Keiko Nobumoto Movies

The popular animé series Cowboy Bebop gets its own feature-length film with the aptly named Cowboy Bebop: The Movie. Set in the late 21st century, it jumps into the series' story line just prior to its conclusion, with the bounty hunting crew of the interstellar craft Bebop chasing a hacker aboard a tanker into a major city on Mars. As crew member Faye Valentine closes in on the tanker, she witnesses its catastrophic explosion, which soon appears to be a viral terrorist attack as the death toll continues to mount in the days following. Furthermore, Faye caught a glimpse of the person responsible for the blast and is thus the only surviving witness of the crime. After the government puts out a large bounty for the perpetrator's capture, the Bebop gang -- slacker Spike Spiegel, former policeman Jet Black, and hacker girl genius Edward -- begin their own hunt for the mass murderer, who is eventually revealed to be one Vincent Volaju. Vincent, it turns out, was the lone survivor of a governmental medical test and now seeks revenge by unleashing the same microscopic robotic virus used in the tanker explosion on the unsuspecting city. The Bebop crew must scramble to prevent Vincent from carrying out his plan, as well as try to locate an anti-virus to counterattack the effects of Vincent's virus. Released in both dubbed and subtitled cuts in the United States in 2003, Cowboy Bebop - The Movie premiered in Japan in 2001. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide

Jet gets a mysterious email from his old friend, Pao, a feng-shui master. This leads him to Pao's gravestone, where he meets Meifa, Pao's daughter, who has developed her father's skill with feng-shui. Meifa and Jet team up against the Blue Snake Mobsters and search for the sun stone, which may give them some answers. Like other Jet-centered episodes, "Boogie Woogie Feng-Shui" is influenced by the detective genre and features voice-over narration. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

The title being a take on the tune by the Stray Cats, the episode "Stray Dog Strut" marks the first appearance of the data dog Ein and his joining of the Bebop crew. Jet and Spike are after the bounty of thief Abdul Hakim. Hakim is chasing after the valuable data dog while illegal research scientists try to get it back. One of the more lighthearted and funny episodes, it makes some references to Bruce Lee's Game of Death. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Part one of the two-part episode "Jupiter Jazz" starts with Faye apparently cleaning out the safe and taking off for a moon of Jupiter. She hangs out at a bar and meets a saxophonist named Gren. Meanwhile, Ed searches the web for her and one name keeps coming up: Julia. When Spike hears that, he takes off, after having an argument with Jet. Faye goes home with Gren and finds out he isn't what he appears to be. In his search for Julia, Spike ends up in some gun play with Vicious and his own former comrade, Lin. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Titled after the Jean-Luc Godard film, "Pierrot Le Fou" is one of the more visually striking episodes. Spike is badly injured from a killing machine named Pierrot Le Fou. Jet's ISSP friend Bob lets the Bebop crew in on some of Pierrot's past, and Spike gets an invitation to a "party." In a fantastical theme park called Spaceland, Spike battles the bizarre villain. This episode features an homage to Pink Floyd's "On the Run" from Dark Side of the Moon, as well as various influences from Batman. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

In the first part of the final two episodes of the Cowboy Bebop series, "The Real Folk Blues, Part 1," Vicious, the dangerous loner from Spike's past, tries to take over the Red Dragon crime syndicate, but is caught by the elders. Soon, Spike and Jet are shot at by syndicate gangsters, but Shin helps them escape. Meanwhile, Faye accidentally meets Julia, who relays a message for Spike just before Red Dragon fighter planes attack the Bebop. This episode reveals many of the dangerous secrets that have haunted Spike about his past connection to Vicious and Julia. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Titled after the Kiss ballad, "Hard Luck Woman" opens with Faye watching a video, looking for clues about her past. Faye drags Ed along with her to Earth, in search of some locations from the video. Instead, the girls run into Ed's old caretaker, Sister Clara, and Faye has a run-in of her own. Meanwhile, Jet and Spike are after the bounty of Appledehli, who is attempting to make a map of the ever-changing Earth while it is consistently pummeled with meteors. Drawing to the close of the series, this episode contains some dramatic turning points as well as an ending scene reference to the Paul Newman film Cool Hand Luke. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

The story line for the final episode of the Cowboy Bebop series, "The Real Folk Blues, Part 2," offers a poignant realization that all things come to an end. Just as Spike has united with Julia after three years, Vicious takes over the Red Dragon crime syndicate. Spike and Julia run to Annie's store to rescue her, only to be attacked by syndicate gangsters. One of the saddest, most beautiful entries in the series, the episode ends with Spike finally confronting his past to the tune of the Beatles' "Carry That Weight." See you space cowboy... ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

This episode, "Jamming With Edward," is the first appearance of Radical Edward, the 13-year-old girl genius computer hacker, whose trademark is a smiley face. An artificial intelligence satellite carves cave drawings on the surface of Earth, and a huge bounty is placed on the mysterious culprit, believed to be Radical Edward. Thinking hackers are boring, Spike stays on the Bebop while Faye and Jet go to Earth searching for clues. Edward makes contact with the Bebop, and Faye makes a promise to her in exchange for information about the bounty head. Spike gets involved and the crew embarks on the dangerous task of downloading a copy of the A.I. satellite. Due to Faye's promise, Ed officially joins the Bebop crew. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of Cowboy Bebop, the characters Jet and Spike are introduced as two broke and hungry bounty hunters living on a ship called the Bebop. Jet and Spike go to the asteroid Tijuana after the bounty of Asimov Solensen, a villain addicted to the drug Red Eye. Asimov and his girlfriend, Katerina, are on the run heading for Mars when Spike meets up with them and shows off his Bruce Lee-style fighting skills. The reoccurring background characters of Antonio, Carlos, and Jobin make their first appearance. "Asteroid Blues" bears some tributes to the film Desperado. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Originally broadcast in 1998 with 12 episodes on TV Tokyo, Cowboy Bebop also aired in 2001 as part of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming with an excellent English-dubbed soundtrack and all 26 episodes. The action-packed and hyper-styled animé is a very human drama in a futuristic setting about crime-fighting adventurers. Set in the 21st century, the Earth is a wasteland and the solar system has been fitted with hyperspace gates -- sort of an expressway for spaceships -- where criminals and gangsters continue to proliferate. Enter the misfit bounty hunters of the rickety ship called Bebop. Spike Siegel is the ultra-cool Bruce Lee-style fighter, who harbors painful memories that he covers up with a cynical wit. Jet Black is a former cop and a decent mechanic, who carries around memories of his own troubled past along with his mechanical arm. Faye Valentine is a femme fatale and compulsive gambler with a massive debt, who yearns to discover her identity prior to her cryogenic freezing. Along with the self-styled computer hacker girl called Ed and the data dog, Ein, the bounty hunters try to earn their keep and get through the day. The visual style is unique in the animé genre, using inspiration from old pulp adventure stories, film noir, and Westerns. Along with the original jazz compositions from The Seatbelts, the soundtrack incorporates rock & roll and blues references. Style reigns in the world of these futuristic outlaws, but not at the sake of substance. The tragi-comic family of the Bebop crew deals with the realities of loneliness and isolation, as well as shoot-em-up action and bittersweet romance. Alternately poignant, destructive, and hilarious, Cowboy Bebop has become an exceptional science fiction series. The series would be followed by a feature-length adventure, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie in 2002. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide