The story: 10/10
Bebop is nothing like your average anime, it's run rather like a Saturday morning cartoon. It features less of a cohesive connective plot and is more like a play by play capture. The story not cheesy though by any means: each episode usually has the characters in some situation, usually involving a bounty, and will shape up into anything from a goofy but awesome action packed shootout to an emotional look into a character's past. Overall I felt like they got the pacing really well. And without spoiling anything I can still say you want to watch until the very end because it's pretty emotionally impacting compared to the rest of the usually lighthearted and carefree tone throughout the story.
The art: 8/10
This is the 90s we are talking about, so despite the limitations of 20 year old tech the show still looks pretty good and moves fluidly at most points. The age does show in some of the detail and the show's take on what is "advanced" technology could be better, but the detail and care put into the action scenes was pretty awesome considering there was practically no computer imaging.
The music: 10/10
The jazz soundtrack composed by Yoko Kanno and Seatbelts was half of why I loved this series. A great mix between lively horns and upbeat tempo for the action scenes and slow almost smokey saxophone for the more somber times. I would definitely listen to this outside of the show.
The characters: 9/10
The cast for Bebop is weird and therefore each is memorable in their own way. The show took time to make each of them relatable by diving into their back-story at some point, and everyone plays an important part of each episode. I've never seen a cast that is so well balanced overall, but I arrived at the end honestly wishing that I knew more about them than I did. The series makes you look in like an outsider, but I felt like it intended you to feel that way.
Overall I loved this show for being so different. It doesn't fit any anime "formula" and it's not perfect (because no anime is really), but it is one of a kind and invokes a kind of nostalgia that I couldn't explain. If you don't mind branching out and seeing something that dares to be really different you will likely love this show as much as I did.
