Normally, I don’t watch or review anime, however, this show heavily inspired my all time favorite show, Firefly, and apparently Netflix is making a Cowboy Bebop adaptation with John Cho, so, writing a review seems fitting. Cowboy Bebop takes place in the late 21st century, when humans have terraformed and colonized most planets and moons in the solar system. Bounty hunters, nicknamed “cowboys” are hired to hunt down and capture criminals throughout the system. The show follows a crew of these “cowboys” as they go on various bounties and adventures.

This show however, is very unique, in that it blends quite a bit of different genres. It’s got traditional sci-fi elements (and even does a spoof of alien in one episode,) it’s got parts of a spade western, it has sections taken from crime or even thriller movies, and it also has a major noir aspect, both in the noir inspired main character, and in the award winning incredible jazz soundtrack.

Cowboy Bebop’s characters for the most part, are one of its greatest strength. Three of the main characters, Spike, Jet, and Faye, are all very well written, with interesting backstories and personalities. However, the fourth, Ed is just plain annoying, speaks like she’s on drugs the whole time, and gets old very quickly. There are also guest characters, who get introduced to the show each episode, and usually killed at the end of it. However, this show actually kills off characters properly, by giving them backstory and motivation, and making the audience care about them.

Some of Cowboy Bebop’s story arcs per episode, are also incredibly interesting and creative. One includes a spoof of the movie alien, where a mutated creature is loose on the ship hunting down the crew. Another, has the crew fighting what essentially is space PETA. One of my favorites, is when they investigate graffiti appearing on the surface of a ruined and destroyed Earth, only to discover that it was a satellite recreating the nazca lines because it became lonely.

Overall, there really isn’t much else to say about Cowboy Bebop, for the most part it excels in basically every area, and upon rewatching it, I’d have to say it’s one of my favorite shows. This show even appeals to non-anime watchers, and if you like sci-fi or westerns, this is a must watch.