Cowboy Bebop

Our Review

The anime that broke anime into the West — 26 episodes of television so complete they feel inevitable. In 2071, bounty hunter Spike Spiegel and his crew (Jet Black the ex-cop with a cybernetic arm, Faye Valentine the con artist with amnesia, Ed the hacker child, Ein the data-dog) chase wanted men across the solar system in the Bebop, a fishing-trawler-turned-starship, while Spike’s past in the Red Dragon syndicate closes in like a debt collector.

The jazz. Yoko Kanno’s soundtrack — bebop, blues, ballads — is the show’s soul, and the series is structured like an album: mostly standalone “sessions” with a tragic through-line, ending with a finale that gives Spike’s story the only ending it could have. Ballad of Fallen Angels (the church), Hard Luck Woman (Ed and Faye’s departures), and The Real Folk Blues (the end) — the peak run is unimprovable. The action is Hong Kong-cinema ballet; the melancholy is film noir; the last five minutes are the most famous ending in anime for a reason.

Verdict: Watch it. Whatever happens, happens. Then watch it again.