Cowboy Bebop
Series, 1998, Anime nights, Set in The solar system, 2071
Cowboy Bebop is #7 of 16 in release order and #7 of 16 in chronological order in the Adult Swim Classics.
The story
In 2071, roughly fifty years after an accident with a hyperspace gateway made the Earth almost uninhabitable, humanity has colonized most of the rocky planets and moons of the Solar System. 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.
Cowboy Bebop recap
In 2071, after an accident has made Earth almost uninhabitable, people live across the solar system, and bounty hunters, called cowboys, chase criminals for money. Spike Spiegel, a relaxed former hitman for the Red Dragon crime syndicate, and Jet Black, an ex-cop with a cybernetic arm, crew the spaceship Bebop and usually end up broke. They pick up Faye Valentine, a gambler with huge debts and no memory of her past; Ed, an eccentric teenage girl hacker; and Ein, a data dog. Most of the 26 episodes are standalone jobs that go wrong, mixing noir, westerns and jazz. A running story concerns Spike's past: his former partner Vicious, now his enemy, and Julia, the woman they both loved, whom Spike once planned to run away with. Faye recovers her memories and finds her childhood home gone, Jet faces his own past, and Ed leaves the ship with Ein. The show premieres in Japan in 1998 and opens Adult Swim on its first night in 2001.
Cowboy Bebop ending explained
The two-part finale, "The Real Folk Blues" (1999), has Spike reunite with Julia while the syndicate hunts them; she is shot and dies in his arms. Spike says goodbye to Jet and Faye and storms the Red Dragon headquarters, kills Vicious in their final fight, then walks down the stairs, points his finger and says "bang", and collapses. His fate is left ambiguous. The 2001 film Knockin' on Heaven's Door is set before the ending.
Where to watch Cowboy Bebop
Cowboy Bebop is streaming on Crunchyroll in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Fandango At Home.
Ratings
IMDb 8.9/10
Where it fits
- Release order: after Aqua Teen Hunger Force, before InuYasha.
- Chronological order: after Aqua Teen Hunger Force, before InuYasha.
Cast
- Koichi Yamadera as Spike Spiegel / Ein (voice)
- Unsho Ishizuka as Jet Black (voice)
- Megumi Hayashibara as Faye Valentine (voice)
- Aoi Tada as Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivruski IV (voice)
- Isshin Chiba as Man 2 (voice)
- Hiroshi Naka as Ping Long (voice)
- Tsutomu Tareki as Tareki Punch (voice)
- Miki Nagasawa as Child (voice)
- Toshihiko Nakajima as Louie (voice)
- Jin Hirao as Antonio (voice) (as Jinshô Hirao)
- Kazuhiro Nakata as Man A (voice)
- Shinpachi Tsuji as Sou (voice)