Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop is a Japanese anime series directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, first aired in April 1998 and consists of 26 episodes. The anime was a great commercial success in Japan but most notably in the West, specifically the US. After the huge success of the series Sony Pictures have since released a feature film entitled “knockin on Heavens door”, two Manga releases, a video game and more recently a live-action cowboy Bebop film based on the anime series has been announced starring Keanu Reeves as the lead character Spike.

Cowboy Bebop can only be described as a Sci-Fi Western, with a mix of just about every film genre known to man, featured throughout the 26 episodes. Aspects of Film Noir, Gothic Horror, slapstick humour, 70’s martial arts, 80’s cop shows, and Blaxploitation to name but a few. With each episode cleverly stylised to the music of 40’s-60’s Jazz and early rock of the 50’s – 70’s, this anime series really is a thoroughly entertaining multi-genre thrill ride.

Cowboy BeBop is set in the year 2071 after the destruction of a hyperspace gateway (Astral Gate) that caused the almost full destruction of the moon, leading to a continuous shower of lunar debris to rain down on Earth, killing billions of the population. Now virtually uninhabitable the few remaining civilians live in underground cities sheltering from the debris, while the rest of the human race has branched off into the depths of space, travelling by the now perfected Astral Gates. The ability to travel between planets at such speed made it virtually impossible for authorities to have any effect and crime flourished. As a result Bounty’s were reintroduced in the style of the old wild wild west, with Cowboys (bounty hunters) tracking criminals for reward.

We follow two cowboys Spike Spiegel and Jet Black aboard their space ship, The Bebop, as they trawl the solar system attempting to apprehend outlaws and pay their way with bounties. Spike, at first appears to be an uber cool laid back character with a mastery of many forms of combat, but through the great character development within the anime series his shadowy and emotional past is revealed, including his connections to the Red Dragon crime syndicate and his previous emotional involvement with one of its members.

The powerful narrative, in-depth character development, highly stylised visuals and themes all combine with cowboy style shootouts, martial arts and space dogfights to make this one of the most popular anime series to date, enjoyed by anime and non-anime fans alike.