Cowboy Bebop is one of the first few shows that got me to watch a lot of the mid to late-1900s anime. It’s one of the first few old-school shows that got me hooked for the longest time all because of the action as well as the incredibly intriguing premise. Watching this when I’m a teen made me wish there are more space-themed settings in anime because the atmosphere is sure as hell beautiful. While it’s incredibly enjoyable, the writing in this series as far as I’m concerned is good but not really as amazing as I thought it would be, especially after re-watching it.
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The story of this series is about two bounty hunters, Spike and Jet, who hover around the solar system while doing wacky stuff. The two also recruit Faye the broke gambler, Edward the computer genius, and Ein the engineered dog. While they’re on a trip bonding and catching criminals, they’re haunted by Spike’s twisted past. This plot makes for fantastic space adventures, especially for a medium that possibly neglects some of its golden genres for the longest time. This is really interesting but we’ll have to face the limits first. The first few episodes are quite underwhelming I’m afraid. I appreciate the setup this series brings but they felt a little too ambitious and stagnant for my liking. Not to mention, the direction behind it was nothing very special.
But as the series goes on, the story immediately became really good. The theming feels natural and the directing is better than it was. It focuses more on Spike and his crew overcoming the objectives while still being overwhelmed by the colorful evil. I still think it’s a little repetitive. I feel like the pacing could be a little bit better if it focuses just a bit more on the conflicts regarding the bizarre events the cast encounters and not just pure badassery or shit. But who the hell knows? It’s still an action-oriented series and sometimes, action can be a better story element as long as it’s more distinct on sequences.
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For the characters, I already did a quick breakdown of the main cast’s basics at the start so I’ll just move to my thoughts on them. The main characters are very interesting with their characteristics but as far as characterization goes, they’re not incredibly mind-blowing with growth or something like that. Faye is a fine character. She’s one of the few female leads with fanservice-ish looks that stand out from the others but her depth isn’t the best. She doesn’t bond with the main cast as well as I thought she should and she can be a little bossy for the wrong reasons at times. Ed is honestly annoying. Again, she’s not bad. She does have her moments where they stayed true to her character but she can be quite out of place. The main cast is decent but they could be better with character interactions.
That being said, Spike is still one of my favorite protagonists in anime. While he’s mostly known for being a pure human badass with his gun giggles, he is pretty much the key to exploring the series’ themes and conflicts. His relationships with the main cast, regardless of what I said earlier, are quite endearing, to say the least, especially with Jet. And Jet is also a good character. I feel like the characterization is carried by Spike and Jet, resulting in the other main characters being kind of more like side characters. Something’s a little off… And on the topic of side characters, the side cast is fine but really nothing to talk much about. The main villain, Vicious, was a little disappointing. His motives are interesting but as a character, he’s quite lacking. Vincent in the side story movie was a better villain than he is imho.
Oh! How can I forget about Ein, the objectively best character in the show? He's a good doggy. That's all there is to say about him.
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For the miscellaneous stuff around, the art style and animation are quite smooth. They show true human expressions and faithful action sequences. And as already said, the atmosphere is beautiful. The mechs are quite badass. My favorites are Swordfish II and Hammer Head for just how cool they are in action. The music is pretty top-notch. The soundtracks are one thing, but the first ending hits like a truck. If Berry Bee Benson asks if you like jazz, show him the OST. The Japanese voice acting is criminally underrated, but you do NOT want to get caught not watching this in English. Cowboy Bebop has by far my favorite English dub in the whole series. It just makes the experience of watching the series more refreshing. It’s even better when considering the fact that the whole show is American-themed.
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That does it for my thoughts on Cowboy Bebop. I’m sure I’ve missed a few (or a lot of) points but yeah. Let’s summarize a bit. The series is good but not all that amazing. The story was pretty much saved in the middle portions and the characters minus Spike and Jet could be better. But that’s just me. Regardless of its handful of flaws, it’s still a classic must-watch. I know it’s not for everybody despite its impressive popularity. But if you’re looking for space-themed anime with guns and all then this is the sweet spot. Thanks for reading! 
