is a 1998 Japanese

neo-noir Neo-noir is a film genre that adapts the visual style and themes of 1940s and 1950s American film noir for contemporary audiences, often with more graphic depictions of violence and sexuality. During the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the term ...

space Western Space Western is a subgenre of science fiction that uses the themes and tropes of Western (genre), Westerns within science-fiction stories in an outer space setting. Subtle influences may include Deep space exploration, exploration of new, law ...

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series that aired on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.Wowow from 1998 to 1999. It was created and animated by

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning, at the start of the Sun path. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon. Terminology Although the S ...

, led by a production team of director

Shinichirō Watanabe is a Japanese anime television and film director, best known for directing the critically acclaimed and commercially successful anime series ''Cowboy Bebop'', '' Samurai Champloo'', '' Space Dandy'', '' Terror in Resonance'', and '' Carole & T ...

, screenwriter

Keiko Nobumoto was a Japanese screenwriter. She wrote the screenplay for ''Cowboy Bebop'' and created ''Wolf's Rain''. Nobumoto died from esophageal cancer on December 1, 2021, at the age of 57. Filmography * Series head writer denoted in bold Anime televi ...

, character designer

Toshihiro Kawamoto is a Japanese animator. He is the co-founder and director of the anime studio Bones. He was the character designer and animation director of ''Cowboy Bebop''. Biography Early period Upon graduating from high school, Kawamoto was first employed ...

, mechanical designer Kimitoshi Yamane, and composer

Yoko Kanno is a Japanese composer, arranger and music producer of soundtracks for anime series, Video game, video games, Japanese television drama, television dramas and movies. She has written scores for ''Cowboy Bebop'', ''Terror in Resonance'', ''Gho ...

, who are collectively billed as

Hajime Yatate is a pseudonym for the collective contributions of the Bandai Namco Filmworks#Sunrise, Sunrise（Bandai Namco Filmworks） animation staff. Name "Hajime Yatate" is considered to be named after a quote of Matsuo Bashō's ''Oku no Hosomichi'': ...

. The series, which ran for twenty-six episodes (dubbed "sessions"), is set in the year 2071, and follows the lives of a traveling bounty-hunting crew aboard a spaceship, the ''Bebop''. Although it incorporates a wide variety of genres, the series draws most heavily from science fiction,

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, and noir films. Its most prominent themes are existential boredom,

loneliness Loneliness is an unpleasant emotional response to perceived or actual isolation. Loneliness is also described as social paina psychological mechanism that motivates individuals to seek social connections. It is often associated with a perc ...

, and the inability to escape one's past. The series was dubbed into English by Animaze and ZRO Limit Productions, and was originally licensed in North America by

Bandai Entertainment was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution company, established by Bandai and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. They focused mainly in international distribution of anime properties in North America. Most of the anime and ...

(and is now licensed by

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...

) and in Britain by Beez Entertainment (now by

Anime Limited Anime Limited, also known as All the Anime, is a British anime distribution company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It releases anime for British, Irish, French and other European audiences. The company was established in 2012 by Andrew Partridge, ...

);

Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, stylized as MADMAN, is an Australian film and television production, distribution, entertainment, and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising ...

owns the license in Australia and New Zealand. In 2001, it became the first anime title to be broadcast on

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

. ''Cowboy Bebop'' has been hailed as one of the best animated television series of all time. It was a critical and commercial success both in Japanese and international markets, most notably in the United States. It garnered several major anime and science-fiction awards upon its release, and received acclaim from critics and audiences for its style, characters, story,

voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animated, off-stage, off-sc ...

, animation, and soundtrack. The English dub was particularly lauded and is regarded as one of the best anime English dubs. Credited with helping to introduce anime to a new wave of Western viewers in the early 2000s, ''Cowboy Bebop'' has also been called a gateway series.

Plot

In the year 2071, roughly fifty years after an accident with a hyperspace gateway that made Earth almost uninhabitable, humanity has colonized most of the rocky planets and

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

s of the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...

. Amid a rising crime rate, the Inter Solar System Police (ISSP) set up a legalized contract system, in which registered bounty hunters (also referred to as "Cowboys") chase criminals and bring them in alive in return for a reward. The series' protagonists are bounty hunters working from the spaceship ''Bebop''. The original crew is Spike Spiegel, an exiled former hitman of the criminal Red Dragon Syndicate, and Jet Black, a former ISSP officer. They are later joined by Faye Valentine, an amnesiac

con artist A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibi ...

