Cowboy Bebop

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Cowboy Bebop
Cowboy Bebop DVD Box Set
Cowboy Bebop DVD Box Set
カウボーイビバップ
(Kaubōi Bibappu)
Genre Comedy-drama, Space Western
TV anime: Cowboy Bebop
Director Shinichiro Watanabe
Writer Keiko Nobumoto
Studio Flag of Japan Sunrise, Bandai Visual
Network Flag of JapanTV Tokyo (1998-04-03 to 1998-06-19, 12 episodes only) Flag of Japan WOWOW (1998-10-23 to 1999-04-23, full series)
Flag of Japan Animax (full series)
Original run April 3, 1998 – April 23, 1999
Episodes 26
Manga: Cowboy Bebop: Shooting Star
Author Cain Kuga
Publisher Flag of JapanKadokawa Shoten
Demographic Shōjo[1]
Serialized in Flag of Japan Asuka Fantasy DX
Original run 1997[2]
Volumes 2
Manga: Cowboy Bebop
Author Hajime Yatate
Yutaka Nanten (art)
Publisher Flag of JapanKadokawa Shoten
Demographic Shōjo
Serialized in Flag of Japan Asuka Fantasy DX
Original run April 1998 – April 2000
Volumes 3

Cowboy Bebop (カウボーイビバップ Kaubōi Bibappu?) is a Japanese animated television series directed by Shinichiro Watanabe and written by Keiko Nobumoto. It consists of 26 episodes (called "sessions") produced by Sunrise, and follows the adventures of a group of bounty hunters traveling on their spaceship, the Bebop, in the year 2071.

Cowboy Bebop was a commercial success both in Japan and worldwide, notably in the United States. After its commercial success, Sony Pictures released the Cowboy Bebop movie, Knockin' on Heaven's Door to theaters worldwide and followed up with an international DVD release. Two Cowboy Bebop manga series were adapted based on the anime, as well as two video games, one each for the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 consoles.

Cowboy Bebop has been strongly influenced by American music, especially the jazz movements of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s and the early rock era of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Many of its action sequences, from space battles to hand-to-hand martial arts combat, are set and timed to music. Episodes are called Sessions (perhaps in reference to musicians playing a "jam session"), and titles are often borrowed from album or song names (such as Sympathy for the Devil or My Funny Valentine), or make use of a genre name ("Mushroom Samba") indicating the episode's musical theme.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Further information: List of Cowboy Bebop episodes

In the year 2071 AD, the crew of the spaceship Bebop travel the solar system trying to apprehend bounties. Nation-states have collapsed, and various races and peoples live throughout the solar system. In the slang of the era, "Cowboys" are bounty hunters. Most episodes revolve around a specific bounty, but the show often shares its focus with the pasts each of the four main characters and of more general past events, which are revealed and brought together as the series progresses.

[edit] Background

In the year 2021, ring-shaped hyperspace gateways (also referred to as "astral gates") were constructed across the solar system, allowing easy interplanetary travel. Unfortunately, the gate network contained a fatal instability that was ignored by the contractors who built the system. The instability grew until a gateway near Earth exploded, releasing a powerful burst of energy that cracked the Moon. In a cataclysmic disaster referred to as "The Gate Accident", meteoric debris from the devastated Moon rained down on the planet, destroying much of Earth's surface. The death toll was by far the most catastrophic in recorded history; around 4.7 billion lives were lost in the initial incident alone. Decades later, debris from the disaster still falls on Earth with the same frequency as rainstorms ("rock showers" are a part of daily weather forecasts), forcing those remaining on Earth to live mostly underground. Most left Earth after the Gate Incident and spread out across the solar system, living in colonies on Venus, Mars, some habitable asteroids, Saturn's moon Titan, and the Galilean moons of Jupiter, as well as many space stations and a penal colony on Pluto. As shown by posters and ads, the solar community is still very racially and culturally diverse, and English, French, Arabic, Hebrew, Spanish, Russian, Turkish, Korean, Chinese and Japanese are some of the languages shown to be currently used. The total population of the solar system in 2071, when the series takes place, is only 1.5 billion.

