Show: Cowboy Bebop

Genre: Sci-fi/Comedy

Creators: Shinichiro Watanabe and Toshihiro Kawamoto/Sunrise

DVD Info: 6 volumes, 27 episodes, 1 movie

Summary: Spike and Jet are a pair of intergalactic bounty hunters who pilot the galaxies in their starship, the Bebop, in search of money. Jet is a sensible, former policeman, while Spike is more of a man of action and quite cynical. Also on hand by the third episode(or “session”, as the show calls them), is Faye, a former card shark. In the ninth episode, they are joined by a female hacker named Radical Edward, who has a somewhat annoying habit of referring to herself in the third person.

The Good: This show is full of humor. You can’t help but laugh at all the trouble everyone gets into. They play off each other pretty well, with Jet being an excellent straight man. The jazzy music actually fits the show, making it unique.

The Bad: At times, you just wish they’d get the bad guys more. These guys have a success record that’s almost as bad as Wile E. Coyote’s. How these two can keep the Bebop well-fueled is beyond me.

Offensive Material: At times, occasional bad words are spoken, usually by Spike. Other than that, the show’s not too bad here. There’s a light amount of violence. Also, the two-part “Jupiter Jazz” story (episodes 12 and 13) had a character who was both male and female.

Overall: This show is okay for the older kids, since there’s bad language. If this were a movie, it’d be PG-13. It’s quite funny, and the jazzy background music makes it a real treat to watch. This is a great show.

My Rating (out of 4): 3.0 Age Rating: C (Teens only)

Note: Shinichiro Watanabe is also one of the directors involved in the Animatrix anthology. There’s also a movie that was called Cowboy Bebop: Knocking On Heaven’s Door in Japan (here, it’s just Cowboy Bebop: The Movie), which was also released theatrically in the US. The movie takes place between episodes 22 and 23.