; Edward Wong, an eccentric child, skilled in hacking; and Ein, a genetically engineered

Pembroke Welsh Corgi The Pembroke Welsh Corgi (; Welsh for "dwarf dog") is a cattle herding dog breed that originated in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The name ''Corgi'' is of Welsh origin, and is a compound of the words and (mutated to ), meaning "dwarf" and "dog", r ...

with human-like intelligence. Throughout the series, the team gets involved in disastrous mishaps leaving them without money, while often confronting faces and events from their pasts: These include Jet's reasons for leaving the ISSP and Faye's past as a young woman from Earth injured in an accident and cryogenically frozen to save her life. While much of the show is episodic, the main story arc focuses on Spike and his deadly rivalry with Vicious, an ambitious criminal affiliated with the Red Dragon Syndicate. Spike and Vicious were once partners and friends. Still, when Spike begins an affair with Vicious's girlfriend Julia and resolves to leave the Syndicate with her, Vicious seeks to eliminate Spike by blackmailing Julia into killing him. Julia hides to protect herself and Spike, while Spike fakes his death to escape the Syndicate. In the present, Julia comes out of hiding and reunites with Spike, intending to complete their plan. Vicious, having staged a ''

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

'' and taken over the Syndicate, sends hitmen after the pair. Julia is killed, leaving Spike alone. Spike leaves the ''Bebop'' after finally apologizing to Faye and Jet. Upon infiltrating the syndicate, he finds Vicious on the top floor of the building and confronts him after dispatching the remaining Red Dragon members. The final battle ends with Spike killing Vicious, only to be seriously wounded himself in the ensuing confrontation. Looking up to the sky, Spike sees Julia. The series concludes as Spike descends the main staircase of the building into the rising sun before eventually falling to the ground.

Genre and themes

created a special tagline for the series to promote it during its original presentation, calling it "a new genre unto itself". The line was inserted before and after commercial breaks during its Japanese and US broadcasts. Later, Watanabe called the phrase an "exaggeration". The show is a hybrid of multiple

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

s, including westerns and

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...

.Clements & McCarthy, 2006 p113 One reviewer described it as "

space opera Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes Space warfare in science fiction, space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, i ...

meets noir, meets

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

, meets

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting said to focus on a combination of "low-life and high tech". It features futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyberwa ...

". It has also been called a "genre-busting

". The musical style was emphasized in many of the episode titles.Camp & Davis, 2007 pp79–80 Multiple philosophical themes are explored using the characters, including

existentialism Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and valu ...

, existential

boredom In conventional usage, boredom, , or tedium is an emotion characterized by Interest (emotion), uninterest in one's surrounding, often caused by a lack of distractions or occupations. Although, "There is no universally accepted definition of bo ...

, and the effect of the past on the protagonists. Other concepts referenced include

environmentalism Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecolog ...

and

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

. The series also makes specific references to or pastiches multiple films, including the works of

John Woo John Woo Yu-sen ( zh, t= ; born 22 September 1946) is a Hongkongers, Hong Kong film director known as a highly influential figure in the action film genre. The recipient of various accolades, including a Hong Kong Film Awards, Hong Kong Film Award ...

and

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...

, ''

Midnight Run ''Midnight Run'' is a 1988 American action comedy film directed by Martin Brest from a screenplay by George Gallo. It stars Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton (actor), John Ashton, Dennis Farina and Joe Pantoliano. In the ...

'', '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', and '' Alien''. The series also includes extensive references and elements from science fiction, bearing strong similarities to the cyberpunk fiction of

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as cyberpunk. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ear ...

. Several planets and space stations in the series are made in Earth's image. The streets of celestial objects such as Ganymede resemble a modern

port city A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...

, while

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

features shopping malls, theme parks, casinos and cities. This setting has been described as "one part Chinese diaspora and two parts

wild west The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...

Characters

The characters were created by Watanabe and character designed by

. Watanabe envisioned each character as an extension of his own personality, or as an opposite person to himself. Each character, from the main cast to supporting characters, were designed to be outlaws unable to fit into society. Kawamoto designed the characters so they were easily distinguished from one another. All the main cast are characterized by a deep sense of loneliness or resignation to their fate and past. From the perspective of Brian Camp and Julie Davis, the main characters resemble the main characters of the anime series ''

Lupin III , also written as ''Lupin the Third'', ''Lupin the 3rd'', or ''Lupin the IIIrd'', is a Japanese media franchise created by Monkey Punch. The series follows the endeavors of master thief Lupin III (character), Lupin III, grandson of gentleman t ...

'', if only superficially, given their more troubled pasts and more complex personalities.Camp & Davis, 2007 p81 The show focuses on the character of Spike Spiegel (voiced by Kōichi Yamadera), an iconic space cowboy with green hair and often seen wearing a blue suit, with the overall theme of the series being Spike's past and its karmic effect on him. Spike was portrayed as someone who had lost his expectations for the future, having lost the woman he loved, and so was in a near-constant lethargy. Spike's artificial eye was included as Watanabe wanted his characters to have flaws. He was originally going to be given an eyepatch, but this decision was vetoed by producers. Jet (voiced by Unshō Ishizuka) is shown as someone who lost confidence in his former life and has become cynical about the state of society. Spike and Jet were designed to be opposites, with Spike being thin and wearing smart attire, while Jet was bulky and wore more casual clothing. The clothing, which was dark in color, also reflected their states of mind. The rebellious hustler Faye Valentine, hacker "Radical" Edward (voiced by Aoi Tada), and "data dog" Ein joined the crew in later episodes. Their designs were intended to contrast against Spike. Faye was described by her voice actress Megumi Hayashibara as initially being an "ugly" woman, with her defining traits being her liveliness, sensuality and humanity. To emphasize her situation when first introduced, she was compared to Poker Alice, a famous Western figure. Edward and Ein were the only main characters to have real-life models. The former had her behavior based on the antics of

as observed by Watanabe when he first met her. While generally portrayed as carefree and eccentric, Edward is motivated by a sense of loneliness after being abandoned by her father. Kawamoto initially based Ein's design on a friend's pet corgi, later getting one himself to use as a motion model.

