Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop is a 1998 Japanese anime series developed by Sunrise. It featured a production team led by director Shinichiro Watanabe, screenwriter Keiko Nobumoto, character designer Toshihiro Kawamoto, mechanical designer Kimitoshi Yamane, and composer Yoko Kanno. The twenty-six episodes ("sessions") of the series comprise a complete storyline set in the year 2071. It follows the adventures, misadventures, and tragedies of a bounty hunter ("cowboy") crew traveling on the Bebop, their starship.

On September 2, 2001, Cowboy Bebop became the first Japanese anime series to be broadcast on Adult Swim in the United States. Since then, the series has aired on the network continuously in rotation due to its success. Cowboy Bebop has also aired on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block sporadically since its launch on May 26, 2012. On January 3, 2015, the series began airing in HD on Toonami. The series is rated TV-14 LV on Adult Swim.

Plot
The series revolves around the often violent adventures undertaken by the arguably mismatched crew of the BeBop spaceship. The crew is made up of four unique characters: Jet Black, a former ISSP police officer who retired following a mob hit that cost him his arm, Spike Spiegel, a laid-back exiled hitman of the ruthless Red Dragons' Syndicate, Faye Valentine, a beautiful amnesiac con artist who awakened into the future world after a lengthy period of cryogenic hibernation, and Radical Edward, a hyperactive and barefooted preteen girl with a reputation as a prolific computer hacker. They are also accompanied by Ein, a hyper-intelligent, genetically-engineered stray Corgi.

By a strange twist of their respective fates, this foursome ends up partnering together, using their unique talents to become a ragtag team of bounty hunters, although their fortunes as such are at best mixed.

Throughout the series, Bebop crew members' deal with unresolved issues from their pasts, and the show regularly utilizes flashbacks to illustrate the history of the main characters. The day-to-day life of the crew is also explored throughout the series. The series is set in the year 2071, when the entire Solar System has been made accessible through reliable hyperspace gates. In 2022, an explosion of an experimental hyperspace gateway severely damaged the Moon, resulting in a debris ring and meteor bombardments that eradicated a large portion of the Earth's population. As a result, many survivors abandoned the barely habitable Earth to colonize the inner planets, the asteroid belt, and the Moons of Jupiter.

Mars has become the new central hub of human civilization, and interplanetary crime syndicates exert influence over the government and the Inter-Solar System Police (ISSP), limiting their effectiveness in dealing with crime. As a result, a bounty system similar to that in the Old West is established to deal with fugitives, terrorists, and other criminals; the bounty hunters involved are frequently termed "cowboys".The standard currency is the woolong, which is roughly equivalent to the present-day Japanese yen.

The technology in Cowboy Bebop's world is a mixture of the futuristic (cybernetics, jump gates, energy weapons) and the modern (cars, handguns, zippo-styled lighters), both of which are blended together. Yet, even "new" technology often looks a bit older and battered.

The three main classes of vehicles are ground vehicles, air vehicles, and space vehicles. Ground vehicles are the most mundane of the three, being wheeled automobiles not much different from modern automobiles. Aircraft are mostly jet-powered, although helicopters are not uncommon. Spaceships range in size from small one-man "fighters" to immense passenger liners and cargo ships.

Characters
Spike Spiegel — the main protagonist of Cowboy Bebop, Spike is a former member of the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate. Spike is a master in firearms and hand-to-hand combat, practicing Jeet Kune Do, and is also a skilled pilot. He flies a red customized Mono Racer, an atmosphere-capable spacecraft called Swordfish II. His right eye is cybernetic. He is haunted by the memory of his time in the syndicate, and particularly by his romantic relationship with a mysterious woman named Julia, and his conflict with arch-rival and former syndicate partner, Vicious. He is also a skilled pickpocket.

