name	Cowboy Bebop
ja kanji	カウボーイビバップ
ja romaji	Kaubōi Bibappu
genre	Crime Fiction, Science Fiction Film Noir, Space Western }}

type	tv series
director	Shinichirō Watanabe
producer	Masahiko Minami Kazuhiko Ikeguchi
writer	Keiko Nobumoto
music	Yoko Kanno
studio	Sunrise
network	TV Tokyo
first	April 3, 1998
last	June 19, 1998
episodes	26 + 1 Special
episode list	List of Cowboy Bebop episodes }}

type	tv series
director	Shinichirō Watanabe
producer	Masahiko Minami Kazuhiko Ikeguchi
writer	Keiko Nobumoto
music	Yoko Kanno
studio	Sunrise
licensor	Madman Entertainment Bandai Entertainment Beez Entertainment
network	WOWOW, Animax
network en	Sci Fi Channel (Animax), Adult Swim, SBS One, ABC2 Razer Adult Swim (Toonami) CNX, AnimeCentralAnimax Asia
first	October 23, 1998
last	April 23, 1999
episodes	26
episode list	List of Cowboy Bebop episodes }}

type	manga
title	Cowboy Bebop: Shooting Star
author	Hajime Yatate
illustrator	Cain Kuga
publisher	Kadokawa Shoten
publisher en	Tokyopop
publisher other	France Pika Édition
magazine	Asuka Fantasy DX
first	May 1998
last	October 1998
volumes	2
volume list	List of Cowboy Bebop chapters#Cowboy Bebop – Shooting Star }}

type	manga
title	Cowboy Bebop: A New Story
author	Hajime Yatate
illustrator	Yutaka Nanten
publisher	Kadokawa Shoten
publisher en	Madman Entertainment Tokyopop
magazine	Asuka Fantasy DX
first	April 1999
last	April 2000
volumes	3
volume list	List of Cowboy Bebop chapters#Cowboy_Bebop }}

title	Movies
content	* ''Cowboy Bebop: The Movie'' }}

is an acclaimed 1998 Japanese anime series developed by Sunrise. It featured a production team led by director Shinichirō Watanabe, screenwriter Keiko Nobumoto, character designer Toshihiro Kawamoto, mechanical designer Kimitoshi Yamane and composer Yoko Kanno. The twenty-six episodes (“sessions”) of the series comprise a complete storyline set in the year 2071. It follows the adventures, misadventures and tragedies of a bounty hunter (“cowboy”) crew travelling on the ''Bebop'', their spaceship. ''Cowboy Bebop'' also explores several philosophical concepts including existentialism, loneliness, and existential ennui.

The series premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo from April 3, 1998 until June 19, 1998, broadcasting only twelve episodes and a special due to its controversial content. The entire twenty-six episodes of the series were later broadcast on WOWOW on October 23, 1998 and ran until April 23, 1999. The anime was adapted into two manga series which were serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's ''Asuka Fantasy DX''. A ''Cowboy Bebop'' film was later released to theaters in Japan and worldwide.

The anime series was dubbed in the English language by Animaze, and has been licensed by Bandai Entertainment for releases in North America. It was also licensed by Beez Entertainment for English releases in the United Kingdom, and by Madman Entertainment for releases in Australia and New Zealand. In 2001, ''Cowboy Bebop'' became the first anime title to be broadcast on Adult Swim in the United States. Since then, the series has aired continuously in rotation due to its success.

''Cowboy Bebop'' received widespread critical acclaim and became a commercial success both in Japanese and international markets, most notably in the United States. The series became a cult classic and later came to be regarded as a masterpiece. ''Cowboy Bebop'' is now considered to be one of the greatest and most influential anime of all time. It garnered major science fiction awards and has received universal praise for its characters, story, strong voice acting, animation and soundtrack.

Plot[link]

Setting[link]

The series is set in the year 2071, when the entire Solar System has been made accessible through reliable hyperspace gates. In 2022, an explosion of an experimental hyperspace gateway severely damaged the Moon, resulting in a debris ring and meteor bombardments that eradicated a large portion of the Earth's population. As a result, many survivors abandoned the barely habitable Earth to colonize the inner planets, the asteroid belt and the moons of Jupiter.

