Anime » Cowboy Bebop » Reviews

My all time favorite Anime.
By: Polaris
Rating: 10 out of 10

I really didn't like Bebop much when I saw my first episode, which I believe was Sympathy for the Devil. To this day, that episode remains my least favorite of the series, so, it took me awhile to regain faith in this Anime. I think I found it again when I saw Ballad of Fallen Angels, when the show ran it's rounds again. I loved this episode, and it guiled me into wanting to know more about the show, the story, and of course, the characters. I started to record the episodes after I had watched them all, and often found myself seeing more and more depth the more I saw them. The show had it's moments where I just curled my nose, but the rest was over all perfect. There was humor in a lot of the episodes, such as Mushroom Samba, and Toys in the Attic, which I laugh at to this day. It had very serious episodes with blood and a dark undertone that made me enthralled into the story, watching the blood fly. Some examples of this was The Real Folk Blues part 1 & 2, and Pierrot le Fou. Then there were the very emotional episodes that couldn't help but break your heart with their very bittersweet endings that left you hanging. I will admit that I did cry in some of the episodes. Some examples are Speak like a Child, Hard Luck Woman, and Waltz for Venus. You couldn't help but seriously take to mind what Spike said after Roco died to his sister, ‘You knew him better than anyone, without looking’. And then, in Speak like a Child, it really did break my heart to see that video of Faye as a child, yet she has no memory of those happy times. The characters of the story were very diverse, and seemed to bring out qualities in each other, and each was much deeper than they appeared. Spike was the kind of ‘whatever’ silent type, taking all the risks he did. To this day, I'm still not sure I understand his past fully, but it was something you wouldn't think of him upon first glance. Jet was equally somewhat deep in his past, and gave off that gnarly old guy expression. Ed was just plain hilarious, and I really did love Ein (probably because my brother has a Welsh Corgi). Faye was somewhat slutty at first, but when you learn of her sad past, it made you give the girl some pity. They were mismatched, yet made for each other. I was very sad to see them all break up in the end. The music of this show if one of the best of an Anime that I've heard. The end theme song, ‘The Real Folk Blues’, I often hum to myself, and ‘Call me, Call me’, is a personal favorite. ‘Green Bird’, and ‘Rain’, were both perfectly made for Ballad of Fallen Angels, and I often watch that episode just to listen to the music. The music, often very jazzy and lively, could get you truly into the story line, or tug at your heartstrings. This Anime was utterly perfect in it's length as well. It didn't drag on and on, ending on a good enough note to leave a mark in your mind. The characters were relatively believable, able to bleed and fail and suffer, *unlike (cough cough) Rurouni Kenshin*. The story was well planned out, and extremely entertaining. I’m very excited about Knocking on Heaven's Door, which has yet to come to come to my city.... But I loved this Anime, and I challenge to person who doesn't. -_-