Cowboy Bebop: The Movie

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Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' On Heaven's Door

劇場版 カウボーイビバップ 天国の

Kanji
扉
Gekijōban Kaubōi Bibappu: Tengoku
Rōmaji
no Tobira
Directed by Shinichiro Watanabe
Masahiko Minami
Produced by Minoru Takanashi
Masuo Ueda
Written by Screenplay:
Keiko Nobumoto
 Story:
Hajime Yatate
Kōichi Yamadera
Unshō Ishizuka
Megumi Hayashibara
Starring
Aoi Tada
Ai Kobayashi
Tsutomu Isobe
Yoko Kanno & The Seatbelts
Music by
Herbie Hancock & V.S.O.P.
Cinematography Yōichi Ōgami
Editing by Shūichi Kakesu
Sunrise Animation
Studio
Bones
Destination Films
Distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Films
Emotion
September 1, 2001 (Japan)
Release date(s)
August 11, 2002 (US)
Running time 115 min.
Language Japanese

Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door (劇場版 カウボーイビバップ 天国の扉

Gekijōban Kaubōi Bibappu: Tengoku no Tobira?, titled Cowboy Bebop: Heaven's Door in
English), known internationally as Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, is a 2001 animated film directed
by Shinichirō Watanabe. The screenplay was written by Keiko Nobumoto, based on the Cowboy
Bebop television series created by Sunrise. The plot centers on Spike Spiegel and his crew as
they find a criminal who is planning to release a virus on Mars. The title of the movie is taken
from the Bob Dylan song of the same name. The character Vincent is based around the musician.
[1]

Opening on September 1, 2001 in Japan and in the U.S. on August 11, 2002, the film grossed
over $3 million in Japan[2] and received positive reviews.

Contents
[hide]
  1 Plot
 2 Development
 3 Characters and voice cast
 4 Reception
 5 Music
 6 Blu-ray disc
 7 Notes
 8 External links

Plot
The year is 2071, a few days before Halloween. A deadly virus is being released on the populace
of Mars and the government has issued a 300 million woolong reward, the largest bounty in
history, for the capture of whoever is behind it. The bounty hunter crew of the spaceship Bebop;
Spike, Faye, Jet, Ed and Ein, take the case with hopes of cashing in the great bounty. But the
mystery surrounding the man responsible, Vincent, goes deeper than they ever imagined, and
they aren't the only ones hunting him; the original creators of the virus have dispatched Electra to
deal with Vincent and take out anyone who may stumble on the truth behind him. As the hunt for
the man with no past and no future continues to escalate, the fate of mankind rests with the
Bebop crew, a responsibility they aren't so sure they can handle.

Development
Shinichirō Watanabe, creator of the Cowboy Bebop series, said in an interview he aimed to use
"more difficult technical effects" available for the film to create a "live-action look" that would
permeate throughout the animated film.[3] When asked what the audience should "watch out for"
in the film, Watanabe responded by saying that one should not just pay attention to "images,"
since the creators "pushed [themselves]" on the story, the facial expressions, and "everything". In
addition Watanabe said that he "kept the whole 'Bebop Flavor' in mind" and that some viewers
would not perceive the film as being distinct from the television series.[3]

Watanabe chose to use an "Arabesque" atmosphere, which was described by an interviewer as

permeating "everywhere from the images to the music," saying that the Arab world was "alien"
to him and that it "wasn't used much" in the television series. He said that he ultimately created
the film "using the inspiration I got while I was in Morocco" to gain inspiration, adding that he
would not have used the material in his film if he did not like what he saw.[3]

