[SPOILERS! MAJOR PLOT POINTS ARE DISCUSSED. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED...]

The Story & Characters:

Cowboy Bebop's story is...unique to say the least. For one thing, multiple stories are going on, one with each of the main crew, at least. Each of their stories isn't continuously built episode to episode, but rather has stop-and-go moments off and on, like in Spike and Faye's cases or in characters like Jet and Ed's cases, which are usually resolved in an episode exclusively focused on them. The other thing to also clarify is that this show takes a sort of minimalist approach, which, while I personally don't mind since I'm more of a show-don't-tell sort of person when it comes to my media, others may find a little hard to follow. I suppose that comes down to the viewer themselves and whether or not they'll enjoy it. Structure-wise, it's like a mature Saturday morning cartoon with a new villain each episode that gives us a glimpse into the universe and the various kinds of people in it while also giving us more of a glimpse into how the Bebop crew and their perspectives on everything around them. All in all, I found it engaging and enjoyable, especially since I had no clue what to expect episode to episode, even with the previews.

The Characters are also pretty out there. The Bebop crew are definitely some of the more unorthodox characters I've seen in anime, but that doesn't necessarily make them bad. Spike's my favorite in that he gets the most development, has some of the most iconic lines, and he, as a person, is genuinely interesting to watch. He can be an absolute loveable joker one moment, and if something makes him mad, he's dead serious the next. He carries a lot of weight on his shoulders...especially by the end. Faye...you either love or hate her. Me personally, I like her, and no, not because she's a bombshell. She gets her development later than Spike and even Jet, but her past and how she comes to terms with it are fascinating to watch. She goes from being someone very hoity and mean to genuinely being emotional and fragile, again showing that these characters have more going in internally than they let on. Jet's past isn't as strange as everyone else's, but he certainly has his own baggage too, with a certain lady and his past as a police officer. Basically, if the Bebop crew's a football team, he's definitely the Coach directing everyone. His banter with Spike is a treat to watch and shows how much time they've spent together without having to explain it too much. The other plus of seeing him put Faye in her place at times when she gets a little too bossy is also great. Edward is just straight-up the comedy of this show during her time with the crew while also doubling as the obligatory tech nerd of the group. I'll admit she gave me a couple of laughs with her antics, but if you're not super into 'quirky' characters, you're not gonna vibe with her at all. I will say, though, the episodes where she's focused on more and actually contributes to the plots of the episodes are great. Oh, and there's Ein, everyone's favorite little space pupper, who basically is just a cute little sidekick for Ed once she joins the crew. He's still one more little pupper and has his moments, too. Everyone's dynamics together as a team are...kind of amazing. Seriously, one of my favorite parts of this show was watching the crew go about their lives day to day on the Bebop, and I lowkey wish we got a little more of it.

Theory aside, I'll give it a solid A- in this department, only because of the minimalist approach to the character development and some story beats being a possible hindrance to the viewer's overall enjoyment of the series (though again, not me personally.)

The Visual & Sound Design:

Even its detractors will give this show credit for this: This show's got some amazing style to it.

Seriously, the varied environments, the mix of 90s-era and futuristic tech, the fashion of the residents on each planet, the animation with the action scenes (gunfights, dogfights, and hand-to-hand scenes), the character details that give more personality to the characters, it's all just...sublime. Sure, the CG's definitely aged, but in most cases it isn't too noticeable, and I think the animators tried their best to mask it, and it only caught my attention a couple of times when watching. But all in all, though, it oozes Noir, Cyberpunk, Western, and pretty much every genre it takes inspiration from pretty amazingly. Some of the shots in this show are amazing, just from looking at the stills of them alone. It also uses some slightly mixed media for things like the intermission cards, which is a nice touch. I can totally understand how people would adore this so much, and with how solid it is for its time and how well it's aged for the most part, it's a classic for its time right up there with Evangelion for me...though its early episodes don't look nearly as weird as that show's do.

Sound Design-wise, it's also really good. Again, this is one of the things I would say comes down to musical preference, but the mix of jazz, rock, acoustic, orchestral, and western music is really clean and none of it really feels out of place. I mean, it's Yoko Kanno who worked on it, who I absolutely love for her work on other shows like Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Wolf's Rain, and Darker Than Black. In that regard, I shouldn't be too surprised that she absolutely kills it here. The variety of songs combined with their perfect usage in their respective scenes absolutely sells the vibe this show is going for. This is one of those soundtracks that's up there with the all-time anime greats because of how solid it is. The voice acting is also incredible. Seriously, that English Dub is Death Note, Black Lagoon, and Fullmetal Alchemist-levels of good. Every single performance from Steve Blum to Melissa Fahn, everyone here fits like a glove for their characters, and the accuracy when comparing it to the subs genuinely amazed me how well they carried everything over. The Japanese Subs are also great. I mean, having Kōichi Yamadera certainly helps, I know him as Shun Akiyama from the Yakuza franchise and Ryoji Kaiji in Evangelion, and he, as always, slays with this work here and sells Spike's charming lazyboy attitude wonderfully, makes even more sense for him to go on to play Akiyama later in that regard.

Almost a perfect A+, but an A- for some of the aged CG. Other than that, this is one banger show with lots of style that I don't think I'll find in another anime I watch.

The Verdict:

Cowboy Bebop is one of the shows, for sure, that has its fans and detractors, and while I personally love this show, I can only recommend it to those who are willing to look past some of its flaws and see all of the other amazing stuff underneath it. I'd say if you want to watch something that's akin to a 'classic' anime, are a dub watcher looking for a peak anime dub, or like a lot of the genres and sound of everything I've brought up here, give it a go. It's a classic in my book, and I certainly understand why the fans love it so much. It's just a shame it took me so long to get around to watching it.