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Cowboy Bebop
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is a Japanese animated television series. Directed by Shinichiro Watanabe and written by Keiko Nobumoto, Cowboy Bebop was produced by Sunrise. Consisting of 26 episodes, the series follows the adventures of a group of bounty hunters, or "cowboys", traveling on their spaceship, the Bebop, in the year 2071. In 2004, it ranked second in Newtype USA's survey of their readers' favorite animes of all time.
Cowboy Bebop was a commercial success both in Japan and international markets, notably in the United States.
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is a Japanese animated television series. Directed by Shinichiro Watanabe and written by Keiko Nobumoto, Cowboy Bebop was produced by Sunrise. Consisting of 26 episodes, the series follows the adventures of a group of bounty hunters, or "cowboys", traveling on their spaceship, the Bebop, in the year 2071. In 2004, it ranked second in Newtype USA's survey of their readers' favorite animes of all time.
Cowboy Bebop was a commercial success both in Japan and international markets, notably in the United States. After this reception, Sony Pictures released a feature film, Knockin' on Heaven's Door to theaters worldwide and followed up with an international DVD release. Two manga adaptations were serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Asuka Fantasy DX.
Cowboy Bebop has been strongly influenced by American music, especially the jazz movements of the 1940s-60s and the early rock era of the 1950s-70s. Many of its action sequences, from space battles to hand-to-hand martial arts combat, are set and timed to music. Following the musical theme, episodes are called Sessions, and the episode titles are often borrowed from album or song names ("Sympathy for the Devil", "Honky Tonk Women", or "My Funny Valentine" to name a few), or make use of a genre name ("Mushroom Samba" or "Heavy Metal Queen") indicating a given episode's musical theme.
Plot
In the year 2021 AD, the first "Astral Gate" is built in orbit around the Moon; a hyperspace gateway meant to expedite space colonization by making travel between planets a matter of days instead of months or years. This gate, due to an internal defect, is destroyed in an incident that comes to be known as the "Gate Accident"; the gate exploded, and a massive blast of energy erupted from the gate and cracked the surface of the Moon, destroying a large part of it. Lunar debris immediately began to fall upon the Earth, devastating the planet's surface and killing 4.7 billion people. Fifty years later the human race numbers only 1.6 billion, but has colonized the entire Solar System through the use of perfected Gates.
While the Earth is still inhabited, its few remaining denizens must shelter themselves from the continuing rock falls in underground cities. With reconstruction rendered impossible by the rock falls, the human race instead terraformed other bodies of the Solar System including a variety of space habitats and industrialized asteroids. This solar community maintains a high level of racial and cultural diversity, and continues to use a large number of different languages, artwork and governments. However, its economy is predominantly Asian, using a nondivisible currency called the Woolong.
The population crash has led to a relative stagnation in technological development, though the Gates make space travel relatively easy. Directed energy weapons exist, but are large and dependent on heavy power sources. Gunpowder-based projectile weapons are the mainstay of combat, and many gun models from the beginning of the 20th century continue to be widely used.
As the Gates make it possible to cross the System in a matter of weeks, it became unfeasible for law enforcement to pursue criminals away from a given world. Criminal activity increased at every level of society; small-time criminals could act with relative impunity, and ruthless crime syndicates became as powerful as multinational corporations. In response, the bounty system of the Old West was reinstated throughout the System. Bounty hunters are encouraged to capture criminals and return them (alive and relatively unharmed) to the authorities for monetary rewards, in part through a regular television broadcast of "Big Shot", a bounty-hunter news program featuring Punch and Judy. This TV show is broadcast with a western motif and in the slang of the era, the term "Cowboys" refers to bounty hunters.
The crew of the spaceship Bebop are a partnership of "cowboys" (originally Spike & Jet) who travel the solar system trying to apprehend bounties. The Bebop is made up of a bridge, general living quarters, storage for food and supplies, and a small hangar to allow docking of smaller one-man space vessels. Jet owns the Bebop itself, but has partnered with Spike for his diverse combat skills; he is a master of Jeet Kune Do, marksmanship, and space fighter combat. Though he is reluctant to admit it, Jet has also come to rely on Spike for companionship in the normally solitary field of bounty hunting. The entire system is open to them via the Gates, but they regularly spend much of their time on Mars, the new hub of human civilization.
Most episodes revolve around attempts to bring in a specific bounty, but the show often shares its focus with the pasts of each of the main characters and of more general past events, which are revealed and brought together as the series progresses. Some of the Bebop's varied targets include small time thugs, gangsters, hackers (known as "Net Divers" in slang), religious leaders, psychopaths, genetic experiments, mutant creatures and petty thieves.
Characters
The series features a crew of distinct main characters. The first two introduced in the series are Spike Spiegel and Jet Black. The two pilot their former fishing trawler spaceship, the Bebop, and work as bounty hunters. As the series progresses, more characters are introduced and become members of the Bebop crew.
