Increased budget and production facilities enabled the use of filming styles associated with live action films and a higher animation quality than the series. So as not to alienate fans of the series, a large amount of aesthetic material was incorporated, while also adjusting it to make it accessible to newcomers.
The film was conceived by Watanabe as an extension of his work on the television series, which he treated as a series of miniature films. The bounty hunter crew of the spaceship Bebop work to find the terrorist and discover the pathogen’s source before the attack can take place. The plot centers on a mysterious terrorist planning to destroy the human population on Mars using an unknown pathogen.
The original Japanese and English voice cast also reprised their roles.Ĭowboy Bebop: The Movie is set between episodes 22 and 23 of the original series. Multiple staff from the original series worked on the film, including director Shinichirō Watanabe writer Keiko Nobumoto character designer/animation director Toshihiro Kawamoto and composer Yoko Kanno.
Cowboy Bebop: Heaven's Door), is a 2001 Japanese animated science fiction film based on the 1998 anime series Cowboy Bebop created by Hajime Yatate. Toybox REVIEW: Doctor Who Classics The Master & Ax.Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, known in Japan as Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door ( Japanese: カウボーイビバップ 天国の扉, Hepburn: Kaubōi Bibappu: Tengoku no Tobira, lit.This is something not only anime fans will enjoy, but one that has something for everyone. With a perfect series length that doesn't drag nor feel too short, fully fleshed out characters, superb writing, an ending with enough ambiguity to keep the viewer second guessing about the fate of our heroes, along with brilliant animation along with a soundtrack like no other, there is nothing about Cowboy Bebop that is in need of bettering. But Cowboy Bebop is definitely one of those. Kanno's score also continues to excel expectations.Ī truly perfect series is a very rare thing indeed. While the film itself isn't quite up to the standard of the series, it's still a fun ride and a highly enjoyable movie, putting the Bebop crew up against larger stakes, resulting in a much more widescale plot and some fantastic action sequences. This trend doesn't only follow in the series, but also extends to Bebop's movie, entitled Knockin' On Heaven's Door, set somewhere between episodes 22 and 23. Music's influence over the series can also be seen in the episode titles, which either make use of a genre name ( Cowboy Funk, Jupiter Jazz) or pay homage to rock music from the 70s/80s (examples include Hard Luck Woman, Toys in the Attic and Bohemian Rhapsody ). Yoko Kanno (of Macross Plus, Escaflowne and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex fame to name a few) creates a score for the series that is like no other, assembling a band (called 'The Seatbelts') to create the jazz and blues style music throughout the series, and their hard work pays off to great effect. The animation and writing quality isn't the only thing that really sets Cowboy Bebop apart from other animes though, this music also plays a significant part in creating the flavour that the show offers. From sinister assassins with childlike minds to a more comedic tale concerning Ed and some hallucinogenic mushrooms, Bebop's stories are a perfect blend of action, comedy and, usually, a deeper meaning. Not that the self contained episode is a bad thing, because they each deal with very different things and have very different styles. While the show does follow a fairly "bounty of the week" format, every so often the episodes are interspaced with insight into the characters' pasts (Spike as a former member of a crime syndicate, Jet as a former ISSP officer, Faye's mysterious forgotten past etc.), which (in Spike' case anyway) builds up toward an explosive finale.
I think it might be time to see what all of the fuss is about.Ĭowboy Bebop is a 26 episode (and one movie, but we'll come to that later) series set in the year 2071 and revolving around bounty hunters (or cowboys) Spike Spiegel and Jet Black, who are later joined by femme fetale Faye Valentine, androgynous computer hacker Ed (or "Radical Edward") and a dog named Ein who might be more intelligent than the viewer initially perceives. Until now I've never even watched Cowboy Bebop. The series has been described as having " sophistication and subtlety that is practically one-of-a-kind" ( ) and that " From beginning to end this may be one of the best anime ever.".
As well as hitting top spots in pretty much every "Top (insert number here)" anime lists, Bebop has also managed to hit a few general animated series lists too, one example being IGN's Top 100 Animated TV series from a few years ago. Cowboy Bebop is a popular animated series, let alone anime.