Title
Reviewer: Piccolo
English Release: 1999
Production: Sunrise
Year of Release: 1998
Genre: Sci-fi Drama with comedic and western overtones
Audience: PG-13 for violence, swearing, and rare nudity
Length: 26 Episodes (13 VHS tapes, or 6 DVDs)

I guess I can start by deciphering the title. Well, the 'Cowboy' may come from the Westerns-style overtone that pervades the series. 'Bebop' is the name of our motley crew's ship. Alternatively, I have heard that 'Cowboy Bebop' is a group who sets out to create their own movement in jazz. Which makes sense as a title for this series, as our cast is quite independent (even of each other), and Yoko Kanno's mostly jazz soundtrack sets the mood perfectly.

Sunrise's animation quality is fantastic. Even though it is a TV series, it is animated like an OAV. Occasional integrated computer graphics as well as full 3D CG scenes complement the cel animation nicely. Usually such animation is saved for repeated scenes such as a spaceship entering or exiting the hyperspace tunnel, or a nearby planet slowly rotating. That's not to say it relies on computer graphics, the 2D cel artwork and animation is smooth and beautiful, even to my jaded eyes. Lighting is used very well at appropriate times to create detailed shading and highlights on the characters. During some intense hand-to-hand or gunfight scenes, the camera will wobble around by panning in short bursts and it really gets me into the action. My body tensed with each hard kick or nasty looking gunshot. The music was often a great counterpart to the action, which I will discuss later. But don't think this series always takes itself seriously, the detailed art will sometimes give way to superdeformed mania on our character's faces.

The story is one long arc, but for the most part broken up into individual stories. In some of the some episodes, pieces and history of our character's pasts and personalities are revealed. There are several one-shot characters that don't last past the current episode. Often, the series will alternate between a serious and a silly storyline. I don't mind this at all and find that instead of overanalyzing things I just enjoy it. The series does have a dramatic and definitive end though, and it made me think.

The setting for our story is in the not too distant future, but well into the 21st century. Scientists have devised gates that allow for quick travel through space, and as a result, have colonized nearly the entire solar system. People lead normal lives in Earthlike cities on Mars and the cold streets of Jupiter. Pluto has become a prison for criminals doing hard time. However, Earth has become a virtual wasteland. An explosion of the gate near Earth has created a ring of debris that floats around the planet, often falling like meteors and destroying cities. This high technology is rounded out nicely by an old fashioned American Western feel. Bartenders routinely waiting on our characters. There are interplanetary truckers with giant long spaceships. Everyone dresses similar to our present time. So I guess I could say that even though humanity is living on other planets, there are no flying cars. But there are space fighters.

Most of the main characters just have this sense of "cool" about them. Spike Spiegel is our main character, and he is just as good with a gun as he is with jeetkundo, a style of martial arts where you take advantage of your opponent's offensive strikes and use their momentum against them. He also flies a red sleek-looking space fighter, the Swordfish. When he's not chasing a bounty or an enemy, he can usually be seen just hanging out and catching a smoke with whatever he can find to light his cigarette with. Jet Black is an older man who is probably Spike's only true friend (most of the time). He is pretty good with a gun, and has muscle, but prefers to stay on his starship, the Bebop. He is a cop who had to leave the force due to him losing an arm in an incident, but has since had it replaced with a mechanical one. He's got the look of a tough guy you wouldn't want to mess with, but he does have a heart. Faye Valentine, well, she is a complex character. I suppose you could say she is Spike's female counterpart, as she is good with her gun and space fighter, but she's more than that. Rather than saving up her reward money from bounties that are rarely caught, she gambles it away, trying in vain to pay off her debts faster. She is by no means a love interest to Spike, as he does not like a shrew woman, and she doesn't like his personality. Many of the funny facial deformities are her doing, and she is also responsible for most of the gratuitous fan service. She can also be often seen catching a smoke and sitting around non-chalantly. And then we have our comedic relief in the form of Ein (as in Einstein), a genetically engineered super smart welsh corgi. Then there is Ed, who is a 13 year old computer hacker. When she (yes, she) is not wobbling around and saying weird rhymes, she will help out by hacking into the net and getting hard to find information for the crew of the Bebop. Her and Ein make a great team. During the next episode previews, the characters take a break from their roles and often act silly. For example, Ed claims the crew has died, and next week will be Cowgirl Ed! But then, the rest of the crew jumps in to say there really will be another episode! I mentioned how there are many bit characters, but often times I found myself missing them when the episode was over. Even though they only had about 20 minutes, the writers of this series were able to create some characters that are pretty memorable for one reason or another. Some ride off into the sunset, others meet a tragic end, and others you are glad to be rid of. Of course, every great anime series has to have a great villain, and Vicious is no exception. I hate him. His white hair, his out-of-place katana, and the look in his eyes all make him teem with evil. Him and Spike have a sordid past, and fight a few times in the series. They both have a reason for wanting the other dead, and won't give up until that happens.

Once again, Yoko Kanno astounds me with her musical score. She demonstrates her wide talent by composing a mostly fusion jazz soundtrack. The opening theme, Tank, blew me away with its loud brass and catchy tune. The fast paced music played during action scenes are also easy to get into. When things slow down, a lazy song played with mostly a harmonica and slow strumming of a guitar is heard. For the more dramatic moments, Yoko Kanno has wrote some vocal songs, usually with easy to understand English lyrics. There is no j-pop to be found, in fact, I have only heard one techno song, and the only song that is in Japanese is the ending credits theme.

The sound and voice acting are great too. There is movie-quality sound throughout. The voice actors are legendary -- Megumi Hayashibara and Norio Wakamoto (Cell in Dragon Ball Z and Captain Konishi in 801 TTS Airbats to name a couple) in the same series? You bet. Norio Wakamoto plays Vicious, and he uses the same voice as he always does. However Megumi Hayashibara as Faye is a little different than usual... she does shout from time to time, but usually she talks in an normal tone of voice fitting for her character.

Everything comes together to make this an enjoyable series to watch. You could watch it all in one sitting and still understand it, or you could take it slow and not have to struggle to remember the details after picking up another volume. The ending, while not open ended by any means, will leave you wanting more. I don't know how much longer Sunrise can keep pumping out anime of this caliber, but I hope they do for some time to come. Cowboy Bebop is more than just another good series. It's unique.