Antagonists include a variety of bounties that the crew hunt to collect funding, including Faye. Although the Bebop crew is typically broke, its members manage to keep themselves afloat financially by capturing the occasional bounty-head.
Spike Spiegel is a former member of the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate who is haunted by the memory of his time in the organization, namely his romantic relationship with a mysterious woman named Julia, and his arch-rival and former syndicate partner, Vicious.
Jet Black, a former Inter-Solar System Police (ISSP) officer and the owner of the Bebop. Once called "The Black Dog" by his fellow officers for his relentless nature, he bears a cybernetic arm as constant reminder of what happened when he rushed into trouble without looking first. Like Spike, he is haunted by the memory of a woman: Alisa, his longtime girlfriend who left him without notice.
Ein, a Welsh Corgi and former lab animal identified as a "data dog" by the scientists who created him. The reason for this title is never explained, but it is suggested that he possesses enhanced intelligence, which he displays in subtle ways throughout the series. Despite his enhanced intelligence and comprehension, the rest of the Bebop crew typically fail to notice these qualities.
Faye Valentine, an amnesiac awakened from a 54-year cryogenic slumber after being injured. She is tricked into assuming the massive debt of the man who woke her, and constantly attempts to gamble on quick cash as a solution to her debt. Her gambling and competitive skills are unrivaled as she has won every game in her life, except when playing Spike, when introduced in the series. Her past and her real name are a mystery as the name "Valentine" was given to her by a doctor. Her history is unraveled progressively throughout the series.
Edward, a young, eccentric computer genius and master hacker. Though she is a girl, there is a popular confusion as to Ed's gender due to her name and androgynous appearance. She gave herself the long and fanciful name "Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV" after running away to an orphanage, but after her father is found it is revealed later on that her real name is Françoise Appledelhi. She goes by the name Radical Edward when hacking, and commonly spends the most time with Ein.
Vicious, Spike's former syndicate partner and the only recurring antagonist of the series. He is seen in several episodes grabbing for power within the organization by killing members of the organization's leadership. His relationship with Spike and Julia is displayed through flashbacks that Spike experiences, but never explained in detail.
Julia, a beautiful and mysterious woman from both Spike and Vicious' pasts. Despite being among the main driving points for the entire series, Julia only appears in flashbacks until the final two episodes of the series. She acts as a stark contrast to the world around her—her blond hair, bright red umbrella and automobile stand out in the otherwise drab environments that she inhabits.
Production
Staff
Reception
Japan
Cowboy Bebop almost did not appear on Japanese broadcast television due to its depictions of violence. It was first sent to TV Tokyo, one of the main broadcasters of anime in Japan. The show had an aborted first run from April 3, 1998 until June 19, 1998 on TV Tokyo, broadcasting only episodes 2, 3, 7 to 15 and 18.
Later that year, the series was shown in its entirety from October 23 until April 23, 1999, on the satellite network WOWOW. With the TV Tokyo broadcast slot fiasco, the production schedule was disrupted to the extent that the last episode was delivered to WOWOW on the day of its broadcast. Cowboy Bebop won the Seiun Award in 2000.
The full series has also been broadcast across Japan by the anime television network, Animax, who has also aired the series via its respective networks across Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia. Cowboy Bebop was popular enough that the movie, Cowboy Bebop: Tengoku no Tobira (Knockin' on Heaven's Door), was commissioned and released in Japan in 2001, and later released in the United States as Cowboy Bebop: The Movie in 2003.
International
- In the United States, on September 2, 2001, Cowboy Bebop became the first anime title to be shown as part of the U.S. Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block. It was successful enough to be broadcast repeatedly for four years. It was rerun again in 2007 and 2008 also in the first part of 2009
- In the United Kingdom, Cowboy Bebop was first broadcast in 2002 as one of the highlights of the ill-fated "cartoon network for adults", CNX. As of November 6, 2007, it is being repeated on AnimeCentral.
- In Australia, Cowboy Bebop was first broadcast in 2002 on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, and began broadcasting on ABC2, a digital free-to-air network, on January 2, 2007. It has recently started broadcasting on the Sci Fi Channel on Foxtel. It has also recently started airing again on ABC2. Also, it aired "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie" on 23rd of February 2009 on SBS.
- In France, Cowboy Bebop was broadcast during summer 2000 on Canal+.
- In Germany, Cowboy Bebop was broadcast during 2003-2004 on MTV.
- In Poland, Cowboy Bebop was broadcast several times by Hyper and TVP Kultura.
- In Israel, Cowboy Bebop was broadcast during 2001-2002 on Bip's late-night anime block.
- In Spain, Cowboy Bebop was broadcast during 1999 in Cartoon Network, in the first Toonami version programming block, Thursday and Saturday's late-nights with Samurai Jack and Outlaw Star, during the early 2000s in K3's 3XL.net and the summer of 2006 on Cuatro's late-night show Cuatrosfera.
