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Why 'Cowboy Bebop' Isn’t Just Another Anime

An Analysis

By The Neon HunterPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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The thrilling anime series about a futuristic, almost dystopian world, centered on greed, corruption, and life itself, with a gang of cybernetic and cool looking bounty hunters as our main characters is more than just that. It is an experience, focused more on memory and our past more than anything else.

The reason I open with this and why I am discussing and trying to point this out is because it is so different and vibrant compared to a lot of other modern animes. What I specifically mean by that is a lot of modern animes feel quite similar, with magical powers or superpowers making the main character(s) more overpowered and drastically different from a real human being, to the point where it is silly and predictable.

Cowboy Bebop gives you a chance not to just enjoy its amazing world, but to think and reflect on yourself and your past. All of the main characters have either chosen to forget their past or have been forced to. In fact, most of them divorce themselves from the idea that they even had one. For example, Faye Valentine’s memory has been totally forgotten by the amnesia she suffered with. When she finally finds something of relevance and relation to her old self, her memories of which, she sees it not as herself but as something truly missing because she can’t.

During the course of the anime, we slowly get to learn who our characters are, through episodes centered on people they have previously loved or worked beside, as opposed to the anime just showing you right off the bat. I think this is very interesting, as it gives a chance for more of an arc and slowly builds relations with the characters.

That is another interesting point about this show, the characters act as if they hate each other, and would rather be alone, but we do truly see what they actually feel about one another over time, as they learn not to be alone. I think this gives a good conclusion to the series, that through all of their time hating one another and themselves, they have learned something about one another, that they are all the same, and with that, there has been a big character arc between them.

The anime also chooses not to express their memories in a verbal way, through dialogue, but through visual representation, with many metaphors and meanings that are certainly worth a second watch. It does this also in a more gorgeous and memorable way, with the lighting of the shots and environments being more accurate to a real film, rather than a simple TV show, that usually offers high contrast and simple cinematographic images.

With the ships, cities, planets, and even deep space itself, the world is also one of the most amazing and good looking parts of the show, and also expresses the true grit and darkness of the setting, with drug smuggling, and dangerous people left and right. I think this part of the show also helps the characters grow, and express their self-hate for the past more, as they have grown up and lived in this kind of world.

In conclusion, with the dystopian future and disconnected world so different from ours, we get a chance to realize what we are, and how we change and try to forget our past, even though it makes us blank and socially disconnected from other people when we do so. I strongly recommend you try this TV show out, as it is just amazing and very unique, from how much I have said it is dark and gritty, it also has its funny moments too.

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About the Creator

The Neon Hunter

I write essays about Film and TV, especially about different and unique pieces. I also write poetry and stories here and there.

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