Board 8 > Gauntlet Crew Ranks the Cowboy Bebop Episodes

(+) Yeah! (+)

Even though it ended up being a mid-range episode, it definitely gave the show the adrenaline shot it needed that almost never really let up ever.

---

JONALEON1 posted...

charon posted...

I was questioning by the end why Spike and Jet didn't just take the chip and sell it somewhere since it was still in their possession. Certainly it's worth something to someone, somewhere. This is just one of those times I felt the show ended with them broke for the sake of it.

That would be pretty out of character for Jet imo

I mean it isn't exactly the "right" thing to do with it either, if you're referencing his ISSP background. They seemed perfectly okay with making a deal with a person who was clearly a criminal; it happened to go wrong. Why couldn't they make a deal with someone else?
---

Spike and Jet are lazy. Anyways, the gang had the program and it's probably useless to anyone else.
---

I don't know, Jet never struck me as that lazy honestly. I mean he's the pilot, mechanic, cook, housekeeping etc. Spike's definitely lazy, yeah.
---

yeah that's how I saw it too, Jet's pretty hardworking, especially compared to Spike
---

19. Gateway Shuffle
Total: 211 pts.

Inviso - 5
Snake - 9
Gen - 14
charon - 16
Johnbobb - 18
Wickle - 18
JONA - 19
Ermine - 20
Karo - 20
Stifled - 20
scarlet - 22
KBM - 24

Inviso - I think the pacing on this episode was pretty solid. You set up the story with Spike and Jet hunting a dude, only for their hunt to get hijacked by this eco-terrorist. Then the whole eco-terrorism plotline becomes a comedy of errors when Faye gets involved, and suddenly a bunch of people are all going after the same ultimate goals and trying to stay one step ahead of one another. Ultimately, the bad guy gets her grand comeuppance, the heroes get to save the world and be badass, and this was enjoyable. Were still not talking GREATbut enjoyable.

Snake - The opening scene with Faye made me really happy; Fayes spunky attitude mixed with space-themed comedy is so fun to watch. Faye is quickly becoming my favorite character in the show. I like that this episode carries a bit of a horror tone to it, especially with the body horror of humans turning into apes. Twinkle Maria is also the creepiest villain so far, with a ghastly grimace setting the tone for every scene shes in. This episode also has one of the best set-pieces of the series so far, and it had me on the edge of my seat even though I pretty much knew everything would be fine. The virus breaking on Marias ship is the perfectly horrific cherry on top, and its one of the darker moments in the series that Im glad they dont show because it just leaves so much to the imagination. Im excited now to have Faye be a member of the crew, and Im interested with they take Spike and hers relationship next.

Gen - Honestly the Ganymede sea rats are kind of cute and I would totally protect them if their main champion wasn't some bat shit crazy hag. Twinkle Maria Murdock is as ruthless as she is unhinged. I love the scene where Spike is trying to open the vial containing the Monkey Business virus as she looks on helplessly, and I couldn't help but crack a smile as she gets exactly what she deserves by the end- played by the guy she mistook for an imbecile.

charon - A better episode for Faye's introduction. The crazy eco-warriors are very reminiscent of PETA for obvious reasons. The plot here feels pretty dangerous and I wasn't so sure they weren't going to succeed for a while, which isn't something too common I find myself thinking in this series. The action beats are nice and the way the episode ends is quite fitting. I initially had this one a great bit higher but realized I probably overestimated it by far too much. Still, I like it.

Johnbobb - Just a very fun time. Terrorist space-PETA and a thrilling space chase set to great music. An easy episode to enjoy.