Production

Shinichiro Watanabe 20090703 Japan Expo 01

''Cowboy Bebop'' was developed by animation studio

and created by

, the well-known pseudonym for the collective contributions of Sunrise's animation staff. The leader of the series' creative team was director Shinichirō Watanabe, most notable at the time for directing ''

Macross Plus is a four-episode anime Original video animation, OVA and theatrical movie in the ''The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Macross'' series. It was the first sequel to the original ''Macross'' television series that took place in the official ...

'' and '' Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory''. Other leading members of Sunrise's creative team were screenwriter

, character designer Toshihiro Kawamoto, mechanical art designer Kimitoshi Yamane, composer

, and producers Masahiko Minami and Yoshiyuki Takei. Most of them had previously worked together, in addition to having credits on other popular anime titles. Nobumoto had scripted ''Macross Plus'', Kawamoto had designed the characters for ''Gundam'', and Kanno had composed the music for ''Macross Plus'' and '' The Vision of Escaflowne''. Yamane had not worked with Watanabe yet, but his credits in anime included ''

Bubblegum Crisis is a 1987-1991 Japanese cyberpunk original video animation (OVA) series produced by Youmex and animated by Anime International Company, AIC and Artmic. The series involves the adventures of the Knight Sabers, an all-female group of Mercenar ...

'' and ''The Vision of Escaflowne''. Minami joined the project as he wanted to do something different from his previous work on mecha anime.

Concept

''Cowboy Bebop'' was Watanabe's first project as solo director, as he had been co-director in his previous works. His original concept was for a movie, and during production he treated each episode as a miniature movie."From the Small Screen to the Big Screen". His main inspiration for ''Cowboy Bebop'' was the first series of the anime ''

'', a crime drama focusing on the exploits of the series' titular character. When developing the series' story, Watanabe began by creating the characters first. He explained, "the first image that occurred to me was one of Spike, and from there I tried to build a story around him, trying to make him cool." While the original dialogue of the series was kept clean to avoid any profanities, its level of sophistication was made appropriate to adults in a criminal environment. Watanabe described ''Cowboy Bebop'' as "80% serious story and 20% humorous touch". The comical episodes were harder for the team to write than the serious ones, and though several events in them seemed random, they were carefully planned in advance. Watanabe conceived the series' ending early on, and each episode involving Spike and Vicious was meant to foreshadow their final confrontation. Some of the staff were unhappy about this approach as a continuation of the series would be difficult. While he considered altering the ending, he eventually settled with his original idea. The reason for creating the ending was that Watanabe did not want the series to become like ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'', with him being tied to doing it for years.

Development

The project had initially originated with

Bandai is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered ...

's toy division as a sponsor, with the goal of selling spacecraft toys. Watanabe recalled his only instruction was "So long as there's a spaceship in it, you can do whatever you want." But upon viewing early footage, it became clear that Watanabe's vision for the series did not match Bandai's. Believing the series would never sell toy merchandise, Bandai pulled out of the project, leaving it in

development hell Development hell, also known as development purgatory or development limbo, is media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in a stage of early development for a long time because of legal, technical, or artistic ...

until sister company

Bandai Visual was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution company, established by Bandai and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. They focused mainly in international distribution of anime properties in North America. Most of the anime and ...

stepped in to sponsor it. Since there was no need to merchandise toys with the property any more, Watanabe had free rein in the development of the series. Watanabe wanted to design not just a space adventure series for adolescent boys but a program that would also appeal to sophisticated adults. During the making of ''Bebop'', Watanabe often attempted to rally the animation staff by telling them that the show would be something memorable up to three decades later. While some of them were doubtful of that at the time, Watanabe many years later expressed his happiness to have been proven right in retrospect. He joked that if Bandai Visual had not intervened then "you might be seeing me working the supermarket checkout counter right now." The city locations were generally inspired by the cities of New York and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. The atmospheres of the planets and the ethnic groups in ''Cowboy Bebop'' mostly originated from Watanabe's ideas, with some collaboration from set designers Isamu Imakake, Shoji Kawamori, and Dai Satō. The animation staff established the particular planet atmospheres early in the production of the series before working on the ethnic groups. It was Watanabe who wanted to have several groups of ethnic diversity appear in the series. Mars was the planet most often used in ''Cowboy Bebop'' storylines, with Satoshi Toba, the cultural and setting producer, explaining that the other planets "were unexpectedly difficult to use". He stated that each planet in the series had unique features, and the producers had to take into account the characteristics of each planet in the story. For the final episode, Toba explained that it was not possible for the staff to have the dramatic rooftop scene occur on

