let’s just say I didn’t care for it.

Basically, I was sitting there frothing at the mouth, episode after episode, saying “Where’s the plot? When does the plot start to form?”. And then I was left with precious little plot at all, only to be disappointed by the ending. It’s like if you’re at a restaurant and they give you a salad, and I mean a really, REALLY delicious salad as an appetizer, but when you finish your salad and keep asking for the main course, they just give you more salad instead. Then, once you’re starting to get sick of salad, they hand you a stale pop-tart as dessert and send you on your way. What? Where’s all the good stuff that I came here for?

That’s exactly how I felt at the end of Cowboy Bebop. I felt dissatisfied, and I felt like a great group of characters with good back stories, a very good atmosphere, an interesting villain, and some really solid action scenes had all simply gone to waste. I think that’s why I dislike the story so much. It got my expectations so high because the first few episodes were so good, only to disappoint me in the end.

Art (10/10)—See? There WERE things I liked about this show!

Cowboy Bebop really is a gem among animation. Mind you, this anime was released in 1999, and the animation is STILL better than half of the stuff that’s released today. Every motion is fluid and smooth, and I never noticed any instances where the animation was lazy, or where the creators cut corners to save time or money. What really gets me is how some objects, like spaceships, were drawn without computer animation. Most animators will use computers to animate something with many moving parts, but not Cowboy Bebop. And in the instances where computer animation is used, it often took me several times to actually notice it.

Everything about the animation in this show is superb, from the characters, to the background, to the dark color palette that makes up the show. There were times when I wanted to pause the video just so I could stop and look at all of the beautiful details in the background. All in all, the art creates a very convincing atmosphere that makes you feel like you really ARE in space with the characters.

Sound (10/10) — I really don’t think you can find an anime with a better score than this one. I’m completely serious. I know that it’s a bold claim to make, but the music is absolutely sensational! Remember how I keep blabbing on about what great atmosphere this show has? Well, the music is largely a part of it. “Tank”, the opening theme, is one of the most popular opening titles in the history of anime, and nearly every other bit of music is as fun and addicting to listen to as the title. This is easily the strongest point of the show, and was a large part of what I enjoyed while watching it.

For the first time, well…ever, I watched this series entirely in English. I was shocked to discover that the English dub of this show is VERY good. I’ve heard rumors that the creator of the show likes the English voices better than the Japanese, but I’m not certain of whether it’s true or not. In any case, you won’t be disappointed if you watch this show in English. I’ve never heard such a skilled cast of voice actors put together for any English dub, and never even once stopped and thought about the voice acting being poor. I can’t speak for the Japanese voices, but I’ve heard that those are quite good as well. No matter how you watch it, you’re not likely to be disappointed by the voice actors.

Characters (6/10)—The first rule of creating any workable story is that the characters must be believable. And, largely, the characters of this show fit that mold. In addition to Spike and Jet, there are two other members that make it onboard to become part of the crew, and although these characters spend the majority of the time being annoyed with one another, you’ll still find yourself liking them and laughing at their dynamic they share. Each character gets at least one episode devoted to exploring their back story, which is a significant chunk of time, considering the short length of the show.

Thus, each character was fleshed out very well by the end of the series, and I found myself caring about each of them, even the ones who had annoyed me at first. However, by the time the plot starts to wrap up in the last two episodes, I came to realize that the relationships between the characters weren’t really going anywhere. One character whom didn’t give a rip about Spike at the beginning, actually started to care whether he existed or not by the end. Spike doesn’t seem to care at all, and what could have made for a very interesting moment between two characters was thrown out the window when Spike walked away.

I think my biggest reason for the low score was at the end, how so little emotional catharsis was achieved. Spike spends most of the series remembering a woman he loved, but the ending doesn’t really do much to take care of all that pent-up emotion. Even when Spike has that inevitable facedown with the villain at the end, I still didn’t feel like anything had really been achieved. Yes, I suppose the plot had technically been resolved, but what about my beloved characters? How do they react to all of this? Well, I hope you didn’t care about them, because the show never tells you.

