Editing Cowboy Bebop (section)

==Genre and themes==
[[Shinichirō Watanabe]] created a special tagline for the series to promote it during its original presentation, calling it "a new genre unto itself". The line was inserted before and after commercial breaks during its Japanese and US broadcasts. Later, Watanabe called the phrase an "exaggeration".<ref name="CowboyMag" /> The show is a hybrid of multiple [[genre]]s, including [[Western (genre)|westerns]] and [[Pulp magazine|pulp fiction]].<ref name="AnimeBebop">Clements & McCarthy, 2006 p113</ref> One reviewer described it as "[[space opera]] meets [[film noir|noir]], meets [[comedy]], meets [[cyberpunk]]".<ref>{{Cite web|date=October 20, 2016|title=Cowboy Bebop: Space Opera Meets Noir, Comedy, and Cyberpunk|url=http://scifiaddicts.com/cowboy-bebop-genre-blending-sci-fi/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205044131/http://scifiaddicts.com/cowboy-bebop-genre-blending-sci-fi/|archive-date=February 5, 2019|access-date=February 4, 2019|website=Sci-Fi Addicts|language=en}}</ref><ref name="AlltheAnimeReview">{{Cite web|last=Greenberg|first=Raz|author-link=Raz Greenberg|date=February 27, 2015|title=Cowboy Bebop and Leiji Matsumoto|url=http://blog.alltheanime.com/cowboy-bebop-and-leiji-matsumoto/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024195258/http://blog.alltheanime.com/cowboy-bebop-and-leiji-matsumoto/|archive-date=October 24, 2017|access-date=October 31, 2017|publisher=[[All the Anime]]}}</ref> It has also been called a "genre-busting [[space Western]]".<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 16, 2018|title=20 Years Later, 'Cowboy Bebop' Remains the (Undisputed) Greatest, Coolest Anime Series Ever Made|url=https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/20-years-later-cowboy-bebop-remains-the-undisputed-greatest-coolest-anime-series-ever-made|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204231235/https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/20-years-later-cowboy-bebop-remains-the-undisputed-greatest-coolest-anime-series-ever-made|archive-date=February 4, 2019|access-date=February 4, 2019|website=MEL Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=December 5, 2018|title=Cowboy Bebop to Return in Live-Action|url=https://filmschoolrejects.com/cowboy-bebop-live-action/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204231318/https://filmschoolrejects.com/cowboy-bebop-live-action/|archive-date=February 4, 2019|access-date=February 4, 2019|website=Film School Rejects|language=en-US}}</ref>

The musical style was emphasized in many of the episode titles.<ref name="ACbebop1">Camp & Davis, 2007 pp79–80</ref><ref name="AWNcowboy" /><ref name="CowboyNoir">{{Cite magazine|last=Jeffries, L.B.|date=January 19, 2010|title=The Film Noir Roots of Cowboy Bebop|url=https://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/115481-the-film-noir-roots-of-cowboy-bebop|url-status=live|magazine=[[PopMatters]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131014507/http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/115481-the-film-noir-roots-of-cowboy-bebop/|archive-date=January 31, 2012|access-date=January 25, 2012}}</ref> Multiple philosophical themes are explored using the characters, including [[existentialism]], [[existential]] [[boredom]], [[loneliness]], and the effect of the past on the protagonists.<ref name="VaultThemes">{{Cite web|last=Warren|first=Mary|title=STAFF PICKS: OLD SCHOOL CARTOONS|url=http://www.thevaultmag.com/archives/1173|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523001417/http://www.thevaultmag.com/archives/1173|archive-date=May 23, 2013|access-date=May 12, 2012|publisher=The Vault Magazine}}</ref><ref name="Teevee">{{Cite web|last=Alderman, Nathan|date=June 27, 2002|title=Anime for the Rest of Us|url=http://www.teevee.org/2002/06/anime-for-the-rest-of-us.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714162519/http://www.teevee.org/2002/06/anime-for-the-rest-of-us.html|archive-date=July 14, 2014|access-date=March 1, 2015|publisher=Teevee.org}}</ref> Other concepts referenced include [[environmentalism]] and [[capitalism]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Crusch|first=Marley|date=2018-04-11|title=How Cowboy Bebop Pulled Off Its Believable Dystopia|url=https://dotandline.net/cowboy-bebop-jamming-with-edward-228f391ef6ff/|access-date=2021-06-26|website=The Dot and Line|language=en-US|archive-date=January 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220115030227/https://dotandline.net/cowboy-bebop-jamming-with-edward-228f391ef6ff/|url-status=live}}</ref> The series also makes specific references to or pastiches multiple films, including the works of [[John Woo]] and [[Bruce Lee]], ''[[Midnight Run]]'', ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]'', and ''[[Alien (film)|Alien]]''.<ref name="AWNcowboy" /><ref name="BAIGENT">{{Cite web|last=Baigent|first=Robert|year=2004|title=Cowboy Bebop: Complete Sessions Collection Review|url=http://www.arts.auckland.ac.nz/webdav/site/arts/shared/Departments/asian-studies/gjaps/docs-vol2/Baigent1.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904035858/http://www.arts.auckland.ac.nz/webdav/site/arts/shared/Departments/asian-studies/gjaps/docs-vol2/Baigent1.pdf|archive-date=September 4, 2012|access-date=May 13, 2012|publisher=Graduate Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Homages and Influences|url=https://www.rfblues.com/Omake/Influences/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123202632/https://www.rfblues.com/Omake/Influences/|archive-date=January 23, 2021|access-date=January 23, 2021|publisher=The Real Folk Blues}}</ref> The series also includes extensive references and elements from science fiction, bearing strong similarities to the cyberpunk fiction of [[William Gibson]].<ref name="ACbebop" /> Several planets and space stations in the series are made in Earth's image. The streets of [[celestial objects]] such as [[Ganymede (moon)|Ganymede]] resemble a modern [[port city]], while [[Mars]] features shopping malls, theme parks, casinos and cities.<ref name="BAIGENT" /> This setting has been described as "one part Chinese diaspora and two parts [[American frontier|wild west]]".<ref name="AnimeBebop" />

