Cowboy Bebop is a 26-episode
anime televison series made by
Sunrise and noted for its jazz/blues soundtrack and dramatic storyline. The 1998 series (and the 2001 movie based on it) follows the bounty hunter crew of the spaceship Bebop as they look for escaped criminals around the solar system. An English-language adaptation of the TV series by
Bandai Entertainment[?] was produced in 2001 and has been shown on US cable TV.
Warning: Spoilers follow
- Spike Spiegel - A 20-something ex-crime syndicate member, Spike is a martial arts expert, and a very laid back guy. In the first episode he states that he has, "Already died once", and has a mysterious past linked to the syndicate. His personal ship is called the Swordfish II.
- Jet Black - Jet is the actual owner of the Bebop, and a long time bounty hunter. An ex-cop for the ISSP, he had to leave the force due to a bad accident, which left him with a cybernetic left arm. He and Spike have been partners for three years, and he knows as little about Spike's past as we do. Jet also owns a one person ship, the Hammerhead.
- Faye Valentine - Faye's past is a mystery to us as well. All we know is that she is as laid back as Spike on everything except money, for which she has an unbounded desire. She joins the crew in episode 5, and is never completely one of them. Her ship is the Redtail.
- Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky 4th - Ed is a hacker that the crew meet on visiting Earth in episode 8. She is extremely adept at breaking into others' sytems and finding information that the others can use to find bounties. She seems to have appeared from nowhere and can act very much like a little girl sometimes.
- Ein - Ein is a Welsh Corgi that Spike and Jet come into possession of in episode 2. Ein is actually a "data dog", he is much smarter than the average dog and sometimes seems smarter than the average Bebop crew member.
- Julia - Julia was Spike's lover when he was still in the syndicate. He was supposed to take her with him when he ran from them three years earlier, but she never showed up at their rendevous point. Spike is still in love with her, and in fact goes back to help her when the syndicate tries to kill her in episode 25.
- Vicious - Once Spike's brother-in-arms with the syndicate, he is now Spike's enemy. Also in love with Julia, he set Spike up three years earlier, by telling Julia to kill him before he could escape. Although only featured in 5 episodes, he is a major player in Spike's life since running from the Red Dragons.
- The Syndicate Elders - Three seemingly ancient leaders of the Red Dragon Syndicate, they decide everything about syndicate policy. They are opposed every step of the way by Vicious, who does not like the direction in which they are taking the syndicate.
- Opening
- Ending
- "The Real Folk Blues" by Mai Yamane[?] (eps. 1-12,14-25)
- "Space Lion" by The Seatbelts (ep. 13)
- "Blue" by Mai Yamane (ep. 26)
- Asteroid Blues
- Stray Dog Strut
- Honky Tonk Women
- Gateway Shuffle
- Ballad of Fallen Angels
- Sympathy For The Devil
- Heavy Metal Queen
- Waltz For Venus
- Jamming With Edward
- Ganymede Elegy
- Toys in the Attic
- Jupiter Jazz (Part 1)
- Jupiter Jazz (Part 2)
- Bohemian Rhapsody
- My Funny Valentine
- Black Dog Serenade
- Mushroom Samba
- Speak Like A Child
- Wild Horses
- Pierrot le Fou
- Boogie-Woogie Feng-Shui
- Cowboy Funk
- Brain Scratch
- Hard Luck Woman
- The Real Folk Blues (Part 1)
- The Real Folk Blues (Part 2)
- Cowboy Bebop the Movie - Knockin' on Heaven's Door
- "Once upon a time, in New York City in 1941... at this club open to all comers to play, night after night, at a club named "Minston's Play House" in Harlem, they play jazz sessions competing with each other. Young jazz men with a new sense are gathering. At last they created a new genre itself. They are sick and tired of the conventional fixed style jazz. They're eager to play jazz more freely as they wish then... in 2071 in the universe... The bounty hunters, who are gathering in the spaceship "BEBOP", will play freely without fear of risky things. They must create new dreams and films by breaking traditional styles. The work, which becomes a new genre itself, will be called... COWBOY BEBOP"
-- From director Shinichiro Watanabe[?]'s original Cowboy Bebop pitch.
The music from the series is written by Yoko Kanno and the Seat Belts, and primarily consists of jazz, but includes some new age, and even a little funk.
Cowboy Bebop is intended for a young adult audience, but is popular with children and teenagers as well.