As one of the seminal anime series of the 1990s,Cowboy Bebop’sinfluence is insurmountable. The ’90s were a golden age for anime’s growth into the mainstream and helped bring the medium to new audiences tired of the same old animated shows.Cowboy Bebophelped bridge the gap and the celebrated dub of the show continues to introduce fans to the world of anime to this day.
RELATED:The Shows To Watch For Fans Of Cowboy Bebop
The space odyssey story, the bopping jazz soundtrack, and the iconic characters and plot lines are still as fresh as they were in 1998. It should come as no surprise that the show has been named as an influence for countless creative projects since its release, not only Netflix’s live-action adaptation.
7Samurai Champloo
This one might seem obvious consideringit was also created by Shinichirō Watanabe(the genius behindCowboy Bebop), but its style still heavily draws fromBebop. The dub ofSamurai Champlooeven features the vocal abilities of Steve Blum, who was the voice of Spike. Blum voices Mugen who is a counterpart of Spike in many ways, especially in terms of fighting techniques.
The soundtrack also takes clear influence fromCowboy Bebop, replacing the hyper jazz soundtrack with a chill hip hop vibe.Episodes follow a similar format, with the characters getting pulled into crazy situations as they progress on their journeys, although the setting moves from outer space to Edo period Japan.
6Victor And Valentino
ThisCartoon Networkshow might not have the stylized space adventures thatCowboy Bebopis known for, but series creator,Diego Molano, has stated that the anime was a tremendous influence on the show.
RELATED:The Amazing Anime That Never Got A Second Season
The show follows two half-brothers misadventures in the world of supernatural occurrences, but the series takes cues from the emotional depth ofBebopas well as its visual colorfulness.
5Firefly
As far as space-westerns go,FireflyandCowboy Bebopare the crème de la crème.Fireflyhas a lot of similarities withBebop, both largely taking place on spaceships, involving criminals and shadowy organizations, and featuring a colorful cast of characters that tie the show’s writing together.
In a lot of ways, these two series are brothers from another mother, albeitFireflyis not animated.If there was ever an animatedFireflyseries, it would likely look and feel a lot likeCowboy Bebop.
4Darker Than Black
This anime series feels like aCowboy Bebopepisode, and for a very good reason: one of the artists behindBebopcreated it! Tensai Okamura took a lot of creative influence from the show he helped animate, and not only in terms of animation style.
The story follows agents trying to discover the mystery of a surreal “Hell’s Gate” portal which opened up in Tokyo. The structure of the episodes have a similar feel toCowboy Bebop, andDarker than Blackbuffs may recognize the soundtrack as the work of Yoko Kanno, thelegendary composer behindBebop’sstellar soundtrack.
3Brick
The noir aspect ofCowboy Bebopis sometimes overshadowed by its space-western tag, but it certainly carries a lot of neo-noir elements throughout each episode.Brick, directed by Rian Johnson, took some strong influences from this area of the anime, crafting a visually compelling story of crime in a California suburb.
RELATED:The Strongest Anti-Heroes In Anime
Time and time again, the stylized visuals of the characters and set pieces ofCowboy Bebophaveinfluenced different forms of media across all formats since 1998.
2Guardians Of The Galaxy
The concept of a ragtag gang of space travelers may not have been invented byCowboy Bebop, but it was certainly perfected by the anime. It usually starts with one or two companions in a lone spaceship, but as the story progresses and new planets are traversed, more and more oddballs join the crew and form a tight-knit family.
Guardians of the Galaxyfeatures similar spaceship humor toCowboy Bebop, taking the formula behind the show’s episodic structure and reformatting it into a feature film format. IfMarvelever decided to make its flagship outer space heroes into a more mature mold, comparisons toCowboy Bebopwould be widespread.
1Avatar: The Last Airbender
Emotion, adventure, and discovery are the building blocks ofCowboy Bebop’scharacters and episodic structure. In many ways,Avatarfollows a similar style of storytelling asCowboy Bebopdoes – following a small party of heroic travelers and the many wacky characters they meet along the way.
A few characters in the showeven seem to take influence fromCowboy Bebop, from the charismatic Jet (also a name inCowboy Bebop) to the lovable flying Appa (not unlike the equally lovable corgi, Ein).The Cabbage Merchant was also inspired byCowboy Bebop.
Cowboy’s Bebop’sinfluence can be seen in countless shows, movies, and forms of pop culture. It is truly an anime that continues to capture its audience’s minds and hearts.
