3, 2, 1, Lets Jam!

I think that it is fair to say that Cowboy Bebop (CB) is one of the  most popular anime series out there. It is certainly one of my favorites. This anime follows the adventures of a group of interplanetary bounty hunters as they traverse around the galaxy chasing the bad guys in their sloppy-jalopy spaceship, the Bebop. There is Jet, a former cop who is the Mr. Fix-it and the owner of the Bebop. Then, there is Spike, an former member of a crime syndicate that has a lackadaisical, easy going nature and amazing martial arts skills, but who is haunted by a mysterious past. The third member is a very hot (and very scantily dressed) woman named Faye Valentine, who is always causing trouble and coping an attitude. Next is Ed, a young computer hacker who posses some very strange mannerisms. Rounding out this crew of misfits is Ein, a "data dog" that possesses super-human intelligence and amazingly shrewd judgment (and yet, can't talk). All of these characters have very different personalities, and some of the best moments of this show come from the interactions between them. One great aspect of this series is that while Spike and his past is ultimately the focus of the story, each of the other main characters also has at least one episode devoted to their background and development. As a result, none of the characters seems underdeveloped, and by the end of the series, I felt genuinely attached to each of them.

This group inhabits a world that is set almost a hundred years from now. A disaster has left Earth a barren wasteland, and humanity has colonized the rest of the solar system with the aid of tera-forming and dimensional "jump gate technology." There are a wide range of settlements flung across Mars, Venus, the asteroid belt, and even the moons of Saturn and Jupiter. Not all of these colonies are utopian communities, either. There are slums (one colony is even named Tia Juana!), run-down backwaters where greed, corruption, and crime are rampant. Then again, there are also entire colonies devoted to amusement, such as the "Spaceworld" amusement park and a large colony that is devoted to gambling. The sheer scope of the vision of this series is astounding, but at its heart I always felt that this series is nothing more than a transplantation of our current society, good and bad, to the far-flung reaches of the solar system. As a result, the world of CB is both amazing and yet hauntingly familiar, and inherently believable.

There is barely a coherent plot line for this series. As I said before, the overall story arc deals with Spike, but many episodes make only passing mention of it. A major theme of the series is that each of the main characters have a past that is still affecting them in some way. The viewer is also led to believe that many weeks or even months have passed between the episode he is watching and the last one. Strangely, this doesn't effect the continuity of the series much. This is because CB leaves much to the imagination, giving the viewer only a general outline of an event and then leaving the viewer to fill in the details. In this manner, I found CB very engrossing, as I was constantly trying to figure out what the significance of a new snippet of animation might have for Spike's or Faye's past. This is similar to the sense that I got from shows such as Evangelion, which showcased secretive conspiracies being revealed bit by bit.

Technically, CB is a tour de force. The animation features a liberal helping of well done CG artwork integrated with hand drawn elements to make a coherent whole. Colorization and character design is also well done. Each character is distinct and recognizably different from the others, and yet they all fit into the show's style very well. The technology designs are fairly unique, although they borrow fairly heavily from many established science fiction conventions. The DVD version of this show brings the quality of the animation across very well. I noticed little or no pixilation in black areas, and the picture was rock solid without any jitter. The clarity was good enough for me to pick out several Star Trek references in freeze-frame!

The music of CB is one of the best anime soundtracks I have ever heard. It utilizes a style that draws very heavily from jazz and the blues, with enough Japanese wackiness mixed in to make it interesting. There are also a few haunting ballads, including the song "Rain," which is sung in English no less! The music fits the animation very well, and I found myself listening to it quite a bit when I am working.

When I went to purchase this series, I went for the box set, which includes a limited edition art box, the first volume of the soundtrack, and 6 DVD's containing all 26 episodes. The art box and the cover artwork for each disk is very well done. The DVD's themselves are made to look like old LP records...a very nice touch! The extras on the DVD's are mainly concentrated on the first 2 or 3 disks. After that, they peter out a bit. The extras include fascinating interviews with the Japanese voice cast and production crew, extended music videos, and art galleries. This set is definitely worth the $180 price tag if you don't own the DVD's yet and are looking to buy the series.

On the whole, CB is a well done anime series that has a lot of really good qualities. The characters are well developed, the music is highly addictive, and the animation is top-notch. I have a few issues with it, though. I don't think that humanity will realistically be able to tera-form and colonized the entire solar system in barely 70 years, for instance. These quibbles are minor, though. I heartily recommend this series to any anime fan, and I think most sci-fi fans would really enjoy this one too.

By Andy Rucker