The Top Ten Episodes of "Cowboy Bebop"

2013 marks the fifteenth anniversary of the landmark anime series "Cowboy Bebop." I don't think it's the best anime series ever made, and perhaps it was never the most popular or influential, but it's the show that made a definite mark on the industry and the culture, particularly in the U.S., where it helped to popularize anime for the internet generation. I'm such an old school anime fan, I finished watching the series on rented VHS tapes back in the early 2000s, but I suspect most people came across "Bebop" on one of its late night airings on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block.

As always, picks are unranked but ordered by airdate, and I will totally cheat and count two-parters as single entries. There are moderate spoilers ahead:

Asteroid Blues – The show's first episode introduced bounty hunter "cowboys" Spike Spiegel and Jet Black of the beat up spaceship Bebop. There was already some controversy when it first aired in Japan, due to the violent content. However, it also quickly established the mood and tone of the show, which was very adult, very action-oriented, and very, very cool.

The Ballad of Fallen Angels – At its heart, "Cowboy Bebop" is noir, and this was the episode that would make that clear as it set up the series' biggest story arc: Spike Spiegel's past in organized crime and the lost love he gave up everything for. Most remember "Angels" for the tour de force action scenes, wonderful use of music, and the introduction of the series' central villain, Vicious.

Jamming With Edward – Many "Bebop" fans were skeptical about the final member of the Bebop crew who joins up in this episode, the hacker kid Radical Edward. Fortunately Ed is a feral little nutter who works by her own peculiar logic, and is neither too precious nor too strange. Instead, she lends a good amount of comic energy to the stories where she appears. And yes, Ed is a girl.

Toys in the Attic – Many "Bebop" episodes paid homage to different film genres. This was the show's spoof on "Alien," where an unknown creature stalks the crew aboard the Bebop. Lots of horror movie clichés get turned on their heads, and we're treated to the sight of Spike trying to light a cigarette with a flame thrower as he tries to steady is nerves before facing the monster.

Mushroom Samba – The one where Edward takes the lead for once, chasing down bounties on a desert planet that is one giant blaxploitation genre homage, while the rest of the crew gets high on mushrooms. This is one of the weirdest, most out of bounds, and most side-splittingly "Bebop" outings, a playful comic romp that thoroughly indulges the show's sillier side.

Speak Like a Child – I really admire "Bebop" for creating a leading lady like Faye Valentine with such a strong personality and equally formidable flaws, but it wasn't until they started delving into her past that I realized there was much more to her. Faye's tragic backstory would unfold over several episodes, but this was the gutpuncher, the one where we finally learned what was at stake.

Wild Horses – After the space shuttle Columbia disaster happened, this episode about Spike visiting an old spaceship mechanic friend, was pulled from the Adult Swim rotation for a while. Some of the scenes in the episode may still resemble actual events a little too closely for comfort, but I find the ending scenes more poignant than ever. And in its own way, it's a fitting tribute.

Pierrot Le Fou – Spike is targeted by an assassin with telekinetic powers, and spends most of this installment in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase with his pursuer through a futuristic theme park. "Bebop" was highly regarded for its animation, particularly the action sequences, and "Pierrot le Fou" features some of the best. The assassin is also one of the series' most formidable and creepy antagonists.

Hard Luck Woman – I always liked the lead up to the show's finale a little better than the finale itself, because it's all about the show acknowledging change. Faye and Edward both look for answers about their pasts, answers that inevitably led them away from the Bebop. As much fun as they had playing bounty hunters, it couldn't go on forever, and sadly, neither could the show.

The Real Folk Blues – The ending two-parter has all the things you expect from a big finish, including lots of action, lots of emotion, and decisive conclusions to all the outstanding conflicts that the series had been building up over twenty-six episodes. But what makes this ending so memorable is that it wasn't afraid of finality, taking Spike Spiegel's story to the only place it could logically go. And sending him off with style.

See you Space Cowboy!
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