Watanabe used two guest directors, with Hiroyuki Okiura creating the opening and Tensai
Okamura created the "Western film-within-the-film." When asked by the interviewer if he asked
directors to create segments with "different sensibilities," Watanabe responded by saying that the
segments were "very different" from the rest of the film and that the schedule would not have
allowed Watanabe to film them, so he had decided that he would rather let "someone I could
trust" film the segments.[3]
Watanabe cast Tsutomu Isobe and Ai Kobayashi as guest voice actors; neither of them had very
much experience in animation voice acting. Watanabe said that he cast them since he "knew
exactly what kind of voice I wanted." He said that he "especially" experienced this feeling
regarding Kobayashi since he thought "That's it! She's Electra!" after hearing Kobayashi's
demonstration tape. Watanabe said that he also felt that Isobe had "the right voice." Watanabe
said, in terms of dramatics, he wanted to use voice actors who could give a "raw, naturalist feel
to Bebop."[3]

Watanabe added that he had not originally planned to use Renji Ishibashi for the role of the
robber Renji. He said that when he and the other creators planned the convenience store robbery
scene, writer Keiko Nobumoto said that she could not find inspiration. The creators decided to
use a real-life actor as a model for the robber and the writers based the robber on Ishibashi. The
creators seriously offered the actor a role. Watanabe said that he was "half-joking" and doubted
that Ishibashi would accept the role; Watanabe said that he felt "so pleased" when Ishibashi
accepted the role.[3]

The interviewer said that he believed the film was "very psychedelic." Watanabe concurred,
adding that the film "can get a little psychedelic" and cited the hallucination scenes.[3]

Characters and voice cast

Main article: Cowboy Bebop characters

When asked by an interviewer which character he empathized with "the best" or on which
character he could "best project yourself" Watanabe responded by saying "That's a difficult
question." He added that he empathized with all of his characters and that he has to
simultaneously "keep them all at arm's length" or else he could not "create with them." Watanabe
added that there are "bits of me" in every single character.[3]

Original English dub Role

Kōichi Yamadera Steven Blum Spike Spiegel
Megumi Hayashibara Wendee Lee Faye Valentine
Unshō Ishizuka Beau Billingslea Jet Black
Aoi Tada Melissa Fahn Ed
Tsutomu Isobe Daran Norris Vincent Volaju
Ai Kobayashi Jennifer Hale Electra Ovilo
Mickey Curtis Nicholas Guest Rasheed
Yuji Ueda Dave Wittenberg Lee Sampson

Reception
Reception to the film was generally positive, earning a 70% score on Rotten Tomatoes.[4] For
example, the BBC gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars, calling it "an example of anime at its very best."[5] A
positive review on fansite The Jazz Messengers, which gave it an A-, indicates that fans of the
series were not disappointed.[6] It was nominated in 2004 for the Online Film Critics Society
Awards in the Best Animated Feature category.[7]

Music
The original soundtrack was written and performed by The Seatbelts who released a mini album
of the movie's music, entitled Ask DNA.

Blu-ray disc
The movie was released on Blu-ray disc in Japan on July 25, 2008 featuring remastered 1080p
video, and Dolby True HD lossless 5.1 audio.[8] Currently, there are no plans to release the Blu-
Ray in the United States or Europe.

Notes
1. ^ "Trivia for Kaubôi bibappu: Tengoku no tobira". IMDb.
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=cowboybebop.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-20.
2. ^ "Cowboy Bebop". Box Office Mojo. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0275277/trivia.
Retrieved 2009-01-27.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h "The Director's Voice Shinichiro Watanabe Interview." CowboyBebop.com.
4. ^ "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie - Rotten Tomatoes".
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cowboy_bebop_the_movie/. Retrieved 2007-11-22.
5. ^ Stuart, Jan. "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie".
http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/movies/ny-
etcowboy3205212apr04,0,4445098.story?coll=ny%2Dmoviereview%2Dheadlines.
Retrieved 2007-11-22.
6. ^ "Knockin' On Heaven's Door review".
http://www.jazzmess.com/sessions/kohdrev.html. Retrieved 2007-11-22.
7. ^ "IMDb: Online Film Critics Society Awards: 2004".
http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Online_Film_Critics_Society_Awards/2004.
Retrieved 2007-11-22.
8. ^ "Cowboy Bebop Knockin' on Heaven's Door Blu-ray Disc at Bandai Visual".
http://product.bandaivisual.co.jp/web_service/shop_product_info.asp?item_no=BCXR-
0009. Retrieved 2009-05-03.