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

, so the staff "ended up normally falling back to Mars". In creating the backstory, Watanabe envisioned a world that was "multinational rather than stateless". In spite of certain American influences in the series, he stipulated that the country had been destroyed decades prior to the story, later saying the notion of the United States as the center of the world repelled him. The guns on the show were chosen by Watanabe, and in discussion with set designer Isamu Imakake and mechanical designer Kimitoshi Yamane. Setting producer Satoshi Toba said, "They talked about how they didn't want common guns, because that wouldn't be very interesting, and so they decided on these guns."

Music

The music for ''Cowboy Bebop'' was composed by Yoko Kanno and comprises genres including jazz,

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and jazz. Kanno formed the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

band Seatbelts to perform the music. According to Kanno, the music was one of the first aspects to begin production, before most of the characters, story, or animation had been finalized. Watanabe said Kanno operated independently: "She gets inspired on her own, follows up on her own imagery, and comes to me saying 'this is the song we need for ''Cowboy Bebop'', and composes something completely on her own." She was sometimes surprised at how her music was mixed into the show, at times wishing it had been used elsewhere, but felt that none of its uses were "inappropriate". She was pleased with the working environment, finding the team more relaxed than other teams she had worked with. Watanabe said Kanno's music inspired him to create new scenes, which in turn inspired Kanno to create more music, including music she had not been commissioned for. According to Watanabe, while this normally would be "unforgivable and unacceptable", it was a "big hit" with ''Cowboy Bebop''. Watanabe described their collaboration "a game of catch between the two of us in developing the music and creating the TV series". The ''Cowboy Bebop'' music has been released across seven soundtrack albums, two singles and EPs, and two compilations through label

Victor Entertainment is a subsidiary of JVCKenwood that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It is known as JVC Entertainment in countries where Sony Music Entertainment operates the RC ...

Distribution

Broadcast

''Cowboy Bebop'' debuted on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network. and depictions of graphic violence, the show's first run only included episodes 2, 3, 7 to 15, 18 and a special. Later that year, the series was shown in its entirety from October 23 until April 24, 1999, on satellite network Wowow. The full series has also been broadcast across Japan by anime television network

Animax , stylized as ANIMAX in all caps, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. Launched on July 1, 1998, Animax is the first 24-hour network in the world dedicated to anime.The Anime Biz' - ...

, which has also aired the series via its respective networks across Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia. The first non-Asian country to air ''Cowboy Bebop'' was Italy. There, it was first aired on October 21, 1999, on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

, where it inaugurated the 9:00–10:30 p.m. ''Anime Night'' programming block. In the United States, ''Cowboy Bebop'' was one of the programs shown when

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

's late night block

debuted on September 2, 2001, being the first anime shown on the block that night at midnight ET. During its original run on Adult Swim, episodes 6, 8, and 22 were skipped due to their violent themes in wake of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. By the third run of the series, all these episodes had premiered for the first time. ''Cowboy Bebop'' was successful enough to be broadcast repeatedly for four years. It has been run at least once every year since 2007, and HD remasters of the show began broadcasting in 2015. In the United Kingdom, it was first broadcast in 2002 on the adult-oriented channel CNX. From November 6, 2007, it was repeated on

AnimeCentral Anime Central was a short-lived British television channel owned by CSC Media Group. The channel launched on 13 September 2007. It was first announced on 5 August 2007, though its license first appeared on the Ofcom website in January (initially ...

until the channel's closure in August 2008. In Australia, ''Cowboy Bebop'' was first broadcast on pay television in 2002 on

, and on free-to-air-TV on

ABC2 ABC Family is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television network. The channel broadcasts a range of family and teen entertainment programming. The channel oper ...

(the national digital public television channel) on January 2, 2007. It has been repeated several times, most recently starting in 2008. '' Cowboy Bebop: The Movie'' also aired 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. In Latin America, the series was first broadcast on pay-TV in 2001 on Locomotion. It aired again on January 9, 2016, on I.Sat.

Home media

''Cowboy Bebop'' has been released in four separate editions in North America. The first release was sold in VHS format either as a box set or as seven individual tapes. The tapes were sold through Anime Village, a division of Bandai. In the late 1990s,

Manga Entertainment Manga Entertainment was a producer, licensee, and distributor of anime in the United States and the United Kingdom. Originally founded in the UK in 1991, the UK branch became Funimation UK and Ireland in 2021, also currently known as Crunchyr ...

purchased the rights to ''Cowboy Bebop'' with plans to release the English-dubbed PAL version on VHS; however, this was never realized. The second 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 third 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 Dolby Digital, originally synonymous with Dolby AC-3 (see below), is the name for a family of audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories. Called Dolby Stereo Digital until 1995, it is lossy compression (except for Dolby Tr ...

