This cat died a million deaths... (Cowboy Bebop (DVD))

Member Name: lordsnooty

Product:	Cowboy Bebop (DVD)
Date:	30/09/02 (439 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Too good., Best music ever heard on a TV series, Brilliant story

Disadvantages: None, surely.

Firstly, I'm not a raving anime fanatic. Secondly, Cowboy Bebop is one of the best television series ever produced.

There are, on rare occasions, TV series that transcend the genre they were created for. By all accounts, Bebop was originally created because the company that produced it wanted 'something with spaceships'. It could easily have turned out to be derivative and dull, but thanks to some innovative writing, red-hot style and incredible music, Bebop is far more than just another cult TV show.

The plot itself is relatively complex, but to explain it (and thereby ruin it) in this review would be criminal. The following brief outline is spoiler-free.

It's set in 2071. Incredible advances in space technology mean that mankind can easily travel around the solar system. He quickly forms colonies on the habitable planets. But something goes wrong with the new technology, and the moon is destroyed in a massive explosion. The earth, constantly bombarded with fragments of it's obliterated moon, is largely abandoned by mankind in favour of the other colonies.

Enter our stars, Spike and Jet. Spike is 'cowboy' - a bounty hunter that seeks out fugitives wanted by the police. He is joined by former policeman Jet Black. During the course of the story, they are joined by gorgeous con-woman Faye Valentine, insane tomboy Ed, and an intelligent dog called Ein.

As the story progresses, it forces each of the major characters to confront their past (a recurring theme in anime). Most of the episodes are self-contained, but there is a theme that runs throughout them, and a sense that the story is working up to a major climax.

So many things struck me about Bebop - primarily it's the sense of style. Essentially, Bebop is the very definition of cool. You can tell that within seconds of watching the first episode. The pre-credits sequence, the opening titles - they all ooze class and sophistication.
This is all aided by the music, written primarily by Yoko Kanno. The opening titles, and the accompanying music (a superb track titled 'Tank!') serve to set to get the pulse racing, and set the atmosphere perfectly.

Also innovative is the direction, and the way in which minor events can be focused upon for emotional effect. Most series would probably forgo these 'minor' sequences in favour of those aimed at advancing the plot, but these beautiful moments in Bebop make a real and lasting impression upon you. The endings to episodes 14 and 18 serve as good examples of this, but there are dozens more scattered throughout the series.

The music helps to set off each scene, with a massive array of tracks recorded for the series. Yoko Kanno's soundtrack is remarkably diverse (and produced to standards that Western TV series could only dream of), and covers a huge array of genres (even opera!). I wouldn't hesitate to call it the best TV soundtrack ever produced. It has been released on a series of CDs, but they are only available on import in the UK.

When I got this series on DVD, I watched all 26 episodes within the space of about five days. It's just the most creative, inventive and brilliant television series that I have seen in a very long time. It can make you laugh and cry, which is quite an achievement for a modern animated series.

If it were a conventional live-action TV series, made in the UK or US, Cowboy Bebop would be massive. Everyone would have heard of it - but because it's Japanese and animated (and because TV schedulers in the UK have precious little drive or imagination), it's very unlikely to be shown in this country on terrestrial TV. DVDs are available from the US, but they are expensive. And worth every penny.

As a side note, the dubbed version of Bebop is actually quite good - normally dubbing on anime series is fairly terrible, but if you can't be bothered with all
that subtitles malarkey, then you could easily make do with the English soundtrack.

Summary: