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Season 1 – Cowboy Bebop

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – Cowboy Bebop Oct 1998 Sci-Fi Adventure Anime Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 23 Reviews 95% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
The adventures of a group of bounty hunters who travel around the solar system chasing criminals, unraveling their dark and mysterious pasts throughout their journey.
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Cowboy Bebop — Season 1

Cowboy Bebop — Season 1

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Blending a head-spinning array of genres and references, Cowboy BeBop is an anime television classic that must be experienced.

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Critics Reviews

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Doreen St. Felix The New Yorker 05/09/2020
Choose subtitles over English dubbing; the native vocal performances, in Japanese, convey a hypnotizing malaise. Go to Full Review Jean-Luc Bouchard and Anjali Patel BuzzFeed News 02/22/2019
Each of the 26 episodes of Cowboy Bebop exemplify a concerted effort to create artwork, music, plot, and character that best play off one another, establishing subtle but consistent series-long themes and arcs. Go to Full Review Tasha Robinson Sci-Fi Weekly 02/22/2019
A-
It tends to resemble a random grab-bag of American and Japanese TV icons, tossed into a blender that's set on puree. But it's fast, frantic, and very funny, the animation is top-notch, and "Lupin" fans at least will find the characters warmly familiar. Go to Full Review Charles Hartford But Why Tho? 04/16/2023
Cowboy Bebop delivers a true work of television art. Its characters, narrative, sound, and animation are nearly flawless in all regards. This isn’t just the best anime I’ve ever seen; it’s my favorite television series of all time. Go to Full Review Panos Kotzathanasis Asian Movie Pulse 12/30/2021
8/10
23 years after its initial release, "Cowboy Bepop" remains a masterpiece of the category, a triumph of coolness and a testament to the narrative depth anime can occasionally show. Go to Full Review Meghan O'Keefe Decider 02/26/2019
Its tightly-wound narratives, gorgeously three-dimensional characters, vast original universe, and distinctly mesmerizing visual style help it stand apart from the crowd. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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babarizam D @RT59932316 Dec 3 I love the show but not Julia character. She was completely opposite of what whole show made her to be. See more Paul S @PManRager Aug 31 Not only is this one of the best anime shows I've ever watched, it's also one of the best shows I've watched in general. Every episode was captivating in its own unique way, and the animation for the show was absolutely beautiful. This show is a trailblazer in the sci-fi anime sector, and it has one of the most incredible storylines I've ever seen. I definitely recommend it for anime, sci-fi, and action fans! See more chea b @RT32229651 Aug 18 It's a masterpiece -- endlessly rewatchable. See more james o @RT63376403 Jul 13 the series is a described it as DC Comics meets Star Wars, Masters of the Universe meets Avatar: The Last Airbender, Berserk meets The Dragon Prince, Afro Samurai meets Lupin III, Cat's Eye meets The Boondocks, See more ring f @RT61631640 06/02/2025 a romantic story and romantic characters See more O&R m @pochita_ 03/21/2025 What else can I say? It’s an absolute classic. See more Read all reviews
Cowboy Bebop — Season 1

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Shinichirô Watanabe

Creator

Hajime Yatate

Creator

Steve Blum

Spike Spiegel

John Billingslea

Jet Black

Wendee Lee

Faye Valentine

Alex Hassell

Vicious:

