Cowboy Bebop: an anime set in the future, with a sort of sci-fi/western thing going on, set to jazz music.
What more could you want?
How about beautiful animation that completely fits with the tone of the story? Or characters that seem “real” instead of just cardboard-cut outs of your standard character archetypes that are so common in lots of shows and movies? Or a truly fascinating story that explores the backgrounds of the main characters, as well as dipping into some truly deep and thoughtful territory?
Maybe the fact that this is set in the future has scared you off, or perhaps you just don’t like sci-fi. Well, don’t let that stop you from enjoying this anime – you could just as easily set this story in the old west and it would (largely) hold up just as well.
Oh sure, there’s a few downsides – the “fan service” we tend to get from Faye Valentine can kind of seem out of place at times, and a couple of stories don’t hold up as well as the others, but honestly these are very minor quibbles.
All-in-all, Cowboy Bebop is an immensely enjoyable show, which I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone, whether they be a fan of anime or not.
p.s. If you enjoy Cowboy Bebop, you’ll probably also enjoy its spiritual sibling, Samurai Champloo.