Mars has become the new central hub of human civilization, and interplanetary crime syndicates exert influence over the government and the ''Inter-Solar System Police'' (ISSP), limiting their effectiveness in dealing with crime. As a result, a bounty system similar to that in the Old West is established to deal with fugitives, terrorists, and other criminals; the bounty hunters involved are frequently termed "cowboys".

The leader of the creative team was director Shinichiro Watanabe, most notable at the time for directing the futuristic adventure anime OVA series ''Macross Plus'' and ''Mobile Suit Gundam''.

The series' art direction centers on American music and counterculture, especially the beat and jazz movements of the 1940s–1960s and the early rock and roll era of the 1950s–1970s, which the original soundtrack by Yoko Kanno and the Seatbelts defines.

The balances of the atmospheres of the planets and the racial groups of the people in ''Cowboy Bebop'' mostly originate from Watanabe's ideas, with some collaboration from set designers Isamu Imakake, Shoji Kawamori, and Dai Satou. The staff of ''Cowboy Bebop'' established the particular atmospheres early in the production. Initially in the production, the ethnic groups were not solidly established. Watanabe wanted to have many racial groups appear in ''Cowboy Bebop''.

Mars was the planet most often used in storylines in ''Cowboy Bebop''. Satoshi Toba, the cultural and setting producer, explained that other planets "were unexpectedly difficult to use." Toba explained that each planet in ''Cowboy Bebop'' had unique features, and in the plotlines the producers had to take into account the characteristics of each planet. Toba explained that it was not possible for the staff of ''Cowboy Bebop'' to have a dramatic rooftop scene occur on Venus, so "we ended up normally falling back to Mars".

Analysis[link]

Style and appeal[link]

Despite its setting in the year 2071, ''Cowboy Bebop'' inhabits an "organic, lived in, and believable" universe that "feels familiar to modern audiences" due to its anachronistic setting. Throughout the series several planets and space stations are all shown to be remade in the Earth’s image. The streets of celestial objects such as Ganymede resemble any modern port city, while Mars is replete with shopping malls, theme parks, casinos and cities. ''Cowboy Bebop'''s universe is filled with video players and hyperspace gates, eco-politics and fairgrounds, spaceships and Native American shamans. Futuristic elements are combined with the modern elements, "allowing audiences to easily connect with the ''Cowboy Bebop'' world".

In his review of ''Cowboy Bebop'', Miguel Douglas, editor-in-chief of iSugoi.com, describes the style of the series:

the series distinctly establishes itself outside the realm of conventional Japanese animation and instead chooses to forge its own path. With a setting within the realm of science fiction, the series wisely offers a world that seems entirely realistic considering our present time. Free from many of the elements that accompany science fiction in general — whether that be space aliens, giant robots, or laser guns — the series delegates itself towards presenting a world that is quite similar to our own albeit showcasing some technological advances. Certainly not as pristine a future we would see in other series or films, ''Cowboy Bebop'' decides to deliver a future that closely reflects that of our own time. This aspect of familiarity does wonders in terms of relating to the viewer, and it presents a world that certainly resembles our very own.

Daryl Surat of ''Otaku USA'' commented on the series' "broad-ranging" appeal due to its style:

''Cowboy Bebop'' was that rare breed of science-fiction: "accessible". Unlike many anime titles, viewers weren’t expected to have knowledge of Asian culture — character names, signs, and the like were primarily in English to begin with — or have seen any other anime series prior.

Susan J. Napier argues, in her book ''Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation'', that anime increasingly "exists at a nexus point in global culture… an amorphous new media territory that crosses and intermingles national boundaries". Napier goes on to point out that many Japanese commentators refer to anime with the term "''mukokuseki''", meaning "stateless". This implies that much anime is not specifically Japanese and therefore lacks a distinct national identity. Napier states that this "very quality of 'statelessness' has increasing attraction in our global culture". It is said that ''Cowboy Bebop'' reflects this and it is a great part of the show’s appeal.

Genre and cultural references[link]

Watanabe's main inspiration for ''Cowboy Bebop'' was ''Lupin III'', a crime anime series from the late 1970s through the mid-'80s.