Mickayla's thoughts:
Busy, involved, amazing. Few shows can balance so much happening without it seeming like they're trying to hamfist in plot progression
19/26

Wickle - Doesnt take long for Fae to get stuck on her own, and at this point Spike and Jet are thrown through a loop of bounties that they ultimately were unable to claim. It was a little boring of an episode, but had its fun.
---

JONA - I remembered that I wasn't a big fan of this episode but rewatching it, I definitely like it more this time around. The restaurant has a cool design for what's shown of it. The touch-screen table menus are neat. Murdock's a fun antagonist. From her PETA-like organization, to her dynamic with her henchmen, which kinda remind me of Mom in Futurama, and her singing and laugh, she's very entertaining. The monkey virus plan is just insane and I liked the Space Warriors' decoy spaceship, with a cool looking explosion and neon light signs. The hyperspace chase scene climax is pretty great. Jet's scolding of Faye for not knowing high school physics is interesting, considering what we eventually learn about Faye. Faye's interactions with the gang are great. I like how there's a scene of Faye looking at Ein mischievously, while Ein has a sad face and then when it cuts back to them, Ein's in handcuffs and Faye is free. I also like how Faye just decides to stay with them and how the Faye/Spike shower joke is told via just the audio. A bunch of fun stuff in this episode.

Favorite Song: Too Good Too Bad

Ermine - Another kind of meh episode. Low humor and just wasn't very interesting as a whole. The idea was kind of intriguing at first with the ANIMAL ACTIVISTS but as the episode went on I kinda just lost interest.

5/10

Karo - On a quest for a bounty the crew encounter a group of radical environmentalists, who are like a bunch of silly pokemon antagonists who wear fucking dolphins on their heads because that will make everyone take them seriously as eco-terrorists. These dipshits end up as the heroes new bounties after their previous target is killed by them, but honestly if someone is immediately threatening an entire world with a super-virus, you probably want to call in the space marines rather than post up a bounty.
The episode is hard to take seriously, largely because of the aforementioned villains and it just isnt very good regardless.

Stifled - Exciting space battles will always be a thumbs up in my book, so this episodes ending sequence automatically makes me enjoy it. And the eco terrorist storyline was pretty cool, particularly with the weird monkey virus. My only issue, which bumped it down a bit from where I thought it would be, is that its a tad slower in the middle than most episodes. It certainly isnt bad, but when ranking 26 episodes of one of the best animes of all time, the little things will be what separates the men from the women, kids, and critters.

scarlet - You should just watch the last third of the half hour, really. In much the same way that I find Star Wars: Episode Is final act phenomenal, the hyperspace chase scene between Spikes ship the Swordfish II and Fayes Red Tail is as tense a battle for time as any the show produced.
Rating: 76/100

KBM - Twinkle is a potentially great, manic, Glenn-Close-as-Cruella-style villain stuck in a wildly mediocre '90s ecoterrorism storyline. Not much else to say about this one.
---

Yeah, I figured that one would be showing up soon.
---

oh hey one landed about where I expected it to for once
---

Aww, that one feels a little bit low to me.
---

Outlier

Wickle - 62
Stifled - 61
Johnbobb - 60
Karo - 49
Ermine - 47
Snake - 37
Inviso - 36
charon - 27
KBM - 26
Gen - 24
JONA - 16
scarlet - 16

Pretty funny how our top 5 outliers just go up by 1 here. The hyperspace chase for the top outlier continues with Wickle on top.
---

Gateway shuffle up and deal!

---

Kind of weird to have two consecutive episodes out in a row!

---

18. Bohemian Rhapsody
Total: 201 pts.

Karo - 4
Wickle - 8
Stifled - 12
charon - 17
scarlet - 18
Gen - 19
Inviso - 19
Johnbobb - 19
Snake - 19
KBM - 20
Ermine - 22
JONA - 24

Karo - The crew must unravel a mystery behind a series of hyperspace gate sabotage incidents and a mysterious old man known as Chessmaster Hex who may be behind them.
It is one of the better episodes, and tells a decent story with a good mystery behind it, even if Hex himself turns out to be disappointingly irrelevant.

Wickle - An episode that probably would be the best on this list if not for Ed. Eds ramblings were just obnoxious, but it was really cute seeing everyone doing their own thing just to lead to it becoming a chess game with an old man who ultimately died at the end of it. Heartfelt and a lovely story of the CPU from Chessmasters final game of chess. Also the previews for the next ep were hilarious.

