Entertainment
One of the Greatest Anime Shows Ever Made Is a Streaming Sensation
In a year that has witnessed the very fabric of anime change worldwide, it’s no surprise that one of the greatest shows that the genre has ever produced has become an instant streaming hit domestically. Cowboy Bebop, the landmark series that has influenced countless other films and shows over the years, was the number one title on the domestic iTunes charts earlier this week, according to FlixPatrol. Originally released in 1997, Cowboy Bebop preceded Joss Whedon‘s Firefly, and even spawned a live-action Netflix remake not too long ago. The live-action show was swiftly canceled following poor reactions from fans of the original, and a hefty price tag that didn’t result in the kind of viewership that it would’ve needed to continue.
Created by a collective known as Hajime Yatate, the show ran for 26 episodes between 1997 and 1998. It followed the bounty hunting crew of a spaceship called Bebop, and drew heavily from Westerns and noir movies. The show paved the way for Western audiences to dip their toes in the world of anime, and the influence that it has had can clearly be seen today. Earlier this year, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle became the highest-grossing anime movie of all time, with a global box office haul of around $700 million. The film made more than $130 million domestically, setting a record for anime titles. More recently, Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc has also done exceedingly well, grossing nearly $40 million domestically and more than $150 million worldwide.
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Demon Slayer is now set to debut in China, where it’s already setting pre-sales records. The marketplace has evolved drastically from 2001, when Cowboy Bebop: The Movie made $3 million at the box office. The live-action Netflix show was released in 2021 to poor reviews. Starring John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, and Daniela Pineda, the series is sitting at a 45% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads, “Maybe next time, Space Cowboy — this live-action Bebop has a fun enough crew to spend time with, but it disappointingly replaces the soulfulness of the source material with kitsch.” By comparison, the original anime series holds a perfect 100% score on RT even all these years later.
Check out Cowboy Bebop at home, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
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1998 – 1999
- Network
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TV Tokyo, WOWOW Prime
- Showrunner
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Shinichirô Watanabe
- Directors
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Yoshiyuki Takei, Ikuro Sato, Hirokazu Yamada
- Writers
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Keiko Nobumoto, Michiko Yokote, Dai Sato, Sadayuki Murai, Akihiko Inari
- Franchise(s)
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Cowboy Bebop
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Koichi Yamadera
Spike Spiegel / Ein (voice)
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Unsho Ishizuka
Jet Black (voice)
