With a bang, the show Cowboy Bebop captures the essence of human existence with hot jazz and all the depth and feelings one experiences throughout life. Animes tend to follow a main character as well as a plot, dragging you along on their adventures, showing how the characters grow and evolve to reach their goals. Cowboy Bebop does not follow this standard. Instead, the show trails four unique characters as they live their lives in a futuristic universe that can only be described as a "pulp fiction western". Where most planets and moons are inhabited, and an increasing crime rate forces Police to contract Bounty hunters. Which leads to the incredible sci-fi punk, western adventures of the Bebop crew. This show covers deep topics such as corruption, existentialism, morals, and the inability to forget our past, which push it to new bounds.
Of the many appeals Cowboy Bebop has, none are as prevalent as its existential depth. This is partly depicted through the mature themes that manifest during the adventures of the Bebop crew. These themes and concepts are perceived through the idealism of criminals with a bounty on their heads or through the happenings of the crew. Whether it's a criminal who bombs building as a symbolic attack on capitalism, an eco-terrorist organization that uses acts of violence as means to preserve the environment, or a crooked cop who works for the very syndicate he is meant to eradicate.
The Bebop is a spaceship that can be described as a "piece of junk" like the Millennium Falcon. It houses the Bebop crew which consists of Jet Black the captain of the ship and ex-cop, Spike Spiegel a former member of the Red Dragon Syndicate, Faye Valentine a wanted woman with a hefty debt, Edward or Ed a prodigy child who specializes in hacking, and Ein a highly intelligent "data dog" that was created in a research facility. Together this unlikely crew of outcasts unfit for society, travel the Solar System as bounty hunters. As these four strangers' journeys intertwine, they find that the burdens of life are eased by the sweetness that the bonds of friendship and fun adventures bring.
Cowboy Bebop explores the different ways each character chooses to live. All members of the crew have an interesting past that seems to follow them, while each of their situations differs, they all must face their past. Jet faces his past as he runs into his ex-lover during a mission. She had disappeared and left him only a note and a pocket watch. Upon their meeting Jet receives the closure he sought out for many years and much like the weight of his past he lets go of the pocket watch he kept for so many years. In contrast, Faye who doesn't know much about her past is seen throughout the series chasing down any inkling that may help her discover who she is. The crew found a tape, that stars young Faye when she was a high schooler on earth many years ago. With this newfound information, she and Ed go to earth to see if they can uncover anything else about Faye's past. To her dismay, she finds only remints of her old life, but soon after she remembers her past and with nothing but memories of what no longer is she returns to the only place she can, the Bebop. While the Bebop is the place Faye feels she belongs this is not the case for Ed. On Earth we see the orphanage Ed was raised in after being left there by her father. Later in the episode, Ed and her father are reunited but their miraculous meeting ends abruptly as her father leaves her once again. At the end of the episode, Ed and Ein leave the Bebop to find where they belong after Faye tells her "There's somewhere that you belong, Edward. You should go and find out where, belonging is the very best thing there is". While this is the case for the rest of the crew, Spike differs in more ways than one.
After faking his death so that he could leave the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate with his lover Julia, an unexpected turn of events occurs when Julia never shows. This leaves Spike filled with indescribable loneliness, but despite all his inner turmoil, Spike is a seemingly carefree bounty hunter with a good heart. He constantly shows strangers unwavering kindness even in the face of life and death. Helping anyone or anything that he deems worthy, following his deep-rooted morals in his world of constant battles between good and evil. Spikes tries to forget his difficult past and even encourages others to do the same, but his undying love for Julia brings him to the inevitable collision of his past and present. Spike's true character is shown as Faye begs him to stay and forget his past as he marches towards certain death. Faye riddled with sadness asks, "Are you telling me you're going to just throw your life away" Spike replies "I'm not going there to die. I'm going there to see if I really am alive". Spike also states, "I thought I was watching a dream that I would never awaken from before I knew it, the dream was all over". This is Spike explaining that up until this point, he was disassociated, drifting through life, not really dead nor truly alive and how now that he has this new consciousness, he can no longer continue to live his life as he had. This existential realism that Spike has brings forth an unforgiving humanization to the show. Questioning what is life and am I really alive?
