I’ve only recently gotten interested in the world of Anime (Japanese animation for the uninitiated). Admittedly a lot of what I’d seen in the past didn’t really impress me. Of course, I had watched “Speed Racer” when I was a kid, and enjoyed it only because it was a colorful cartoon, fast and easy to understand. As an adult I had only been exposed to “Pokemon”, “Digimon” and all the other little ‘mons” floating around out there. Seems I just couldn’t ever get myself interested enough in Anime to watch any of the supposed ‘good stuff.’ Early in 2002, I caught part of an episode of a series called “Cowboy Bebop.” And when I say ‘part’, I mean I only saw the last five minutes of an episode. Oddly enough, in that five minutes I saw some of the best and most remarkable animation I had seen in years. I immediately started looking into getting some of the shows on DVD to see what I had been missing. I found a full set of the series, watched the entire thing in two days and was hooked. My only disappointment, the fact that those 26 episodes were all there was. No more “Cowboy Bebop” for me. Until now.

A few months ago I heard rumors of a “Cowboy Bebop” movie. Thanks to many of the rumors, I was both excited and upset about the news. I heard that the movie was indeed going to be released, but without the original voices of the main characters. Usually that doesn’t work very well. In live entertainment, it’s one thing when an actor is replaced. The whole image changes physically and vocally, and that’s easy to get used to. In animation, it’s harder to accept this kind of change as you have the same face… different voice. It’s much harder to accept, if done badly. If you’re a fan of animation, you know what I mean. The good news is that hard-core fans of “Cowboy Bebop” actually lobbied to get most of the original American voice actors back. And they won.

Originally I thought there had still been one major change when I saw Stephen Jay Blum listed as the lead character, Spike Speigel. The series had David Lucas listed as having done the voice. When I saw the movie, I was amazed at just how exact Blum sounded compared to Lucas. Well no wonder, as it turns out they are one in the same person. For some reason (that I swear I’m going to find out), he uses both names whenever he does voiceover work.

I know that a lot of Anime purists will tell you that the only way to watch Anime is in Japanese with subtitles. In many cases this is true, as the American dubs are often not very well done. In all of the episodes I’ve seen of “Cowboy Bebop”, the voiceover work is exceptional and really made the characters for me. So I can only say, watch it whichever way suits you best.

For those who are not familiar, “Cowboy Bebop” takes place in the 2070’s and centers around Spike Spiegel, Jet Black and Faye Valentine. They are ‘cowboys’… Bounty Hunters… whose livelihood is made by bringing in the bad guys. But as you can guess, they don’t do it because they’re the good guys; they do it for the money. The series offered an excellent blend of physical action and metaphysical reflection, drama and humor. It was a very well rounded show.

In “Cowboy Bebop – The Movie, ” a tanker truck is blown up on Mars’ Highway One, releasing a deadly virus that kills hundreds.  Fearing a bigger, even more devastating biochemical attack, an astronomical reward is offered for the arrest and capture of the person behind the destruction.  On the space ship ‘Bebop,’ Spike and his crew are bored and short of cash.  But with the news of the reward everything changes.

I’m thrilled to tell you that this version is everything the series was…and more. All of the things that made “Cowboy Bebop” such great show are present and often taken further into the extreme. First is the action, with edge-of-your-seat chases and powerfully animated fight scenes. These scenes are spread out pretty evenly over the course of the film, but I guarantee you’ll find yourself holding your breath in some spots. Second, and I think most important, are the main characters and the interaction between them. They work together as a wholly dysfunctional family, preying on each other’s weaknesses while praising their strengths. Third, is the humor. Some of the lines are priceless, and Spike’s passively sarcastic attitude, even in while in the middle of a tense situation, is often hysterical without breaking the intensity of the scene. This is a credit to the writers as well as the voiceover work.

The DVD release has some really great extras. There are six featurettes, all of which vary in length, but offer up most of what a “Cowboy Bebop” fan would want to see. The first two focus on the creation of the series and movie, with lots of interviews with the creative team. What I was even more excited about was the inclusion of interviews with several of the voice artists, both from the Japanese and American cast. I had always wanted to see what these people looked like, and finally got the chance. It got even better with the last four as they each centered on a particular character, Spike, Faye, Ed and Jet. In these we got even more interviews and a bit of insight into the creation of the personalities. The interviews with director Shinichiro Watanabe and the Japanese cast are in Japanese with boxed subtitles.

There are also four storyboard comparisons, for those interested in such, as well as character biographies that give some good background information. The five galleries have over a hundred pieces of conceptual art covering areas like characters, automobiles and accessories. The two music videos are really just the opening and closing credit scenes without the credits.

Bottom line, “Cowboy Bebop – The Movie ” offers an exhilarating two-hour ride of intense action, strong plotting, and humor sure to please fans of the series, fans of Anime in general and oddly enough, those who don’t really like Anime at all. I recommend it to those who are like me and thought Anime was all spiritual fantasy and cute little monsters. I was surprised and I think you will be, too. Be warned, though… there are some scenes of intense violence… it’s not for the kiddies.

Directed by: Shinichiro Watanabe
Starring the voices of: Steven Jay Blum, Beau Billingsley and Wendee Lee
Studio: Sony / Columbia Tristar
Release Date: 6/24/2003
MPAA Rating: R (Some Violent Images)
Website 1
Website 2 (Special Edition)

We'll give Cowboy Bebop - The Movie an A.