Summary
Created by Sunrise Inc. and led by legendary director Shin’ichirô Watanabe,Cowboy Bebophas becomeone of the most well-known and revered animeseries to this day. The 1998 series combines the many elements of Western, Sci-Fi, pulp-fiction, and film noir genres for a one-of-a-kind sensation known for its grit, driven story, and realistic portrayal of complicated emotions.
The 26-episode show combines episodic plot with well-choreographed action sequences, punchy animation, and quirky characters, making it a fun and moving watch. Strikingly, the subtle moments of vulnerability portrayed through the main characters hit the watchers when they least expect it. Compared to a longer series which can flesh out tragedy, inner struggle, and outer conflict,Cowboy Bebop’s short form leavesroom for interpretation with delayed emotional understandingafter the closing credits roll.
A few overarching topics examined throughout the series areloneliness, redemption, and how they become intertwinedthrough the Bebop crew. With the rag-tag team of Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Faye Valentine, and Edward, watchers explore the series’ moving philosophy that gives reason for one of its many accolades.
Avoidance Becomes Connection
How Loneliness Manifests & Draws the Characters Together
In the vastness of space, each member of the Bebop crew tries to make peace with their own solitude. Ironically, despite their avoidant personalities, they come to need the companionship they provide each other. Each character often sets off on their own without a word to the others and without a time frame for their return, but as the show progresses, the older characters reluctantly worry for each other and wait for them to come back to their home ship.
The four humans andthe Corgi dog Einmet under unusual circumstances and apart from the bickering and disagreeances,this unlikely assembly becomes an escape from their personal obstacles. Somehow, through their togetherness, they find redemption and purpose, to fight against the despairs of their past. The eldest of the group, Jet, needs the companionship that Spike gave him after leaving his home planet behind, while Spike needs trust following a fallout with old confidants. Despite their joint complaints and aversion for “kids, animals, and women with attitudes”, the two men also often wonder about and care for Ed, Faye, and Ein.
The shadows of mistake and lonelinessloom over all of them and they each have to find out how to rectify or come to terms with it. The writers masterfully show the various routes and obstacles faced to do so, and each character becomes a unique vessel for moving thematic messages of varying depth. Although the Cowboy crew are unorthodox, cause trouble to their surroundings, get injured in the process, and are prickly and combative with each other at times, the more time they spend together gives them an escape and a reason for being outside of confronting the mysteries, pain, and solitude of their own life.
Vindication in Pain & Knowing
Moving Past Struggles to Achieve Redemption (However It May Come)
Distracted by bounty hunting and bouts of hunger, the Bebop crew unconsciously tries to realize what they must leave behind. Overarching all four members isa cycle of loneliness, longing, confrontation, and acceptance that brings redemption. The ‘forgiveness’ of others and themselves found within this ‘absolution’ creates a layered ideology that moves the audience.
Jet Black holds a feigned disconnection after leaving the Inter-Solar System Police (ISSP). His acceptance of corruption in a system he once trusted shifts his path while still keeping to his base morals. On this journey, he also ascertains the loss of his past relationship and how this distance brought about needed change to his character and refocused his energy away from the numbness that ensued.
Spike Spiegel avoids his past and pain, which causes him to isolate himself from others. After betrayal from his former friend and the loss of his love Julia, he states that he has always been“seeing the past in one eye”. Despite Jet’s advice to give up the past, Spike decides that challenging Vicious for the last time is the only way to face reality.
“I’m not going there to die. I’m going to find out if I’m really alive.” - Spike Spiegel (Episode 26, “The Real Folk Blues (Part 2)”)
Faye Valentine struggles with identity and a sense of belonging, giving rise to combative and flighty behavior. One ofthe most memorable Cowboy Bebop quotesis: “Instead of feeling alone in a group, it’s better to be alone in your solitude”, pronounced by Faye in Episode 12, “Jupiter Jazz (Part 1)”. Some truth rings out in Faye’s words, but as the reader watches her exchange with side character Grencia, it is easy to see thather sadness and fear of separation bleeds through. Her arrogance and avoidance are confronted as she spends more time with the others, where former irritation becomes fondness.
After investigating her past with a self-recorded tape from her youth, Faye finds the ending to her childhood home (Episode 24, “Hard Luck Woman”). The bittersweet return to the Bebop and the following confrontation with Spike is her final admittance that this is her new ‘home and family’. Fans are torn by this beautiful yet somber moment, as Faye’s pleas are a vulnerable glimpse of hope, while Spike, despite having somewhere to belong, accepts the disastrous closure needed for his past and leaves his comrades behind.
Even Edward is an innocent portrayal of isolation, as her eccentricity contrasts her solemn beginnings. Even though she seems unaware or detached, her moments of loneliness bleed through when she calls for a ship to take her frompost-apocalyptic Earth, a group to join to adventure with, and later the short-lived reunion and re-abandonment of her father. Although she also made the ship a new home, Ed and Ein venture off to embrace solitude and search for their own purpose.
The Shift in Solitude & Identity
How These Coalesce into the Series' Philosophical Underpinnings
Cowboy Bebopexquisitely utilizes subtlety in its thematic delivery, implicitly reaching fans and encouraging them to ponder the messages after its completion. This creates appeal and longevity, having each audience member rework what ‘redemption’ looks like with each rewatch. The anime serves asa deep, metaphorical, and poignant exploration of the crew’s moving human experiencethinly veiled by an action-packed and humorous space adventure. Through the characters’ battles with solitude and against their antagonists, the series addresses the issue of identity, shifting sides, and purpose.
Together, combating their loneliness makes way for subtle yet painful moments of healing and growth among chaos and heartache. None of the adult characters are without fault and willingly hurt others, teetering the lines of morality, yetthe human instinct to coexist persists. As they search for money and do away with ‘evil’ forces, maybe they search for their own forgiveness and acceptance in the process.
Perhaps the main overarching theme ofCowboy Bebop, and the reason why the series remains an icon of the medium almost three decades after its release, is that with forgiveness comes understanding, and coming to terms with their losses of stability, other people, or parts of themselves, makes way for progress, even if that means comfort in death.
Cowboy Bebop
Cast
Cowboy Bebop is a 1998 animated series set in 2071, where humanity has colonized the Solar System following a catastrophic event. As crime surges, bounty hunters known as “Cowboys” are employed by the Inter Solar System Police to capture criminals in exchange for rewards.