5.1 and DTS surround sound. The fourth release, ''Cowboy Bebop Remix'', was also distributed on 6 discs and included the original 26 uncut episodes, with sound remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 and video remastered under the supervision of Shinichirō 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: The Complete Collection'' in 2008. In December 2012, newly founded distributor

announced via

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

and

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

that they had acquired the home video license for the United Kingdom. Part 1 of the Blu-ray collection was released on July 29, 2013, while Part 2 was released on October 14. The standard DVD Complete Collection was originally meant to be released on September 23, 2013, with Part 2 of the Blu-ray release but due to mastering and manufacturing errors, the Complete Collection was delayed until November 27. Following the closure of Bandai Entertainment in 2012,

Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...

and Sunrise had announced that they rescued ''Cowboy Bebop'', along with a handful of other former Bandai Entertainment properties, for home video and digital release. Funimation released the series on Blu-ray and DVD on December 16, 2014. The series was released in four separate editions: standard DVD, standard Blu-ray, an

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

exclusive Blu-ray/DVD combo, and a Funimation.com exclusive Blu-ray/DVD combo.

released a limited edition Blu-ray box set on April 4, 2023, for its 25th anniversary.

Streaming

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

acquired the streaming rights to the original anime, with all 26 episodes available worldwide as of October 21, 2021. As of October 21, 2023, the show was unavailable in the United States and Canada. The series is available on

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

and Funimation in the United States. On March 1, 2022, the anime became available on

to consolidate both Funimation and

Wakanim Wakanim was a French subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service specialized in online streaming and simulcasting of Japanese anime series. It was also the first platform to offer videos for download without digita ...

into the service.

Related media

Manga

Two ''Cowboy Bebop'' manga series adaptations have been released, both published by

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines ...

and serialized in ''

Asuka Fantasy DX —or simply ''Asuka Fantasy DX'' or ''Fantasy DX''—was a Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Kadokawa Shoten. Originally, it was a bimonthly special issue of '' Monthly Asuka'', but was spun off as a separate monthly magazine in June ...

''. The first manga series, titled ''Cowboy Bebop: Shooting Star'' and illustrated by Cain Kuga, was serialized from October issue 1997, before the anime series' release, to July issue 1998. It was collected into two volumes in 1998, the first one in May and the second one in September. The second manga series, simply titled ''Cowboy Bebop'' and illustrated by , was serialized from November issue 1998 to March issue 2000. It was collected into three volumes, the first two in April and October 1999 and the third one in April 2000. Both manga series were licensed by

Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licens ...

for release in North America.

Video games

A ''

Cowboy Bebop is a 1998 Japanese neo-noir space Western anime television series that aired on TV Tokyo and Wowow from 1998 to 1999. It was created and animated by Sunrise (company), Sunrise, led by a production team of director Shinichirō Watanabe, ...

'' video game, developed and published by Bandai, was released in Japan for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

on May 14, 1998. A

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

video game, '' Cowboy Bebop: Tsuioku no Serenade'', was released in Japan on August 25, 2005, and an English version had been set for release in North America. However, in January 2007, IGN reported that the release had likely been cancelled, speculating that it did not survive Bandai's merger with

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company founded in 1955. It operated video arcades and amusement parks globally, and produced video games, films, toys, and arcade cabinets. Namco was one of the most influential c ...

Bandai Namco Games is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game video game publisher, publisher, and the video game branch of the wider Bandai Namco Holdings group. Founded in 2006 as it is the successor to Namco's home and arcade video game ...

. In 2022, ''Cowboy Bebop'' made its debut in the Bandai Namco crossover game '' Super Robot Wars T'', which is traditionally focused on turn-based mecha combat. In 2024, skins based on ''Cowboy Bebop'' characters were added to Blizzard Entertainment's first-person shooter '' Overwatch 2''. In 2025, skins based on ''Cowboy Bebop'' characters Spike Spiegel and Faye Valentine were added to

Epic Games Epic Games, Inc. is an American Video game developer, video game and software development, software developer and video game publisher, publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeney (game developer), Tim Sween ...

' '' Fortnite Battle Royale.''

Film

An anime film titled , known in English as ''Cowboy Bebop: The Movie'', was released in Japan in September 2001 and in the United States in August 2002. On July 22, 2008, '' If'' published an article on its website regarding a rumor of a live-action ''Cowboy Bebop'' movie in development by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

. Producer Erwin Stoff said that the film's development was in the early stages, and that they had "just signed it". Keanu Reeves was to play the role of Spike Spiegel. '' Variety'' confirmed on January 15, 2009, that production company Sunrise Animation would be "closely involved with the development of the English-language project". The site also confirmed Kenji Uchida, Shinichirō Watanabe and series writer Keiko Nobumoto as associate producers, series producer Masahiko Minami as a production consultant, and Peter Craig as screenwriter. This was 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 submitted script 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; the project currently languishes in

. On October 25, 2014, series director Watanabe was asked about the live-action film at the

MCM London Comic Con The MCM Comic Con London (formerly known as the London Movies, Comics, and Media Expo, London MCM Expo, and MCM London Comic Con) is a speculative fiction fan convention held at ExCeL London, ExCel London twice yearly since 2002, usually on th ...

