As a jazz musician, I would also like to add that the title of this anime makes perfect sense. Not just because of the spaceship, but because the original bebop of the 1940s was a musical genre that was also “breaking traditional styles,” which in this case was big band swing.

Did anyone else cry when they all split ways at the end? Specifically the way Ed left, shit is so sad, hit me right in the feels...

The dubbed version is classical. And the philosophy of Cowboy BeBop is simple: you're going to carry that weight. Each of the characters carries the weight of the past. They try to run from the past, only to circle back to confront it. In the end, the past kills Spike. That is why it resonates with fans, we all carry our past...we carry that weight and spend our life trying to either support it and not letting it kill us. See you space cowboy.

Cowboy Bebop is literally a timeless animation, everything about it is practically perfect.

There's never actually aliens in Cowboy Bebop which I think is sort of cool. That was a mutated Lobster

The meals they eat symbolize there life, in the begining Spike eats the meal and doesn't feel satisfied, toward the end they eat eggs stuffing themselves because they feel sad, but on the very last episode Spike finally is content with his exact meal from the beggining thus him finally accepting the tradigy of living with terrible situations that plague everyday life

How could you not talk about the best character Ein shame has befallen upon your house.

When she said "in season 2", not gonna lie, I almost had a heart attack.

RIP Unsho Ishizuka 1951 - 2018 voice of Professor Oak, Mr. Satan, Zabuza Momochi, Old Joseph Joestar, and Jet Black.

I think it's time we blow this scene. Get everybody and the stuff together. Okay, three, two, one, let's jam!

Just watched Cowboy Bebop for the first time ever. It might be the best thing I’ve ever seen.

Spoilers? Don't worry, I've seen this series at least 50 times.

Cowboy Bebop teaches us that if we can't let go of the past it can end up killing us

You know...the one show where they could get away with dub, they go sub...

Honestly whole most people see noir or nihilism as something depressing and hopeless, I find something beautiful in the fact that we are insignificant in the eyes of nature.

This was more in depth than I could have anticipated, and I loved every minute. I would argue, though, that the series itself specifically becomes a Western for Spike, a Noir for Jet, and a Science Fiction for Faye for all the reasons you stated that the genres apply to the show as a whole. Not just a show that has influences from all three. Faye: "Above all, science fiction is the fiction of warm-blooded human men and women sometimes elevated and sometimes crushed by their machines." He stories elevate her by giving her a chance to find her past, and sometimes crush her by, well, not working. Specifically the VHS tape which does both. Spike: "They have been defeated and lived with death and gore in a cause they, we are led to believe, saw either as their inescapable duty or as romantic." This fits 100% with his story arc. Spike meets the TV trope of The Drifter. Jet: "Dreamlike, strange, erotic, ambivalent, cruel." Every Jet-focused episode is dreamlike in the color schemes; has a strange goal or mission; ambivalent because no choice he makes is truly the /right/ choice; and very cruel to him because they are constant reminders of his failings as a cop, a husband, a detective....

That explains the butterfly imagery in the Bebop Movie. Vincent see's butterflies and doubts reality. Makes more sense now.

See you space cowboy...

"Don't you lose... don't you lose... Don't you lose me!" Oh my god, this scene always makes me cry like a baby.

The philosophy of the series can be pretty well summed up by a quote from Jet in the Toonami promo; "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.. To tell you the truth, I don't really think a lot about what happened back then". Just go with the flow, exist in the moment and when that moment passes, you move on to the next, or you'll drown in the sentimentality. Regardless of what happens, you keep on pushing. It can be seen as a pretty pessimistic approach when you look at someone like Jet, who floats through life, without any real goal, he's just content in spending his days doing a job and treating his bonsai. As such, he doesn't have a character arc, because he's already gone through it, we're seeing the epilogue to his story, and there's a real beauty in that. But also, it can be seen as very cathartic, the notion that you embrace the good when it happens, and forget the bad as soon as it passes, you go with the flow.. Just as Spike says: "be like water", although the irony there, is that he was never really flowing like water, because he was always hooked on the past, it was the proverbial stone that blocked the waters motion

WISECRACK delivers again. 🔥 Samurai Champloo Next?

