Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bepop, along with the first series of Full Metal Alchemist, is renown as one of the best english dubs. This series didn't ring home with me as much as it's influence may suggest it should, but there is no denying that it is indeed one of the upper tier of anime compilations. Smooth art, great characters, when the overlying plot is the main plot of the episode, things get real.

Cowboy Bebop is a story about bounty hunting in a not too far off future (like.. 100 years) which has a very real feel to how things may actually progress. There isn't any ridiculous sci-fi stretches, but rather ones that seem plausible when they arrive. Each main character is developed with painstaking care. By the end of the series, you know each one of them, their story, and mannerisms. Through adventures, some tight spots, and on the look out for bounties, the band slowly gains a few more members including Ein, a corgi that can hack any computer software. Not only adorable, but it was with Ein that I really paid attention to how well the animations actually were for this series. Through out the series you will discover more of Spike's (main protagonist) past.

While the over all story is a little lacking in my opinion, often picking up again between several episodes of seemingly unconnected episodes, it is still presented in a way that makes it all really... fun. The world and universe that has been created for this story to take place is superbly done. There is a very spacey-international feel to how the gang moves around from place to place that just feels very cultural and real.

Cowboy Bebop took me a while to actually appreciate. What got me to understand after watching the series was the intensity of the style throughout. Everything is legitimately it's own. The humor is not copy paste, there is not reeeeaally stereotypical characters, voice acting is perfect in english dub at least (haven't listened to japanese dub yet), and no one over exaggerates. That was the big one, over exaggeration is something that anime and manga excel at and cling to when it comes to strong emotions to the point where that is generally how they can even be defined in most cases. Bebop has so few of these instances. The character's do not get overly indignent or enthusiastic about something. They simply are always themselves acting to a situation. Their behavior is well displayed, and the writing for conversations is great.

So, while maybe not the most complex of plots, there is so much else to pick this series up and keep it there. Art, strong style, working breathing creative universe, strong cast, smooth animation sequences even in action sequences, memorable characters, and several absolutely defining episodes are why this series is one of the exceptional