Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop, the sacred cow of anime that everyone loves. Having just seen it, I can definitely see why it's so beloved, and why it's such a great gateway anime for so many people.

Cowboy Bebop is an episodic space western anime about a team of bounty hunters, Spike, Jet, Faye, and Ed. Each character has their own backstories that slowly build over the course of the season, but otherwise, this show is as standalone as it gets. There's a nice sense of unpredictability to Bebop, each episode chronicles a different adventure and you never really know what to expect. The show runs the gamet of genres from standard sci fi adventure to more grounded revenge tales to comedy to horror. Even more, it nails the key to making a good episodic series: A likable cast that you want to see go on adventures. The Bebop crew has a nice dynamic, fun banter, and a solid amount of depth. I also like that the anime hardly packs any exposition, and all of the world-building is just done by watching the characters interact with each other and the world. However, Captain Bebop also suffers from a big problem that a lot of episodic shows face, there are bound to be some missteps. There are some weaker episodes here, like Wild Horses and Boogie Woogie Feng Shui, and the fact that the high points of Bebop end up being the more serious, character-driven outings like Ballad Of Fallen Angels doesn't really help things. 

Thankfully, even with some of the weaker episodes, Bebop absolutely excels when it comes to its presentation. Captain Bebop is stylish, it's slick, and it has a sense of fun throughout. This is most obvious in the score, which is boasts some insanely catchy jazz tunes that left me bopping my head, especially during the chase scenes. But it's not just jazz, Heavy Metal Queen used both rock music and silence to great effect for example, and the show uses some preexisting songs like Ave Maria in pretty good ways as well. And that's not to mention the amazing OP theme. Even the sound mixing and balancing is shockingly well-done, I seriously recommend watching this show with headphones, they put way more effort into that than most shows I've seen. I'm also a big fan of the action scenes, which are violent, intense, and incredibly dynamic. At its best, the animation can be downright stunning. However, there are some scenes that look a bit on the stiff side. Similarly, the voice acting (English dub) was a bit shaky at the start, but the actors slowly adjust to their roles as the show goes on. 

At its best, Captain Bebop boasted some really excellent episodes:

Ballad Of Fallen Angels: Of course, everyone knows this episode is amazing. The cathedral scene was particularly stunning, and Vicious is a great villain, but even the buildup in the first half was great. The opera scene was tense, and it was great to see hints at Spike's and Jet's backstory. Definitely the show's best episode, it's so striking and effectively executed that it towers over the rest of the series.

My Funny Valentine: I was thoroughly surprised with how much I enjoyed Faye's backstory, especially since it was a flashback that comprised the first half of the episode. It was fascinating to see her more naive younger self, and her confrontation with Whitney in the end of the episode was one of the most intense in the anime thus far.

Mushroom Samba: This episode was just so much fun. Ed and Ein going on an adventure together, the goofy music, the crew getting high on mushrooms, that train chase at the end, Mushroom Samba is a gleeful episode and easily the anime's most enjoyable.

Pierrot Le Fou: Easily the anime's weirdest and scariest episode, Pierrot Le Fou has Spike pursued by an evil, nearly invincible, and childlike clown. Visual-wise, this episode is striking and memorable, using shadows in incredibly memorable and impactful ways. I think it has a bit of an exposition problem, but this episode was an incredibly unique and strange watch.

Cowboy Funk: This episode was just plain hilarious, from the bomber who always gets interrupted in the middle of his speeches, to the hysterically hammy Andy who feels like a caricature of Spike's flaws, along with tons of really funny lines. Between this episode and Mushroom Samba, Bebop does comedy really well.

The Real Folk Blues: Most of the show had episodes about Faye, Jet, and Ed facing their past, while Spike spends most of the show (especially between Jupiter Jazz and this episode) running away from it. This entire finale focuses on Spike, but I think it works. The final battle with Vicious the Syndicate is action-packed and climactic, the sheer amount of character deaths all land a punch, and the final scene is just plain iconic. It's a great finale, definitely the best episode of the show.

Overall, Captain Bebop is a stylish and varied space western with a likable cast, fun action, and some surprisingly great dramatic moments. It has too many weak episodes for me to call it a masterpiece, but it kept me entertained throughout.

4/5 Stars

Favorite Episode: Ballad Of Fallen Angels