One of my favorite anime, and another series produced by Sunrise Studios. Although there are no giant mecha it has some awesome and unique spacecraft. There is Bebop the main ship, the Swordfish II, the Redtail, and the Hammerhead. The swordfish II is my favorite.
The story follows a group of bounty hunters, Spike, Jet and Faye, along with Edward a young computer hacker and Ein a data dog. They go around the solar system looking for bounties to cash in on.
There is a jazz theme and the episodes are called “sessions” that play up the jazz theme. The stories are very well written, and the animation is top notch. Even though they mostly succeed in catching their fugitives they can never seem to stay in the black. They are constantly looking for that big score to put them over the top. The main characters’ stories are brought up throughout the series, thru a series of flashbacks. The jazz soundtrack contrast well against the futuristic feel of the series.
Although the series is set in the future the settings are very un-futuristic which gives this series it’s charm. The English voice acting is also extremely well done. Cowboy Bebop’s humor and action are superior to a lot of anime out now.
Cowboy Bebop was a very popular series when it came out, and was well accepted in America. There was also a Cowboy Bebop movie and there are even rumors of a Cowboy Bebop live action movie in the works. If you have never watched this series you are missing out, go rent it tonight.