If this video doesn't end with a "See you, Space Cowboy...", I'll eat my hat.

One thing I think is really interesting: Jet is haunted by his past in his failings of being a cop, he has to come back and deal with the people who got away, and as a husband his wife just got up and left one day. Spike dying can be felt by Jet as a continuation, similar to failing as a cop because Faye asks him if he should go after him and he declines. If Spike died maybe he would regret that. It's a continuation of Faye's past because she lost everyone she knew, and the lawyer she fell in love with just died (faked his death rather) but just left her one day. Even though she confronts Spike in the ship as he's leaving, he's still leaving her. And for Spike, he never gets satisfied in believing that he was alive, even after Julia dies, until he dies. I just think it's interesting, as the end says, "you'll carry that weight" the ending never really sees them reach some certain satisfied conclusion about the past except for Jet, but now with Spike gone, it's more or less more of the same. As if once the weight was lifted from Jet's past, and Faye gets somewhere with hers, they get another load to carry.

The author himself said that he regrets adding the "new genre" part to the anime. In fact it was put in without his permission lol. He said it made the anime sound conceited.

Champloo next?

Cowboy Bebop is not just one of my favourite TV series: It's one of my favourite art pieces full stop. I'm not really an anime fan, but combining jazz, sci-fi and the western so seamlessly... How could anyone resist? It's as though Ray Bradbury wrote the script, Charlie Parker did the soundtrack and Sergio Leone was sitting in the director's chair.

This is literally the first time I've ever heard the Japanese voice for any cowboy bebop character.

They don't make anime like this anymore. This is definitely a beautiful Relic.

You should review Samurai Champloo.

Urmm... Ein is part of Bebop crew. Everyone beloved super intelligent corgi. Why you left him out? Edward got a back story too.

I fell in love with anime while I was stationed in Okinawa 🇯🇵. This and Trigun were the first series I completely binge watched. I’ve been hooked on anime ever since.

what i like about cowboy bebop is that its one of the last animes that did the nostalgic old anime style that i grew up on and they did it in such a good fashion too. Its like an end of an era but with a bang

I am LIVING for these Philosophies of Anime videos! Please keep it up!!!

Its actually weird to hear the Orginal Japanese Audio from Cowboy Bebop when youre so used to the Dub

The writers for Netflix bebop should’ve watched this before starting anything. That live action show doesn’t have any of the heart that Cowboy Bebop has. It’s a timeless classic!

Nietzsche doesn't see reality as being "in flux". For Nietzsche, the perspective of everyone is shaped by past experience and inherent biases, which alter how we see the world. There is one reality, each of us just experiences it differently. (and is doomed to experience it subjectively)

Out of all the Japanese cartoons out there this one was the one you should have used the dubbed.

Why not just use both dub and sub? Not using Steve Blum for Spike Spiegel in a Cowboy Bebop video is just... a tragedy.

I cry every time i watch the scene where jet chases his old flame on his home planet. That song knocks the wind out of my chest every time i hear it.

"In the beginning of season 2..." Wrong.

Putting in a request for Bojack season 5 as well as Avatar: The Last Airbender

Holy shit! I was was listening to Cowboy Bebop ending yesterday and starting watch Cowboy Bebop again and was thinking. "Why hasn't Wisecrack done a philosophy video of this yet?"

Cowboy Bebop was Jazz brought to life in an Anime. Just a fantastic ride with soul, and absolutely timeless.

Whenever Spike brought up the idea of being asleep I thought of it more as existing without living. Sort of like Heidegger's idea of Dasein, or "being there." When Julia died, it snapped him out of this haze and even provided a morbid purpose for his continued existence since leaving the syndicate.

When are you gonna do the Philosophy of Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend of Korra?