Stifled - This one has a lot of layers, with the centerpiece being Eds chess game. I love that something simple played off as a background story turns out to be the key to solving the whole mystery. Any time Ed shenanigans are combined with bounty hunting, thats a formula for success.

charon - Jet and Ed are good in this episode. I feel that Ed in general works best as a support character that doesn't become too much of a focus. Overall this is a humorous episode, featuring a villain who set a plan so long in the past that his age now just makes him a harmless old man who can only remember one thing, how to play chess. I will say that showing Hex's death was kinda odd because Jet basically gave up a ton of money to not divulge his current location. That basically just bought him 1 extra week, then again I guess it let him finish his final chess match so maybe it was more fitting than I'm giving it credit for.

scarlet - An episode that serves as somewhat of an intellectual exercise in terms of the crime being committed, there is a little less emotional resonance than previous episodes. A welcome breather, but not necessarily one that deserves accolades.
Rating: 78/100

Gen - I actually like this session quite a bit, I guess I just enjoy the ones above it even more. I love Edward's dynamic with the crew and with Chessmaster Hex- even virtually her personality seeps through! There were a lot of clever things done here, both within the plot itself and by the characters contained. To name a couple, Jet's planting a cigarette microphone, and Jonathan tailing Jet to get closer to the gate hacker while not letting on that his identity were both pretty clever; however, the most brilliant of all is that Hex set all of this in motion decades ago before he became senile. It's just like a chess player to think several moves ahead.

Inviso - Im normally a huge fan of chess in general. Its a fun game and plays well into fiction, as a means of building tension and pitting great minds against one another. But thisthis episode just falls a little flat to me. The Bebop gang figures out who the chess master is a little TOO easily, and they explain away all the bad stuff he did by him being ancient and forgetting the plans he set in motion fifty years prior. Unfortunately, Edward playing a major role in the episode hurts it significantly. Shes just too annoying to deal with the bullshit that comes from her playing internet chess with the old dude.
---

Johnbobb - Most of the episode is pretty forgetable but Ed playing digital chess with a dying elderdly mastermind is one of the most adorable things I've ever seen in anime.

Mickayla's thoughts:
For someone who likes the little moments in movies that show immense amounts of humanity, this episode was absolutely one of my favorites. Edward is a gem.
10/26

Snake - It was nice to have a fun episode again after two episodes of intensity and dourness. The crew is back in somewhat high spirits, and the chess related plot is fun to follow along with if a little shallow. I like how the conclusion ended up really just being an old, senile man just wanting to play chess one last time, as the whole idea of a grand, ultimate revenge is washed away. I love the idea that simplicity ultimately wins out in the end.

KBM - Kind of funny but ultimately pretty inconsequential, this is a weird little story about a senile old chessmaster with a past. It adds a little bit to the lore, and it's one of the first times in the series Ed actually gets some interesting material to work with, but on the whole it's far from being one of the standout episodes of the series.

Ermine - Pretty boring filler for the most part. Could barely keep my interest throughout the episode and Ed was pretty annoying once again. Just couldn't really care less about this one...

4/10

JONA - A lighthearted episode that comes after the heavy two-parter of Jupiter Jazz. The episode starts with the gang getting bounties but they didn't get everyone so no money for them. I do like how the Bebop gang show more solidarity here with Spike, Jet and Faye talking all at once to Ed and them agreeing to share the bounty. The Bohemian Junkheap has a great, strange atmosphere and seeing Spike and Faye explore it was cool. It was fun seeing Jonathan go crazy after seeing Chessmaster Hex being senile. Ed's a lot of fun during her game with Hex. He has a pretty interesting backstory too. I like how Jet decided to not take any money for knowing the company's secret and that he looked out for Ed. Not my favorite episode, but still fun and entertaining.

Favorite Song: There weren't any original songs this episode but both Kabutoga ni kodai no sakana and Waltz for Zizi are great.
---

Outlier

Wickle - 72
Stifled - 67
Karo - 63
Johnbobb - 61
Ermine - 51
Snake - 38
Inviso - 37
charon - 28
KBM - 28
Gen - 25
JONA - 22
scarlet - 16

Karo puts himself in a more advantageous position, but Chessmaster Wick stays on top.
---

17. Sympathy for the Devil

Gen - 3
Karo - 5
Inviso - 13
Johnbobb - 14
scarlet - 14
Snake - 17
Ermine - 18
charon - 19
JONA - 22
Stifled - 24
KBM - 25
Wickle - 25

Gen - The first time I witnessed this session it kind of blew my mind that the kid wasn't really a child and that Zebra was the one Giraffe wanted to be helped. The context clues are all there though, on rewatch. I suppose it's this high because of those fond memories. Also because of Faye being desperate enough to eat dog food while still claiming she's refined and ladylike. Ha...