Jet Black — is a former ISSP (Inter-Solar System Police) detective and is the owner of the Bebop. Once called "The Black Dog" by his fellow officers, he left the ISSP in disgust due to its corruption and red tape, and turned to bounty hunting as a way to apply justice. Although medical science could replace his lost arm, he voluntarily wears a cybernetic prosthetic as a reminder of the consequences of rushing into danger. He also owns a small yellow utility ship called Hammerhead. The Hammerhead has been equipped with a mechanical claw, and a harpoon that can be used as a tow cable. Like Spike, he too is haunted by the memory of a woman, Alisa, his longtime girlfriend who left him without reason.

Faye Valentine — is a novice bounty hunter with a gambling addiction. She joins the crew of the Bebop uninvited, to the consternation of Jet and Spike. Though she abandons the ship several times during the course of the series, her attachment to the crew always brings her back. These feelings are apparently reciprocated, as Jet and Spike always allow her to return despite claiming they're pleased to see her leave. She pilots a generic heavy spacecraft called Red Tail which is pale blue despite the name and has been heavily modified with armament and tracking sensors. Her gambling, cheating, and competitive skills are unrivaled except by Spike. Much of her past and her real last name are a mystery, however it appears that she was severely injured in a space shuttle accident and was then cryogenically frozen until she could be healed. This expensive medical procedure left her deeply in debt, made worse when she inherited the debts of her husband (a man who married her shortly after her surgery, then later faked his death in an automobile accident). She emerges from the cryonic sleep in an amnesiac state, from which she eventually recovers. All vestiges of her past — home, family, possessions — are gone.

Edward (Ed) — is a young computer genius and master hacker. She uses the alias Radical Edward when hacking. Ed is a girl, though her name and androgynous appearance suggest otherwise. She had followed the travels of the Bebop before encountering the ship, and agrees to help the crew track down a bounty-head in exchange for becoming a member of the crew. Although extremely intelligent, Ed is still a child, and looks up to the crew of the Bebop as members of her family. She uses the fanciful name Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivruski IV, but an odd encounter with her father reveals that her real name is Françoise Appledelhi. She spends much of her time with Ein.

Ein — a former lab animal identified as a "data dog" by the scientists who reared him. The scientists used him for unspecified experiments, enhancing him to give him extraordinary data-sniffing and pattern-recognition abilities. It is suggested that he possesses enhanced intelligence, which he subtly displays throughout the series, including showing the ability to speak to other animals (and possibly Ed), and perfectly hacking the Scratch website in session #23. The rest of the Bebop crew, with the exception of Ed, often fail to notice these qualities and treat Ein as an average pet.

Vicious — is a grim enforcer of the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate, a former ally of Spike within the syndicate and now his nemesis. Vicious wields a katana for a weapon and is always accompanied by a strange, crow-like bird perched on his shoulder. He lives up to his name both through his violent actions and his treacherous scheming within the syndicate. Vicious is the series' only recurring antagonist, appearing in five episodes.

Episodes
Cowboy Bebop is a 26 episode anime series developed by Sunrise. Most episodes ("sessions") are named after a musical concept of some sort, usually either a broad genre (i.e. "Jupiter Jazz") or a specific song (i.e. "Honky Tonk Women"). "Cowboy Bebop Session XX" is a special clip show that was created as the final episode, when the show was briefly canceled because of violence in Japanese schools after 13 episodes had aired. A movie was released in 2001, titled Cowboy Bebop: The Movie. It serves as a midquel taking place between episodes 22 and 23 of the anime series.

Cowboy Bebop was originally released on DVD by Bandai Entertainment, but said release has gone out of print since Bandai halted DVD production. The series was released in three separate editions in North America. The first release was sold in 2000 individually, and featured uncut versions of the original 26 episodes. In 2001, these DVDs were collected in the special edition Perfect Sessions which included the first 6 DVDs, the first Cowboy Bebop soundtrack, and a collector's box. At the time of release, the art box from the Perfect Sessions was made available for purchase on The Right Stuff International as a solo item for collectors who already owned the series.

The second release, The Best Sessions, was sold in 2002 and featured what Bandai considered to be the best 6 episodes of the series remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS surround sound.