External links
 Official U.S. Cowboy Bebop: The Movie web site
 Cowboy Bebop: The Movie at the Internet Movie Database
 Cowboy Bebop: The Movie at Allmovie

 'Cowboy Bebop: The Movie' (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia

 [hide]
v • d • e
The works of Shinichirō Watanabe
Macross Plus • Cowboy Bebop (The Movie) • Samurai Champloo • The Animatrix ("A Detective
Story" · "Kid's Story") • Baby Blue
[hide]
v • d • e
Cowboy Bebop
Episodes • Film • Chapters • Games (Cowboy Bebop • Tsuioku no Serenade) • Characters (Spike
Spiegel) • Music
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy_Bebop:_The_Movie"
Categories: 2001 films | Adventure anime and manga | Anime films | Anime of 2001 | Cowboy
Bebop | Mystery anime and manga | 2000s science fiction films | Films based on television series
| Japanese science fiction films | Science fiction action films | Science fiction anime and manga |
Tech noir films | 2000s action films | English-language films | Japanese-language films
Hidden categories: Articles lacking reliable references from July 2008 | Articles to be expanded
from January 2007 | All articles to be expanded

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Cowboy Bebop
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop DVD Box Set

カウボーイビバップ
(Kaubōi Bibappu)

Space opera, Planetary romance, Action-

Genre adventure, Crime fiction, Tech-noir,
Tragedy, Science fiction, Black comedy
 TV anime

カウボーイビバップ
Cowboy Bebop

Directed by Shinichirō Watanabe

Written by Keiko Nobumoto

Studio Sunrise

Bandai Visual
Licensed by Bandai Entertainment
Madman Entertainment

Network TV Tokyo, WOWOW, Animax

English network Adult Swim

Original run April 3, 1998 – April 23, 1999

Episodes 26 (List of episodes)

Manga

Cowboy Bebop: Shooting Star

Written by Hajime Yatate

Illustrated by Cain Kuga

Published by Kadokawa Shoten

English publisher Tokyopop

Demographic Shōjo

Magazine Asuka Fantasy DX

Original run November 1997[1] – May 1998

Volumes 2 (List of volumes)

Manga

Cowboy Bebop: A New Story

Written by Hajime Yatate

Illustrated by Yutaka Nanten

Published by Kadokawa Shoten

 Tokyopop
English publisher
Madman Entertainment

Demographic Shōjo

Magazine Asuka Fantasy DX

Original run April 1998 – April 2000

Volumes 3 (List of volumes)

Movies

 Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door

Anime and Manga Portal

Cowboy Bebop (カウボーイビバップ Kaubōi Bibappu?) is an influential, critically-acclaimed,

and award-winning 1998 Japanese anime series directed by Shinichirō Watanabe, written by
Keiko Nobumoto, and produced by Sunrise. It is one of the most highly acclaimed anime series
ever created and it is ranked number one on IMDB top anime series of all time. Its 26 episodes
("sessions") comprise a complete storyline: set in 2071, the series follows the misadventures and
tragedies of a group of bounty hunters, or "cowboys", traveling on their spaceship, the Bebop.

The series' art direction centers around American music and counterculture, especially the beat
and jazz movements of the 1940s-60s and the early rock era of the 1950s-70s, which the original
soundtrack by Yoko Kanno and The Seatbelts recreates.[2]

Cowboy Bebop was a commercial success both in Japan and international markets, notably in the
United States. After this reception, Sony Pictures released a feature film, Knockin' on Heaven's
Door (2003), to theaters worldwide and followed up with an international DVD release. Two
manga adaptations were serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Asuka Fantasy DX.

