Cowboy Bebop
While last week we took a look at what happens when anime inspires the American cartoon, this time it’s time to look the other way and see what happens when the Old West inspires some of Japan’s finest.
What we end up with is Cowboy Bebop, an anime absolutely drenched in American influences but still quintessentially Japanese and the perfect introduction into the world of anime.
The show focuses on Spike Spiegel, a bounty hunter (or ‘Cowboy’) and the rest of the mismatched crew on the spaceship BeBop in the year 2071. They are Jet, the grizzled old copper now working as a Cowboy, Faye, a novice bounty hunter who will use every dirty trick in the book to get what she wants, Ed, a very young and eccentric hacker who speaks very little sense and Ein, a rather bright Corgi.
Over the course of its single series, the crew travel around the solar system hunting down criminals each week and generally getting themselves embroiled in all sorts of trouble.
Cowboy Bebop wears its influences on its sleeve. Alongside the name, the western vibe is a key part of Bebop, from the almost Butch Cassidy relationship between Spike and Jet, to the often visited deserts and the occasional standoff between the crew of the ship and their bounties.
The noir genre also permeates through the entire show, from the dingy, rain soaked alleys to the jazz soundtrack. It also deals fast and loose with its references to Alien, Star Wars and John Woo and Bruce Lee action films of yester year.
It may sound like a bit of a hodgepodge, but it all comes together beautifully, with the show feeling wonderfully layered throughout as well as so simply accessible for those new to the genre.
The show lasted for 26 episodes back in 1998 (a traditional full length season in Japan), with the creators never intending of extending the show. Knowing it would be thoroughly self-contained, it allowed for the show’s writers to let the series build to a heart breaking and jaw slackening crescendo.
Few shows, animated or not, have a more fitting and tone-perfect ending than Cowboy Bebop.
The success of the show forced the animators to dive into the world of Spike Spiegel for a 2001 film outing. While a common occurrence in Japan, film spinoff of anime show’s often just feel like lazy rehashes of the show. Not Bebop’s big screen outing though.
It still stands as one of the truly successful film spinoffs, managing to not only up the stakes, but come up with new, interesting characters and yet still weave the entire film’s events into the original show’s structure.
Over a decade on and Cowboy Bebop is now considered a classic show by many, both in the US and in Japan, with Anime Insider magazine naming it their favourite animation of all time back in 2007.
The enormous praise is completely deserved though, as no Japanese anime, before or since, has been able to mix together the same levels of accessibility, style, humour and action the Cowboy Bebop did with consummate ease.
While purists may argue that it’s only truly watchable in the original Japanese, those uncomfortable with subtitles need not fear, as Cowboy Bebop has one of the best dubs out there, making it even easier for Western audiences to grab a hold of.
Thrilling, funny and brilliantly paced, Cowboy Bebop is not only a must see for any lovers of animation, but an essential part of any serious drama buffs collection.
FemaleFist Cameron Smith.
Tagged in Hidden Gems