Karo - This episode contains the first real top tier antagonist the heroes go up against, a sociopathic immortal little boy who is a very evil yet sad individual.
The science behind the boy's lack of aging is a little sketchy (ok a lot sketchy), but it still remains one of the show's best episodes.

Inviso - First and foremost, I appreciate the fact that, for the most part, the animation for this episode felt crisp and on-point. The episodes villain felt genuinely menacing, because the animation treated him as an evil little shit. Now granted, AGAIN, I feel like these episodes are too short for the level of depth and nuance theyre trying to cram into a single segment of runtime. Seriously, I get that most of these plots are bounty fails, so Spike goes off on some new, morally-righteous mission, but Im not even entirely sure what exactly the point of stopping this kid/man was. So yeah, points for tone, but Im still not a huge fan.

Johnbobb - The "dark evil child" archetypes are everywhere, and far too often they're handled poorly. Fortunately, that's not the case here, as Wen is terrifying. His backstory is brief but well done, and he has an intimidating presence that made him one of the most memorable one-off villains.

Mickayla's thoughts:
Honestly I don't remember this episode at all but John has it ranked high, so.
21/26

scarlet - I love Sympathy for the Devil because it staunchly defies our need to have every action motivated by some easy-to-digest reason or another. The idea that Wen may be the devil, or simply believe hes the devil, is a great piece of a larger universe being fed to us in small amounts. Enough to digest, but not enough to truly understand the intricacies. The opportunity for the viewer to fill in gaps is always welcome in my estimation.
Rating: 80/100

Snake - I like the sense of intrigue surrounding this episode. I kind of predicted the twist that Wen was older than he appeared, but I wasnt expecting the entire extent of it. His backstory is truly horrifying as is the image of him amongst his dead parents charred corpses. There are some issues with the episode, like the convienent memory machine that is used on Zebra to help propel the plot further, but otherwise its a solid mystery with good character moments.

Ermine - Faye sucks. Don't you eat Ein's food, you monster.

Anyways, episode was alright. Enjoyed the story for the most part but just felt a little lackluster. Not much to say... it was ok

5.5/10

charon - In general this is usually a cool concept. An antagonist that is immortal but then is basically aged to death. Wen is pretty creepy in this role and it was interesting to see a child, well what looks like a child, being shot at and killed. Pretty risky. The backstory is a little brief and murky but it's okay enough.
---

JONA - The episode starts with a neat flashback of people working on Spike's eye. There's a humorous scene with Faye and Ein, with Faye telling Ein how he should get his own food and that she's delicate and proceeds to chow down on dog food. It's also funny later on when Faye is given an invoice from Jet and you just Ein walking past with a smile on. It's intriguing to only get a couple of pieces of the whole picture from Giraffe's conversation to Zebra and when Giraffe's dying from the window fall like Chad from accounting. It's revealed that Wen is the one actually in control and never stopped aging and is basically immortal. I like how Wen's outfit resembles Lupin III's outfit and it's neat seeing his backstory but not knowing the full details of it. I love the interaction between Spike and Jet and Faye when Spike's healing up to encounter Wen again. It's a small moment but I love saying Spike saying "I'm sorry" to Jet and Faye's way of showing concern about him. It shows how slowly but surely that the crew is getting attached to each other. The second encounter with Wen is cool with the fire imagery and imagery of him aging. Also, there's some neat foreshadowing with Spike taking the harmonica and throwing it up in the air and saying "Bang." The episode preview is pretty funny too.Not my favorite episode, but it's still intriguing and entertaining and has some neat small things in it.