Contents
[hide]

 1 Plot
o1.1 Setting
o1.2 Story
 2 Characters
 3 Production
o 3.1 Distribution
 4 Reception
 o 4.1 Japan
 5 Legacy
 6 DVD release
 7 Music
o 7.1 Theme songs
 8 Other media
 9 Live-action movie
 10 Continuation rumors
 11 References
 12 External links

Plot
Main article: List of Cowboy Bebop episodes

Setting

In 2022, the explosion of an experimental hyperspace gateway destroyed the Moon which
resulted in an asteroid ring that threatened the surface of Earth with meteorite bombardments that
decimated a large portion of the population. As a result, many survivors abandoned the barely-
habitable Earth to colonize the inner planets, the asteroid belt and the moons of Jupiter.

The series sets in the year 2071, when the entire Solar System has been made accessible through
reliable hyperspace gates. Mars has become the new central hub of human civilization, and
interplanetary crime syndicates exert influence over the government and the Inter-Solar System
Police (ISSP), limiting their effectiveness in dealing with crime. As a result, a bounty system
similar to that in the Old West is established to deal with fugitives, terrorists, and other criminals.
The series often refers to Bounty Hunters as cowboys.

Story

Cowboy Bebop revolves around a crew of bounty hunters living in the spaceship named Bebop.
They are a team of bounty hunters who travel the Solar System trying to apprehend bounties. Jet
Black is the owner of the Bebop who has partnered with Spike Spiegel for his diverse combat
skills. During their travels, the Bebop ship gained new crew members such as Ein, Faye, and
Edward.

Throughout the series Bebop crew members' pasts catch up with them, and the series regularly
turns to the history of the main characters in flashbacks. Spike's past as a syndicate enforcer is a
major element of the series, while other episodes deal with Jet's previous occupation as an ISSP
officer on Ganymede, Faye's mysterious past and significant debt problems, and Ed's childhood.
The day-to-day life of the crew is also explored throughout the series.

Characters
Main article: List of Cowboy Bebop characters

From left to right: Ein, Edward, Spike Spiegel, Jet Black and Faye Valentine

Spike Spiegel – a former member of the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate. Spike is a master in
firearms and hand-to-hand combat, practicing Jeet Kune Do, and is also a skilled pilot. He flies a
sleek custom designed Mono Racer, red-painted, atmosphere capable spacecraft called Swordfish
II. Despite his outwardly carefree attitude, he is haunted by the memory of his time in the
syndicate, particularly of his romantic relationship with a mysterious woman named Julia, and
his conflict with arch-rival and former syndicate partner, Vicious.

Jet Black – a former ISSP officer and the owner of the Bebop. Once called "The Black Dog" by
his fellow officers for his relentless nature, he left the ISSP after becoming fed up with the
corruption and red tape of the organization, and turned to bounty hunting as a way to pursue
justice. Despite the ability to have it replaced, he voluntarily bears a cybernetic arm as a
reminder of what happened when he rushed into trouble without looking first. Like Spike, he too
is haunted by the memory of a woman, Alisa, his longtime girlfriend who left him without giving
a reason.

Faye Valentine – a femme fatale with a penchant for gambling. She joins the Bebop uninvited,
to the consternation of Jet and Spike. Though she abandons the ship several times during the
course of the series, her attachment to the crew always brings her back. These feelings are
apparently reciprocated, as Jet and Spike always allow her to return despite claiming they're
pleased to see her leave. She pilots a generic heavy spacecraft called Red Tail which is pale
yellow despite the name and has been heavily modified with armament and tracking sensors. Her
gambling, cheating, and competitive skills are unrivaled except by Spike. Much of her past and
her real last name are a mystery.

Edward – a young, eccentric computer genius and master hacker. Ed is a girl, though her name
and androgynous appearance suggest otherwise. She had followed the travels of the Bebop
before encountering the ship, and agrees to help the crew track down a bounty-head in exchange
for becoming a member of the crew. While her intelligence far exceeds that of the other
members of the crew, she is clearly the child of the group, looking up to Jet as a father figure and
Spike and Faye as a big brother and sister. She gave herself the fanciful name "Edward Wong
Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV" after running away to an orphanage, but after her father is found, it is
revealed that her real name is Françoise Appledelhi. She goes by the name Radical Edward when
hacking, and commonly spends the most time with Ein.

