Cowboy Bebop Stylish Adventure with Space Cowboys Studio: Bandai Visual/Sunrise Format: 26 Episodes Released: 4/3/1998 to 4/23/1999 Written by: Aisakku From the very introduction of the show down to the final moments, Cowboy Bebop is unique, a style all it's own. The now famous words that fill the background as Tank! plays its way through the introductory minutes clearly sum up Wantanabe's goal... no accomplishment of Cowboy Bebop. Surely there have been many series about bounty hunters, and many series taking place in space. Cowboy Bebop though, is no "conventional fixed style" series. Wantanabe creates "dreams and films by breaking traditional styles." The series that truly "becomes a new genre itself" is the one and the only Cowboy Bebop. Most movies and shows today rely heavily on a concrete plot to tell their story. Bebop, however, needs not to do such a thing. Like what can be seen in movies done by director Quentin Tarantino, the focus of the series lies not on the story line; but rather the way the story is told. Bebop depends upon character personalities and emotions to drive the story. Wantanabe gives to us a world of action and suspense; yet, at the same time he exposes the characters through the events to us making the show not only interesting, but emotionally moving. Through dialogue, emotions, and reactions of characters, we are allowed glimpses past the facade put up by almost everyone in the series, to the more true personality of the characters. These facades and emotions are something that remain true to real life, which allows a person to relate to them better, further enhancing the viewer's connection with the characters. Bebop lacks a full, deep bodied plot that is filled with countless events and details, but as said by Studio Ghibli member Isao Takahata: "A strong story doesn't need details. The story would be enough to appeal and to impress the audience." And Cowboy Bebop, no doubt, is impressing. The crew of the Bebop embodies five anti-heros that make up one of the most dysfunctional bands of people one could ask for. Jet Black, owner of the Bebop, is the serious minded ex-cop who could be considered as the biggest authority figure of the group. As oldest and most sensible, Jet often times must deal with the other's problems. Faye Valentine, a woman who doesn't mind using her body to her advantage, is a debt loaded con-artist that eventually finds her way onto the Bebop, many times bringing her problems along with her. Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivruski IV, of Ed for short, is a famous hacker who had dreamed of living on the Bebop. Ed's incredible hacking skills prove of good use to the crew; however, her absolutely insane antics are quite out of place in the Bebop. Ein, a Welsh Corgi, is the result of some illegal experiment that has left him amazingly intelligent. Many times, Ein even shows up the humans with his intelligence, but goes unnoticed by much of the crew. Finally, Spike Spiegel, an ex-mob member whose most shady of pasts will come back to haunt him. Spike, modeled off Lupin III, is naturally suave and debonair. An expert marksmen, ace pilot, and student of Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do, along with his bad-ass attitude, Spike is no-one to mess with. But get to know him and he seems to be a great guy. As a matter of fact, most of the characters seem to have an undesirable personality at first, but as the series progresses, we find that all, especially the main three (Jet, Spike, Faye), have something beautiful and incredibly likable inside. This is the magic of Bebop. Younger children should avoid Cowboy Bebop on account of the content. Even the first episode jumps right into the darker nature of the show. Wantanabe does an excellent job of forcing desperate bounties into incredible situations where a sudden rash decision will change the whole tone of the episode towards a more dark and depressing one that the viewer can feel through the music, and the reactions of the characters. In the first episode, Spike chases one of his bounties in his trusty Swordfish. As the bounty and his girlfriend find themselves between the cops and the ever closing bounty hunter, a sudden loud bang is heard, followed by silence and an expression of complete shock on Spike's face. The girlfriend of the drug-addicted bounty took away his misery upon realizing they had nowhere else to run. Later in the series, Jet is forced to chase down a bounty wanted for murder. However, Jet's ex-girlfriend, who is now the girlfriend of the bounty, is doing everything in her power to keep him free. Jet must face his residual feelings to resolve this chase and catch the bounty. These all are real emotions from realistic situations that are amazingly set up by Watanabe. Do not fret though, there are many breaks from the dark and more depressing moments of Bebop. The show is riddled with character related humor that can oftentimes be laugh-out-loud funny. Bebop uses no slapstick humor, but instead makes situations humorous because of the characters attitudes or interactive dialog. During the first episode, we find Jet telling Spike that the "Special beef with bell peppers" is ready to eat. "You Don't call a meatless beef with bell peppers... beef with bell peppers" responds Spike. "You do when you're broke" the ships owner barks back. It is the character related humor that also doubles as a great dialogue. We don't find out financial troubles from desperate actions in search of money, Wantanabe tells us through a simple conversation which gives us a good laugh as well. Aside from the character related comedy there are several episode that are flat out hilarious. Toys in the Attic plays on the Alien theme of a mysterious monster stranded inside the ship with your crew, taking out one member at a time. Mushroom Samba is Ed's hilarious adventure to find food that becomes a parody of shows such as Shaft. Cowboy Funk brings in a bounty hunter dressed as a cowboy who seems to press just the right buttons to piss Spike off. Laughs will ensue as the two angered and similar personalities clash throughout the episode. Bebop uses it's own style of comedy to very successfully lighten the load of the dark series as to not leave the viewer with a heavy feeling. Whether it is a scene of comedy or one of action, Bebop continuously has great music playing. The soundtrack of Cowboy Bebop has become famous worldwide for it's amazing variety and outstandingly well done tracks. Composed by Yoko Kanno and mostly performed by the Seatbelts, the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack is one of the best soundtrack I have ever heard played on any show or movie. From the catchy jazz tunes, to the 70s style funk, to even hard rock, the music is expertly integrated in to each and every episode. Whatever the mood of the scene, the music matches and enhances it, adding another great level of enjoyment to Cowboy Bebop. The music of Cowboy Bebop assisted in making the show famous, and the show helped the music become world renown. Many people will try to classy bebop as a Sci-fi or action series. The truth is though, Bebop remains incredibly difficult to classify. Most certainly Bebop takes place in space, and it has action; yet, it holds so much more within it's episodes. Philosophy, comedy, psychology, and so much more lurk throughout the episodes of the series. Incredible aspects fill Bebop and make it the lovable show that is is. Bebop has everything you may ever want in a show, and that is what makes it so incredible. The deep look into the characters, the dark atmosphere, the relieving comedy, and the powerfully emotional scenes are only a part of what Bebop has to offer. Wantanabe truly created a series "which becomes a new genre itself." If you call yourself an anime lover, or if you hate the anime genre, or if you don't even have a clue what anime is, just take my word for it and go see Cowboy Bebop as soon as possible. And if you don't enjoy it... well then there is something very wrong with you. * * * * * (Excellent) Posted: September 8, 2004