How Cowboy Bebop and Shinichiro Watanabe Changed Anime Forever - A Retrospective

Cowboy Bebop is perhaps the most impactful anime ever produced. It introduced Western audiences to relatable themes, offered style like no other piece of media before it, and delved deep into the psyche of characters in a way that hadn't been touched since Hideaki Anno's 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' a few years prior.

Director Shinichiro Watanabe carved this masterpiece out of a strong sense of Japanese culture and American film noir, combining the two into an unshakeable foundation for many anime to come. It is, by and large, the most widely beloved anime - so much so that it got a Netflix adaptation in Nov. 2021.

Music used:

'The Plight of the Samurai' by Kosaquo
   • The Plight of the Samurai - Tradition...  

'Omega' by Scott Buckley
   • Omega – Scott Buckley (No Copyright M...  

2-Hour Synthwave Mix by White Bat Audio
   • 2 Hour Synthwave MIX  - L.A. Sunset /...  

'Dreamer' by Hazy
   • Dreamer by Hazy - Cinematic - Ambient...  

'Expand' by Hazy
   • Expand by Hazy - Cinematic - Ambient ...  

'Wonder' by Hazy
   • Wonder by Hazy - Cinematic - Ambient ...  

'Enlightened' by Tim Kulig Free Music
  / timkuligfreemusic  

'Cricket Cave Meditation' by Tim Kulig Free Music
  / timkuligfreemusic  

'One With Ocean Currents' by Tim Kulig Free Music
  / timkuligfreemusic  

'Plutonian Sunrise' by Tim Kulig Free Music
  / timkuligfreemusic