- In Canada, Cowboy Bebop was first broadcast on December 24, 2006, on Razer.
- In Italy, Cowboy Bebop was broadcast after November 1999 on MTV and again in 2007.
- In Singapore, Cowboy Bebop was broadcast on Arts Central at the 11 pm time slot, and had several scenes cut for violence and other graphic content.
- In Portugal, Cowboy Bebop was broadcast on SIC Radical in 2001, 2007 and started once again in May 2008.
- In The Netherlands, The first five episodes of Cowboy Bebop were broadcast by TMF in 2005.
- In Latin America, Cowboy Bebop was broadcast in 2001 on Locomotion.
- In The Philippines, Cowboy Bebop was first broadcast on 2004, on GMA Network. It was recently shown on TV5
- In India, Cowboy Bebop was broadcast several times since 2006 on Animax
Legacy
A poll in the Japanese magazine Newtype asked its readers to rank the "Top 25 Anime Titles of All Time"; Cowboy Bebop placed second (behind Neon Genesis Evangelion) on a list that included such anime as Mobile Suit Gundam. In a recent poll by TV Asahi, Cowboy Bebop was 40th for Japan's Favorite Anime of 2006. The American Anime magazine Anime Insider (No. 50, November 2007) ranked the 50 best anime (available in America) by compiling lists of industry regulars and magazine staff, with Cowboy Bebop ranked as #1.
In the U.S., Cartoon Network has regularly rotated Cowboy Bebop in and out of its Adult Swim block line-up several times.
T.H.E.M Anime Reviews say the series has "sophistication and subtlety that is practically one-of-a-kind" and that "puts most anime...and Hollywood, to shame."
Influence on pop culture
At the conclusion of the final broadcast of Cartoon Network's long-standing Toonami block, the host character TOM (who had been voiced by Steven Blum, the American voice actor who played Spike Spiegel) uttered "Bang" right before the broadcast signed off for the final time, which was also the final line spoken by Spike in the final episode of Cowboy Bebop.
Soundtrack
One of the most notable elements of Cowboy Bebop is its music. Performed by Yoko Kanno and The Seatbelts, a band Kanno assembled to perform music for the series, the jazz and blues themed soundtrack helps to define the show as much as the characters, writing, and even animation. Cowboy Bebop was voted by IGN in 2006 as having the greatest soundtrack for an anime.
Cowboy Bebop The Series
- Cowboy Bebop
- Vitaminless
- No Disc
- Blue
- Remixes: Music for Freelance sets itself in the Cowboy Bebop universe, and purports to be a broadcast from the pirate radio station Radio Free Mars. This album includes remixes of Seatbelts tracks from the previous 4 albums, remixed by popular American and British DJs.
- Box Set: CD box set - A compilation of tracks from the first 4 albums, and previously unreleased/live material as well as dialogue tracks.
- Greatest Hits: Tank! THE! BEST!
Cowboy Bebop The Movie
Theme songs
Tim Jensen produced lyrics on some songs:
Other media
- An official side story to Cowboy Bebop was released on the original website called Cowboy Bebop: UT. Taking place long before the series started, it features Ural and Victoria Terpsichore (V.T. from the episode "Heavy Metal Queen") when they were bounty hunters. The story is available at the site mirror hosted by Jazzmess.com.
- Bandai released a Cowboy Bebop shoot 'em up video game in Japan for the PlayStation in 1998. A PlayStation 2 Cowboy Bebop video game was released in Japan, and the English version had been set for release in North America during the first quarter of 2006. However, as of November 2007, GameSpot reports that the North American release has been canceled.
Live-action movie
On July 22, 2008, IF Magazine published an article on its website regarding a rumor of a live-action Cowboy Bebop movie that is in development by 20th Century Fox. Producer Erwin Stoff said that the film's development was in the early stages, and that they had "just signed it". Keanu Reeves has been confirmed as playing the role of Spike Spiegel. It has also been confirmed through Variety in a January 15, 2009 article, that the production company, Sunrise, Inc., will be "closely involved with the development of the English language project" and that Kenji Uchida, Shinichiro Watanabe, and series writer Keiko Nobumoto has been confirmed to be associate producers and that series producer Masahiko Minami has been confirmed as a production consultant. Variety also confirms that Peter Craig is currently attached as screenwriter.
Continuation rumors
After the creation of the series, an interviewer asked Watanabe if he had any plans to create more Cowboy Bebop material. Watanabe responded by saying that he does not believe that he "should just keep on making Cowboy Bebop sequels for the sake of it". Watanabe added that ending production and "to quit while we're ahead when people still want more" is more "in keeping with the Bebop spirit". In a more recent interview from 2006 with the Daily Texan Watanabe was asked if there would ever be more Cowboy Bebop. Watanabe's answer was "someday, maybe someday".
External links
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