Once upon a time, in New York City in 1941... at this club open to all comers to play, night after night, at a club named "Minston's Play House" in Harlem, they play jazz sessions competing with each other. Young jazz men with a new sense are gathering. At last they created a new genre itself. They are sick and tired of the conventional fixed style jazz. They're eager to play jazz more freely as they wish then... in 2071 in the universe...
The bounty hunters, who are gathering in the spaceship "BEBOP," will play freely without fear of risky things, they must create new dreams and films by breaking traditional styles. The work, which becomes a new genre itself, will be called... "COWBOY BEBOP."
Cowboy Bebop is a 26-episode animated series that was shown on Japanese television for the 1998-99 season (There is also a full-length feature film titled Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' On Heaven's Door). It marked a bit of a change from the typical series in that it draws heavily on Western sources, such as pulp detective stories, film noir, and American Westerns. There are also strong Hong Kong influences, mainly of the "heroic bloodshed" mold (i.e. The Killer or Hard Boiled). Cowboy Bebop is also notable for the quality of its animation (fairly high for a TV series), the depth of its characters, stylish direction, smart dialogue, and engaging stories. It is also notable for the quality of its soundtrack, but more about that below.
Although fairly unique in style and content, Cowboy Bebop is joined by several other series in what Guardians of Order calls Space Cowboy Shonen (young boy's anime). Series with a similar feel to them are Outlaw Star and Trigun. What is interesting to note is that all three series were shown on late-night television, which allowed their creators a lot of leeway in style, design, and direction. This also meant they could experiment and break away from the more commercial aspects of anime, one reason these three series have been fairly popular here in America (and elsewhere).
For all its popularity, Cowboy Bebop almost didn't make it. In its initial television run on TV Tokyo, only 12 of the 26 episodes were aired, before the series was yanked for being too violent. Later, however, all 26 episodes were shown on the WOWOW network. In 2001, the show came to the American Cartoon Network, as part of the Adult Swim program, and was the first anime series presented specifically for adult viewers.
The Music of Cowboy Bebop
No discussion of Cowboy Bebop can be complete with out mention made of the music used in the series. Composer Yoko Kanno combines blues, jazz, R&B, rock, and even a bit of heavy metal to produce what has to be the best soundtrack ever made for an anime series. In addition, I feel the seven different soundtrack albums (five for the TV series and two for the feature film) are, in many ways, superior to many Hollywood feature film soundtracks.
The music and musicians come from many sources, with none of it being bubblegum-sounding J-pop or American pop music (thank goodness). Instead, we are treated to the likes of Steve Conte, who sings the fantastic Call Me, Call Me (heard at the end of Episode 24, Hard Luck Woman, and my favorite track from the series) and a version of Rain I feel is superior to the version used in the actual series (Episode 5 Ballad of Fallen Angels). He also lends his voice to the opening theme Tank!. Yoko Kanno herself plays keyboards as part of the mythical band The Seatbelts (liner notes having them being active around 2050 or so), who are responsible for such pieces as Call Me, Call Me, Words We Couldn't Say, Tank!, and the ending theme The Real Folk Blues (among others). American music fans will enjoy the fact most of the music was originally written in English, and is sung in English as well, and thus more accessible to the ear. Better yet, most of the singers have English as their primary language, allowing for a better sound and pronunciation.
The music used is an integral part of each episode and often is tailored to fit the theme and/or title of the show. In Episode 7, Heavy Metal Queen, the music has a distinct heavy metal sound and feel, while a mixture of classic pieces and slow ballads are used in Episode 5, Balled of Fallen Angels. Possibly the best use of music in the series comes in Episode 13, Jupiter Jazz Part 2, when Space Lion is played in its almost seven-minute entirety over both the scenes of Gren being sent to Titan and the ending credits.
For those who are interested, the TV series soundtracks are (in order): Cowboy Bebop Original Soundtrack 1, No Disk Original Soundtrack 2, Vitaminless, Blue Original Soundtrack 3, Music For Freelance, and for the movie: Future Blues Knocking On Heaven's Door Original Soundtrack (with bonus Cowboy Ed Original Soundtrack minidisc) and Ask DNA.
