To begin, Cowboy Bebop respects its audience in a way that most shows simply don’t. Cowboy Bebop rarely ever tells the audience what’s happening in a scene, or how a character feels, unless it is absolutely necessary. It allows the audience to inference and theorize and come to their own conclusion about a character’s intentions and emotions, something which few shows, even decades after Bebop’s release, manage to accomplish.
Cowboy Bebop is one of the most visually and musically pleasing pieces I’ve seen in media. Its character designs perfectly showing off what kind of people they are, further emphasizing the moments these characters break their stereotypes and become human in a way most shows simply don’t allow for. Its music is legendary among anime fans. With the opening theme “Tank!” being my personal favorite of any anime.
Cowboy Bebop also tells its story in a way semi-unique to television. Its character backstories are never outright explained to the viewer, instead small inklings are given to the viewer and they are left to put these pieces together, making the show seem mystical and leads to a frankly epic conclusion which I cannot spoil here.
Cowboy Bebop is the most pure science fiction experience I’ve had in a long time. It doesn’t bog itself down in explaining away the terminology of the world the characters inhabit, instead just allow the viewer to fill in the pieces they need. Rather than large portions of episodes dedicated to explaining technology, Bebop ignores that in favor of focusing on its characters.
All this and more makes Bebop one of few shows I would glowingly recommend.