Favorite Song: Digging My Potato

Stifled - Kids not being what they seem is a trope that pops up in anime from time to time. And it works to a degree here. The antagonist has a fairly interesting storyline. But sadly, this is one of the episodes Im usually a tad bored during. I wouldnt call any episode of Bebop bad, but this one is noticeably at the bottom for me. The one interesting thing that stands out after seeing the show in its entirety is the bang foreshadowing at the end of this episode. Wen died, finally feeling at ease and able to rest. Spike, at this time, doesnt seem to know the feeling. But I think after he is able to finally conquer his past, he understands this feeling and thinks back to it.

KBM - This episode just left me absolutely baffled. A weird, underexplained, seemingly supernatural Immortal Child villain comes out of left field and is promptly forgotten thereafter. I couldn't make heads or tails of this one. It certainly seems as if part of the point of the episode was that some things don't need to be/can't be explained, and I can totally appreciate that as a story device, but sorry, I just wasn't feeling it here at all.

Wickle - Weird fantasy sort of thing where this kid could not age after a meteor hit his homeland and he survived by being under his father. His mind got all screwed up after he was tested on and well, thats about it. The episode brought nothing new to the table. The target they were after died before they could claim, and Spike shoots Selim Bradley. Just, was a little boring.
---

The Alfa Catch machine thing still bugs me.

---

Oh yay we can finally say bang to that one.

---

Outlier

Wickle - 80
Karo - 75
Stifled - 74
Johnbobb - 64
Ermine - 52
Inviso - 41
Gen - 39
Snake - 38
KBM - 36
charon - 30
JONA - 27
scarlet - 19

Gen gains a lot of points but it's not enough to even make the top half, while we still give sympathy for the Wickle for being the highest outlier.
---

With this being my favorite show, of course, I disagree in thinking that the episodes are too short. I just can't imagine these episodes being twice their length. I like that Wen's character isn't fully explored or explained because I thought it made him scarier and like scarlet said, made me try to fill in the gaps.
---

Yeah, the best horror is always that which is unseen for me.
---

Well there goes bracket
---

This is around the level of the list where I start to get annoyed (though not necessarily surprised) at some of these episodes going out before Mushroom Samba.
---

NBIceman posted...

This is around the level of the list where I start to get annoyed (though not necessarily surprised) at some of these episodes going out before Mushroom Samba.

hopefully there's still a good bit more before that
---

also it's kind of cool with this how everyone seems to have like one or two favorites among the more standalone episodes that they just enjoy way more than anyone else. Ermine's Stray Dog Strut, my Heavy Metal Queen, etc.
---

JONALEON1 posted...

With this being my favorite show, of course, I disagree in thinking that the episodes are too short. I just can't imagine these episodes being twice their length. I like that Wen's character isn't fully explored or explained because I thought it made him scarier and like scarlet said, made me try to fill in the gaps.

It just regularly felt like the set-up, rising action, climax, and resolution had to all happen too quickly to convey proper emotional weight to what was going on. 22-25 minutes works for a straight-up comedy, because its more of an upbeat tone, and pacing can afford to be a bit goofy. OR it works for a serialized drama, where the pacing is over the course of the entire series. Cowboy Bebop just didnt work for me because of the pacing of its episodic nature.
---

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who appreciated the haunting imagery of Wen crawling out of a pile of scorched corpses. Look at his face directly before the meteor incident and directly after. Dude ages 30 years mentally in a matter of minutes, though I guess metaphorically being birthed from the ashes of your parents like the most fucked up kind of phoenix is the exact kind of traumatic experience that can do just that.

Wen is a tragic figure for sure, losing his youth, family, and place in the world in one fell swoop. Somewhere along the way he lost his humanity as well, but upon death he at least gains peace. I can't feel bad for him, but I can at least understand where he's coming from unlike Spike at the end of this session. Very appropriate title. Bang.
---

I've always thought that "less is more" when it comes to media. I just find the idea to extend the length of something to convey subtlety and nuance to be kinda hypocritical since I feel that takes away subtlety and nuance.
---

I think either you are attempting to create a sense of magical realism, which requires as little detail as possible so that the dots are connected by the viewer, or you are trying to create natural realism, which requires as much process in the story as possible to convey a complex reality. I think this episode fits into the former, not the latter. But, the key thing is that neither of those concepts are affected by pacing. The pacing of Bebop is not actually about episode length but rather series length. There is an endgame in mind, and building properly to that is the key here. Whereas, in most serialized shows, we build to a season finale.
---

JONALEON1 posted...