I think it's time we blow this scene.
Get everybody and their stuff together.
OK, 3... 2... 1... Let's jam.
Tank!, The Seatbelts
It is important to establish one fact early on. The world of Cowboy Bebop is not the future of our own world. Technology seems to have advanced at a faster rate than in the real world, while many of the planets and moons have been terriformed into livable environments -- a process that would take years to centuries.
History
A rough (and brief) history of the Cowboy Bebop universe runs like this:
At some point in the 20th Century, man entered space. One has to presume he spread fairly quickly, building space stations and modifying asteroids into habitable living spaces. He also altered Mars, Venus, and the moons of Jupiter (and possibly Saturn). To ease travel between these locations (since a conventional interplanetary trip can take months to years), Man researched, designed, and built a system of Phase Gates, which opened wormholes in space, allowing for almost instantaneous travel from gate to gate. However...
In the year 2021 a Phase Gate accident on the Moon ripped out a huge chunk of lunar material and sent it spraying across space. The explosion also threw off a great deal of unspecified energies, which either killed, or (more rarely) altered those people on the Earth's surface who were directly exposed to the radiation. The accident virtually ruined the Earth's surface, destroying most of the civilized infrastructure. It also left a thick cloud of debris surrounding the planet (which still rains down on the Earth's surface). In the years after the accident, the people on Earth retreated underground, living in subterranean shelters (or left, if they could).
Currently, it is the year 2071, and man has colonized virtually all of the solar system that will support life (with or without terriforming). It is interesting to note that the total population of the solar system is roughly 1.560 billion people (Earth has only 200 million inhabitants), which means the Phase Gate accident was extremely devastating to Earth's population (presuming there were 6 billion people living on it in 2021).
A Rough Cowboy Bebop Timeline
This timeline is based on comments made in the course of the series' 26 episodes. The "zero date" is 2071, so any comment of "ten years ago" or "fifty years ago" can be subtracted from 2071 to reach an exact year. The birth dates were taken from official background information.
Observant readers will notice some pretty trivial events in the timeline. This is due to my noting down anything that was given as a datable occurrence.
As stated, Man has colonized most of the solar system. This section will briefly describe these colonies.
Earth
Earth has a population of 200 million people. The surface is covered with extensive ruins, a result from the orbital bombardment of moon chunks. Most people live underground, although there are those surface dwellers who search the abandoned towns and cities for useful scrap. The Earth appears in a number of episodes, particularly Jamming With Edward, Wild Horses, and Hard Luck Woman.
Venus
Venus, Earth's virtual sister planet, as a population of 500 million people, mostly of African and Arab descent. The planet is 7-13 hours from Earth by way of Phase Gate. It is notable for the immense floating plants (which produce much of the breathable oxygen) and for the spore "snow" from these same plants. This "snow" can cause blindness in roughly 0.1% of the population. Venus also has a high helium content to its atmosphere, with humorous side effects on those who have never visited before. Venus only appears in one episode -- Waltz For Venus.
Mars
Although Mars only has a population of 300 million or so (mostly Chinese, with a mix of Indian, Russian, and various Asian races), it is the business and cultural center of the solar system. Mars is 13-24 hours from the Earth by way of Phase Gates, and serves as the gateway to the outer solar system.
Cities are built on Mars by placing them in large craters and then running an air curtain around the rim to keep the atmosphere in and the cold out. Most cities on Mars are a mixture of styles, and look a lot like either Hong Kong or New York. Mars appears in a great number of Episodes, with notable examples being Ballad of Fallen Angels, Cowboy Funk, and The Real Folk Blues Parts 1 & 2.
Asteroids
The asteroid belt, which lies between Mars and Jupiter, has a population of around 80 million people. The population is a broad mix of races with no set majority (although this can vary according to location). The asteroids themselves are known to be a free-trade zone, and business of all types are located there. It takes 2-8 days by Phase Gate to get to the asteroids. Notable episode appearances are -- Asteroid Blues and Heavy Metal Queen.