Ein – a Pembroke Welsh Corgi and former lab animal identified as a "data dog" by the scientists
who created him. The reason for this title is never explained, but it is suggested that he possesses
enhanced intelligence, which he displays in subtle ways throughout the series, including showing
the ability to speak to other animals, and possibly Ed, and perfectly hacking the 'Scratch' website
in session #23. Despite his enhanced intelligence and comprehension, the rest of the Bebop crew,
with the exception of Ed, often fail to notice these qualities and treat Ein as an average pet.

Vicious – grim enforcer of the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate, a former friend of Spike's and now
his sworn nemesis. Vicious sports an emaciated, embittered look, wields a katana for a weapon
and is always accompanied by a strange, crow-like bird perched on his shoulder. He lives up to
his name both through his violent actions and his two-timing scheming within the syndicate.
With only five appearances throughout the entire show, Vicious is arguably the series' main
antagonist, or at any rate the only recurring one.

Production
The balances of the atmospheres of the planets and the racial groups of the people in Cowboy
Bebop mostly originate from Shinichiro Watanabe's ideas, while collaboration from set designer
Isamu Imakake, Shoji Kawamori, and Dai Satou also formed the balances. The staff of Cowboy
Bebop established the particular atmospheres early in the production. Initially in the production,
the ethnic groups were not solidly established. Watanabe wanted to have many racial groups
appear in Cowboy Bebop.[3]

Mars was the planet most often used in storylines in Cowboy Bebop. Satoshi Toba, the cultural
and setting producer, explained that other planets "were unexpectedly difficult to use." Toba
explained that each planet in Cowboy Bebop has unique features, and in the plotlines the
producers had to take into account the characteristics of each planet. Toba explained that it was
not possible for the staff of Cowboy Bebop to have a dramatic rooftop scene occur on Venus, so
"we ended up normally falling back to Mars."[3]

Distribution

In the United States, on September 2, 2001, Cowboy Bebop became the first anime title to be
shown as part of the U.S. Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block.[4] It was
successful enough to be broadcast repeatedly for four years. It was rerun again in 2007, 2008, the
first part of 2009 and 2010. It is currently being shown on Adult Swim Video and on Adult
Swim on Saturday nights. In the United Kingdom, Cowboy Bebop was first broadcast in 2002 as
one of the highlights of the ill-fated "cartoon network for adults", CNX. From November 6,
2007, it was being repeated on AnimeCentral until the channel's closure in August 2008. In
Australia, Cowboy Bebop was first broadcast on pay-TV in 2002 on Cartoon Network's Adult
Swim. It has recently started broadcasting on the Sci Fi Channel on Foxtel. In Australia, Cowboy
Bebop TV series was first broadcast on free-to-air-TV on ABC2 (the national digital public
television channel) on January 2, 2007.[5] It has been repeated several times, most recently
starting from Monday, December 29, 2008[6] and finishing on Monday, June 22, 2009.[7] Cowboy
Bebop: The Movie also aired again on February 23, 2009, on SBS (a hybrid-funded Australian
public broadcasting television network). In Canada, Cowboy Bebop was first broadcast on
December 24, 2006, on Razer.

Reception
This section needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and
removed. (September 2007)

Japan

Cowboy Bebop almost did not appear on Japanese broadcast television due to its depictions of
gratuitous violence. It was first sent to TV Tokyo, one of the main broadcasters of anime in
Japan. The show had an aborted first run from April 3, 1998, until June 19, 1998, on TV Tokyo,
broadcasting only episodes 2, 3, 7 to 15, and 18.

Later that year, the series was shown in its entirety from October 23 until April 23, 1999, on the
satellite network WOWOW. Because of the TV Tokyo broadcast slot fiasco, the production
schedule was disrupted to the extent that the last episode was delivered to WOWOW on the day
of its broadcast. Cowboy Bebop won the Seiun Award in 2000.