I've always thought that "less is more" when it comes to media. I just find the idea to extend the length of something to convey subtlety and nuance to be kinda hypocritical since I feel that takes away subtlety and nuance.

I mean, it CAN work. But think of how, for example, the fan reaction was so negative towards the last season of GoT. A lot of that was how rushed the season was. That rush was how I felt about a lot of the CB episodes.
---

16. My Funny Valentine
Total: 180 pts.

Stifled - 6
JONA - 9
Inviso - 10
Karo - 10
charon - 11
Snake - 12
KBM - 14
Gen - 20
scarlet - 20
Wickle - 21
Johnbobb - 23
Ermine - 24

Stifled - Bebop does backstory so well, particularly with Faye. All of my favorite Faye moments involve learning more about her past. In what is both a beautiful and tragically hilarious love story/con job, Faye is put through an emotional rollercoaster after waking up from a coma. Bebops very best episodes excel at keeping the viewer interested in every last detail, and this one is among the best.

JONA - Faye's first episode that solely focuses on her since joining the crew. I do like how Faye has actually gotten fond of Ein enough to clean up after him and talk to him about her backstory. Her backstory is great and really helps provide insight on why she is the way she is. Matsumoto really fucked up Faye's life even more than her already fucked life when she woke up. I like the small details of Matsumoto moving his head to make Faye kiss his cheek and not lips and the barcode on Matsumoto's back, which doesn't reveal what it's meant for until the episode after. It's amusing that Spike was listening to her story and saying that it needed editing. Once Matsumoto shows up again, it's great that Faye ends up escaping with him not because of their love life but because of her wanting answers. The reveal that the doctor and nurse were in on it too and that Valentine isn't even her real last name really makes things sad for Faye as she knows even less about who she is. I really like the conversation between Spike and Faye at the end, especially the part where Spike says that Faye has a future with him kinda implying that he doesn't have a future. Really nice episode.

Favorite Song: Flying Teapot

Inviso - While the ending scene with Whitney confessing his love was SO unnecessarily cheesy, the rest of this episode was pretty solid. Learning about Fayes past was interesting, even if we didnt learn a WHOLE lot, what with the complete loss of all records pertaining to her pre-freezing life. But yeah, it allowed for her to feel like more of a character than just the eye-candy/fan-service that her design pushes in every other episode of the series (up to this point). Again, the reunion with her ex wasinteresting, but rush due to time constraints, but it wound up being heartfelt enough, and I care what happens to Faye, so I guess it worked for me.

Karo - The backstory of Faye, who is revealed to be an amnesiac girl released from cold sleep. A lot of the episode is told in flashback detailing how she befriends a lawyer who of course turns out to be a slimebag trickster.
Fast forward to her meeting him again in the present and much chaos ensues.
It's a good enough episode that gets the job done at flashing out a main character.

charon - I really think that Faye is a strong character when she's given the limelight. Usually her backstory episodes offer a lot of emotional glimpses into her past and I like seeing her former self almost haunting her current self in how different the two characters seem to be. Her introduction into the show paints her as this wild sexpot sort of thief but in actuality, we get to see that she was much different than that once upon a time and seeing her struggle with that is pretty moving.
---

Snake - Fayes weighty backstory clashes mightily with the overall humurous tone of the episode, but I think thats by design. It really pushes the idea that for the first time in Bebops history, your past doesnt really matter anymore. Jet and Spike are always getting hounded by the hounds of events prior, but Faye has done the unthinkable, defying the odds, opening up a whole new world of possibilities for her. The cheesy song/date montage of Faye and Matsumoto really underscores the fact that Fayes past isnt really all that important and that theres nothing particular to dwell on there. Its like the doctor says, no one may ever really know what Faye was like before she was frozen. Ultimately though, I do think its a message of hope that I think really gives Faye to a chance to become whoever she wants to be.