It’s that stale pop-tart showing up again. Not only do you get an unsatisfactory ending plot-wise, but the show NEVER tells you what happens to the other characters! Even if they had all died, I still would at least have known what happened to them. However, the ending focuses solely on Spike, and even what happens to him leaves a little room for interpretation and guesswork. I suppose that’s why I disliked the plot so much. I felt like the characters that I knew and loved weren’t done justice by the ending.

Enjoyment (7/10)—This anime left me torn. I loved the music. I loved the art. I loved the characters. I even loved the first few episodes of the show, but I just felt like the ending let me down. Ultimately, I did enjoy the show, despite the many flaws I pointed out.

Overall (7/10)—So now it’s time to answer the question I posed at the beginning: is this show overrated? My answer would be a tentative “yes”. While there are aspects of the show that I didn’t care for, namely the plot, I still really enjoyed it, and the music definitely lived up to the hype.
Ultimately, I’d say this show is definitely worth watching. I just feel like whenever a show gets as much hype as this one does, people are bound to be disappointed once in awhile.

*Note just because I give it all 10s does not mean I believe that this is perfect. I just believe it is a masterpiece and I enjoyed it immensely."

The 90s were a great time for anime. There was DBZ, Yu Yu Hakusho, EVA, Sailor Moon etc. all were very good shows in their own right and garnered millions of fans worldwide. I am not here to talk about those, I here to talk about Cowboy Bebop, a timeless classic which was probably the reason why many people became interested in anime. Ah, I remember staying up until midnight, waiting for Cowboy Bebop to show ... up on Toonami. Ah the memories...............but I digress.

Story- Now the revolves around a crew of space bounty hunters, whos main goal is to amass a large amount of money so they can live lavishly. It starts out with the main protagonist, Spike Speigel and his older buddy/pilot of their ship, Jet. Eventually, their crew expands to about 2 other people and also a dog. They go around the galaxy going on a bunch of crazy and wild adventures.

The show is episodic. It is not like one hugeeee long arc about one thing; each episode focuses on a specific adventure that the crew goes on, or them trying to deal with their past. Sometimes you will see Spike battle a fat, sociopathic killer with amazing strength, and other times you will see characters reflect upon their past as a means of catharsis. But, at the very end you will witness one of the greatest endings in anime history. Ask anyone who has seen Cowboy Bebop, they will agree.

Art- The art was very good for its time, and it even holds up well today. It is very crisp and you can tell from the detailed character drawings and ship designs. The show is also very "western," themed, as in like Cowboys from the olden days.

Sound- The soundtrack is amazing, it is a unique blend of jazz, blues, music-box etc. It is very eclectic to say the least. It is worthy of its widespread acclaim.

Dub over sub for this one. This only do to one person, Steve Blum one of the greatest voice actors of all time. His performance as Spike is what made him what he his today.

Character- It is probably one of the more popular casts in anime. First you have Spike, cynical, sarcastic bad ass with a shady past. Next, you have Jet Black, pilot of the Bebop and a grizzled ex-police officer. Third, you have Faye, sexy, and manipulative con woman. Fourth, you have Ed, the
androgynous, whacky computer hacker. Lastly, we have the dog Ein, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. This seemingly mis-matched group of rag tags, could not be more perfectly put together in my eyes.

Overall I give this show a 10/10 because it in all honesty it is a great show to watch. I will say that some people may find it to be boring, so don't watch it if you don't like shows with a focus on dialogue. This is a show that you should recommend to anime newcomers.

Episodic series are complicated. On one hand, there's a huge degree of freedom that can go into them that you don't obtain quite as easily in semi-episodic or comparatively linear narratives, but on the other they run the risk of running dry due to a lack of variety in their narratives, uninteresting subplots or characters that remain stagnant throughout the show's run.

Cowboy Bebop is interesting because in many ways it encapsulates both the best and worst things about episodic series within its runtime.

