Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop should need no introduction; it's more than a uniquely defining series on several levels. Shinichi Watanabe crafted this mostly episodic anime with a beautiful plot arc that doesn't detract a bit from any moment in the series.

Following the misadventures of a crew of unlikely bounty hunters through the future solar system, Bebop liberally dabbles in jazz, both the music and the attitude. The lead character, Spike Spiegel, is as much an antihero in the anime tradition as he would be in a Hemingway novel- witty and gutsy, with a twist of nihlistic worldview. Along with Spike, each part of the ensemble main cast do more than enough to stand out on their own, with perfectly human qualities. Jet Black, the gruff pilot, is truly epitomized in the episode "Ganymede Elegy," where he confronts an old flame. Ed and Ein, the genius teenage hacker and her supersmart Corgi dog, throw the limits of standard comic relief out the window. And who could forget Faye Valentine, the eat-your-heart-out sprite of a woman with pizazz, flair, and a penchant for gambling.

If you're not a fan of anime because of its tendency to be far-fetched and downright weird at times, Bebop is the right starter series for you. A melodrama, a jazzy jam session, and a sci-fi detective thriller all wrapped into a tight, upbeat package. Superb.

Cowboy Bebop is the best anime ever. I'm 21, don't tend to be fanboyish, and have seen plenty of others. And it's the best anime ever.

What other anime features a mix of the best choreographed/energetic/ kick-ass fighting scenes - hand-to-hand, hong-kong gun fights and air-space battle?

An unbelievable mix of comic, tragic, violent and fairy tale style episodes...

An incredible sound track - Yoko Kanno is a genius that can do memorable and emotional jazz, blues, classical, fantasy-style, j-pop and even heavy metal. I wouldn't even consider buying the soundtrack to any other anime.

It quite literally oozes "cool" - characters (Spike is probably the coolest - not awsomest, but stylishly coolest) music, action and narrative.

Hell, it's the only show that has both a "cute animal" character and a "cute annoying kid" character that I don't wish a horrible death upon. And if that doesn't convince you, then nothing will.

"One ship, one crew, one destiny" indeed. If you had to sum anime up into two words, it would undoubtably be "Cowboy Bebop." It's a 26 episode series that redefines what animation is and what it can do. The character developement is beyond comparison and the voice acting is unforgettable. If you see only one anime in your life, make it this one. I can't sum it up and give it the credit it deserves, but what I can say, is that it is the most compelling story to be turned into an anime that will have you laughing, and the more sensitive may even cry, but you will get goosebumps. All I can say is, don't forget to watch this before you die, it is worth it and then some.

Cowboy Bebop is a truly post-modern show. Not in the tired "Scream" sense of self-awareness, but in its willingness to mix genres and blur boundaries. At the most basic level it's a Space Western. But Bebop is not content to be merely that, so there are added dashes of film noir, gothic horror, creature-feature, black comedy, screwball comedy, spy action, crime, romance, tragedy, action, philosophy, science, spirituality, fatalism, optimism, buddy-buddy stories, slapstick humour, parody-- just about every type of tale under the sun appears in some shape or form during Bebop's run. It's a show where each episode really is different from the last. Were it not for the recurring characters, it would be hard to believe that the brightly-coloured blaxploitation parody "Mushroom Samba" could possibly come from the same series as the bleakly violent "Real Folk Blues".

The world that the series inhabits is distinctly post-modern, too; space ships fly through hyperspace gates, but once on the ground their pilots fight with twentieth-century handguns. Scenic bays would look for all the world like they were taken from modern-day Japan were they not dwarfed by Jupiter, the enormous gas giant looming in the sky like some enormous benevolent god.

And the music - tribal drums and chants give way to electronic pulses that give way to jazz sax and trumpets that give way to rock guitars that give way to blues harmonicas... composer Yoko Kanno faultlessly turns her hand to an eclectc selection of genres and instruments, ably backed up by her band, "Seatbelts".

All of which sounds terribly impressive, but why on Earth should you watch it? Because, buddy, it's one of the finest television shows ever made.

I have to admit I'm not a big anime fan. Most anime that makes it over here seems to be either about schoolgirls with supernatural powers who battle evil, or adolescent boys who - for some convoluted reason - wind up having to pilot big giant robots. And whilst I'm assured that shows such as Escaflowne (schoolgirls and magic) and Evangelion (boys and robots) are actually rather good, they completely fail to get my blood pumping.

Enter Bebop. Ultra cool Spike, grumpy strategist Jet, trigger-happy Faye, nutball Ed and intelligent dog Ein are as far away from the usual brats and bots anime as you can possibly get. Their motivation, too, is far from the usual anime fare. These guys aren't bounty hunters because they want to fight crime and keep the peace - all they want is a wad of cash, and bounty hunting seems like the best place to make big money fast. Although they will do the right thing when pressed, they rarely forget their true motivation - and if they do, their perpetual lack of food will soon remind them. Life isn't easy, and when you're a bounty hunter it's even harder.

Not that the crew of the spaceship Bebop are one-note characters. As the series progresses, our initial assumptions about the characters are overturned. At first Spike appears to be the cliched laid-back slacker (who just happens to be a mean jeet-kun-do fighter), but we then learn of his fall from the criminal underworld and of a loss that killed him emotionally. Jet's the obvious gruff authority figure, until we realise that he actually cares for the crew of the Bebop as if they were his kids (and seems to have dabbled in pot and psychadelic drugs when he was a teenager). Faye's the usual feisty stand-offish female lead but only because her amazingly tragic past makes her push away friends for fear that she'll become attached to them. Ed's just some nutty kid until we meet her crazy father and realise that it could well be her deprived childhood that sent her over the edge. And Ein? Well sometimes it's hard being a super intelligent Welsh Corgi on a ship where nobody appreciates you, you know?

But not every episode is deathly serious - the character development is mixed in perfectly with humour (both light and dark), fistfights, shoot-outs, car chases, aerial fights, space battles and some of the lushest animation you'll see in an animated TV series. And all of this spread over only 26 episodes.

Yes, many people espouse the old "leave 'em wanting more" line, but so few of them actually do it; Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the perfect example of a series that spends three or four years being top-notch TV then freefalls due to apparent apathy from both the cast and writers. Bebop avoids this by wrapping every dangling plot thread up in just one season of television. And after the final jaw-dropping episode it's quite clear that the series is most definitely over.

Never before or since have I seen a series of such astonishing variety, intelligence and style. Ten out of ten.

CB is a happy blend of story, action, and characters.

Set in the future, CB takes its name from the spaceship, around which the story loosely revolves. The main characters, Spike and Jet, try to make their living while not getting killed, traveling around looking for bounties.

Technically, the animation is very good, though a friend pointed out that sometimes the frame rate is low, or they use a still in a shot. These didn't bother me because they were used tastefully, and were balanced by action shots that carried a lot of energy.

The voice acting for the english version is great, and adds to character depth. They seem to understand who the characters are and how they would react.

The story line is interesting. With each episode being around 25 minutes, the time is filled with a balanced blend of action, character development, and plot. The story within an episode develops rapidly, while the whole series moves more slowly, with the exception of the last few episodes (where they were trying to wrap things up).

If you've never tried any anime, this would be my first choice. I watched it on DVD, and would definitely watch it again.