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Oct 23, 1998 Asteroid Blues Spike and Jet head to the Tijuana asteroid colony to track down a bounty-head wanted for murder and the theft of a dangerous combat drug known as Bloody-Eye. Details Episode 2 Aired Oct 30, 1998 Stray Dog Strut Spike and Jet are hired to recover an unusual item that has been stolen from a research laboratory; Spike is led on a wild chase. Details Episode 3 Aired Nov 6, 1998 Honky Tonk Women Legendary gambler Faye Valentine is on the run with a six million woolong price on her head; casino-owner Gordon makes her an offer she can't refuse. Details Episode 4 Aired Nov 13, 1998 Gateway Shuffle Faye teams up with Spike and Jet to track down a gang of space activists that plan on turning the human population into monkeys. Details Episode 5 Aired Nov 20, 1998 Ballad of Fallen Angels Spike's past comes back to haunt him as he goes after a member of the Red Dragon Syndicate; for Spike to survive, he must face his old friend and comrade, Vicious, alone. Details Episode 6 Aired Nov 27, 1998 Sympathy for the Devil Spike and Jet meet Wen, a musical child prodigy, but there seems to be something strange about him; there may be a connection between the kid and the stone a man handed to Spike with his dying breath. Details Episode 7 Aired Dec 4, 1998 Heavy Metal Queen Spike meets up with VT, a strong, independent woman; they become fast friends until she discovers that Spike is a bounty hunter; they must work together if they want to get out alive. Details Episode 8 Aired Dec 11, 1998 Waltz for Venus Spike gets involved with a fugitive who is willing to risk his own life to restore his sister's sight. Details Episode 9 Aired Dec 18, 1998 Jamming With Edward The crew encounters the genius hacker known as Ed; he wants to join the crew and sets out to change their minds; the crew doesn't want a kid tagging along and getting in the way. Details Episode 10 Aired Jan 1, 1999 Ganymede Elegy The Bebop lands on Ganymede for the first time since Jet left his past behind eight years ago; he tries to patch things up with Elisa, the girl who broke his heart, but instead walks into a crisis of loyalties. Details Episode 11 Aired Jan 8, 1999 Toys in the Attic A strange blob-like creature with a venomous bite infiltrates the Bebop and incapacitates Jet, Faye and Ein; with half the crew out of action, it's up to Spike and Ed to destroy the creature and find out where it came from. Details Episode 12 Aired Jan 15, 1999 Jupiter Jazz Jet hunts an escaped convict; Faye cleans out the safe and goes AWOL, hiding out in the men-only Callistan town of Blue Crow. Details Episode 13 Aired Jan 22, 1999 Jupiter Jazz Jet continues his mission to reunite his Bebop comrades; Spike finds himself locked in a dogfight with his old nemesis Vicious. Details Episode 14 Aired Jan 29, 1999 Bohemian Rhapsody With the appearance of tollbooths at the interstellar travel gates, the Bebop's crew pools its information and tries to track down the mastermind behind it all. Details Episode 15 Aired Feb 5, 1999 My Funny Valentine The Bebop runs low on supplies; Jet hunts down a small-time criminal who specializes in matrimonial fraud; Faye retells the story of when she was first woken from Cold Sleep. Details Episode 16 Aired Feb 12, 1999 Black Dog Serenade A prison ship riot reunites Jet with a partner from his days with the ISSP; the prisoner in charge is the one responsible for the damage to Jet's arm; he has a score to settle. Details Episode 17 Aired Feb 19, 1999 Mushroom Samba The Bebop is out of fuel and the crew is out of cash and food; driven by hunger, Ed and Ein go in a search for something to eat and wind up in the middle of a strange bounty hunt. Details Episode 18 Aired Feb 26, 1999 Speak Like a Child Faye goes missing after a tough day at the races; Spike and Jet open a package containing one of the last remaining examples of the antique video format known as Beta; their quest to watch it takes them all the way to the ruins of old Earth. Details Episode 19 Aired Mar 5, 1999 Wild Horses Spike visits the mechanic who built his ship, Swordfish speedster; the rest of the Bebop crew go in search of the Space Pirates. Details Episode 20 Aired Mar 12, 1999 Pierrot Le Fou An assassin known as Mad Pierrot claims his seventh high-ranking victim; Spike fights for his life in a fairground, dodging bullets, ducking ice-skating penguins and running from giant collapsing pigs. Details Episode 21 Aired Mar 19, 1999 Boogie-Woogie Feng Shui Jet gets a cryptic message from a former associate he thought was dead; Jet searches for the legendary Sun Stone, hoping that it can help him solve the mystery. Details Episode 22 Aired Mar 26, 1999 Cowboy Funk The Teddy Bomber, a terrorist with a fluffy-toy fetish, plants explosives in tall buildings all over town. Details Episode 23 Aired Apr 2, 1999 Brain Scratch Faye turns up on a chat show, singing praises for a religious cult; the Bebop crew must find the cult's leader before it's too late. Details Episode 24 Aired Apr 9, 1999 Hard Luck Woman Faye searches for more clues to her identity; the crew reluctantly returns to the crater-strewn Earth, where she comes face-to-face with a figure from her past. Details Episode 25 Aired Apr 16, 1999 The Real Folk Blues Spike and Jet are ambushed by members of the syndicate; Faye has an unexpected encounter with a woman from Spike's past. Details Episode 26 Aired Apr 23, 1999 The Real Folk Blues Reunited once again, Julia tells Spike about the threat she received; he seeks to end Vicious' reign. Details

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Cowboy Bebop — Season 1

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Season Info

Creator
Shinichirô Watanabe, Hajime Yatate
Network
Cartoon Network
Rating
TV-14
Genre
Sci-Fi, Adventure, Anime
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date
Oct 23, 1998