Ever since I began frequenting my local Suncoast in search of anime, my friends and I would joke about Cowboy Bebop. Sure, we had no idea if it was good or not, but it had a funny name, which gave us the right to mock it endlessly. How naive of us. I was the first (and only) one of us that went ahead and risked buying the first tape. Having no idea what it was about, or even that it was in the future (silly us, jumping to the conclusion that it was a western), I handed it over to the store clerk sandwiched between Macross Plus and Ninja Scroll. Little did I know that I was embarking on a mystical (well, not really) journey into the world of Cowboy Bebop.

The anxiety of having this cryptic anime was so overpowering that I waited until I had absolutely nothing else to watch, then regretfully popped it into my VCR. I must say, I was pleasantly suprised. Heck, even the little animation for Emotion was fantastic. Soon afterward, the wonderful sounds of "Tank!" emanated from my speakers. This was COOL! Each new beat matched some sort of animation in the intro, giving Cowboy Bebop bonus points in my book. After the exciting little intro, I was thrust into the confusing "avant-intro" where the (as I assumed) main character was doing some things I didn't understand. Okay! So I didn't know exactly what was going on... but it was quite cool and ties in beautifully with the plot later on.

Cowboy Bebop's plot is, well, fantastic. For a complete series based off of a [lame] video game, this was great. Our main character (I was right!), Spike Spiegel, is a bounty hunter who hunts with his close friend, Jet Black. The two search the stars in various escapades to gather up "woolongs" (the currency of Cowboy Bebop). From drug dealers to crazed old women with viruses, these two see it all. Plus, they gradually are joined by a dog named Ein, a very interesting woman named Faye Valentine, and a weird kid named Edward.

Throughout the course of the series, the mysterious pasts of the characters are slowly revealed, piece by tantalizing piece.	Jet may not win many bishounen points, but his face still shows a lot of "character."

Unfortunately, I haven't seen past episode twelve, which of course left me in a kind of cliffhanger (just like Trigun: Lost Past). Through episode twelve, the plot is incredible. Not only do the adventures of Spike and company get more and more amusing and interesting, but also the past of each character is gradually revealed. Heck, my favorite episode is when we learn more (though still very little) about our protagonist, Spike. I'm still anxious to find out more about him. In terms of plot, Cowboy Bebop knows how to get people hooked.

I'd like to tip my hat to the person who designed these characters. Aside from a few odd expressions, the designs are fantastic. They fit perfectly with the backgrounds and interact smoothly (more points in my book). From Spike's old west outfit to Jet's futuristic one, the characters are simply beautiful (though Jet is pretty ugly). The characters in Cowboy Bebop are realistic, but still anime enough to be very cool. They just look good. Period.

Music helps make Cowboy Bebop. The intro track, a compilation by Yoko Kanno (excellent composer) and a popular Japanese band, is wonderful. I find myself humming it while I work. I'm still searching for MP3s from the impressive soundtrack. If you don't appretiate semi-western music, or harmonicas in particular, you wont enjoy Cowboy Bebop's music. Otherwise, it's perfectly matched. Even songs with lyrics in scenes fit just right. Who would've thought that a song with lyrics would fit with a bunch of guys chasing a dog? Music is an A in Cowboy Bebop.

Animation is Cowboy Bebop's most alluring feature. The animation was the first thing that drew me to this anime. The introduction's animation was perfectly fit to the music, but it doesn't even compare to some of the animation in the anime itself. From simple walking, to fighting, the characters move as if they were real live people. I was blown away by most of the animation effects that took place in this great anime. I have not found an anime series yet that matches the animation in Cowboy Bebop.

Sure, at first, I considered Cowboy Bebop a joke, but once I finally saw it in all its glory I was hooked. I'm an addict, I swear! I've started buying the DVD versions too. When I go to Suncoast, and find that the next tape is still not in, I am honestly sad. I've distracted myself with good series like Nazca and Martian Successor Nadesico, but they just don't compare to the superiority of Cowboy Bebop. I would recommend Cowboy Bebop to anyone, new or old to anime.

"There are three things I hate; pets, children, and women with attitude. So tell me, Jet, why do we have all three in the confines of our ship?"

Distributor: Bandai
Creator: Sunrise
Released: 1998

Plot: A
Character Design: A+
Animation Quality: A+
Music: A
Overall: A