. He stated: "I'm afraid I don't know what they're thinking in Hollywood. Apparently the project hasn't come to a stop but I don't know how it's going to progress from here on. I hear that there are a lot of 'Hollywood' problems."

Live-action series

In 2017, it was announced that an American live-action adaptation of the series was being developed by Tomorrow Studios, a partnership between Marty Adelstein and

ITV Studios ITV Studios Limited is a British multinational television media company owned by British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadcasters, and is ba ...

, with executive production by Sunrise Inc.

Christopher Yost Christopher Lee Yost (; born February 21, 1973) is an American film, television, animation, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Studios' Marvel Cinematic Universe with '' Thor: The Dark World'' (2013) and '' Thor: Ragnarok'' ...

was to write the series, and

announced that it would distribute it. On April 4, 2019, Variety reported that John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, Daniella Pineda and Alex Hassell had been cast. Production was shut down in October 2019 due to a knee injury sustained by Cho, setting production back by more than six months. On April 17, 2020, it was revealed that the episodes would be an hour long. On May 19, 2020, Adelstein revealed that there were three finished episodes and that they had shot at least six episodes before Cho's knee injury. In the same interview it was revealed that the director of the anime series, Shinichirō Watanabe, had been hired as a creative consultant. Production in New Zealand resumed on September 30, 2020, following a COVID-19 lockdown in the country. The series was released on November 19, 2021, to mixed reviews. On December 9, 2021, it was announced that it would not be renewed for a second season, with Netflix cancelling it entirely.

Other media

An official side story titled ''Cowboy Bebop: UT'' tells the story of Ural and Victoria Terpsichore (V.T. from the session "Heavy Metal Queen") when they were bounty-hunters. The story was available in its own official site, however the website was closed and is currently available at the site mirror. A deck-building board game, ''Cowboy Bebop: Space Serenade'', was released in 2019.

Reception

Critical reception

''Cowboy Bebop'' received unanimous acclaim, beginning at the time of its initial broadcast. Beginning in 1998, Japanese critic Keith Rhee highlighted the series as a standout in an otherwise "run-of-the-mill" season, praising its overall production values, and singling out Kanno's soundtrack as "a much-welcome change from all the sugary

J-pop J-pop (often stylized in all caps; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in trad ...

tunes of most anime features". Rhee also highlighted the show's Japanese "all-star cast", which his colleague Mark L. Johnson described as being filled with "veteran voice talent", turning in even greater performances than those of their "above average" US counterparts. In 1999, Australian magazine '' Hyper'' reviewed the anime and rated it 9.5 out of 10. ''

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ot ...

''s Mike Crandol gave the series an 'A+' rating for the dubbed version, and an 'A' rating for the subbed version. He characterized the series as "one of the most popular and respected anime titles in history", before adding that it was "a unique television show which skillfully transcends all kinds of genres". Crandol praised its characters as "some of the most endearing characters to ever grace an anime", and commended the voice acting, especially the "flawless English cast". He also complimented the series' "movie-quality" animation, "sophisticated" writing, and its "incredible" musical score. Crandol hailed ''Cowboy Bebop'' as a "landmark" anime "that will be remembered long after many others have been forgotten", and went on to call it "one of the greatest anime titles ever". Additionally, Michael Toole of ''Anime News Network'' named ''Cowboy Bebop'' as one of the most important anime of the 1990s. T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews gave the entire series a perfect score of 5 out of 5 stars, with reviewer Christina Carpenter believing ''Cowboy Bebop'' as "one of the best nime and touting it as a masterpiece that "puts most anime...and

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, to shame". She described it as a "very stylish, beautifully crafted series that deserves much more attention than it gets". Carpenter praised the animation as "a rarity and a marvel to behold" and that it was "beyond superb", and the plot and characterization as having "a sophistication and subtlety that is practically one-of-a-kind". She also praised the soundtrack, and hailed the opening theme as one of the best intro pieces she had ever heard. Carpenter went to say that ''Bebop'' was a "must-have for any serious collector of Japanese animation". In his article "Asteroid Blues: The Lasting Legacy of ''Cowboy Bebop''", ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'' writer Alex Suskind states, "On paper, ''Cowboy Bebop'', the legendary cult anime series from Shinichirō Watanabe, reads like something

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...

Elmore Leonard Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story author and screenwriter. He was, according to British journalist Anthony Lane, "hailed as one of the best crime writers in the land". His earliest no ...