Jupiter
Although Jupiter itself isn't colonized, three of its moons are. All three have populations of around 150 million persons, with the majority being of European descent. Jupiter is roughly 2-3 days from Earth by Phase Gate.
Saturn
As with Jupiter, Saturn isn't settled, but its moon(s) are.
Uranus, Neptune, Pluto
These planets are not colonized and have no real population. Uranus is around 2 weeks from Earth by Phase Gate, Neptune 3 weeks, Pluto one month. Pluto is used as a prison planet, and is the destination of the prison ship in Black Dog Serenade.
One final note on the various planets and the like. It seems that no matter where you go, gravity stays the same. Earth, Venus, Mars, and Ganymede all look to have the same gravitation pull. This may be pure cinematic convenience, however.
Technology in Cowboy Bebop is a mixture of futuristic (cybernetics, jump gates, energy weapons) and the mundane (wheeled cars, handguns, zippo-styled lighters). Both types of technology are blended together, giving one the impression things are settled in their ways and haven't changed for some time. Even the "new" technology often looks a bit older and battered (much like the look of Tatooine in Star Wars: A New Hope).
Weapons
Projectile weapons are still the weapon of choice. Handgun technology doesn't seem to be any different in 2071 from what it is now. Automatic pistols are popular, although a few revolvers are sighted. Faye blasts a shop with an H&K MP5K, and we also see pump-action shotguns, automatic assault rifles, and even a few grenade launchers (one with a pump-action as well).
Two unusual weapons seen in the series include the flame-thrower used in Episode 11 Toys in the Attic and the netgun. The flamer-thrower is a small weapon with a pistol grip, a large cylinder of fuel, and an igniter right in front of the muzzle. It bears a close resemblance to the flamer-throwers used in the film Alien (almost certainly not a coincidence). The netgun is a large shoulder-launched weapon consisting of a long tube with two vertical grips. At one end are four rubber posts with a rope (?) mesh attached. The netgun can easily entangle a single person, and might even be able to entangle two or three people standing close together.
Spaceships are mostly armed with projectile weapons as well, with turreted machine-guns common, as well as pop-up gatling cannon and the like. Energy weapons do exist (such as plasma cannon), but are rare (only two appear in the show). Missiles, mostly of the self-guided type, are very common, and are usually launched in clusters. For defense, flares and chaff can be dropped by a targeted ship.
Vehicles
There are three broad classes of vehicles in Cowboy Bebop, ground vehicles, air vehicles, and space vehicles. Ground vehicles are the most mundane of the three, being wheeled automobiles not much different from modern cars and trucks (with the exception of styling). Steering seems to be a mixture of standard steering wheels and joystick like controls. Aircraft are mostly jet-powered, although helicopters are common in urban areas (including unmanned package delivery 'copters). Spaceships range from tiny one-man "fighters" to immense passenger liners and cargo ships.
Spaceships in Cowboy Bebop come in all shapes and sizes, but they do have a few things in common. The first is no artificial gravity. Instead, ships have rotating sections, which spin to give a semblance of gravity to some portion of the ship. The Bebop has a large rotating cylinder in its middle (mostly hidden by the rest of the ship). The prison ship in Episode 16, Black Dog Serenade, had a rotating drum under the main "spine." Gordon's ship (from Episode 3, Honky Tonk Women) has a rotating ring with support posts.
Ships also require action/reaction thrusters. There is no "warp" drive or "etheric rudders" in Cowboy Bebop, and ships behave much like they would in the real world. They will go in one direction if given thrust, and need to reverse thrust to slow and stop. Although not obvious in some scenes, may times one can catch glimpses of maneuvering thrusters being used to change direction, even in the middle of space dogfights. The Swordfish II is described as using a nuclear fusion aero-spike motor, which seems to be the standard type of engine for propulsion (apparently, most ships run off of water).