The full series has also been broadcast across Japan by the anime television network Animax,
which has also aired the series via its respective networks across Southeast Asia, South Asia and
East Asia. Cowboy Bebop was popular enough that the movie, Cowboy Bebop: Tengoku no
Tobira (Knockin' on Heaven's Door), was commissioned and released in Japan in 2001, and later
released in the United States as Cowboy Bebop: The Movie in 2003.

Legacy
A 2004 poll in Newtype USA, the US edition of the Japanese magazine Newtype, asked its
readers to rank the "Top 25 Anime Titles of All Time"; Cowboy Bebop placed second on a list
that included such anime as Mobile Suit Gundam.[8] In a recent poll by TV Asahi, Cowboy Bebop
was 40th for Japan's Favorite Anime of 2006.[9] The American Anime magazine Anime Insider
(No. 50, November 2007) ranked the 50 best anime (available in America) by compiling lists of
industry regulars and magazine staff, with Cowboy Bebop ranked as #1. In 2009, IGN published
a list of the "Top 100 Animated Series", on which Cowboy Bebop placed fourteenth, making it
the second highest ranking anime on the list.[10]

In the U.S., Cartoon Network has regularly rotated Cowboy Bebop in and out of its Adult Swim
block line-up.
T.H.E.M Anime Reviews said the series has "sophistication and subtlety that is practically one-
of-a-kind" and that "puts most anime...and Hollywood, to shame."[11]

On May 16, 2006 IGN published an article by Josh Pool entitled "Top Ten Anime Themes and
Soundtracks of All-Time." Cowboy Bebop was listed as number one, "And the winner is Bebop!
Yoko Kanno strikes again. From beginning to end this may be one of the best anime ever and
certainly is tops when it comes to music."

In March 2009, the print and web editions of The Onion's A.V. Club called Cowboy Bebop
"rightly a huge hit", and listed it as a gateway series to understanding the medium of anime as a
whole.[12]

DVD release
DVD name Ep # Release date Additional information

Session One 1-5 April 4, 2000

Session Two 6-10 May 2, 2000

Session Three 11-14 July 13, 2000

Session Four 15-18 April 4, 2000

Session Five 19-22 May 2, 2000

Session Six 23-26 July 13, 2000

Best Sessions Various Nov 19, 2002

 Cowboy Bebop OST 1

The Perfect Sessions 1-26 November 6, 2001
 Collectors Art Box

Cowboy Bebop has been released in three separate editions in North America.

The first release was sold in 2000 individually, and featured uncut versions of the original 26
episodes. In 2001, these DVDs were collected in the special edition Perfect Sessions which
included the first 6 DVDs, the first Cowboy Bebop soundtrack, and a collector's box.[13] At the
time of release, the art box from the Perfect Sessions was made available for purchase on The
Right Stuff International as a solo item for collectors who already owned the series.[14]

The second release, The Best Sessions, was sold in 2002 and featured what Bandai considered to
be the best 6 episodes of the series remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS surround sound.[15]

The third release, Cowboy Bebop Remix, was also distributed on 6 discs and included the original
26 episodes, with sound remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 and video remastered under the
supervision of Shinichiro Watanabe. This release also included various extras that were not
present in the original release.[16] Cowboy Bebop Remix was itself collected as the Cowboy
Bebop Remix DVD Collection in 2008.

Music
Main article: Music of Cowboy Bebop

One of the most notable elements of Cowboy Bebop is its music. Episodes are called "sessions",
each of which follows a different musical theme,[12] and episode titles are borrowed from notable
album or song names (i.e. "Sympathy for the Devil", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Honky Tonk
Women", "My Funny Valentine") or make use of a genre name ("Mushroom Samba", "Heavy
Metal Queen").

