Cowboy Bebop: The Movie

I'm not that keen on anime. I mean, I've got nothing against it, and every now and again I'll find something worth watching, but for the most part it doesn't interest me. Always stuff about magic or ninjas or loud girls or some mystical evil or whatever (don't get me wrong, those are all great things. But done over and over and over and over again, they tend to lose some of their edge). For me, anime is just another thing, nothing big at all.

There is one exception to this rule, and that is Cowboy Bebop (well, two exceptions, I'm partial to Detective Conan as well. But that's another matter). That was a fantastic show in every respect. The characters were interesting, enjoyable, clever, and fun, the voice acting (always tricky with American dubs) was top notch, as was the music (a hallmark of the series, basically). And the general plot and style of the show was something that I just loved.

Taking place in the year 2071, interspace travel is possible, with space ships going through large hypersapce 'Gates' to go from planet to planet. An accident involving one of these gate many years before wiped out a good portion of Earth and the human race. As people spread throughout the solar system, it soon became near impossible to police all the crime. Thus, the bounty system of the old west was installed, and bounty hunters ('cowboys') became commonplace.

Cowboy Bebop follows the eternally-broke crew of the Bebop, an old fishing ship turned bounty ship. The four of them (Man-man Spike, ex-cop Jet, gambling tomboy Faye, and 'energetic' hacker Ed) wander throughout space, trying to catch some big bounties and usually (through no real fault of their own) failing. Most of the episodes are devoted to them tracking down a specific bounty, with several 'story' episodes peppered in that explain the real meat of the series (and it s a damn fine story).

The movie itself is essentially a long episode of the show (as so many TV movies are), in this case one of the bounty hunting ones. Someone on Mars made a tanker full of something deadly explode, killing dozens of people. In order to stop the threat of a larger-scale event happening, the government places an astronomical price on the head of the culprit. Naturally, the Bebop crew is interested.

It's a great movie from every respect. The characters are all present and have several scenes devoted to them (that play to their personalities perfectly, and in several instances give some more insight to who they are). The bad guy (a mean, yet fairly calm, dude named Vincent) is tough and menacing. The music is fantastic as always (though I'm wondering why they didn't use the excellent theme song of the show; you'll agree with me when you hear it), and the animation is lush and vibrant, really showcasing what 2-D animation can still do.

As far as anime movies go, this one is aces, definitely up there. Add it to the already phenomenal TV show, and you've got something amazing. Even if you hate anime you should give this one a look (or if you're more neutral on the subject, then definitely watch this). Being a fan of the series helps, but even if you're not (or have never seen it) then it's still a solid sci-fi action animated movie.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au1AO1xaEts