The third release, Cowboy Bebop Remix, was also distributed on 6 discs and included the original 26 uncut episodes, with sound remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 and video remastered under the supervision of Shinichiro Watanabe. This release also included various extras that were not present in the original release. Cowboy Bebop Remix was itself collected as the Cowboy Bebop Remix DVD Collection in 2008.

In December 2012, Anime Limited announced via Facebook and Twitter that they had acquired the home video license for the United Kingdom. Part 1 of the Blu-Ray collection was released on July 29, 2013, while Part 2 and the standard DVD Complete Collection was released on September 23, 2013. In North America the series was acquired by FUNimation who released the series on Blu-Ray and DVD on December 16, 2014.

Broadcast History
In Japan, Cowboy Bebop had an aborted first run, from April 3, 1998 to June 26, 1998, on TV Tokyo, broadcasting only episodes 2, 3, 7 to 15, 18 and a special. Later that year, the series was shown in its entirety from October 24th to April 24, 1999, on the satellite network WOWOW.

In the United States, the English dub of the series premiered on Cartoon Network's brand new Adult Swim programming block on Sunday, September 2, 2001, making it the first anime series to air on the block. The series initially aired on Sundays from 12:00-1:00 AM, with repeats airing on Thursdays from 12:00-1:00 AM. Unfortunately, after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, the series was put on hiatus and was replaced with reruns of ToonHeads and The Bob Clampett Show. The series returned to Adult Swim on September 23, 2001 but skipped episodes 6 and 8, due to the content of the episodes being similar to the recent catastrophe. (episode 22 was also later skipped) After the initial run was completed on November 26, 2001, the series was rerun and two of the previously skipped episodes (6 and 8) were aired for the first time. Episode 22 was accidentally skipped for a second time on Sunday, February 10, 2002, but was aired on Thursday, February 14th.

On February 23, 2002, Adult Swim launched Adult Swim Action, an anime block that aired on Saturdays. Cowboy Bebop joined the new Adult Swim Action lineup, airing at 11:30 PM, and ceased airing on Sundays and Thursdays. In July of 2002, Adult Swim Action aired four marathons. The first two marathons featured Yu Yu Hakusho and the final two marathons featured Cowboy Bebop. The series moved into the 12:00 AM time slot on August 31, 2002. After the film Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counter Attack aired during Adult Swim Action on January 4, 2003, pre-empting the entire regular schedule, the block moved from Saturdays to Monday-Thursday on January 13th and began airing from 12:00-2:00 AM.

With the Adult Swim Action block now airing Monday-Thursday, Cowboy Bebop began airing at 1:30 AM. The series continued to air four times a week through June 12, 2003. After June 12th, the series was removed from the Adult Swim schedule for the first time in almost two years. It would return to the Monday-Thursday schedule and began airing on Sundays, replacing Lupin the 3rd Part II at 1:30 AM, on August 11, 2003. On October 5, 2003, Adult Swim expanded and began airing from 11:00 PM to 5:00 AM. To fill out the schedule, the first 3 hours (11:00-2:00) began re-airing from 2:00-5:00 AM. Cowboy Bebop continued to air at 1:30 AM with a rerun of the same episode airing at 4:30 AM. The series was replaced in the Monday-Thursday lineup following the October 19, 2003 broadcast by Android Kikaider. The series was also removed from Sundays following the October 26, 2003 broadcast.

The series returned to Adult Swim, airing Monday-Thursday and Sundays at 1:00 AM and 4:00 AM, on Monday, December 8, 2003. On February 16, 2004, the series moved to 1:30 AM and 4:30 AM. All anime was removed from the Sunday night schedule in April, as the night became exclusively for comedy series. Cowboy Bebop moved to Saturdays on April 17, 2004 and began airing at 1:00 AM and 4:00 AM on Monday-Thursday and Saturdays. After July 1, 2004, the series was removed from the Monday-Thursday schedule but remained on Saturdays at 1:00 AM and 4:00 AM. The series was pre-empted for two weeks (October 23-30, 2004) by special presentations of Read or Die and The Animatrix and then again by a special presentation of both films on December 25th.