, and Philip K. Dick came up with during a wild, all-night whiskey bender." He goes on to write, "The response from critics and fans may have sounded hyperbolic—the word 'masterpiece' was thrown around a great deal—but the praise was justified. First-time solo director Watanabe had created a gorgeous tale of morality, romance, and violence–a dark look at the lives of outlaws that's shot like an independent film." In January 2015, television writer Kyle Mills of ''

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

'' awarded the series five stars upon review. He stated, "Regardless of the medium, be it live action television, film, or animation, ''Cowboy Bebop'' is simply one of the finest examples of storytelling ever created." In his review, he describes the finale as "one of the best in television history", referring to it as a "widely revered" ending that "still sparks fan conversation, resonating with viewers 15 years on". He closes by writing, "''Cowboy Bebop'' ends with a bang." In his 2018 review of the series, '' Paste'' critic John Maher wrote, "It feels like a ''magnum opus'' produced at the pinnacle of a long career despite being, almost unbelievably, Watanabe's first series as a director. It is a masterwork that should justly rank among the best works of television of all time." It was also placed at #1 on the publication's list of the "50 Best Anime Series of All Time". On

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the series has an approval rating of 100% based on 23 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Blending a head-spinning array of genres and references, ''Cowboy Bebop'' is an anime television classic that must be experienced." In an April 2019 interview with Diego Molano, creator of '' Victor & Valentino'', he said that Cowboy Bebop was the first anime he "obsessed over", as he spent time tracking down VHS tapes of the show in high school. He also argued that this series showed him "how cinematic and emotional animation can be".

Accolades

In the 1999 Anime Grand Prix awards for the anime of 1998, ''Cowboy Bebop'' won two first place awards: Spike Spiegel was awarded the best male character; and Megumi Hayashibara was awarded the best voice actor for her role as Faye Valentine. ''Cowboy Bebop'' also received rankings in other categories: the series itself was awarded the second best anime series; Faye Valentine and Ed were ranked the fifth and ninth best female characters respectively; "Tank!" and "The Real Folk Blues" were ranked the third and fifteenth best songs respectively; and "Ballad of Fallen Angels", "Speak Like a Child", "Jamming with Edward" and "Mish-Mash Blues" were ranked the second, eighth, eighteenth and 20th best episodes respectively. In the 2000 Anime Grand Prix awards for the anime of 1999, ''Cowboy Bebop'' won the same two first place awards again: best male character for Spike Spiegel; and best voice actor for Megumi Hayashibara. Other rankings the series received are: second best anime series; sixth best female character for Faye Valentine; seventh and twelfth best song for "Tank!" and "Blue" respectively; and third and seventeenth best episode for "The Real Folk Blues (Part 2)" and "Hard Luck Woman" respectively. In the 2000

Seiun Award The is a Japanese speculative fiction award given each year for the best science fiction works and achievements during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by , the awards are given at the annual Nihon SF Taikai, Japan Science Fic ...

s, Cowboy Bebop was awarded for Best Media of the Year. A 2004 poll in ''Newtype USA'', the US edition of the Japanese magazine '' Newtype'', asked its readers to vote the "Top 25 Anime Titles of All Time"; ''Cowboy Bebop'' ranked second on the list (after '' Neon Genesis Evangelion''), placing it as one of the most socially relevant and influential anime series ever created. During that same year, ''

Cinefantastique ''Cinefantastique'' is an American horror, fantasy, and science fiction film magazine. History The magazine originally started as a mimeographed fanzine in 1967, then relaunched as a glossy, offset printed quarterly in 1970 by publisher/ ed ...

'' listed the anime as one of the "10 Essential Animations", citing the series' "gleeful mix of noir-style, culture-hopping inclusiveness and music". In 2007, the American Anime magazine '' Anime Insider'' listed the "50 Best Anime Ever" by compiling lists of industry regulars and magazine staff, and ranked ''Cowboy Bebop'' as the #1 anime of all time. In 2012,

compiled the votes of fans online for "The Top 20 Madman Anime Titles" and ranked ''Cowboy Bebop'' at seventh. ''Cowboy Bebop'' has been featured in several lists published by ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

''. In the 2009 "Top 100 Animated TV Series" list, ''Cowboy Bebop'', labelled as "a very original – and arguably one of the best – anime", was placed fourteenth, making it the second highest ranking anime on the list (after ''Evangelion'') and one of the most influential series of the 1990s. In 2011, ''Bebop'' was ranked 29th in the "Top 50 Sci-Fi TV Shows" list, once again being the second highest ranking anime on the list (after ''Evangelion''). In 2006, ''Cowboy Bebop''s soundtrack was ranked first in "Top Ten Anime Themes and Soundtracks of All-Time" list, with the series being commented as "one of the best anime ever and certainly is tops when it comes to music." Spike Spiegel was ranked fourth place in the "Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time" article. ''IGN Movies'' also placed ''Cowboy Bebop'' in their list of "10 Cartoon Adaptations We'd Like to See".