Performed by Yoko Kanno and The Seatbelts, a band Kanno assembled to perform music for the
series, the jazz and blues themed soundtrack helps to define the show as much as the characters,
writing, and animation. Cowboy Bebop was voted by IGN in 2006 as having the greatest
soundtrack for an anime.[17]

Theme songs
Opening themes

# Transcription/Translation Performed by Episodes

1 "Tank!" The Seatbelts 1-25

Ending themes

# Transcription/Translation Performed by Episodes

1 "The Real Folk Blues" The Seatbelts feat. Mai Yamane 1-12, 14-25

2 "Space Lion" The Seatbelts 13

3 "Blue" The Seatbelts feat. Mai Yamane 26

Tim Jensen produced lyrics on some songs:

 "Ask DNA" sung by Raj Ramayya

 "Gotta Knock a Little Harder" sung by Mai Yamane
 "Call Me, Call Me" sung by Steve Conte

Other media
  An official side story to Cowboy Bebop was released on the original website called Cowboy
Bebop: UT. Taking place long before the series started, it features Ural and Victoria Terpsichore
(V.T. from the episode "Heavy Metal Queen") when they were bounty hunters. The story is
available at the site mirror hosted by jazzmess.com. [18]
 Bandai released a Cowboy Bebop shoot 'em up video game in Japan for the PlayStation in 1998.
A PlayStation 2 video game, Cowboy Bebop: Tsuioku no Serenade, was released in Japan, and the
English version had been set for release in North America during the first quarter of 2006.
However, in November 2007, GameSpot reported that the North American release had been
canceled.[19]
 Two short manga series based on the Cowboy Bebop property were released in the US by
Tokyopop.

Live-action movie
On July 22, 2008, IF Magazine published an article on its website regarding a rumor of a live-
action Cowboy Bebop movie in development by 20th Century Fox. Producer Erwin Stoff said
that the film's development was in the early stages, and that they had "just signed it".[20][21] Keanu
Reeves has been confirmed as playing the role of Spike Spiegel.[22][23] Variety confirmed on
January 15, 2009, that the production company Sunrise Animation will be "closely involved with
the development of the English language project." The site also confirmed Kenji Uchida,
Shinichiro Watanabe, and series writer Keiko Nobumoto as associate producers, series producer
Masahiko Minami as a production consultant, and Peter Craig as screenwriter.[24] It was
originally slated for release in 2011, but problems with the budget that would have been required
to film it has put it on hold. The script that was submitted was sent back for rewrite months ago
to reduce the cost and nothing more has been heard about it [25].

Continuation rumors
After the creation of the series, an interviewer asked Watanabe if he had any plans to create more
Cowboy Bebop material. Watanabe responded by saying that he does not believe that he "should
just keep on making Cowboy Bebop sequels for the sake of it." Watanabe added that ending
production and "to quit while we're ahead when people still want more" is more "in keeping with
the Bebop spirit".[26] In a more recent interview from 2006 with the Daily Texan Watanabe was
asked if there would ever be more Cowboy Bebop. Watanabe's answer was "someday... maybe,
someday."[27]

