Cowboy Bebop

i think it’s safe to say that 90s anime series always have their own ways in being true classic. i grew up with bucket tons of titles that used to live up my sunday morning, like sailor moon, doraemon, magic knight rayearth, and the list goes on. after years went by, i finally finished another title that might be considered legendary for so many elements it embodies. it’s none other than cowboy bebop.

the first thing that hooked me up with this series is the soundtrack, which is composed by the genius and super talented yoko kanno! yes, i literally shrieked on my seat when i found out that she did the entire scores for bebop, I MEAN IT’S THE ALMIGHTY YOKO KANNO who’s able to magnify any anime episode into gold with just a touch of her pinky finger. the versatile composer successfully combined dynamic jazz with country music as the major theme that enveloped the entire series in general, as well as giving it a standout characteristic on its own. guaranteed, i wasn’t let down the least bit by the atmospheric tunes that flow really smoothly with all the scenes that follow.

story wise, cowboy bebop offers a tale of bounty hunters and their course in hunting down potential 'fish in the sea' for a living. sounds pretty cliche, but the value is apparently more than it seems. despite of pulling an episodic framework that's singular in nature, each episode gradually digs the major characters’ traits, personalities and emotions very well. it flows with a really nice dynamic which eventually develops a unique bond that i barely thought i would fall for. also most of their dialogues are crafted in realistic manner which fits the mood even better. last but not least it's all entwined with a journey to reveal one's identity and their struggle to embrace the past and present. this concept is also symbolized through the eyes of spike siegel, the major protagonist. he lost one of them to an accident, and since then he's been seeing the past with one eye and the present with another. at the end of the series you will be served with a vague query; if living life feels like watching a bad dream then would it be better to end it right away or continue trailing down the road that might lead to somewhere unpredictable? tough question, yet cowboy bebop answers it perfectly, with an episode finale so magnificent it's almost unbeatable to be replaced even with any other alternate idea. it's haunting, dreamy, yet satisfying.

despite of the limited 90s animation, cowboy bebop is capable to defy all of its generic flaws. the action motions are rich and crisp, with incredible details that fit into the space theme necessities. it's like hopping into a thrilling spaceship journey with some touch of john woo's movie elements in one go. some episodes have kinda tacky names though ('boogie woogie feng shui', anyone?) and felt a lot like fillers (who would have thought an expired lobster in the fridge could create full 20 minutes of deadly trouble?) but strangely they're what made each of them feels remarkable. cowboy bebop surely stands tall above the littlest defects it has, and that fact alone simply sums up why it is a staple classic. see you space cowboy, thank your the memorable adventure that you have brought us into.