The premise is simple enough and works perfectly for the kind of story Cowboy Bebop is - one about these drifting mercenaries simply ... doing odd jobs across the universe, with no overarching goal beyond living paycheck to paycheck. The cast are a colorful bunch and have a fair amount of fun interactions with each other, and the episodic stories vary wildly in terms of what they're about. Good enough, so what then is the issue?

The episodic stories are incredibly inconsistent in terms of quality, some being excellent, others being mediocre if not outright bad.

The more comedy-focused episodic stories are fine, but act as a kind of mood whiplash with the darker parts of the series - but then there's ones that are outright pretty damn bad, standouts including the infamous Feng Shui episode or the episode Edward's introduced in. This lack of consistency (to say nothing of most episodes following a certain format, more on that later) make Cowboy Bebop an incredibly difficult show to sit down and get engrossed in.

That's to say nothing of how the central narrative is structured - this show is episodic in the true sense of the term and from what I can gather not even told in chronological order, which while makes sense to an extent (the entire point is that these characters are static and numb to what's happening around them) means that the central narrative and random episodic stories have a clear, thick dividing line between them, with the narrative essentially coming out of nowhere at random. There's an argument to be made about how this fits the idea of Spike trying to run away from his past, with his past finding a way to chase after him anyway - this is a weak argument that isn't helped by a certain issue in how the story is presented.

You don't get to see virtually any of the side cast outside the scope of the episodic parts they're introduced in, and this includes characters who are relevant to the central narrative outside of a few quick flashbacks. This was a deliberate design choice and I heavily disagree with it because it leaves the viewer thoroughly disengaged from everything happening in the story, meaning when the main narrative does return and kick back in full force, I have no reason to care about it beyond being an observer to Spike's mistakes. Why should I care about his emotional investment to Julia, or rivalry with Vicious, when his dynamic with Jet and Faye are what I see much more of anyway? And while there can be an argument that much like them being observers to all the tragedies that happen and growing numb to it, we're placed in a position where we too are growing numb to their issues, it also makes it impossible to relate to these characters despite the themes about overcoming the past being general and easy to relate to - the distance the story uses to invoke this message is paradoxically both its strongest asset and worst enemy.

The central cast are a largely static bunch in a sense - they do progress slightly over the course of whatever there is for a narrative, Jet has several episodic arcs dedicated to that in particular - but their dynamic stays as that of a pack of strangers keeping their distance from one another while awkwardly trying to get closer only to drift further. This isn't necessarily a problem in and of itself, but the way the series presents this is through the cast (and by cast I really just mean Spike and Faye) rushing headlong like headless chickens over and over again into making mistakes as other cast members (which happens to be consistently Jet) tries to stop either of them from doing so. This very quickly gets old and I refuse to digest the idea that this is repetition for the sake of emphasis because it happens so many times that the viewer is likely to get really sick of it really quickly - Faye going off gambling is one of the most unfunny gags in the history of anime and she's such an annoying character with such a thoroughly uninteresting backstory that it baffles me to the moon that people can point at her and claim she's one of the greatest female characters in anime history. That backstory is relevant to the themes of the story, but it's so emotionally uninteresting and overdone that it's shocking that it isn't shat on harder by fans and detractors of this alike.

This isn't to say that there's no positives to Cowboy Bebop - hell, I'd dare say there's more positives than negatives. Spike does manage to be an engaging character from start to finish, even if there's issues I already went over in how his arc is presented. Jet's actually a character I didn't have much of an issue with - his tolerance for Faye's bullshit notwithstanding, his comradery with Spike was authentic and genuine, and several of the best moments in the series were with him and Spike bickering over how horrid the food is. Ed's actually somewhat entertaining after her debut episode - the cringe factor still occasionally comes back, but it's nowhere near as bad as some people would have you believe. And Ein, well, being a dog aside, is pretty fun.

The visuals are absolutely stunning and have aged magnificently - the backgrounds are beautiful, the animation's gorgeous and the way the series does worldbuilding is actually something I find pretty underrated - there's no massive infodump on the world, just scattered pieces of exposition as the cast explore random parts of the setting, with said setting having extremely varied locations and cultures that always if nothing else showed a nice, new thing for the viewer to look at. The soundtrack is spectacular and great, there's a fuckton of neat references to Western pop culture, the action is usually absolutely gorgeous and varies from gun fights to spaceship battles to hand-to-hand combat, all of which is done insanely well. The central narrative despite all my issues with it is still decently engaging, and the ending is memorable as hell and among the most iconic in anime history for a reason.

If this review comes off as harsh, it's because Cowboy Bebop is put on such a high pedestal insofar as episodic anime goes that it comes off as baffling - not even by the fanbase, but even by the series itself, which claims in random transition slides that it will be a new work that will invent a genre of its own (which by any standard is a shockingly narcisstic thing to put in there, influential and classic this show may be it certainly did not do that). There's better episodic anime out there (Natsume and Mushishi) and better cautionary tales out there (Fate/Zero and Gundam IBO) than this series, and they're not nearly as infuriating to watch at points as this is, nor do they have a strange theme about the maturity of accepting the status quo as is - which while makes sense in the context of what the series is trying to preach about humans being cogs in a machine, interesting that everyone from the environmental activists, revolutionaries and terrorists is just portrayed as though their fight is pointless and nothing can or will ever change. The political implications of such an attitude is obvious, and while the series doesn't portray such an attitude positively, it also provides no real counter to it.

In a way, that's the highest I can say about a show like Cowboy Bebop - for all its talk about being revolutionary, the show is in many ways more of the same if you've seen a sizeable number of episodic shows or cautionary tales. And that's just about the biggest slight I can make against a show like Cowboy Bebop - it's decent, but nothing outstanding.

Thank you for reading my review, any and all feedback would be appreciated.

Painfully Overrated:

Cowboy bebop has a lot of charm, likeable characters with interesting personalities, very nice visuals, a cool world that is a refreshing spin on the sci-fi genre and some fun moments here and there. However 'personality' isn't enough to keep me invested in a show.

I need a real storyline with an overarching plot, character development and stakes. Unfortunately Cowboy Bebop doesn't seem to offer that, instead it follows the slice of life saturday morning cartoon structure where each episode feels disjointed and most of the episodes are essentially sidequests that don't relate to any main plot aka filler.

I quite enjoyed the first ... handful of episodes but I found myself getting really bored and would only recommend this show to those that are just looking to switch their brain off and watch something in the morning while eating their breakfast before school.

As an avid movie watcher and music lover, Cowboy Bebop was the first anime I've ever seen, with the perspective that I was about to see an anime. Of course, before this experience, I had already watched stuff like Dragon Ball or Doraemon, but those don't really count, because I never really watched them from a critical and artistic point of view. From the time I first finished Cowboy Bebop, I've watched several other anime and even rewatched Cowboy Bebop a second time. Because Cowboy Bebop is so special, both on a personal level and as an anime, I will be using an unconventional order ... to review it.


----- Soundtrack (10) -----

I've heard many skeptics say to me that Cowboy Bebop is a silly name for a show, and that it drives them away from watching it. I completely disagree with these opinions, as I think the name Cowboy Bebop is the perfect name in regards to the show's soundtrack. If you heard a fragment of the soundtrack, you'll probably know what I am talking about. The bebop part emphasizes the jazzy influences of this amazing soundtrack (Bebop is a style or variation of jazz), Cowboy epitomizes all the adventures that this musical masterpiece will bring you.

With over 6 hours of absolutely splendid tracks, if you truly enjoy music, you'll be sure to never forget this soundtrack. Tracks like Spokey Dokey, Space Lion, Waltz for Zizi or Farewell Blues are some of the absolute masterpieces to be found among the rest of the equally excellent songs.

The true motivation for me to watch Cowboy Bebop was the grand opening, Tank. Some years ago, Cowboy Bebop was running on my television and from time to time I would listen to the mystical theme song, that wouldn't leave my mind for a long time. This truly inspired me to delve into the world of anime.