*TANK! STARTS PLAYING*

So deep, meaningful, philosophical, artistic, and leaves it’s viewers with a message to part with. Why don’t anime have any of these elements anymore? A lot of older anime were so much deeper.

PLEASE DO ERGO PROXY PLEAAASE...PEOPLE REALLY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THAT UNDERRATED MASTERPIECE

I watched this show when if first aired around 9/11. I was young enough at the time where I knew I didn't like westerns and had no idea what a noir was. Then this show came out and I realized there is so much out there that could be so great if only I gave it a chance.

Nietzsche's whole quote is: "God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?". With this Nietzsche means that we have killed our morality and beliefs and we have to live with that fact no matter how much we try to forget it and how many things we try to replace god with. He is in fact, not celebrating the death of god, but rather grieving it and trying to get other people to understand what they have truly done

When she said “season 2” i was going crazy... Until i thought that she probably just meant session

Lets keep it simple: Whatever happens, happens

i honestly feel this video doesn't give cowboy bebop justice. the video itself isn't all that bad, but i feel it is only touching on the most basic ideas you get from just watching the show. if your looking for a good analysis on cowboy bebop check out "your gonna carry that weight" and "why you should watch cowboy bebop" , again the video was not bad but i feel like if someone watched this who hadn't seen the show the wouldn't be intrigued by this video, and someone who has seen the show learns nothing new sorry if im coming off as an hater or a weeaboo , but i just really care about this show

See you, Space Cowboy

Im still blown away by the fact that this anime debut in 98'.. with a killer soundtrack ... CB was way ahead of its time!

Shoutout to West Tennessee truck stops

Great video as always, however Vicious ostensibly didn't know that Spike was shot with a tranquilliser bullet. That's because Shin was the one to shoot Spike and, as revealed when Spike raids the syndicate headquarters, Shin was on Spike's side the whole time. There's no evidence that suggests Vicious didn't believe Spike was shot dead.

God bless you, wisecrack, you wonderful channel

12:40 Damn, that butterfly excerpt from Zhuangzi really fucks with me...

Cowboy bebop's philosophy is life beyond survival. People usually get it wrong because they think the crew is just carrying the burden of past but bebop is a very very lonely show where we see despite all the funny scenes the show feels inherently depressing because they have exactly nothing to live for so they are just existing not living and every character has a different way to do so. We saw faye falling in love with spike ed leaving the crew and spike finally finding meaning in his own life. The final scenes or words of bebop are so fucking powerful that i was amazed.

DO PHILOSOPHY OF NAOKI URASWA'S MONSTER ANIME OR MANGA PLEASE

TRIGUN

Did Futurama based Fry on Faye from Cowboy Bebop?

Excellent video, keep it coming Wisecrack! Happy to be a patron.

Thanks a lot wisecrack. I'd asked for this a few months back and you guys actually delivered. Massive respect

Yes!!!! Love wisecrack!!!

I think it important to mention the man that Spike goes to see often. The Shaman that we meet in episode 1. If you think about it, he not only tells Spike how the life of the guy with the red eye will end but in a way, Spike's as well. In my opinion.

Awesome time for this video to drop, I just finished watching the series again. Great synopsis- much appreciated.

Cowboy Bebop is a classic among classics a anime were the music played just as a important role as the animation I remember watching this as a kid and thinking how cool it was but now I can understand just how relatable many of the character struggles are now that I'm older P.S bear wisecrack we're still waiting for that Philosophy of the berserk MANGA !!! covering the 20 16 version was like covering a 1st first graders macaroni drawing of the Mona Lisa instead of the original it has no real comparison to the original masterpiece

The Philosophy of Monogatari series please!

one of the most epic things about cowboy bebop, it knew when to quit. i could have happily watched an unlimited number of seasons full of just bottle shows, but i am not disappointed with under 30.