The themes and concepts push the show and characters to new bounds, creating a cultivation of feelings and thoughts that embody human existence. Watching Cowboy Bebop is an experience I highly suggest to those who wish to escape their reality or those who carry a weight they wish to lighten.
Of the many appeals Cowboy Bebop has, none are as prevalent as its existential depth. This is partly depicted through the mature themes that manifest during the adventures of the Bebop crew. These themes and concepts are perceived through the idealism of criminals with a bounty on their heads or through the happenings of the crew. Whether it's a criminal who bombs building as a symbolic attack on capitalism, an eco-terrorist organization that uses acts of violence as means to preserve the environment, or a crooked cop who works for the very syndicate he is meant to eradicate.
The Bebop is a spaceship that can be described as a "piece of junk" like the Millennium Falcon. It houses the Bebop crew which consists of Jet Black the captain of the ship and ex-cop, Spike Spiegel a former member of the Red Dragon Syndicate, Faye Valentine a wanted woman with a hefty debt, Edward or Ed a prodigy child who specializes in hacking, and Ein a highly intelligent "data dog" that was created in a research facility. Together this unlikely crew of outcasts unfit for society, travel the Solar System as bounty hunters. As these four strangers' journeys intertwine, they find that the burdens of life are eased by the sweetness that the bonds of friendship and fun adventures bring.
Cowboy Bebop explores the different ways each character chooses to live. All members of the crew have an interesting past that seems to follow them, while each of their situations differs, they all must face their past. Jet faces his past as he runs into his ex-lover during a mission. She had disappeared and left him only a note and a pocket watch. Upon their meeting Jet receives the closure he sought out for many years and much like the weight of his past he lets go of the pocket watch he kept for so many years. In contrast, Faye who doesn't know much about her past is seen throughout the series chasing down any inkling that may help her discover who she is. The crew found a tape, that stars young Faye when she was a high schooler on earth many years ago. With this newfound information, she and Ed go to earth to see if they can uncover anything else about Faye's past. To her dismay, she finds only remints of her old life, but soon after she remembers her past and with nothing but memories of what no longer is she returns to the only place she can, the Bebop. While the Bebop is the place Faye feels she belongs this is not the case for Ed. On Earth we see the orphanage Ed was raised in after being left there by her father. Later in the episode, Ed and her father are reunited but their miraculous meeting ends abruptly as her father leaves her once again. At the end of the episode, Ed and Ein leave the Bebop to find where they belong after Faye tells her "There's somewhere that you belong, Edward. You should go and find out where, belonging is the very best thing there is". While this is the case for the rest of the crew, Spike differs in more ways than one.
After faking his death so that he could leave the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate with his lover Julia, an unexpected turn of events occurs when Julia never shows. This leaves Spike filled with indescribable loneliness, but despite all his inner turmoil, Spike is a seemingly carefree bounty hunter with a good heart. He constantly shows strangers unwavering kindness even in the face of life and death. Helping anyone or anything that he deems worthy, following his deep-rooted morals in his world of constant battles between good and evil. Spikes tries to forget his difficult past and even encourages others to do the same, but his undying love for Julia brings him to the inevitable collision of his past and present. Spike's true character is shown as Faye begs him to stay and forget his past as he marches towards certain death. Faye riddled with sadness asks, "Are you telling me you're going to just throw your life away" Spike replies "I'm not going there to die. I'm going there to see if I really am alive". Spike also states, "I thought I was watching a dream that I would never awaken from before I knew it, the dream was all over". This is Spike explaining that up until this point, he was disassociated, drifting through life, not really dead nor truly alive and how now that he has this new consciousness, he can no longer continue to live his life as he had. This existential realism that Spike has brings forth an unforgiving humanization to the show. Questioning what is life and am I really alive?
The themes and concepts push the show and characters to new bounds, creating a cultivation of feelings and thoughts that embody human existence. Watching Cowboy Bebop is an experience I highly suggest to those who wish to escape their reality or those who carry a weight they wish to lighten.