I have yet to find a soundtrack as influential and as inspiring as Cowboy Bebop's. No movie, series or anime will provide you with such an outstanding selection of songs. Even if you haven't watched Cowboy Bebop yet, I strongly recommend that you explored the music behind it, even though all of these songs become much more meaningful if you actually watch Cowboy Bebop.


----- Animation (9) -----

In my opinion, this is the only aspect of Cowboy Bebop that is not flawless. This, of course, doesn't remove the fact, that the art department of Cowboy Bebop is still very good, considering its age and the fact the it is mostly hand drawn. Having this in mind, everything looks damn good. However, some of the CGI didn't age very well (even though it is good CGI for the era) and some of the secondary characters could have been given a better look to match their great persona. This isn't the rule, and it certainly doesn't affect the show overall, but it does happen one or two times (Udai Taxim, I am looking at you).

One of the things I've liked about Cowboy Bebop was the fights. You rarely get lost in the action like many shows and they are usually smoothly animated and very enjoyable.

All in all, Cowboy Bebop looks pretty darn good and its visuals certainly match the rest of the theme going on.


----- Story (10) -----

The story of Cowboy Bebop is not an easy one to explain to people who have never seen it. This is mostly because Cowboy Bebop presents a multitude of small stories that build the individual stories of Cowboy Bebop's main characters. It is common for the people who haven't watched Cowboy Bebop to think the show is about some western showdown, but this certainly is not the case. To clear any misconceptions, our main cast consists of bounty hunters and not cowboys. The only true cowboy is Andy, a character who appears late on the show.

I would like to sum up some of the aspects explored in Cowboy Bebop:

1 - The entirety of the series happens in the future at our solar system. One of the fascinating things about Cowboy Bebop is how much our solar system has changed and how you would think human's old habits would be extinct after evolving into a interplanetary civilization. Cowboy Bebop is the story of an expanding and never learning human society.

2 - Cowboy Bebop follows the adventures of a crew of struggling bounty hunters. They are bounty hunters by chance and not choice as you will quickly learn. Together they roam our solar system in hopes of cashing bounties. Cowboy Bebop is the story of The Bebop spaceship.

3 - There is a man merely living a dream. Cowboy Bebop is the story of a man trying to wake up from that dream and get the life he once promised to himself.

I could go on and on writing about all of these things happening on Cowboy Bebop's universe, but these are just some of the more relevant ones.

Lastly, I'd like to add the amazing endings that of most of the episodes have. One could easily compare the format of Cowboy Bebop to that of short stories. A typical episode builds up to great climax and resolution, with lyrical prowess.

Everything in Cowboy Bebop is there for a reason. All the dialogues are meaningful, everything has its place and symbolic reason. The best way to describe Cowboy Bebop is that it is a truly amazing and artistic adventure.


----- Characters (10) -----

I could go on and speak about the characteristics of the main characters, but that really isn't necessary, because as soon as you start watching Cowboy Bebop you understand what they are all about. What really matters is why they act the way they do. What motivates their actions? Why did they end up being bounty hunters? These are questions that are covered perfectly, to say the least. I think one of the best experiences of Cowboy Bebop is you getting to know the crew and not having other people present them to you, so I won't write about these characters, as I think getting to know them is part of the magic of Cowboy Bebop. However, I should praise the supporting cast of Cowboy Bebop. Even though most of the supporting cast rotates and ends up making only one appearance, it is truly amazing how much depth and personality that these characters have. Hell, even the Big Shot presenters are really nice characters!

Funnily, when I discuss Cowboy Bebop with other people, I always get a different answer in regards to who their favorite characters were. Cowboy Bebop is one of the few shows that can achieve this sort of phenomenon and I can safely say that it will provide you with some of the best characters in any art media.


----- Enjoyment/Last Thoughts (10) -----

If you couldn't already tell, I really enjoyed Cowboy Bebop. It was a completely refreshing experience for me, as someone who was used to watch a lot of movies. As many have said it before, there is always something to be enjoyed by everyone in Cowboy Bebop. Even if you don't enjoy it as much as I did, I am sure you will at least like Cowboy Bebop, unless you are completely insensitive to art, because that is what Cowboy Bebop is - a masterpiece.