Many of Mars's impact craters were domed and transformed into thriving metropolitan areas for those who could afford it. Venus was terraformed, with oxygen provided by a species of oxygen-producing plants floating in the atmosphere. This is not a perfect process, however, since the spores of these plants cause “Venus Sickness” in some people. This condition, left untreated, may lead to blindness or death, and proper treatment is expensive. Many moons of Jupiter, such as Callisto, Io, Europa, and Ganymede, have been terraformed and colonized with varying degrees of success. Callisto is a cold, almost-inhospitable moon (with the entirely male city, Blue Crow). Meanwhile, Ganymede is almost completely covered by water and is known for its declining fishing industry. Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is a barren desert world whose population has been at war since the 2060s. The Titan War II in 2068 was survived by veterans such as the characters Vicious, Gren, Vincent, and Electra. There is a Solar System Penitentiary on Pluto, and certain asteroids (such as Tijuana, the asteroid colony seen in the first episode) have been colonized for their minerals and other natural resources.

After the advent of space travel, the bounty system of the Old West was reinstated by the government to help curb growing crime levels. 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 a heavily-accented Mexican named Punch and a perky blonde named Judy (a reference to the puppets of the same name). In addition, ruthless crime syndicates have large influence in the Solar System, indulging in such fields as bribery, murder, extortion, drug dealing, money laundering and other criminal offenses. The Woolong is the universal currency, and paper money is less common since more people carry convenient money cards and rely on digital transfers.

The technology in the world of Cowboy Bebop has undergone advances to accommodate 21st century life in the Solar System. Medical advancements such as artificial organs, organ regrowth and cryogenic freezing have been mastered and are in full use. Hardware called the “Alpha Catch” provides a mind-machine interface for capturing or projecting video from memories. Virtual reality gaming is standard, and analog hardware such as videocassettes (VHS or beta) can only be found as antiques. Finally, World Wide Web has evolved into a massive Solar System Web (SSW). With these technological advancements also came a new breed of hackers, known as "Net Divers" in slang.

Space travel is made relatively easy and casual; however, artificial gravity is still limited to centrifugal force. Some directed energy weapons have also been built, but ballistic and explosive weapons are principally used. In addition to that many gun models present today are widely used in the series.

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Cowboy Bebop characters
Promotional poster of Cowboy Bebop, featuring the crew of the Bebop.
Promotional poster of Cowboy Bebop, featuring the crew of the Bebop.

The series features distinctively different 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. Spike is a former member of the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate who is haunted by a past love triangle between his former syndicate partner, Vicious, and a mysterious woman named Julia. Jet is 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.

More characters are introduced and become members of the Bebop crew. The first was Ein, a Welsh Corgi and former lab animal identified as a "data dog" by the scientists who created him. The terminology for this title is never explained, however it is suggested that he possesses enhanced intelligence, which he displays in various ways such as operating the videophone and jumping on the steering-wheel of a would-be dognapper. In spite of his enhanced intelligence and comprehension, the rest of the Bebop crew typically fail to notice these qualities. He is usually depicted with typical dog habits and spends most of his time hanging around the ship.

Next was Faye Valentine, an amnesiac, awakened from a 54-year cryogenic slumber after being injured. She is tricked into assuming the debt of the man that woke her, and constantly attempts to gamble on quick cash as a solution to her debt. Her past and her real name (the name "Valentine" was given to her by a doctor) is a mystery, even to herself, and is unraveled progressively throughout the series.

The last addition was 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 masculine appearance. She gave herself the long and fanciful name "Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV" after running away to an orphanage by her father, but 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.

The main antagonist is Vicious, Spike's former syndicate partner. Though he is not featured in most of the episodes, he is mentioned and shown in flashbacks in several episodes throughout the series. Other antagonists include a variety of bounties that the crew hunt to collect funding. Although the Bebop crew is typically broke, its members manage to keep themselves afloat financially by capturing the occasional bounty-head.

