Cowboy Bebop - Reviews

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Th3Laugh1ngMan's avatar
Mar 17, 2016

Perhaps the greatest anime of all time is Cowboy Bebop. However, many people think animes like Code Geass, Neon Genensis Evangelion, and/or Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood are the best. On the other hand, Cowboy Bebop, unlike any other, has the the animation that is incomparable to any other. That is to say its animation unlike Brotherhood's, is kind of dark and extremely realistic. Specifically, Mars (or whatever planet they spend the most time on) is full of brown and tan colors. Even more, their spaceships look sort of dank and dark. Second, the music is masterful. To put it another way, there are so many jazz songs and each one had managed to fit the episode perfectly. Also, the characters are extremely likeable, mostly Spike and Faye. Without doubt, these four character tied in really well with every episode, slowly revealing a little more about each character, their happiness and their sorrows. The hardest part about explaining Cowboy Bebop is how the stories, which most seemed actually laid back, has managed to grip so many people. In fact, the stories of each episode at first seem so simple. Yes, no, the stories don't seem to be what makes each episode have the depths. In fact, it is the characters, seeing how they react, even in the most subtle ways possible that tells alot about each character. Without doubt, this show is completely character driven.

To conclude, this show is at the top, even beating Brotherhood because honestly, this show felt like it had more less the same amount of depths yet this show had a lot less episodes and didnt seem to have as much content. Next, this show had no glaring flaws, even with their stories and pacings. In addition, this show didn't have as many plot twists as NGE or Brotherhood and yet you just felt like you got just as much out of it if not slightly more. Finally, the ending is masterful, just those last five minutes explain so much of the characters' motives without actually saying it. To sum up, this show managed to appeal to an incredibly wide audience which explains its sucess.

10/10 story
10/10 animation
10/10 sound
10/10 characters
10/10 overall
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luca109's avatar
Oct 20, 2009

If you want to watch a unique anime, you should try Cowboy Bebop. The cool about this anime series is that the story-line it is  not made as an common anime story that you have to watch every single episode to catch with it. Cowboy bebop show the lives of four bounty hunters in the future.

The vision of the future in Cowboy Bebop i think it is incredible, if you wacthed you will see that is more real, with more coherence than other series. The characters blow up, all of them, they have strong personalities and a past that are revealed in some episodes.

And don't forget about the music, it is one of the most important aspects of this series, they are living in the future and we are hearing jazz and blues, music from the 40, combining this with the action scene and the romantic ones( ok theres is a little romance but in a good way, in the style of the film noir) it is awesome and a great anime experience.

I recommended this anime to all of you, it is a must SEE! 

10/10 story
10/10 animation
10/10 sound
10/10 characters
10/10 overall
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Tim1366's avatar
Jun 16, 2023

Well where do i even start when talking about cowboy bebop. its a show that i and i am sure many others hear about all the time and for good reason. its a show you have to see at least one time. the world is really cool to travel around in but for me the selling point for bebop is the characters. each of the main cast could carry a show all on their own and they bounce off each other very well. but dont over look the side characters that stick in your mind as soon as you see them. my favorite of these would probably be VT the cool trucker lady we meet in one episode. this show has a bit of everything funny moments sad moments very well done action scenes better then some movies i have seen and of course the soundtrack is a nonstop hit factory. i am so glad i finally got to see it 

10/10 story
10/10 animation
10/10 sound
10/10 characters
10/10 overall
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zolfeK's avatar
Aug 26, 2013

COWBOY BEBOP ANIME REVIEW

Reviewer Name: Zolfe 
Date Posted: 8/26/13
Genre: Sci-Fi, Seinen, Adventure, Episodic

As an anime reviewer I plan to write a fair review for any show I watch with as few spoilers as I can, but will also use my own opinions to rate it because this is my review. My word is not law, you can find that you don't feel exactly the same way as I do and that's fine. Cowboy Bebop is a 1998 anime produced by Sunrise Studios and can be found on countless anime websites.

Story
Score: 7/10
Cowboy Bebop takes place in the not so distant future, mostly in various areas of the Sol Solar System. Earth has become less hospitable and space travel has flourished. Along with the usual force of the law there are also bounty hunters, such as our main characters Spike and Jet. They find high priced bounties on either the bounty program on television or on their computer and go after them. The show is episodic so it is rare for any bounties to be really related to each other, but it an happen. Having several one episode plots rather than one solid plot makes everything seem a little sudden but it's something you get used to.

Artwork
Score: 10/10
Cowboy Bebop has that retro feel when it comes to its animation because it came out in 1998, a time when a majority of these shows were hand drawn and not so digitally animated. The art style works very well though. The color palette used for the show is vibrant when it needs to be, examples include the characters Faye Valentine and Radical Edward. But as I mentioned before the world is less hospitable and there is a lot of space travel. When in space or in a rundown location, the color palette is brought down accordingly. Basically the show's visual aesthetics are perfect, in my opinion.

