If I were to describe what it's like to watch Cowboy Bebop, I think I'd say that it's like becoming a part of a pre-existing friend group, starting a new job or going to a new school. Everyone there already knows each other, their history, what they like, different quirks and all that kind of stuff, but you have to begin learning them by yourself. No one is going to take time to explain their past outright, so it's up to you to pick up on cues and listen in on conversations. This might be something new for you, but to everyone else it's just another day at the job. We join the Bebop crew in just another one of their many adventures, not at the beginning or end of anything. It's in 'just another day' that we join in, and it's in 'just another day' that Faye and Ed come into the mix as well. Now, the fact that the two other main characters are introduced this way is really important to the story, because they, especially Faye, represent what the audience is like as they come into the story as well. She doesn't know anything about Spike and Jet, similar to us. A decent chunk of history is told because Faye wants to know more about the two people she's going to end up traveling with.

And on that note, the way that each episode fall into place within the whole series builds upon the way that we get to know our characters too. You never know if the next episode is going to be just another adventure, a part of a character's arc or a part of a character's history. And that's not to say that the bounty hunting parts are not filled with small details that build upon a character either. Just like with real people, sometimes you talk just to have fun and sometimes you get to know a lot more about their past, who they are or hopes for the future. Some episodes are funny and lighthearted, some are dark and depressing, but all of that is to be expected of life. In the beginning you want to know about the character's past so much, but for some of them you won't get to know it until the very end. People become ready to share when they feel like it, and this show holds onto some of its secrets for as long as it sees fit too.

And so after looking at what it's like to join and be a part of the crew, it's finally time to talk about what it's like leaving. I think it's really described best when we look at Ed, who comes to have fun and leaves to find something more important. At first I was expecting her to come back much like Faye did, and so I was understandably sad when she didn't, but I think the story makes more sense with her gone. There's always going to be times when we have to go, to leave our friends and loved ones for one reason or another. Sometimes we get to go back and sometimes we don't. We only played a small part in their lives as a whole, but that doesn't mean that they didn't matter to us nor that we didn't matter to them. Every episodic character is changed by the crew in ways both big and small, and you could say that we the audience have been too.

To sum up my thoughts on Cowboy Bebop, it feels like I got to meet new friends for the first time. Though it was only for a short time, I got to learn about who they were, what they enjoy and the struggles that they face. I don't know everything about them, but what I do know I can appreciate. Not ever secret is ever revealed, and they don't need to be. To know the characters like a book is to take away from knowing them as a person. And so, as the curtains close on the story, the lives of Spike, Jet, Faye and Ed go on, and so does mine, changed by the people we've gotten to meet and the things we've experienced.

Now throughout this whole thing I haven't even mentioned the art, music, dub or realistically designed characters that also play a huge part in why I enjoy Cowboy Bebop, but other people can definitely explain that much better than I can. I'd highly suggest this anime if you're looking for something different to enjoy.