Cowboy Bebop
Overview
Follows the bounty hunter Spike Spiegel on an adventure of a lifetime (ya so i'm corny -_-;). Actually, it's about a bounty hunter in the somewhat near future. It takes place in a time where spaceships are present, but berettas are still used. This makes a neat fusion of modern life, with semi-futuristic assets. This anime's "sessions" are less linked together than most other anime series, however, if you can enjoy each episode for what it is, you'll love this show. One of the most stylistic animes EVER in my opinion.
Storyline & Narrative
Cowboy Bebop follows Spike Spiegel, a lazy, laid-back, bounter hunter. He searches the universe with his friend Jet Black for the latest and greatest bounty. Seems pretty shallow, huh? Well it's not. The character development of ALL of the characters is superb. You know much about everyone's past, and why they have to live like they do in the present. There are a few underlying storylines, but these are not prevalent in all of the episodes.
Characters & Dynamics
Spike Spiegel - main character, a bounty hunter, lazy, and seems to have nothing to lose. He knows Jeet Kune Do! (which makes him AWESOME in my books)
Jet Black - A former issp member (kinda like the fbi of the universe), he works together with Spike on gettin' them bounties.
Faye Valentine - Another bounty hunter who is addicted to gambling ;). She soon joins Spike and Jet to catch bounties, mainly for her own purposes
Vicious - the bad guy, can't tell you anything w/o spoiling!
There are more characters like Ed, and Ein, but they come later in the series, and me telling you about who they are would spoil some things.
Animation & Visual Direction
Cowboy Bebop utilises the new medium on putting traditional cell animation and cg animation together to create a beautiful effect. This is top-notch animation, and it really shines on the DVDs. It also helps that this is a very recent anime, and is treated to the newer, cleaner cell shading of today.
Voice Acting & Soundtrack
Personally, i don't think that an english dub can EVER compete w/ a japanese subtitle job. I watched the entire series w/ subs, and it was GREAT. The japanese voice actors are *perfect* and the last line of the series is impeccable. However, i didn't like the english actors as much. Granted, this is the best dub (next to Akira) that i've heard, so if you can only get the english, go for it. It's awesome.
