It is the year 2071. Spike Spiegel is a type of bounty hunter also known as a Cowboy. His motives are ruled by the holy dollar and his history is questionable at best. He survives day to day, scraping by not only monetarily but physically as well. His partners in the war against crime: Jet, Faye, Ed and Ein, the genetically engineered dog, assist in his interplanetary bounty hunting bonanza.

The planet Earth has experienced a mass exodus due to a catastrophic accident that has left behind only those too poor to move off world. This leaves your paupers, criminals and general miscreants to run amok in a desolate den of nil justice. This suits Spike and his team just fine, how else could they afford all that Ramen?

Cowboy Bebop is somewhat of a paradox in regards to its genre, style and theme. From episode to episode you could very well go from rolling on the floor in stitches (ROFLMAO for all you net fiends) to convincing your friends that you have dust in your eye (an oldie but a goodie).



Stylistically speaking Cowboy Bebop is and was head and shoulders above anything released around the same time. The use of retro/future tech is nothing new to Anime (Last Exile) but Bebop gets it done better than most. The retro look reaffirms the feeling that Earth is a lost hope. Even down to Spike's bangin' 1970's beatnik suit.

All of this is sustained by the support of outstanding cast and writing teams. In response to all of the Anime-elite out there, I don't care what you say, the dub is excellent.

Yoko Kanno's music direction and score is most definitely one of the highlights of the series. It covers all genres from electronica to jazz and from metal to spoken word. If you ever get the chance, go out and buy this soundtrack. It is at worst, incredible.

Bebop is worth the watch, whether you are a fan of comedy, light-sci fi, action or just like pretty pictures.

Cowboy Bebop Remix, with enhanced 5.1 surround sound and all new previously unreleased special features, is available now at the Comic Shop.