'Cowboy Bebop:' Great Series, or Greatest Series?

The series Cowboy Bebop has always had a presence in my life. My older brother was a huge fan of it when it came out, and growing up I always marveled at the few glimpses I could catch staying up late to watch Adult Swim or perhaps when they were airing the movie.
I had never watched all 26 episodes, however, until last weekend. I enjoyed the series so much that I told myself; "If I don't see the last episode, I never have to stop watching." Last weekend I found myself on an especially long bus ride, and after watching episode 24 and 25 on my Kindle, I decided, what the hell, might as well. And so I finished one of the best anime of all time.

And, arguably, one of the greatest shows of all time. It's short and sweet, 26 episodes, not too much to oversaturate the characters but just enough that you can get a real feel for them and their relationships. It's a very comforting and satisfying feeling - you never feel that the series is getting stale, each episode has it's own unique quirks that make it amazing. With things like Ubisoft's plan to release an Assasin's Creed each year and, you know, every episode of the office since Steve Carell left, Cowboy Bebop is a shining example of a team of creators wonderfully accomplishing their goal, and leving it at that.

The film, Knockin' on Heaven's Door, is less polished than the rest of the series. Rather than following the formula of the show of a simple, yet engaging plot, the Cowboy Bebop movie has so many plot points that missing one line of dialogue can leave you confused with the rest of the movie. It also gets a little long in the tooth by the time Vincent and Spike have their final showdown, clocking in at about an hour and 47 minutes, but feeling much much longer.

If you haven't watched Cowboy Bebop, I highly recommend it. It's perfectly crafted - each episode has a musical theme and every one of the series' fight scenes is coordinated to match the music playing. It's incredibly subtle, and works to make every episode worth watching over and over again, if only to listen to the audio.
If you find yourself all dried out on Game of Thrones or Doctor Who or House of Cards, or you're just trying to fill the gap between now and the new season of Arrested Development, please please please take the time to enjoy this shining example of television. You won't regret the decision.
News Editor
John Schwartz
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