Welcome to the 21st century. Mankind has now reached up towards the stars and developed an interplanetary society. Here are the lawless and dangerous worlds of our Solar system, a new breed of ‘cowboy’ bounty hunters pursue all of the outlaws and crime families who strive to make a dishonest buck. The motley crew of the spaceship Bebop are all ‘cowboys’ of some description – Spike Spiegel a dangerous yet funny man with a hidden past, Jet Black the ex police officer turned bounty hunter, Faye Valentine a stunning woman on the run, Ed the hyper kid and Ein the Welsh Corgi dog with a smart I.Q. They are all ready for crime-fighting adventures and collecting a bounty, even if they don’t always achieve it. Lethal and funny, cool and romantic, the space cowboys of the Bebop take on all kinds of scum to stop those stomachs from rumbling.

Once in a blue moon there comes an animated series that stands head and shoulders above the rest. A series that encompasses every area of quality production which in my opinion rivals and even betters most live action films and certainly television series out their today. Perfection is a rare thing within any medium and Cowboy Bebop along with Batman the Animated Series are the only ones I would give as an example. They are the best of their breed – faultless in every way. BTAS is to me the best adaptation of the Dark Knight and the best western animated series out there. However Bebop is the greatest anime and that is how I divide the two, as anime has a style that stands on its own even within the medium of animation – a unique look that separates the eastern influences and styles from the west. Yet Bebop is so post-modern in terms of its structure there is no connection to it’s routes other than it’s distinctive character design typical of anime.



Both series are post-modern and mix all kinds of styles and flavours – but Bebop has no restrictions to the world surrounding a vigilante and his city. Bebop has a whole universe to explore. Think Blade Runner on a larger scale. There are even subtle references, but more of a homage than connecting the two in any way. This is the universe you imagine when Roy Batty gives his moving speech at the end of Blade Runner. Now we can see the things we wouldn’t have believed – C-Beams glittering and the journey from one world to another. However Bebop stands on it’s own. This is a series that has everything and like most post-modernist science fiction mixes every shape, style, sound and feel of what has come to pass. It is placed in a blender and then spat out. The result is the most powerful anime series you will ever see. The music (5 albums worth) moves you as much as the incredible visuals and superb story telling and the characters are some of the most original in years.

Let us get one thing straight here though before we go any further – this is no kids cartoon. It is no run of the mill smutty manga cartoon either which you pick up at your local Virgin Megastores. This truly is the greatest production you will ever witness of it’s medium. There are other good anime series out there (Gundam, Neon Genesis Evangelion), but their is nothing with the scope and magnitude, the feeling and style of Cowboy Bebop.

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