One of the very few anime’s or even shows i have ever cried at the end of the series. Spikes last words and I lost it. You feel attached to the charters and feel heart break with each tragedy

YES COWBOY BEBOP we are slowly turning Wisecrack into Weebs with these requests their transformation is almost complete

Gonna need a drink and a smoke after this one, what a perfect beginning to one of those days off that can justify starting early~ This show was awesome to watch, especially on a week-to-week basis when it was on CN. I used to have three tapes with all the episodes, and it doesn't seem to have any weak episodes, only one-offs for fun and intrigue. I loved Wild Horses, with the guy in full cowboy getup that under Spike's skin immediately because he's JUST LIKE HIM, plus the terrorist bomber who kept trying to get his message out before getting interrupted by other characters, it- I'm losing track here, excellent introspective into the shows finer points and hopefully, people who haven't found it will chew into its greatness and find more~ One shot you included perfectly encapsulates the show's vibe, and that's the dude on Callisto, bummed out on the stoop at 4:09. It's the future, you have sophisticated airmasks to combat the ice-cold air of Jupiter's icy moon, and yet there are still stuffed ashtrays, empty tins of food and people are getting shitfaced on the reg. Nice future, US! What's more is the episode with Faye's true past introduced is done thru the medium of Beta-max, how deep of a cut is THAT? Your heart is made of pure Osmium if it doesn't break in half when you see that tape's contents too..

Loved this, thanks wisecrack! Great way to revisit the series imo

Damn good summation of the concepts that made my favourite anime as good as it is. Everything you made mention coupled with great writing, pacing, and the soundtrack made (to me) Cowboy Bebop the pinnacle of what's achievable with anime.

Umm... Cowboy Bebop does NOT take place throughout the wider universe. The entire series is set in just our solar system. Yes, they have what are essentially warp gates in Cowboy Bebop, but that's because even when traveling just within our own solar system, it would take years for them to travel from one location to another without that.

This is one of the only animes that's dub is praised and mostly preferred over the sub. Why'd you use the sub? C'mon this is one anime hipsters wont get mad at you for!!

That 1st episode does a fantastic job pulling you in. Once your in the story, mix of genres & the world that Cowboy Bebop exists in all come beautifully. Honestly I'm surprised Cowboy Bebop hasn't been turned into an MMO or RPG video game, I'd love to be a bounty hunter, mobster, or even a detective in the world of cowboy bebop

He told Faye what she wanted to hear, Spikes does that often. especially to himself.

Ohhh I've been waiting for this one! Watanabe is a champion!

It's just that he was all alone, never anyone to play the game.

