Cowboy Bebop - Vol. 1 (Animated) (DVD)

...This is the premise of Cowboy Bebop. This ragtag band of bounty hunters is what this anime is all about. I thoroughly enjoyed this series as it took a refreshing spin on the idea of bounty hunting. The aforementioned disaster really isn't the major focus of the story, but it comes into play in various parts throughout the series. As the story progresses, you basically find out everyone's pasts and what sappy lives they led.

The true ...
...Well, thats the beauty of Cowboy bebop. It wonderfully blends futuristic space travel, and modern day limitations. Ships run out of "gas" and cities look like they are truly functioning cities: grunge and grime aplenty.

As for flow, most of the episodes are just little self-contained plotlines, with minor changes coming into the big picture. This is fine by me, but I felt the villain Vicious didn't get enough time. (I think ... more

Not too far in the future (sheesh im saying that alot), the earth government decides to test a new device: a jump gate that will allow people to travel throughout the stars. However, something goes horribly wrong. It goes boom, blows off a huge chunk of the moon, and turns the earth into a fallow wasteland. However, due to the indominatable spirit of human creativity... (or is it insanity? I wouldn't try to build something again that explodes like that) scientists perfect the warp gate, and humanity spreads throughout the stars... Due to the vast number of colonies created, the police, (or in this anime, they are called ISSP) decide to allow bounty hunters to find fugitives for them, and pay them accordingly. It is because of this, that we come across the story of Spike and Jet.

These guys are two bounty hunters who pilot the ship Bepop, hence the name of the title. What's interesting about them is the fact that you don't have any idea about their pasts or who they are, you sorta just get thrown into the action.

The series follows the exploits of these two guys. And as they go through the expanses of space, they try to hunt down fugitives in order to sustain living the life of a "cowboy". Along the way, they meet up with a voluptuous female gambler, Faye Valentine, with an equally shadowy (and once you find out, quite lucrative) past, and a very kooky and just plain funny female hacker known as "Ed". Oh, and by the way, they sorta come across a really intelligent dog, a welsh corgie to be precise, known as "Ein".

This is the premise of Cowboy Bebop. This ragtag band of bounty hunters is what this anime is all about. I thoroughly enjoyed this series as it took a refreshing spin on the idea of bounty hunting. The aforementioned disaster really isn't the major focus of the story, but it comes into play in various parts throughout the series. As the story progresses, you basically find out everyone's pasts and what sappy lives they led.

The true focus of the anime, however, follows Spike who apparently was part of some "Syndicate". He is deadly with his guns, and his following past is even deadlier. As the story progresses, you also come across a man acurately named: Vicious, who happens to really hate Spike, and is deadly with a samurai sword.

Now, I bet you're wondering, "Why are there bullets and swords in a space epic?" Well, thats the beauty of Cowboy bebop. It wonderfully blends futuristic space travel, and modern day limitations. Ships run out of "gas" and cities look like they are truly functioning cities: grunge and grime aplenty.

As for flow, most of the episodes are just little self-contained plotlines, with minor changes coming into the big picture. This is fine by me, but I felt the villain Vicious didn't get enough time. (I think he appears a grand total of about 5 times in the whole series.) Also, the ending was fairly poor. It cut off way too quickly, and really didn't give enough closure to the story.

Other than that, this anime is perfect. It has probably the best music I have ever heard in an anime. Get this...It has REAL instruments!!! No synthsizers here! It has a wonderful blend of parody, comedy, seriousness, and downright drama. A must see for anyone who likes over-the-top gunplay, epic space battles, furious fist-fighting, and wonderful characters.
Overall Rating: 5/5 

...less