All ships are controlled via what is called the "monosystem." This stands for "machine operation navigation of outer space" and refers to the computerized system that controls the airframe, automatic billing system (for gate travel), and navigation. All spaceships use this system, and are thus known as "monmachines." There are various subclasses of monomachine, such as monoboat, monocatcher, monoracer, and so on. Small ships (such as Spike's Swordfish II or Faye's Redtail) are known as "monopods" as they have small life-support pods which can be removed and transferred to a new machine easily (provided it meets certain operational standards).
The smallest ships seen in the series are the one-man monoracers, of which the Swordfish II is a prime example. The ship is a narrow-bodied vessel 45 feet long with a wingspan of 43 feet. The largest seen seems to be Gordon's ship from Honky Tonk Women. It is a full 1300 feet long, although it is possible military ships are even larger (none of these are ever seen in the series, however).
Travel
Travel from planet to plant is normally by large (and I do mean large) shuttles. The shuttles use the gates to get from planet to planet and are capable of negotiating the atmosphere and landing directly on the planet's surface. Cargo is hauled about via space "trucks." These trucks consist of a thruster/living quarters/control module and one to three cargo pods string in a line. Cargo pods are around 260 feet long and roughly triangular in cross-section.
Computers
Computer technology is pretty sophisticated in 2071. There is no longer a world wide web, but there is a "solar system web." Scratch's website (Episode 23, Brain Scratch) is ssw.scratch.tr.mr for example (I presume the "mr" stands for "mars."). Two computers show up constantly in the series, the Bebop's PC terminal, and Ed's home-brewed machine. The Bebop's PC can be used to read mail, search the web, watch TV, and make videophone calls. It has a vertical holographic screen which is visible (but not exactly readable) from both sides. Ed's machine, "Tomato" (name comes from the tomato case it's built inside), has a separate keyboard and a liquid crystal flatscreen display. Ed normally uses a pair of data goggles instead of the display to view what ever she's looking at and hacking into. Everything seems to be a visual interface, and hacking is a mix of passcodes, backdoors, and fake IDs (Not to mention knowing where to click!).
Medical
According to a comment from Faye, medical technology is good enough to regrow and replace Jet's missing arm. It's also good enough to replace Spike's eye, keep Faye frozen for 54 years, and build the nightmarish assassin/killing machine Tongpau. One presumes cloning technology (or a close substitute) is available since Jet could have "regenerative" surgery on his arm. Aside from Jet's arm, there is virtually no cyberware, no pop-out razors, or dermal plates, mono-wire whips, or neural interfaces. However, Tongpau's abilities (such as his strength, weapons, flight, and apparent force field) argue for the existence of various cyberware systems.
Money
A note on money. The standard currency in Cowboy Bebop is the woolong. Its is roughly equal to one present-day Japanese yen. A sample prices: Appledelphis's bounty (fake) -- 50.000000 (i.e. 50) woolongs; 1 watermelon -- 1,000 woolongs; to ship a package from the Venus starport to the desert -- 5,000 woolongs; COD on a package shipment -- 6,300 woolongs; toll for gate passage -- roughly 7,000 woolongs; Whitney's bounty -- 19,800 woolongs; fine/bounty for littering -- 20,000 woolongs; COD for betadeck and tape -- 31,500 woolongs, typical bounty -- 1 million woolongs, Asimov Solensan's bounty -- 2.5 million woolongs; Faye's bounty -- 6 million woolongs; reward for the return of Ein, the stolen data dog -- 8 million woolongs; Chess Master Hex's bounty -- 12 million woolongs; Faye's debt -- 300,028,000 woolongs.
There are many groups out there, but only a few are mentioned more than once or have any special significance.
These are some of the major and/or more interesting characters encountered in the 26 episodes of Cowboy Bebop. Naturally, this short list only scratches the surface.
A word on the write ups. The character sheets were developed by using the "Competent Normal" on page 224 of the HERO System 5th Edition Rulebook as a guide. Thus, for example, Jet Black has a 16 DEX and CON to make him just a little tougher than Talented Normal (who has 14 DEX and 13 CON) or a low-end "Hero" with a 15 DEX and 15 CON.
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