[edit] Production

[edit] Staff

[edit] Reception

 This section needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2007)

[edit] 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.

In a 2006 poll by TV Asahi, Cowboy Bebop was voted 40th for Japan's all-time favorite anime.[3]

[edit] International

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.[4] It was successful enough to be broadcasted repeatedly for four years. It was rerun again in 2007.

[edit] Content ratings

Cowboy Bebop contains graphic violence, bad language, brief nudity, brief sexual content, and drug use. The given ratings are TV-MA-VLD in the USA (13+ on the DVD release), while the Adult Swim broadcast is rated TV-14-V with edits, MA15+ in Australia, 14A, 18A and 16+ in Quebec, Canada, 15 and 18 in Britain and 16 in Poland and Germany.

[edit] Longevity

A poll in the Japanese magazine Newtype USA 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.[5] In a recent poll by TV Asahi, Cowboy Bebop was 40th for Japan's Favorite Anime of 2006.[3] 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. The network has also moved Cowboy Bebop out of its anime lineup periodically in order to show other anime features such as Read or Die and Blue Gender.

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."[6]

[edit] Soundtrack

Main article: The Seatbelts
Cowboy Bebop's 2nd Original Soundtrack CD, entitled No Disc. Albums from the series rarely display art related to the show. Like the one above, they only indicate their connection by displaying the series name.
Cowboy Bebop's 2nd Original Soundtrack CD, entitled No Disc. Albums from the series rarely display art related to the show. Like the one above, they only indicate their connection by displaying the series name.

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. Many fans find the soundtracks enjoyable to listen to as albums on their own, independent of the series. Cowboy Bebop was voted by IGN in 2006 as having the greatest soundtrack for an anime.[7]

[edit] Cowboy Bebop The Series

[edit] Cowboy Bebop The Movie

[edit] Theme songs

Opening themes
# Transcription/Translation Performed by Episodes
1 "Tank!" The Seatbelts 1-25
Ending themes
# Transcription/Translation Performed by Episodes
1 "The Real Folk Blues" The Seatbelts feat. Mai Yamane 1-12, 14-25
2 "Space Lion" The Seatbelts 13
3 "Blue" The Seatbelts feat. Mai Yamane 26


Tim Jensen produced lyrics on some songs:

[edit] Other media

  • An official side story to Cowboy Bebop was released on the Original Cowboy Bebop 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.[8]

[edit] 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."[10] 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."[11]

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ Both manga were published in Asuka Fantasy DX, so they're both shōjo[1].
  2. ^ It seems a manga adaptation was published before the anime premiered. The first Shooting Star volume was released on May 1998 (ISBN 4048529358) by Asuka Comics DX, so it's safe to say that the manga began on November 1997 at the latest[2]. It takes an average of six months to publish enough chapters to fill a tankōbon and the first volume was released on May 1998.
  3. ^ a b Japan's Favorite TV Anime. Anime News Network (October 13, 2006). Retrieved on September 10, 2007.
  4. ^ Cowboy Bebop on Cartoon Network - Cowboy Bebop Spoilers, Episode Guides, Message Board | TVGuide.com
  5. ^ Newtype Press Release - Anime News Network
  6. ^ THEM Anime reviews - Cowboy Bebop
  7. ^ IGN: Top Ten Anime Themes and Soundtracks of All-Time, IGN.
  8. ^ Dai Sato (2001-04-16). Cowboy Bebop: UT. Bandai. Retrieved on February 11, 2007.
  9. ^ Cowboy Bebop for the PS2. GameSpot. Retrieved on February 28, 2007.
  10. ^ "The Director's Voice Shinichiro Watanabe Interview." CowboyBebop.com.
  11. ^ "Cowboy Bebop director Watanabe talks anime", by Jonathan McNamara; 02/14/06, "The Daily Texan".

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
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The Works of Shinichirō Watanabe
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Macross Plus · Cowboy Bebop · Samurai Champloo
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