In my opinion, characters are one of the most outstanding aspects of this show. With four main leads, it would have been easy to make them stick together all the time and create one storyline for all of them to fit in. However, notwithstanding the importance of ‘team moments,’ I love how personal background has such a big role in this show, with flashbacks and encounters from the past casting light over the people we see on the screen.
Character development is one of the main reasons why each episode feels so important in terms of where the show is going. There might not be a big end goal for these four misfits, but you remain hooked until the very end because you still want to get to know them more. What in other shows would be considered ‘filler episodes’ has a different importance in Cowboy Bebop, where absolutely nothing goes to waste. Even the secondary characters that you meet along the way are memorable and you wish you will see them again at some point in the future.
Despite being shot 20 years ago, the action scenes are still pretty amazing – I actually wish there were more. However, considering the aim is to mix different ingredients (comedy, drama, romance, sci-fi), everything seems perfectly balanced.
Finally, a word about the soundtrack. The opening titles are some of the most iconic in TV animation, and the use of jazz tracks throughout the series really stands out as an inspired director choice. I would listen to this soundtrack over and over.