KBM - At first I was put off by this episode thanks to Whitney Haggis Matsumoto, a walking stereotype of a character from Faye's past who just happens to show up after Faye's prompted into a flashback by looking at Ein and remembering Whitney's eyebrows. That said, the more I thought about this one the more I was willing to forgive some of its structural flaws, as it did a lot of the heavy lifting for Faye's ultimately very moving backstory.

Gen - Giving Faye some much needed humanization and maybe a few sympathetic notes was a necessary evil for her to not become completely unlikeable and this session pulls it off though not with aplomb. I enjoyed the antics of "doctor" Bacchus and his straight-man assistant Ms. Manley, but I very much disliked Whitney Matsumoto. While it's hilarious that he put on at least a hundred pounds my disbelief in him still putting the moves on women is suspended too far. Even Faye almost goes for his schtick one last time before returning to reason which is totally unlike her up to this point, but I guess it does drive home the fact that the only thing more important to her than monetary gain is regaining her lost memories.

scarlet - The revelation that Faye was born in the far-off year of 2015 didnt do much for me.
Rating: 78/100

Wickle - Lets do Fayes backstory, only to tell you she has no backstory. What you knew was a lie (surprise surprise) and everything she was told was a lie. Just felt boring in the end.

Johnbobb - Sorry show, I still don't really care about Faye's backstory, and focusing on her tits more than you've already been doing (which is a LOT) isn't helping.

Mickayla's thoughts:
They tried to make this episode meaningful but I mean, it was alright.
23/26

Ermine - This episode showed good promise, maybe bringing some more character development and backstory to Faye but honestly it just felt completely whatever. Nothing was really all that surprising and nothing about it intrigued me in the slightest. Not only that but it did nothing to improve my opinion of Faye so I'm basically just like Ein at the start of the episode. A big yawn.

4/10
---

Outlier

Wickle - 85
Stifled - 84
Karo - 81
Johnbobb - 71
Ermine - 60
Inviso - 47
Gen - 43
Snake - 42
KBM - 38
charon - 35
JONA - 34
scarlet - 24

Stifled's close on Wickle Matsumoto's tail, but he's still out there seducing the outlier lead.
---

Great example of comedy in the show! Anime humor can be pretty cringy sometimes but Bebop does it really well I think!

---

My top ten. She weeps.

---

I think I'd be interested in a ranking of the main cast by the participants after this ends.
---

15. Ganymede Elegy
Total: 176 pts.

JONA - 5
Wickle - 7
Ermine - 9
Karo - 9
Inviso - 12
Johnbobb - 15
scarlet - 15
charon - 18
KBM - 18
Snake - 20
Gen - 22
Stifled - 26

JONA - Jet finally gets an episode where he is the focus. The episode starts with a tied-up bounty in the Bebop with some fun shenanigans with Ed. I found Jet's conversation with Alisa to be such a great scene. I particularly like how the camera cuts between a closeup on Alisa and a longshot of Jet and Alisa to signify how he couldn't keep her close to him. The cuts with the drinking bird and Ronove are great too to help show how time is passing by. Alisa's words to Jet after the great chase scene about how Jet treated her like a child are intriguing but not surprising due to how Jet has treated the Bebop crew. Alisa and her situation are good, interesting parallels to Spike/Julia with them both being runaway couples and choosing to run from the past rather than confront them. Jet's stone cold face as he approaches Alisa is great. The episode preview is great with the hammy narrator. Very engrossing, emotional episode.

Favorite Song: ELM

Wickle - Jet Blacks storyline, and yet another good person caught up in something bad situation, though this one is left with a non-death. I enjoyed that they did not feel the need to explain what happened with the mobsters and quickly gave a flashback for it. Made it clear and just let us enjoy Jets only catch. And maybe the only bounty that was the target of an episode that was served.

Ermine - Well now that was just a pretty decent episode. Some chill cool times with Jet. I was getting the feeling the story was going to end very bittersweet, much like Episode 1 did since they are sorta similar but I'm glad the ending to this was different. There was also a song during the chase scene that sounds almost EXACTLY like Victor's Hollow from Octopath and when it came on I'm just like wtf... Victor's Hollow...? How? The song changes into something different later but man the first like 15-20 seconds are so damn close to the same, it's spooky.