===Characters===
{{See also|List of Cowboy Bebop characters{{!}}List of ''Cowboy Bebop'' characters}}
[[File:Cowboy-bebop-754433.jpg|thumb|left|Main cast from left to right: Jet Black, [[Spike Spiegel]], Faye Valentine, Edward, and Ein]]
The characters were created by Watanabe and character designed by [[Toshihiro Kawamoto]]. Watanabe envisioned each character as an extension of his own personality, or as an opposite person to himself.<ref name="WataDirty">{{Cite news|last=Charles Solomon|date=March 30, 2003|title=Dirty Harry in outer space?|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-mar-30-ca-solomon30-story.html|url-status=live|access-date=March 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006182850/http://articles.latimes.com/2003/mar/30/entertainment/ca-solomon30|archive-date=October 6, 2014}}</ref> Each character, from the main cast to supporting characters, were designed to be outlaws unable to fit into society.<ref name="AODinterview">{{Cite web|date=February 14, 2006|title=Cowboy Bebop Panel|url=http://animeondvd.com/press/conventions/axny2002/axnybeboppanel.php|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030605011254/http://animeondvd.com/press/conventions/axny2002/axnybeboppanel.php|archive-date=June 5, 2003|access-date=January 6, 2015|publisher=Anime on DVD.com}}</ref> Kawamoto designed the characters so they were easily distinguished from one another.<ref name="CowboyMag" /> All the main cast are characterized by a deep sense of loneliness or resignation to their fate and past.<ref name="CowboyMag">{{Cite journal|last=Bricken, Robert|date=January 2003|title=Behind the Bebop - Murder, Mars and All That Jazz|journal=[[Anime Insider|Anime Invasion]]|publisher=[[Wizard (magazine)|Wizard]]|issue=#5}}</ref> From the perspective of Brian Camp and Julie Davis, the main characters resemble the main characters of the anime series ''[[Lupin III]]'', if only superficially, given their more troubled pasts and more complex personalities.<!--THE RESEMBLANCE IS SOMETHING THESE TWO WRITERS MAY CLAIM; IF OTHERS DO ALSO, CITE THEM—BUT UNTIL OTHERS CLEARLY SAY THIS, IT IS THE OPINION OF JUST ONE SOURCE, NOT A GENERAL PERSPECTIVE AMONG ANIME EXPERTS OR FOLLOWERS OF THIS WRITER-DIRECTOR TEAM'S WORK.--><ref name="ACbebop">Camp & Davis, 2007 p81</ref>

The show focuses on the character of Spike Spiegel (voiced by [[Kōichi Yamadera]]), an iconic space cowboy with green hair and often seen wearing a blue suit, with the overall theme of the series being Spike's past and its karmic effect on him.<ref name="TDC" /> Spike was portrayed as someone who had lost his expectations for the future, having lost the woman he loved, and so was in a near-constant lethargy.<ref name="CowboyMag" /> Spike's artificial eye was included as Watanabe wanted his characters to have flaws. He was originally going to be given an eyepatch, but this decision was vetoed by producers.<ref name="AODinterview" /><ref name="DVDcommentary" />

Jet (voiced by [[Unshō Ishizuka]]) is shown as someone who lost confidence in his former life and has become cynical about the state of society.<ref name="CowboyMag" /><ref name="TDC">{{Cite web|last=Antonio, Tripodi|date=March 20, 2006|title=Anime Review: Cowboy Bebop|url=http://www.terrediconfine.net/cowboy-bebop/|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20141126042615/http%3A//www.terrediconfine.net/cowboy%2Dbebop/|archive-date=November 26, 2014|access-date=March 3, 2015|publisher=Terre di Confine}}</ref> Spike and Jet were designed to be opposites, with Spike being thin and wearing smart attire, while Jet was bulky and wore more casual clothing.<ref name="AODinterview" /> The clothing, which was dark in color, also reflected their states of mind.<ref name="CowboyMag" /> The rebellious hustler Faye Valentine, hacker "Radical" Edward (voiced by [[Aoi Tada]]), and "data dog" Ein joined the crew in later episodes.<ref name="TDC" /> Their designs were intended to contrast against Spike.<ref name="AODinterview" /> Faye was described by her voice actress [[Megumi Hayashibara]] as initially being an "ugly" woman, with her defining traits being her liveliness, sensuality and humanity.<ref name="DVDcommentary" /> To emphasize her situation when first introduced, she was compared to [[Poker Alice]], a famous Western figure.<ref name="AODinterview" />

Edward and Ein were the only main characters to have real-life models. The former had her behavior based on the antics of [[Yoko Kanno]] as observed by Watanabe when he first met her.<ref name="AODinterview" /> While generally portrayed as carefree and eccentric, Edward is motivated by a sense of loneliness after being abandoned by her father.<ref name="TDC" /> Kawamoto initially based Ein's design on a friend's pet corgi, later getting one himself to use as a motion model.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kawamoto|first=Toshihiro|title=Cowboy Bebop Illustrations: The Wind|publisher=Softbank Creative|year=2004|isbn=4797327812|page=8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=McCarter|first=Charles|date=1999|title=Interview with Kawamoto Toshihiro|url=http://www.ex.org/4.5/20-interview_kawamoto2.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923033421/http://www.ex.org/4.5/20-interview_kawamoto2.html|archive-date=September 23, 2012|access-date=October 16, 2016|website=EX}}</ref>