More fun facts. The death flags: In session 1, Katerina and Asimov foreshadowed Spike and Julia's endgame (i.e. their deaths). Both Katerina and Spike wished to escape the life of crime they led and have a new life elsewhere with their partner. Katerina expresses her wish in Session 1. Katerina: I can finally escape the low life I've had here. I can finally live happily on Mars. In session 25, we are shown a flashback of Spike expressing this same wish that Katerina had. Spike: We'll leave here. We'll escape from this world. Julia: And then what are we going to do? Spike: Just live a life of freedom somewhere. Just like watching a dream... “Road to the West” played just before Asimov and Katerina died, and again just before Spike went to see Julia, thus linking the two stories. These two scenes are the only times the song is ever used in the entire series. These two scenes are also visually linked (both include dogfights in outer space and show similar shots of Spike and the Swordfish II and an armed fleet that will ultimate prevent the lovers escape). Btw, going west is a reference to going towards death. Both Katerina and Spike have the realization that they will never get the Happily Ever After they always wanted. Katerina has her realization just before she dies when a fleet of cops block her and Asimov's escape. Spike has his realization while Julia is holding him at the cemetery. He has just escaped a fleet of syndicate assassins and knows more will be on the way. He knows they won't be able to escape in the long run. Both Katerina and Spike get the same expressions on their faces when they have their realizations. The dialogue said in one scene answers the dialogue said in the other, as if Katerina were reading out Spike's thoughts. Julia to Spike: Let's just run away somewhere. Truly escape from this world and go somewhere no one else is... Just the two of us... Katerina: We can't run anymore. There's no way we can get away. Both Katerina and Spike witnessed the death of their partner. Both their partners were shot to death. Both hold their partners' body in their arms. Both Katerina and Spike get slashed across the abdomen which resulted in something red spilling out. Both their stories end with a pull out shot of their death scene. [Check out the scenes side by side. Watch Katerina and Asimov's last scene and then the scene where Spike fights the syndicate fleet, the scene where he reunites with Julia, the scene when Julia's dies and Spike's final scenes. The visual evidence is very compelling. There are multiple visual parallels.] In session 3, Spike walks by a film screen which reads only a true samurai can kill him like the... [the rest is obscured by Spike's body]. Vicious, for all his faults, was a true warrior and fatally wounded Spike with a katana. In session 5, Spike got the ace of spades at the end of the episode. That is the death card. In session 13, during an auditory flashback we hear Vicious tell Spike that he is the only one that can kill him. This is again brought up in session 26, just before the two face off. Vicious, again, proclaims that he is the only one who can kill Spike and set him free. In Session 13, during a flashback sequence Spike and Julia discuss his eyes. Spike: My left eye sees the past... Julia: Then what about your right eye...? Spike then wakes up in the snow having been recently shot with a tranquilizer gun. The camera focuses on his right eye. Spike finds a crow standing on his chest. He asks the crow a question. Spike: Which way is west? [The crow caws loudly before spreading it's black wings and flying away] A crow is an omen of death. Also, there are various cultures (Ancient Egyptian, Jewish, Celtic, Chinese, etc.) in which death is associated with going west. In session 13, Faye attempts to stop Gren from going to face Vicious by holding him at gunpoint and then shooting her gun. Gren goes anyway and is killed by Vicious. The same thing happens with Spike in session 26. In session 16, Jet's ex-partner makes this ominous assertion. Fad: The people that go against the syndicate lose, Jet. They lose big. Either they give up like you did or they die young. In session 17, after eating a special mushroom Spike hallucinates that he is climbing up a stairway that stretches up above and leads to a glowing white entrance. He comes across an informative frog that lets him know where he is headed. Frog: Hey, mister. This is a stairway to heaven. You know that, right? In session 21, Jet tells Meifa there's no way out. Jet: It's impossible for someone to leave when they know that much. Once you join a syndicate they own you forever. In Session 1, Laughing Bull foretells of Spike's death being brought on by a woman. Laughing Bull: Swimming bird will meet a woman. The bird will be hunted by this woman. And then death. Spike: One more time. Laughing Bull: What's that? Spike: I was killed once before by a woman. Spike is speaking of Julia. From the first episode Laughing Bull has foreshadowed that Spike will die and that his death will be connected to a woman. In Knockin' on Heaven’s Door, Spike almost dies and Laughing Bull tells him it is not yet his time. Laughing Bull: It was not a good day for you to die, so you did not. That is all. Laughing Bull also tells Spike that the past, present and future all all connected. Laughing Bull: Know this Swimming Bird, this blue eye perceives all things conjoined. The past, the future, and the present. Everything flows and all is connected. This eye is not merely seeing reality. It is touching the truth. Open the eye of truth... There is nothing to fear. Spike: Yeah... I know what you mean. In session 26, Laughing Bull predicts Spike's imminent death the scene directly after Julia dies. When Jet denies this Laughing Bull tells him not to fear death. Laughing Bull: Do not fear Death. Death is always at our side. When we show fear, it jumps at us faster than light. But, if we do not show fear, it casts its eye upon us gently and then guides us into infinity... When Spike leaves the Bebop to confront Vicious the song "See You Space Cowboy" plays. The lyrics begin over romantic images of Spike and Julia together. "Everything is already over", You say with closed ears The words only flow Towards a tomorrow without peace "There's nothing that won't change" Even if my life ends This love will not disappear It's something that will live forever Even if dreams are hidden in darkness I got a rainbow Rainbow in your hands... The song is a proclamation of undying love which implies that Spike and Julia will be together again in the afterlife. In the penultimate scene of the series Spike finally sees Julia with his eye that sees his present. Julia is cast in a white glowing light. We hear Julia's last words, "It's all a dream." We see Spike reflected in her *blue eye*. Spike agrees with her, "Yeah. Just a bad dream." He's still looking into her blue eye. Then everything is engulfed in a white light. Everything fades to white. Next scene is of Spike walking down the stairs. Spike smiles, does the finger gun, "bang." and he's down. The entire syndicate is now cast in a white light. The song "Blue" begins to play: Don't wake me from the dream It's really everything it seems I'm so free No black and white in the blue Everything is clearer now Life is just a dream, you know That's never-ending I'm ascending There is a tone switch from dreams being "bad" to dreams being something you never want to be woken from. When Spike was engulfed by the white light, he had a revelation. He knows he is going to a better place. He knows he is going to be with Julia again. He dies happy and at peace. At the very end we see a star go out but never fall. In session 13, Laughing Bull said that a falling star was a pitiful soul who could not find his way to the great other. Child: A star just fell from the sky. Laughing Bull: That is not an ordinary star, my son. That star is the tear of a warrior. A lost soul who has finished his battles somewhere on this planet. Child: What warrior is it? Laughing Bull: A pitiful soul who could not find his way to the lofty realm. Where the great spirit awaits us all. Spike makes it to the spirit that awaits us all. His star goes out. He is free.