Analysis

The series has been subject to study and analysis since its debut, with the main focus being on its style and mixture of genres. Miguel Douglas, describing the series style in a review, said that "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 Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

, 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

robot A robot is a machine—especially one Computer program, programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions Automation, automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the robot control, co ...

s, or laser guns—the series delegates itself towards presenting a world that is quite similar to our own albeit showcasing some technological advances." Daryl Surat of '' Otaku USA'', commenting on the series' appeal, said that it was "that rare breed of science-fiction: 'accessible'. Unlike many anime titles, viewers weren't expected to have knowledge of

Japanese culture Japanese culture has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Since the Jomon period, ancestral ...

—character names, signs, and the like were primarily in English to begin with—or have seen any other anime series prior." Michelle Onley Pirkle, in her book ''Science Fiction Film, Television, and Adaptation: Across the Screens'', said that "''Cowboy Bebop'' is taking a new take on genre, not by creating unique images and sounds, but by playing 'freely' with, 'remixing', or adapting the images and sounds of other familiar genres in a dynamic way." Robert Baigent, writing for the ''Graduate Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies'', said that the series' appeal likely stemmed from the trend in anime to emulate Western fiction.

Legacy

In March 2009, the print and web editions of ''

The Onion ''The Onion'' is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is currently based in Chicago, but originated as a weekly print publication ...

s ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' called ''Cowboy Bebop'' "rightly a huge hit", and listed it as a gateway series to understanding the medium of anime as a whole. Suskind said: "It was unlike anything the genre had seen before. It even approached its music differently. The show kicked off with a wormhole of a theme song, and the soundtrack moves so seamlessly through genres, from rock to country to pop to jazz to funk, it's shocking to learn that one set of musicians is behind it all". In an interview, producer Sean Akins also states that the series "created a whole new world". "It's hard for me to quantify the impact that I think it has had. It changed anime. I think people began to think about what shows would be cool. I think it redefined cool within animation, not only in Japan but in the States". One of the series' main animators, Tensai Okamura, went on to create his own anime in 2007: '' Darker than Black''. Okamura used his experience from ''Cowboy Bebop'' to write the screenplay of ''Darker than Black'', leading to narratives composed of two episodes similar to Japanese dramas. American film director, screenwriter, and producer

Rian Johnson Rian Craig Johnson (born December 17, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He made his directorial debut with the neo-noir mystery film ''Brick (film), Brick'' (2005), which received positive reviews and grossed nearly $4 million on a $450,000 budget ...

has cited ''Cowboy Bebop'' as a visual influence on his films, most notably ''

Brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

''. ''

Ender's Game ''Ender's Game'' is a 1985 military science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. Set at an unspecified date in Earth's future, the novel presents an imperiled humankind after two conflicts with an insectoid alien species they ...

'' writer

Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. , he is the only person to have won a Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo Award and a Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula Award in List of joint ...

also praised the series. He states that the series is "better than most sci-fi films out there". He goes on to say that he "found this series brilliant, but what held me was a combination of strong relationship-based storytelling, a moody visual style that never got old and really smart dialogue". 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".The Director's Voice Shinichiro Watanabe Interview
" ''CowboyBebop.com''. In a more recent interview from 2006 with ''

The Daily Texan ''The Daily Texan'' is the student newspaper of the University of Texas at Austin. It is one of the largest college newspapers in the United States, with a daily circulation of roughly 12,000 during the fall and spring semesters, and is among th ...

'', Watanabe was asked if there would ever be more ''Cowboy Bebop''. Watanabe's answer was "someday...maybe, someday". In May 2020, composer Mason Lieberman partnered with Sunrise and Funimation to produce an official ''Cowboy Bebop'' charity track for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

relief. This track was released on vinyl and featured the return of original series composer Yōko Kanno, original recording band The Seatbelts, and a collection of forty other special musical guests.

Explanatory notes

References

* *

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (''SFE'') is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appea ...

'' * {{Portal bar, 1990s, Speculative fiction 1998 anime television series debuts 1990s Western (genre) television series 1999 Japanese television series endings Action anime and manga Anime and manga about organized crime Anime series Anime with original screenplays Bandai Entertainment anime titles Bandai Namco franchises Bandai Visual Crunchyroll anime Cyberpunk anime and manga Cyberpunk television series Cyborgs in anime and manga Existentialist anime and manga Fiction about amnesia Fiction about suspended animation Fiction set on Ganymede (moon) Funimation Impact of the September 11 attacks on television Japanese adult animated action television series Japanese adult animated science fiction television series Japanese adult animated space adventure television series Kadokawa Shoten manga Madman Entertainment anime Madman Entertainment manga Manga series Mars in television Neo-noir anime and manga Odex Philosophical anime and manga Post-apocalyptic animated television series Post-apocalyptic anime and manga Space opera anime and manga Space Western anime and manga Sunrise (company) TV Tokyo original programming Television series set in the 2070s Tokyopop titles Transgender-related anime and manga Wowow original programming Fiction set in 2071