These continual borrowings from other genres and cultural products create a familiar access point for a western audience and must in some part explain Cowboy Bebop’s popularity. Unlike other anime and manga, where jokes and references are often exclusory or require knowledge of Japanese culture and/or the workings and conventions of anime, Cowboy Bebop is accessible – western audiences can connect with the characters readily and more fully understand their motivations and struggles. The characters are always hungry and in search of their next meal. They never seem to succeed, despite being supreme fighters, brilliant detectives, extraordinary hackers and duplicitous conwomen. Their very human flaws make them identifiable and appealing.

The sense of the familiar is emphasised and reinforced by the continual popular culture references throughout the series. Kung fu films are an obvious influence – Spike practises the martial arts and philosophies of Bruce Lee and some of the kung fu fights in the series seem to be lifted directly from Bruce Lee’s films. In ‘Stray Dog Strut’ the final fight between Spike and Hakim is influenced by Bruce Lee’s Game of Death while in ‘Waltz for Venus’, Spike’s kung fu lesson is eerily similar to a scene from Lee’s Enter the Dragon.

The genre of the western is another crucial influence on Cowboy Bebop. The most obvious reference is in the title of the show, ‘cowboy’, immediately suggesting a lawless frontier society. There are further examples throughout; a show called ‘Big Shot’ informs the characters of the current bounties, the crew continually come across saloons and desert worlds, engage in gunfights and standoffs. The show has a perpetual sense of lawlessness – both from the bounties they chase and from within the crew of the Bebop themselves.

Similarly science fiction is another key influence, not only in the spaceship and the futuristic setting but also in several direct and indirect ways. A homage of the Alien films is made in the episode ‘Toys in the Attic’ when an unseen predator stalks the crew. In ‘Wild Horses’ characters are named after the Star Trek crew and the influence of Star Wars pervades throughout.

The flavour of film noir permeates Cowboy Bebop. This is especially prevalent in the character of Jet Black (the archetypal ‘good man in a bad world’), a former cop who rails against the corruption of the police force but is forced into a semi lawless state of bounty hunting. As in film noir, characters are morally ambiguous – none more so than Faye Valentine who will betray her allies in the pursuit of a big bounty. The big city rain slicked settings of film noir are continually explored, especially in the episode ‘Ganymede Elegy’. Other visual and aural cues are also taken from film noir, in ‘Pierrot Le Fou’ for instance, Spike battles an enraged homicidal clown across a fairground, accompanied by lighting and camera angles any film noir would be proud of.

Music[link]

One of the most notable elements of ''Cowboy Bebop'' is its music. Episodes are called "sessions", each of which follows a different musical theme, and episode titles are borrowed from notable album or song names (e.g. "Sympathy for the Devil", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Honky Tonk Women", "My Funny Valentine") or make use of a genre name ("Mushroom Samba", "Heavy Metal Queen").

Performed by Yoko Kanno and The Seatbelts, a band Kanno assembled to perform music for the series, the jazz and blues themed soundtrack helps to define the show as much as the characters, writing, and animation. ''Cowboy Bebop'' was voted by IGN in 2006 as having the greatest soundtrack for an anime.

Theme songs[link]

Tim Jensen produced lyrics on some songs:

"Ask DNA" sung by Raj Ramayya

"Gotta Knock a Little Harder" sung by Mai Yamane

"Call Me, Call Me" sung by Steve Conte

Distribution[link]

In the United States, on September 2, 2001, ''Cowboy Bebop'' became the first anime title to be shown as part of the U.S.Adult Swim Launch. It was successful enough to be broadcast repeatedly for four years. It was rerun again in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. It is currently being shown on Adult Swim Video and on Toonami on Saturday nights in the United States. In the United Kingdom, ''Cowboy Bebop'' was first broadcast in 2002 as one of the highlights of the ill-fated "cartoon network for adults", CNX. From November 6, 2007, it was being repeated on AnimeCentral until the channel's closure in August 2008. In Australia, ''Cowboy Bebop'' was first broadcast on pay-TV in 2002 on Adult Swim in Australia. It has recently started broadcasting on the Sci Fi Channel on Foxtel. In Australia, ''Cowboy Bebop'' TV series was first broadcast on free-to-air-TV on ABC2 (the national digital public television channel) on January 2, 2007. It has been repeated several times, most recently starting from Monday, December 29, 2008 and finishing on Monday, June 22, 2009. ''Cowboy Bebop: The Movie'' also aired again on February 23, 2009, on SBS (a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting television network). In Canada, ''Cowboy Bebop'' was first broadcast on December 24, 2006, on Razer.