What I am about to say is a bit harsh, but it is true. I respect a lot of opinions, but one that I can't respect at all is that Cowboy Bebop isn't good or that they didn't like it. People who present you with this opinion are not only insulting their own intellect, but also probably didn't watch the entirety of Cowboy Bebop or didn't understand (which isn't hard) what Cowboy Bebop is about. If those aren't the answers you are probably talking to a very shallow and intellectually lacking person, but then again, these people should never be given your friendship. Yes, this is how much Cowboy Bebop means to me and to a lot of people. This is how good Cowboy Bebop is.


----- Should you watch it? -----

Absolutely. However, you need to take an artistic approach to the series, as, unlike many other popular anime, Cowboy Bebop is not completely linear and it provides a more balanced experience of action and story development.



**Overall (9.8)**

Imagine Bruce Lee and Quentin Taratino's love child grew up and decided to make an anime after viciously fighting tigers in a jungle with nothing but a sharp stick. Ladies and gentlemen, that anime would be Cowboy Bebop. I often view Cowboy Bebop as the "devil" of anime. Not because it's particularly bad, but in fact it's quite the contrary. When you sign a deal with the devil, what happens? You get what you want, and the devil gets your soul. And in this case, you get the best entertainment you'll ever have in your life, but your soul is now being vastly devoured by ... anime shows.

Story: 9/10 - Cowboy Bebop is a bit different than other anime because it's plot vastly depends on the episodes (rather than it being a continuous plot throughout the series), to the point where it kinda mirrors a lot of American cartoons in it's story telling format. However, I still do HIGHLY recommend you watch all the episodes. Not only are all of them tremendously entertaining, but a lot of elements from certain episodes come back later as important plot. The overarching plot is pretty simple, the show follows two partners: Spike and Jet who've had rough pasts and run off to become space bounty hunters in a future society where inter-planetary travel isn't just possible, but also widely used. Overtime there spaceship (the Bebop) gains more and more members: A women with and attitude (Faye), a corgi with enhanced intelligence (Ein), and a superhacker (Who is just a little girl with SEVERE ADHD named Edward).

Art: 10/10 - The art itself especially deserves praise because Cowboy Bebop came out before digital animation was widely used... and it's STILL better animated than a hell of a lot of modern anime. The fight scenes are still very fluid for it's time and still holds up to the very day.

Sound: 10/10 - Want to hear the best fucking dub in existence? Look no further than Cowboy Bebop. This show has vastly been considered to have the best dub in anime history, and it came out an era where not much was expected in the dubbing process. As for the soundtrack? Well, Cowboy Bebop relies heavily on it's music as it's loaded with jazz/blues. And if you're a music fan this anime is LOADED with classic rock references... try and see if you can guess them all.

Character: 9/10 - All the main characters that I listed above were all very dynamic and lovable in their own right, but my one and only problem with the characters are the side characters. A lot of times you'll get a very interesting side character who only gets 20 minutes of screen time, and you'll never see him/her... again. However, ALL the main characters are amazing in every way, shape, and form. Spike and Jet are total bad-asses, Faye makes a great seductress for the show (and has a very interesting back story), and Edward is one of the greatest comic reliefs in anime history. Not to mention fucking Vicious, the main antagonist of the show who trained beside Spike.

Enjoyment: 10/10 - One of the many things that makes Cowboy Bebop so interesting is the fact they are willing to laugh at subjects that most anime wouldn't DARE to touch. Drugs (The Shroom episode... oh god the shroom episode), sex, transvestites, gruesome murders, gambling, and humans who have been heavily experimented on... this anime has 'em all! There is no such thing as limits when it comes to this show, because limits are for pussies! I personally found every single episodes filled with entertainment that had me hooked from start to finish.

This show is not called a classic because it's made in the late 90's, it's called a classic because it fucking deserves the title. If you are looking for a show that steps beyond the boundaries of other anime, and a show where just watching it will cause your chest hair to grow by about 3 inches, than Cowboy Bebop is the show for you! Overall: 9.5/10