2. Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop is cool. It’s a show about four (initially two) bounty hunters set in the backdrop of the far future in outer space on the ship, The Bebop. The show is hip and is backed up with a mellow jazz soundtrack done by the eclectic group, The Seatbelts. Cowboy Bebop is, like its lesser spiritual successor, Samurai Champloo, episodic. Don’t let that fool you into thinking that it’s a throw-away plot though. Cowboy Bebop shines as a tale of camaraderie through hardship. The Bebop’s crew consists of Spike, the laid back but kickass main character of the story, to Jet, the former police detective with a robotic arm, to Faye, a beautiful young woman with a mysterious past, to Ed, a little girl who’s a whiz at computer hacking. While they never would admit it, they are a family. They catch bounties to scratch on by, but sooner or later, bigger events shape up and confront the Bebop crew, and each must face their destiny. The show consists of epic gun shoot-outs to a wonderful film-noir feel that recalls movie classics like Chinatown… only in space. The final showdown with the series’ main bad guy, Vicious, is basically Rambo in anime form. It’s badass. Cowboy Bebop is art and it is flawless, but it’s still not my favorite animated series.