On January 1, 2005, the series moved to 1:30 AM and 4:30 AM on Saturdays. The series was removed from the schedule following the May 7, 2005 broadcast and remained off Adult Swim until it began airing Monday-Wednesday at 1:30 AM and 4:30 AM on July 11, 2005. On September 1, 2005, it was also added to Thursdays. However, two weeks later, the series moved exclusively to Saturdays. The series was removed from the Saturday schedule following the October 29, 2005 broadcast.

Cowboy Bebop returned to Adult Swim, airing exclusively on Saturdays, at 1:30 AM and 4:30 AM on January 7, 2006. On April 20, 2006, the series also began airing at 12:30 AM and 4:00 AM on Thursdays. The series was removed from Thursdays after the June 8, 2006 broadcast and Saturdays following the July 1st broadcast. On Saturday, August 5, 2006 Adult Swim was scheduled by the winner of Adult Swim's Burger King "Have It Your Way" contest. The Cowboy Bebop 2-part series finale aired from 2:00-3:00 AM during this special lineup. The series finale then aired again on October 28, 2006 during the extra hour added by daylight savings.

The series did not return to Adult Swim until September 17, 2007, when it began airing Monday-Friday at 1:00 AM and 4:30 AM. After the October 26, 2007 broadcast the series was removed from the schedule. The 2-part series finale aired again from 2:00-3:00 AM on Saturday, November 3, 2007. The series did not return to Adult Swim until March 29, 2008 when it began airing on Saturdays at 1:30 AM and 4:30 AM. However, it was removed just three weeks later following the April 19, 2008 broadcast. It returned to Saturdays at 1:30 AM and 4:30 AM for just three weeks, from July 26-August 9, 2008.

On Saturday, September 27, 2008 Adult Swim was scheduled by the winner of Adult Swim's Burger King "Have It Your Way" contest and an episode of Cowboy Bebop aired at 11:30 PM. The series returned to Saturdays at 4:30 AM on November 8, 2008. On January 17, 2009, the series moved to the 4:00 AM time slot. It was removed from the schedule following the August 29, 2009 broadcast. The series returned to Saturdays at 2:30 AM on December 26, 2009 and on January 16, 2010, a second airing was added at 3:00 AM. However, on February 13th, FLCL took over the 2:30 AM time slot. On April 24th, the second airing returned and Cowboy Bebop began airing back-to-back from 2:00-3:00 AM.

On September 3, 2011, FLCL took over the 2:00 AM time slot leaving Cowboy Bebop with just one airing at 2:30 AM. Bebop remained airing at 2:30 AM until Toonami was revived on May 26, 2012, and the series began airing at 2:30 AM and 5:30 AM.


 * Japan (TV Tokyo) — April 3, 1998 - June 26, 1998
 * Japan (WOWOW) — October 24, 1999 - April 24, 1999
 * United States (Adult Swim) — September 2, 2001 - June 12, 2003; August 11, 2003 - October 26, 2003; December 8, 2003 - May 7, 2005; July 11, 2005 - October 29, 2005; January 7, 2006 - July 1, 2006; August 5, 2006; October 28, 2006; September 17, 2007 - October 26, 2007; November 3, 2007; March 29, 2008 - April 19, 2008; July 26, 2008 - August 9, 2008; September 27, 2008; November 8, 2008 - August 29, 2009; December 26, 2009 - August 11, 2012; October 6, 2012 - October 19, 2013 ; December 28, 2013 ; July 26, 2014 - January 31, 2015 ; September 9, 2017  - October 13, 2018; December 26, 2020 ; January 1-8, 2022
 * Latin America (Locomotion) — 2001
 * United Kingdom (CNX) — October 14, 2002 - 2003
 * Canada (Razer) — December 24, 2006 - 2007

