The 8 best Cowboy Bebop anime episodes to watch before the Netflix show

This November, Netflix will unveil its long-running live-action adaptation of the Cowboy bebop anime. And if the opening credit sequence, which premiered during Netflix’s Tudum fan event in September, is any hint, the show will introduce audiences new and old to mirror interpretations of John Cho, Mustafa Shakir and Daniella Pineda from Spike Spiegel, Jet Black and Faye. Valentine, along with a host of supporting characters.

Premiered on Japanese television in 1998 before airing in the West during the late-night Adult Swim block in 2001, Cowboy bebop it is considered an intercultural landmark in the history of Japanese animation. The neo-noir sci-fi series directed by Shinichirō Watanabe focuses on the misadventures of a bounty hunter band with an infectious soundtrack that combined jazz numbers with scintillating rock ballads and brooding acoustic guitars. The 26-episode original series is sacred ground for a generation of anime fans that came of age around the turn of the century, and has been widely hailed as one of the definitive entry titles to the anime medium.

Replicating the signature visuals of the series’ iconic opening title sequence with a new orchestration of composer Yoko Kanno’s title theme, “Tank!”, The live-action series title trailer yielded several tantalizing images of some of the most memorable characters and stories from the original anime. . Taking a closer look at the trailer with eagle eyes, we’ve put together a list of eight must-see episodes from the original anime series that you must watch before the live-action adaptation premieres on November 16. always just watch the series in its entirety; it’s still amazing even after all these years, and it keeps broadcasting Funimation, Huluand on Netflix as of October 21.

---

“Asteroid Blues”

“Asteroid Blues”, the first episode of the original Cowboy bebop anime, it is alluded to as the appearance of Asimov and Katerina Solensan, a couple fleeing a nameless crime syndicate after stealing an experimental performance-enhancing drug called “Bloody Eye.” Looking to sell enough new drugs to their contacts on the Tijuana asteroid (aka “TJ”), the pair inevitably cross paths with bounty hunter Spike Spiegel and his partner Jet Black as they flee to Mars in hopes of starting a new life. . Asimov’s proclivity for violence, exacerbated by his personal use of Bloody Eye, drives a wedge between him and his wife Katerina, who just wants to do what it takes to build a better life. It’s unknown how early in the live-action series the pair will make their appearance, but since their payoff on the series isn’t particularly high, one imagines they’ll show up relatively early. As for the episode itself, “Asteroid Blues” is an excellent introduction to the universe of Cowboy bebop and the main characters of the series, Spike Spiegel and Jet Black, establishing the characteristic mix of suspense, intrigue and action of the series.

“Gateway Shuffle”

The menacing-looking woman in the floppy hat flanked by gas-masked gunmen is Maria Murdock, the leader of an extremist animal rights group in the series’ fourth episode, “Gateway Shuffle.” Murdock, who is a prominent criminal with a substantial bounty on her head, is taken in by Spike and Jet after she and her subordinates inadvertently kill the target they had originally been following. As calculating as she is deranged, Murdock becomes a dangerous foe to the Bebop crew, whose ambitions are nothing short of cataclysmic. “Gateway Shuffle” is perhaps best remembered by fans of the series for its thrilling finale where Spike and Faye Valentine, aboard their respective ships Swordfish II and Red Tail, desperately try to shoot down a barrage of virus-promoting missiles launched by Murdock earlier. to achieve a hasty escape through a hyperspace door within seconds of closing. That kind of last-minute, last-minute victory is what establishes the Bebop team as the kind of protagonists you want to root for. They may be losers, but they get the job done.

“Ballad of Fallen Angels”

The image of Spike Spiegel locked in a deadly tie with his old friend now nemesis Vicious lit up against a stained glass window, as seen in the fifth episode “Ballad of Fallen Angels”, easily ranks in one of the most striking iconic shots of the anime. original. The episode is primarily known for featuring Vicious, a ruthless member of the Red Dragon Syndicate and former friend of Spike, and for offering some of the first glimpses of Spike’s past before he teamed up with Jet and became a bounty hunter.

