Cowboy Bebop: Session 1
Sex/Nudity: None
Music:
Runtime Episodes: 24m/26
Overall Rating: A
Artwork: A
Story: A
Comments: winner of the 1998 Kobe award in the category of television
Voice Acting English: A
Voice Acting Japanese: A -
Genre: Martial Arts, Unique, Sci - fi, Western
Extras: music video, previews, character profiles
Date Reviewed: 6/24/05 Last Updated: 10/25/09
Basic Premise: Spike is a bounty hunter along with Jet his partner who is an old retired cop and the adventures they go on as they try and apprehend different bounties. Along the way they pick up Fey, a mysterious thief, Ed, a hacker, and a dog.
Review: Everything about this anime is a classic. Does that sound biased? Nah, animenewsnetwork rates it as #4 in the category of best anime and considering how much anime is out there that is really saying something. It is #2 in most popular and in most viewed as well if that does not encourage you to watch it.
But let's get started. The show is like a retro 1970's police story/western. The music and pacing and style is all retro, but it all takes place about 200 years in the future. Actually, this show defies classification as each episode seems to explore a new genre and seems to show off how well the creators can pull off anything. They can pull off any storyline and do it well. They can do horror, children's, comedy, western, cyberpunk, romance, whatever. Each episode is different, yet they stay true to the space bounty hunter theme. It kinda makes reviewing the Cowboy Bebop dvds a little tricky.
One of the first things I noticed about this anime was that the animation was beyond good. It was cutting edge. The proportions and movement of the characters were extremely good and lifelike. At first I thought that the creators filmed this live and then used the live action as a template for the anime, but now I think that the animators really were that good. I didn't know that it was possible for animators to be that good. This is just one of the reasons that I can't compare this anime to other anime very easily. The animation is top notch throughout the series as well.
The music is good, but in certain episodes like the end of episode 5 the music can be rather haunting and/or sad. The voice acting is actually better in English, so I recommend trying it just in English and not to worry too much about the subtitles either. Yes, there are some minor changes like saying something is 300,000 in price as opposed to 15 million in the first episode, but I'd really not worry about these minor differences.
Despite each episode being so different from each other the character development is not lacking. There is Spike, the mysterious and young star of the show who is like a kid who doesn't want to grow up and yet grew up way too fast in his younger days in his dealings with the ruthless Vicious. Spike's dealings with vicious are woven spoadically throughout the series and in this DVD is seen in episode 5 briefly.
We are also introduced to Fey, who I believe is a lot like Spike and ends up as a shipmate on the Bebop. She is wanted for theft and has a large bounty on her head. She seems to always get away though and always get caught or into trouble as well. Fey is always out for the bigger better deal or gig and loves to gamble, which is why she always gets in over her head and needs someone to bail her out of trouble and why Spike is not the biggest fan of her. She is rather alluring too.
Jet is the only mature guy in this show. He is an old retired cop with a cybernetic arm and sort of a wandering cowboy like the rest of the crew.
Conclusion: This is simply a classic among anime titles and even among anime titles it is a classic. The best approach to watching Cowboy Bebop is to just sit back and enjoy, but be prepared for anything, because you will get everything.
Publisher: Bandai
Related Website: try this one Bebop Musings
Where Found: Amazon or Suncoast
Copyright: 1998/2000
Author: Shinichiro Watanabe
If you enjoyed this anime try: Sol Bianca, Noir, Samurai Champloo
Screenshots