Toonami Broadcast History
Cowboy Bebop was one of the holdovers from the Adult Swim Saturday night anime block that transitioned into Adult Swim's newly revived Toonami block on May 26, 2012. Reruns of the series were previously airing at 2:30 AM but took over Toonami's 2:30 AM and 5:30 AM time slots. Episode 15 was the first episode aired on Toonami as it continued where the series left off the previous week (episode 14). The series was removed from the lineup after the series finale (episode 26) aired on August 11, 2012, leaving the first 14 episodes of the series unaired on Toonami until the series returned for a second run.

On October 6, 2012, Toonami began to fill the entire six hour programming block without rerunning the first three hours from 3:00-6:00 AM. Due to this change, back-to-back episodes of Cowboy Bebop took over the 5:00-6:00 AM time slots. The series moved to the 4:00-5:00 AM time slots on November 10, 2012. On April 27, 2013, IGPX was added to the lineup, and as a result Cowboy Bebop lost the 4:00 AM time slot but remained in the 4:30 AM time slot. Following the October 19, 2013 Toonami broadcast, the series was removed from the lineup and Adult Swim announced that their license for the broadcast rights to Cowboy Bebop had expired. However, it returned for a one-night-only 4-hour marathon on December 28, 2013, during Toonami's month of movies.

During the Toonami panel at Momocon 2014 on May 24, 2014, it was announced that the series had been relicensed by Adult Swim and it returned to Toonami on July 26, 2014 at 4:30 AM. The series moved to the 3:30 AM time slot on October 4, 2014. After a three week hiatus (December 13-27, 2014) due to Toonami's second month of movies, Cowboy Bebop took over the 4:00 AM time slot on January 3, 2015. The series also started over from episode 1 and began airing in HD. However, following the January 31, 2015 broadcast, the Toonami block lost 2 hours of programming due to low ratings and the series was removed from the lineup as a result. Only the first 5 episodes had aired in HD before the series was abruptly pulled from Toonami.

On September 9, 2017, Toonami was expanded by half-an-hour and began airing from 11:00 PM - 4:00 AM. Cowboy Bebop took over the 3:00 AM time slot and again started over from episode 1, airing in HD. On December 23, 2017, there was a 5.5 hour Cowboy Bebop Holiday Marathon featuring the first 11 episodes of the series. On March 24, 2018, the 2-part series finale "The Real Folk Blues" aired back-to-back from 2:30-3:30 AM. On August 11, 2018, Cowboy Bebop and Lupin the Third: The Italian Adventure swapped time slots, with Bebop taking over the 3:30 AM time slot. However, it moved back to 3:00 AM on September 29, 2018. The series was removed from the lineup after the October 13, 2018 broadcast and was subsequently replaced by a second airing of Samurai Jack.

There was a 3.5 hour Cowboy Bebop marathon that aired on December 26, 2020 from 12:00-3:30 AM in honor of Cowboy Bebop winning the Toonami Audience Takeover Bracket. The 7 episode marathon was programmed by Coolkevin54 of the Adult Swim fansite Swimpedia after he submitted the winning bracket. Almost exactly a year later, there was a 3-hour Cowboy Bebop marathon that aired on January 1, 2022 from 1:00-4:00 AM and featured the first 6 episodes.


 * Toonami (United States) — May 26, 2012 - August 11, 2012; October 6, 2012 - October 19, 2013 ; December 28, 2013 ; July 26, 2014 - January 31, 2015 ; September 9, 2017  - October 13, 2018; December 26, 2020 ; January 1-8, 2022

Toonami Marathons
The following is a list of Toonami marathons in which at least one episode of Cowboy Bebop appeared.
 * Toonami Month of Movies: December 2013 (December 28, 2013)
 * Cowboy Bebop Holiday Marathon (December 23, 2017)
 * Cowboy Bebop Marathon (December 26, 2020)
 * Cowboy Bebop Marathon (January 1, 2022)