Today I’ll be reviewing Cowboy Bebop. It wasn’t that long ago that I was sceptical with the quality an anime from the 90’s could produce. Of course my doubts were put to bed with the likes of Neon Genesis Evangelion.
So the story revolves around Spike a bounty hunter who travels around on a spaceship called ‘Bebop’ with his partner Jet who owns the ship. Together the two go around looking for bounty heads to cash in on, though more often then not failing to succeed. Along the way we have the addition of Faye and Radical Edward who join in on the shenanigans.
Don’t let the brief above fool you into thinking this is a happy-go-lucky bounty hunt full of comical failures. Oh no, you are in for a much better surprise than that. Cowboy Bebop has a good thing going, it has its priorities set straight from the get go and builds on it for the continuation of the series. The main characters get a great deal of screen time and have entire episodes dedicated for their back stories which few shows do now-a-days.
Let’s turn our attention to the characters. Now I’m not going to go out of my way to hail the cast of Cowboy bebop ‘’AMAZING’ but the characters are very enjoyable. Spike is a old fashioned bad-ass, he always seem to get the job done in the end, but not with ease as the show portrays his flaws and the effort he has to put in so that things go his way. Spike is simply that cool guy you wanted to be in high school and not because he was a douche bag who bullied guys and skipped class to smoke, but because he is an all-round honourable and respectable man. Next is Jet he is that authority figure he is short tempered and very grumpy, but inside he’s just a softie. He is a likeable character and usually does the right thing. His story arc wasn’t that favourable to the other characters, but I still liked Jet as a whole. Next up is Faye. She takes the role of a femme-fatale. She is bitchy, hot-headed and a compulsive gambler. On top of that her memories were forgotten while she was in cryogenic freezing. Giving her story arc the annoying “I NEED TO KNOW WHO I AM. Kind of story arc which is annoying. Faye does however have her moments and I liked her. Finally we have Ed. She came along later in the series as the geeky, hyperactive computer hacker who doesn’t know any better. Ed is that bit of comic relief on the side. She lightens the tone and occasionally will give you a chuckle because she is just adorable.
The art in the series is great for its time, in comparison to today’s standards it is appalling but again it came out in the late 90’s so you can’t really fault the show. The sound is very jazzy, well that’s what I gathered from the opening and it continues throughout the show as it fits in with the western tone of the series.
Enjoyment, this plays a great part in this show as whether you enjoy the cowboy themes will be a contributing factor on whether the series does it for you or not. I found this to be very enjoyable the action scenes were fluent and exciting. The sci-fi elements also make it a good watch for fans of that genre, it does appeal to a relatively large audience. Those who don’t enjoy the series probably prefer the romance or magical girl/fantasy genre. Most people will find something to enjoy about the series
Overall Cowboy Bebop was a fun ride I thoroughly enjoyed the series and although not every episode was spectacular there are things to give merit for. I’d also like to point out the ridiculously spontaneous episode 11. For those old fashioned, wannabe cowboys this is a must watch. Overall the series was an 8/10 and gets a definite recommendation from me.
See you space cowboy…
