Number of Episodes in Series: 26

Written by: Akihiko Inari, Sadayuki Murai, Keiko Nobumoto, Dai Sato, Shinichiro Watanabe, Ryota Yamaguchi and Michiko Yokote

Directed by: Shinichiro Watanabe

Characters:

• Spike Spiegel
• Jet Black
• Faye Valentine
• Edward and Ein
• Vicious
• Julia

Summary: It's 2071. Human beings have finally grasped the power of hyperspace which allows them to travel all over the galaxy. Humanity has spread out to inhabit places like Venus, Mars, and Ganymede (a moon of Jupiter). In addition to these changes in technology, the legal system has changed as well. Police now depend on bounty hunters to help them bring in criminals. Cowboy Bebop is the story of a group of bounty hunters traveling from planet to planet on a ship called the Bebop, finding bounty heads, collecting rewards and generally getting into trouble. Each characters seems to come closer to some realization about themselves and their place in the world (galaxy, universe, whatever).

Commentary: The first time I watched an episode, I didn't like it. Of course, knowing me, I probably wasn't really paying attention. What got me hooked was one night, I turned on Cartoon Network at the very end, since I was going to watch what was on next (can't remember what though), and saw the preview for the next episode. It was one introduced by Faye, in which she says, "The next episode is about love," while Jet and Spike groan and make comments in the background. It was the funniest preview I'd ever heard, so I thought, "Maybe I'll watch it tomorrow." So, I did, and I loved it, especially the music. I now have the whole series and the movie on DVD, as well as the four-disc CD Box, which is excellent! Definitely give this series a chance, and try to watch it from the beginning. (I probably watched an episode close to the end the first time, so it was harder for me to get hooked.) I think they still show it on Cartoon Network at night, but see it on DVD if possible to get the whole experience!

Rating: 9/10
Reasons for Rating: Great storyline with great music and great characters, but I felt character development was not what it could be - I wanted to know just a little more. There were also a lot of filler episodes, but there usually are in anime.