Japan[link]

''Cowboy Bebop'' almost did not appear on Japanese broadcast television due to its depictions of graphic violence. It was first sent to TV Tokyo, one of the main broadcasters of anime in Japan. The show had an aborted first run from April 3, 1998, until June 19, 1998, on TV Tokyo, broadcasting only episodes 2, 3, 7 to 15, and 18.

Later that year, the series was shown in its entirety from October 23 until April 23, 1999, on the satellite network WOWOW. Because of the TV Tokyo broadcast slot fiasco, the production schedule was disrupted to the extent that the last episode was delivered to WOWOW on the day of its broadcast. The full series has also been broadcast across Japan by the anime television network Animax, which has also aired the series via its respective networks across Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia.

Reception[link]

''Cowboy Bebop'' received universal critical acclaim and won the renowned Seiun Award in 2000, a Japanese science fiction award for the best science fiction work published during the preceding year, as determined by the Japan Science Fiction Convention. It was named Best Media of the Year by the Science Fiction Convention.

''Cowboy Bebop'' was so commercially successful that a film, ''Cowboy Bebop: Tengoku no Tobira'' (''Knockin' on Heaven's Door''), was commissioned and released in Japan in 2001, and later released in the United States as ''Cowboy Bebop: The Movie'' in 2003.

Legacy[link]

Cowboy Bebop is considered to be an anime masterpiece. A 2004 poll in ''Newtype USA'', the US edition of the Japanese magazine ''Newtype'', asked its readers to rank the "Top 25 Anime Titles of All Time"; ''Cowboy Bebop'' placed second on the list (after ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''), placing it as one of the most socially relevant and influential anime series ever created.

The American Anime magazine ''Anime Insider'' (No. 50, November 2007) ranked the 50 Best Anime by compiling lists of industry regulars and magazine staff, with ''Cowboy Bebop'' ranked as #1 of all time.

In 2009, IGN published a list of the "Top 100 Animated Series", on which ''Cowboy Bebop'' placed 14th, making it the second highest ranking anime on the list and one of the most influential series of the 1990s.

In 2006, the Japanese MiniTokyo review claimed, "To say nothing more, it is a masterpiece, a genre defining series that has a right to be held in such high confidence. Not many series can do even one of the elements as well as Cowboy Bebop does, and even fewer can actually get every single solitary aspect of themselves to such a high degree of excellence. Everything in this anime falls into place with such perfection that makes it all organic and real and following to the extent that they do. From the full gamut of emotions to the roughs and roughnecks of the Bebop, to the masterful soundtrack that gives life to many of the episodes themselves, to the art that so perfectly conveys the mood and atmosphere of the entire work. Cowboy Bebop is not an anime to be missed, and not to be forgotten."

''T.H.E.M'' Anime Reviews rated the series five stars and said the series has "sophistication and subtlety that is practically one-of-a-kind", touting it as a masterpiece that "puts most anime...and Hollywood, to shame."

On May 16, 2006, IGN listed Cowboy Bebop in its article "Top Ten Anime Themes and Soundtracks of All-Time," as the number one soundtrack: "Yoko Kanno strikes again. From beginning to end this may be one of the best anime ever and certainly is tops when it comes to music. Kanno's brilliant songwriting is on display from the beginning to the end of this soundtrack."

In March 2009, the print and web editions of ''The Onion'''s A.V. Club called ''Cowboy Bebop'' "rightly a huge hit", and listed it as a gateway series to understanding the medium of anime as a whole.

A review published by industry regular Mike Crandol states, "Like the best works of film, it has a universal appeal that transcends cultures and personal tastes. It is an anime that will be remembered long after many others have been forgotten." He goes on to refer to the series as, "simply one of the greatest anime titles ever, showcasing brilliant characterization, animation, and music," giving the series an overall A+ rating.

