Cowboy Bebop is an episodic anime. Each new episodes deal with a new story, with the exception of the character driven episodes scattered in between, that sometimes span over several episodes. The actual plotline is solid and engaging, leaving you hungering for more answers every time you learn a little more about one of the characters. It is the life that these characters have lead up until the point where the viewer meets them, that really help flesh them out and stop them from becoming one-dimensional stereotypes.
The artstyle in Cowboy Bebop is detailed, creative and fitting. Mostly dull metal and earth tones are mixed with neon colours and really help drive home the feeling of both the loneliness and grandeur that can be experienced in a galactic spanning civilization. One episode you might find yourself in the dusty streets of a Martian colony, the next in a colourful floating casino located in orbit around a planet.
The soundtrack is one of the many high points of Cowboy Bebop. Everything from tribalistic drumbeats to snazzy jazz tunes and even modern electronic music are to be found within the series and all of them help set the mood perfectly. In an anime that is as broad as Cowboy Bebop, a good musical score is immensely helpful in setting each episode apart from another and Yoko Kanno has done a fantastic job.
Now I will touch upon the characters of Cowboy Bebop, who in my opinion are what ultimately manages to carry this show into near perfection. The calm and collected Spike Spiegel, the grumpy and life-hardened Jet Black, the seductive and devious Faye Valentine, along with resident nutball "Ed" and her hyper-intelligent laboratory dog "Ein" make up the main cast of the show. Every single one of these characters have a story to tell and they are all interesting, action-packed and in some cases, heart-breaking.
These characters come together as Bounty Hunters in an attempt to escape the ghosts of their past. Most importantly the show doesn't forget about this. These characters aren't your typical goodie two-shoed heroes. Ultimately they are in it for the money and while they do have a working moral compass, they aren't shy when it comes to getting their hands dirty.
Overall Cowboy Bebop provided some of the most entertaining episodes of a TV-series I have ever had the joy of experiencing. Some episodes more suspenseful and thrilling than others of course, but all of them can hold their own and is almost guaranteed to provide constant entertainment.
Unfortunately I cannot give this show a full score across the board. The show does deal with some clichés that at times are a little bit uniteresting, not to mention that with the episodic build-up, some of the less relevant episodes can end up feeling redundant at times. Still very much entertaining, but not really adding anything to the characters or the story and while they are very, very few, they are there.
That being said, Cowboy Bebop is rock-solid from start to finish and raises the bar in terms of soundtrack and characters, earning it a fantastic 10/10.