“Jupiter Jazz (Part 1 & 2)”

Mason Alexander Park, a non-binary actor known for his role on the National Broadway Tour of Hedwig and the angry inch, plays the character of Gren in the live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop i, and is briefly seen brandishing two pistols behind a disco bar in trailer. As seen in the two-part episode “Jupiter Jazz”, Gren is a bar saxophonist on Callisto’s moon who previously fought a war on Titan’s moon alongside Vicious, Spike’s nemesis and the antagonist of the Serie. Gren was implicated as a spy by Vicious and sentenced to prison. Unable to cope with the idea that his former comrade betrayed him and falsely accused him, Gren agreed to an experimental drug treatment to calm himself down, only to have his breasts grow as an unintended side effect of the treatment. When Faye discovers his secret and confronts him about his gender, Gren responds: “I am both at the same time and neither”. Speaking of his role, Park describes his interpretation de Gren as, “a Bowie-style incarnation of the alluring and seductive beauty of the 22nd century.”

“Jupiter Jazz” represents a turning point for Spike, Jet and Faye; forming a rift between the trio that puts each of them on their own journeys through Callisto before reuniting in a way that clarifies how these lonely and broken people once found themselves in the first place.

“Mushroom samba”

The guy with the afro who does cartwheels and karate poses is Shaft (no, no that Shaft), a bounty hunter who figures prominently in Episode 17. “Mushroom Samba” is one of the few episodes in the original series that focuses prominently on Ed, the child prodigy hacker who makes his way aboard the Bebop. , and Ein, the “data dog” that Spike and Jet rescue at the end of “Stray Dog Strut”, the second episode of the series. We have not seen the skin or hair of the interpretation of Ed’s character in the series live action; we don’t even know the actor who plays them, much less if they appear in the season. But the appearance of a unique character known for his role in an Ed-centric episode is a promising indication that we may not have to wait a long time for the character introduction. “Mushroom Samba” is a hilarious mix of cartoon antics with the loving homage of Blaxploitation that transforms a low-risk reward into an exhilarating and wild chase across the desert plains of Io.

“Pierrot le fou”

The pale-faced ghoulish figure seen wearing a top hat and a Victorian ruffle around his neck is the psychic assassin “Mad Pierrot” Tongpu, who appears in “Pierrot Le Fou,” the twentieth episode of the original. Cowboy bebop anime. The episode opens with the mysterious Tongpu hovering over a nondescript Martian city before descending on his target and his entourage of bodyguards, hurling his armored vehicle with bullets fired from the base of his staff. Tongpu isn’t even a bounty target in the episode, but when Spike inadvertently crosses paths with the killer after a harmless night of pool shooting, he becomes the killer’s latest fixation and only narrowly escapes alive. One of the few episodes of the show that delves into outright horror, “Mad Pierrot” is iconic for its fierce cat and mouse climax in which Spike and Tongpu engage in a cat and mouse fight at an amusement park. abandoned called Space Earth.

“Cowboy Funk”

The guy with the giant teddy bear mask and the smiley face bomb detonator is an allusion to episode 22 of Cowboy bebop, “Cowboy Funk”. The episode begins with Spike about catching Ted Bower, an anti-capitalist terrorist who calls himself “Teddy Bomber”, before being interrupted by Andy; a rich, goofy, and stubbornly self-centered bounty hunter who fully commits to the “cowgirl” part of being a bounty hunter, white stud and all. Andy mistakes Spike for the Teddy Bomber, thus causing a one-episode feud between the two as they continually escape while trying to collect the real Teddy Bomber’s bounty. It’s comical the fact that, despite apparently being the episode’s antagonist, Ted is treated more or less like an afterthought, a fact that irritates almost as much as being interrupted during his long speeches.

“Brain scratch”

The stack of televisions that look like a Nam June Paik art exhibition are a visual reference to “Brain Scratch”, episode 23 of Cowboy bebop, in which Faye, unbeknownst to the rest of the Bebop team, infiltrates as an acolyte of the end-of-the-world cyber-cult SCRATCH. The group is led by the elusive Dr. Londes, a sinister self-help guru who basically boils down to a cross between Heavens Gate founder Marshall “Do” Applewhite and 1983’s Dr. Brian O’Blivion. Videodrome. After learning of Faye’s plan to collect the reward for Londes, Spike ventures on foot to rescue Faye while Jet and Ed use a new virtual reality headset to track down clues to Londes’ whereabouts in hopes of catching him. It’s fun though very bizarre episode, one that taps into the same spirit of the turn-of-the-century tech anxiety era as a similar anime of its time like 1998 Lain series experiments.