The series is continually ranked among the "Top 10" animes of all time on the Anime News Network's Encyclopedia of industry titles.

DVD release[link]

''Cowboy Bebop'' has been released in three separate editions in North America.

The first release was sold in 2000 individually, and featured uncut versions of the original 26 episodes. In 2001, these DVDs were collected in the special edition ''Perfect Sessions'' which included the first 6 DVDs, the first ''Cowboy Bebop'' soundtrack, and a collector's box. At the time of release, the art box from the Perfect Sessions was made available for purchase on The Right Stuff International as a solo item for collectors who already owned the series.

The second release, ''The Best Sessions'', was sold in 2002 and featured what Bandai considered to be the best 6 episodes of the series remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS surround sound.

The third release, ''Cowboy Bebop Remix'', was also distributed on 6 discs and included the original 26 episodes uncut, with sound remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 and video remastered under the supervision of Shinichiro Watanabe. This release also included various extras that were not present in the original release. Cowboy Bebop Remix was itself collected as the Cowboy Bebop Remix DVD Collection in 2008.

Other media[link]

An official side story to ''Cowboy Bebop'' was released on the original website called ''Cowboy Bebop: UT''. Taking place long before the series started, it features Ural and Victoria Terpsichore (V.T. from the episode "Heavy Metal Queen") when they were bounty hunters. The story is available at the site mirror hosted by jazzmess.com. Bandai released a ''Cowboy Bebop'' video game in Japan for the PlayStation in 1998. A PlayStation 2 video game, ''Cowboy Bebop: Tsuioku no Serenade'', was released in Japan, and the English version had been set for release in North America during the first quarter of 2006. However, in November 2007, GameSpot reported that the North American release had been canceled, likely due to the Bandai-Namco merger.

Two short manga series based on the ''Cowboy Bebop'' property were released in the US by Tokyopop.

Live-action film[link]

On July 22, 2008, ''IF Magazine'' published an article on its website regarding a rumor of a live-action ''Cowboy Bebop'' movie in development by 20th Century Fox. Producer Erwin Stoff said that the film's development was in the early stages, and that they had "just signed it". Keanu Reeves had been confirmed as playing the role of Spike Spiegel. ''Variety'' confirmed on January 15, 2009, that the production company Sunrise Animation would be "closely involved with the development of the English language project." The site also confirmed Kenji Uchida, Shinichiro Watanabe, and series writer Keiko Nobumoto as associate producers, series producer Masahiko Minami as a production consultant, and Peter Craig as screenwriter. This has been lauded by various sources, as a promising move for the potential quality of the film At the time it was slated to release in 2011, but problems with the budget delayed its production. The script that was submitted was sent back for rewrite to reduce the cost and little has been heard about it since an interview with producer Joshua Long on October 15, 2010.

Continuation rumors[link]

After the creation of the series, an interviewer asked Watanabe if he had any plans to create more ''Cowboy Bebop'' material. Watanabe responded by saying that he does not believe that he "should just keep on making ''Cowboy Bebop'' sequels for the sake of it." Watanabe added that ending production and "to quit while we're ahead when people still want more" is more "in keeping with the ''Bebop'' spirit". In a more recent interview from 2006 with ''The Daily Texan'' Watanabe was asked if there would ever be more ''Cowboy Bebop''. Watanabe's answer was "someday...maybe, someday."

References[link]

General[link]

Specific[link]

External links[link]

Official website (Japanese) & Official website (English)

* U.T. (Japanese) & U.T. (English)

* Big Shot (Japanese)

* YMCA (Japanese)

Adult Swim – Official Adult Swim ''Cowboy Bebop''

Category:1998 television series debuts Category:1999 television series endings Category:1998 anime Category:1998 manga Category:1999 manga Category:Anime with original screenplays Category:Crime anime and manga Category:Science fiction anime and manga Category:Solar System in fiction Category:2070s in fiction Category:Sunrise (company) Category:Bandai Entertainment anime titles Category:Bandai Visual Category:Space Westerns Category:Odex

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