I see this show as a true representation of the old 40s or 50s detective/private eye movies. Always involved a gumshoe on a case following clues. Usually broke and drank a lot. Mostly failing but overly persistent. Heavy with dialog in the scenes discussing what the central character is thinking. Strong noir aspects with lighting and camera positions in black and white. Background music throughout like sax playing in the quieter part and full on brass/band when the action picks up. As a bass player, gotta say the Seat Belts absolutely kill, amazing band and exceedingly talented at painting a scene with music. Check out "Real Folk Blues" or "Tank" in it's entirety. Never saw this show as a western but I see it now.

"... and Wisecrack was born." joke well-played. that short segue xD

Why didnt Netflix hire Wisecrack team to make the live action or at least advice them... this was an amazing break down. Cowbow bebop is and will be my favorite anime, never gets old. The more i watched the learnt something new, but still missed something. Glad these breakdowns are made 😊

Very well written video. Good work!

I used to watch an episode of this every night for years...good quality work!

Did you honest to God make us wait all this time and didn't even use the greatest dub in anime history???

Felt like Jet was an after thought in the video, too bad I really like his character

This video actually got me to think about something I normally wouldn't consider - you missed a genre covered in Cowboy Bebop, possibly because, when Bebop was released, it wasn't much of a thing (or at least not one that *I* knew about, though I was pretty ignorant at the time, so that doesn't mean much) - the crime drama (following the sometimes-extra-legal actions of the protagonists, namely Fey and Spike). This was really well made. Thanks! (Also, though I don't know if he's linked this one recently, over-all, more than once, MattPat sent me.)

Cowboy Bebop is such a lovable classic. Thank you for doing this! dubs

Haven't watched CB in four years. This video made me think about re-watching it.

Cowboy Bebop is the best

Great work here, I love this series and the analysis is very welcome

Bit late to the response, but great video on a great show. This is one of the best overviews of a really influential series. Thanks for the video!

The only thing I dislike is the Japanese version...this is like the one time you can use the Dub and not be hated by fans.

This was my first anima, and it is still my favorite, after I have watched hundreds. Damn, do I love Spike! He's a real man. One Punch Man is a close second, which just proves I am weird

Wooooo! Been waiting for this forever!!!

Such an amazing anime. Just recently found these videos and I'm in love. Philosophical and psychological analysis of movies, books, and anime is how I grew up. Real stories don't stop at action, they delve, invisibly, so deep into the psyche that it's absolutely enlightening. That's what makes Cowboy Bebop such a classic. Did I mention I'm a real private investigator too? Goals.