References
1. ^ It seems a manga adaptation was published before the anime premiered. The first Shooting
Star volume was released on May 1998 (ISBN 4048529358) by Asuka Comics DX, so it's safe to
say that the manga began on November 1997 at the latest [1]. It takes an average of six months
to publish enough chapters to fill a tankōbon and the first volume was released on May 1998.
2. ^ "Yoko Kanno’s score is equally eclectic, evoking Charlie Parker, Charlie Musselwhite, Johnny
Cash and U2." Kyle Nicholas (June 16, 2006). "'The Work Which Becomes a New Genre Itself':
Textual Networks in the World of Cowboy Bebop"". Paper presented at the annual meeting of
 the International Communication Association, Dresden International Congress Centre, Dresden,
Germany. All Academic, Inc. http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p90930_index.html. Retrieved
2009-10-08.
3. ^ a b Cowboy Bebop Anime Guide Volume 4. Tokyopop. April 2002. 64. ISBN 1-931514-08-9.
4. ^ Cowboy Bebop on Cartoon Network - Cowboy Bebop Spoilers, Episode Guides, Message Board
| TVGuide.com
5. ^ Cowboy Bebop: Asteroid Blues
6. ^ Cowboy Bebop: Asteroid Blues
7. ^ Cowboy Bebop: The Real Folk Blues part 2
8. ^ Newtype Press Release - Anime News Network
9. ^ Japan's Favorite TV Anime. Anime News Network (October 13, 2006). Retrieved on September
10, 2007.
10. ^ IGN - 14. Cowboy Bebop
11. ^ THEM Anime reviews - Cowboy Bebop
12. ^ a b Robinson, Tasha (2009-03-05). "Gateways To Geekery: Anime". A.V. Club. The Onion.
http://www.avclub.com/articles/gateways-to-geekery-anime,24653/. Retrieved 2009-03-10.
13. ^ "Cowboy Bebop: Perfect Collection". Anime News Network. 2002-01-12.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/releases.php?id=145. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
14. ^ "Cowboy Bebop box set "box" available separately". Anime News Network. 2001-11-07.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2001-11-07/cowboy-bebop-box-set-box-available-
separately. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
15. ^ "Otakon 2002: Bandai Panel". Anime News Network. 2002-07-29.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2002-07-29/otakon-2002-bandai-panel. Retrieved
2009-04-28.
16. ^ "New Cowboy Bebop Special Edition". Anime News Network. 2005-02-16.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2005-02-16/new-cowboy-bebop-special-edition.
Retrieved 2009-04-28.
17. ^ IGN: Top Ten Anime Themes and Soundtracks of All-Time, IGN.
18. ^ Dai Sato (2001-04-16). "Cowboy Bebop: UT". Bandai.
http://www.cowboybebop.org/english/ut/index.html. Retrieved February 11, 2007.
19. ^ "Cowboy Bebop for the PS2". GameSpot.
http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/cowboybebop/index.html. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
20. ^ IF Magazine: Live-Action 'Cowboy Bebop' Movie Is In The Works, IF Magazine.
21. ^ FirstShowing.Net, Cowboy Bebop Movie
22. ^ "Keanu Reeves Hopes to Star in Live-Action Cowboy Bebop". Anime News Network. 2008-12-
17. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-12-17/keanu-reeves-hopes-to-star-in-live-
action-cowboy-bebop. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
23. ^ "Keanu Reeves To Play Spike Spiegel In Live-Action ‘Cowboy Bebop’ Movie".
http://splashpage.mtv.com/2009/01/16/keanu-reeves-to-play-spike-spiegel-in-live-action-
cowboy-bebop-movie/.
24. ^ "Keanu Reeves set for 'Bebop' Actor to star in live-action adaptation of anime". Variety. 2009-
01-15. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117998641.html?
categoryid=13&cs=1&query=Cowboy+Bebop. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
25. ^ http://www.collider.com/2010/09/14/keanu-reeves-interview-cowboy-bebop-47-ronin-
generation-um/
26. ^ "The Director's Voice Shinichiro Watanabe Interview." CowboyBebop.com.
 27. ^ McNamara, Jonathan (2006-02-14). "Cowboy Bebop director Watanabe talks anime". The
Daily Texan. http://www.dailytexanonline.com/life_arts/1.971462-1.971462. Retrieved February
23, 2009.

External links

Anime and Manga portal

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Cowboy Bebop

 Official website (Japanese) & Official website (English)

o U.T. (Japanese) & U.T. (English)
o Big Shot (Japanese)
o YMCA (Japanese)
 Cowboy Bebop (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
 Cowboy Bebop (TV series) at the Internet Movie Database
 Cowboy Bebop (TV series) at Allmovie
 Cowboy Bebop at TV.com
 Adult Swim - Official Adult Swim Cowboy Bebop
 Mahalo Guide to Cowboy Bebop

[hide]

v • d • e

Cowboy Bebop

Episodes • Film • Chapters • Games (Cowboy Bebop • Tsuioku no Serenade) • Characters (Spike
Spiegel) • Music

[hide]

v • d • e

The works of Shinichirō Watanabe

Macross Plus • Cowboy Bebop (The Movie) • Samurai Champloo • The Animatrix ("A Detective Story" ·
"Kid's Story") • Baby Blue

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy_Bebop"

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