Characters
Score: 10/10
The characters that come up in Cowboy Bebop that I feel should be mentioned in this review include: Spike, Jet, Faye, Edward, and I guess.... Ein. Every character in Cowboy Bebop feels almost normal and very human except for Ein. 
Spike is the main character, a bounty hunter that has been working alongside Jet since before the show began. He has a very collected personality for the most part but can flip out from time to time. He is kind man, but not enough to let the sickest people he chases have it easy. He has an average weight on a pretty tall frame and knows martial arts and marksmanship. 
Jet is taller, more muscular, and has a robotic arm to replace the one he lost. He is bald with kind of odd facial hair. He functions as the Bebop's chef, gathers information, and has deep conversations with Spike that the viewer might take to heart. He feels like the oldest brother he can relate to anyone who is aboard the Bebop but he is the one who keeps everything together.
Faye has a slender frame, dark purple hair, and green eyes. She dresses kind of scantily-clad with a tight, yellow, leather vest and a pretty short pair of shorts. She is a bounty hunter with a devious personality. She loves to gamble and doesn't care if she wins, she is a woman that like to get caught up in the thrills. She does whatever she needs to to get money.
Edward was my favorite character. A little tan child who looks about the age of 12, with bright red hair, a little white tanktop, and tight black shorts. Edward is androgynous but is most often thought to be a girl despite the name Edward. Edward acts like a younger child at times making sing-song word comparisons to things that come up in conversation among the others, but is also very gifted as a hacker.
Ein. Ein is a corgi that ends up becoming an unofficial member of the Bebop. Ein gets what he's thinking out to everyone from time to time, but is mostly just your ordinary corgi. He gets along best with Edward and Jet and is pretty much just along for the ride.

Soundtrack
Score: 10/10
The opening theme "Tank!" and the closing theme "The Real Folk Blues" are both beautifully composed pieces of music that get you pumped for each episode and bring you back down to earth respectively. Yoko Kanno composed the themes and the background music for the show and as always she did no short of amazing. The voice actors in the original Japanese version of the show did perfect for their characters. If the character wasn't that outrageous, his voice wasn't outrageous. If the character was , it was. You can easily see each voice coming out of their character.

Target Audience
Cowboy Bebop is a show that anyone can enjoy to a certain extent, but I feel that an older audience would best understand the show and be okay with the slower parts of the episodes. Women might like the show but I feel it reaches out to men more.

Overall
Score: 9/10 (average of all other sections +/- reviewers own justified opinion)
Cowboy Bebop is a critically acclaimed anime title often rated very high on lists of best anime ever. At first I wasn't totally understanding of that, but as the show went on I realized that while it wasn't my favorite show it was one of the most well put together. The show is episodic and I feel it should be taken at a slow pace. The people that I know enjoyed it most are the people who watched it on Adult Swim, who watched no more than an episode a day. And that about wraps her up. As they say at the end title card of most episodes "See You Space Cowboy."

7/10 story
10/10 animation
10/10 sound
10/10 characters
9/10 overall
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DarK1905's avatar
Jun 5, 2023

I recently had the pleasure of experiencing the timeless anime masterpiece that is Cowboy Bebop.

While it may take a little time to gain momentum, the series gradually unveils its true brilliance. Initially, the characters may come across as underdeveloped, with Faye and Jet being somewhat unlikable, and Spike's limited presence can be a bit frustrating. The sense of isolation and silence among the crew members can also grate on one's nerves. Furthermore, Ed's character can be quite grating at first, and the episodes themselves exhibit varying degrees of success. This disparity is particularly noticeable when comparing the 16th and 17th episodes.

In my opinion, the 16th episode stands out as the pinnacle of the entire series, while the 17th episode proves to be the most vexing. However, everything changes by the 12th episode at the latest. Up until this point, it is entertaining to witness the crew stumble through their missions. However, from here on, the characters gradually gain more depth, and the anime as a whole becomes increasingly emotional. It becomes engrossing and delightful to watch this crew's failures. Moreover, the dynamics of their relationships with one another become more intriguing and relatable.

The true gem lies in the individual stories of the characters, which bear a striking resemblance to the narrative structure of the PlayStation 1 Final Fantasy era. These stories are by no means inferior to those of the renowned game series. Much like Final Fantasy, Cowboy Bebop's character arcs build up to an extraordinary finale, rarely achieved in other anime.

After the 12th episode, the series hits its stride, delivering one exceptional episode after another (except for episode 17), leading to an emotionally charged climax of unparalleled brilliance.

Oh, and let's not forget the ingenious element of the series—the music. It starts off brilliantly and continues to elevate with each passing episode, enhancing the overall experience to new height

10/10 story
10/10 animation
10/10 sound
10/10 characters
10/10 overall
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