7/10

Karo - We look into Jet's past as he reunites with his ex-girlfriend on his homeworld of Ganymede, but things quickly end up complicated as her new boyfriend turns out to be a wanted bounty.
Somewhat in contrast with much of the series, it is a drama as serious as Jet himself, and this is fine. It is okay to take a break from wacky bounty hunting hijinks now and then, and this is one of the better episodes of the series.

Inviso - This was pretty decent. I appreciate giving Jet more of a chance to shine, without Spike needing to be the central figure of the story for once. Episodes where the bounties are actually successful tend to be more enjoyable, because it feels like the plot actually has relevance. But yeah, Jets characterization is pretty good, dealing with loss and his former life, and it adds some emotional weight when hes torn between the woman he still harbors feelings forand his belief in duty and the law. Its a happy ending, and thats okay. Umyeah. Its okay.

Johnbobb - Oh shit, a Jet focused episode? Nice to finally find a soft spot for the big guy.

Mickayla's thoughts:
Jet is amazing; this episode was what allowed me to really appreciate the big guy.
6/26

scarlet - The focus on a Jet less bound by the trappings of a supporting role give us a fresh perspective of a crucial part of this story. With the understated, quiet presentation of a relationship between Jet and Alisa, this episode chugs along, giving us enough insight into a character to give weight to their actions in a more two-dimensional role in other episodes.
Rating: 80/100
---

charon - The Jet-centric episodes definitely have a certain style and feel to them to where even the locations used in the episodes feel a lot different than the usual Bebop fare. Jet's an interesting character, one I feel is pretty underrated. This isn't my favorite episode but I do like seeing his backstory and I feel in general the episodes where he features include a lot more information and depth than the other characters usually offer. It's competent.

KBM - Welcome backstory for Jet even if it is a little haphazardly put together. Faye is relegated to sunbathing through the whole episode, and there are some weird editing choices here that make the whole thing seem a little less carefully-crafted than the average episode of the show. The people from Jet's past also have a tendency to run together a bit in the grand scheme (as sometimes it seems he's already acquainted with everyone in the galaxy who's over 40), and in the end this turns out to be one of the less memorable episodes in the long-term as a result.

Snake - This episode is pretty touching, and its nice to see Jet take the full leading role for once. His relationship with Elise is nostalgic, sad, and emotional, but at times this can be flubbed with a generic boyfriend-type character that reminded me of the first episode a little bit. Also, the episode feeling like it absolutely needs to give something for Spike to do drags it down. Faye and Ed play background roles however, and their few scenes together are actually kind of fun if forgettable.

Gen - Jet's ex-girlfriend sucks. While that could summarize my thoughts on the entire session, I'll expand. I could sympathize with her getting cold feet and wanting to live for herself if she weren't so terrible at it. It's one thing to leave a relationship if you've got something better on the horizon like an amazing career opportunity or someone who will treat you better than your previous partner but, 1) you have to be honest with your SO, and 2) you can't just leave them for nothing! She leaves a detective for some bum on the grounds that she wants to make her own mistakes, such as accumulating a massive debt. What kind of horse crap is that? Anyway the cinematography of this session features one thing I liked: a couple of truly exciting canal chase scenes, and one thing I didn't: some really unnecessary close-up cuts as two people talk. I don't understand where the director was going with the latter. It stood out as jarring.

Stifled - I feel bad for ranking one of Jets backstory episodes at the bottom, but his ex-girlfriend and her new beau are just plain bad characters. I never once sympathized with them or even liked them. Good on Jet for getting some closure, but he got the short end of the stick for backstory episodes.
---

JONALEON1 posted...

Genny- She leaves a detective for some bum on the grounds that she wants to make her own mistakes, such as accumulating a massive debt.

She didn't leave him for that, she left for some grand glory thing of getting out of a relationship with someone who was reckless, basically. We never get her real insight in it, she just ended up with the guy eventually while her success was limited.
---

Ouch, that one really hurts. Top 5 episode of the series for me easy.

But I might like Jet more than most.
---

Outlier

Stifled - 95
Wickle - 93
Karo - 87
Johnbobb - 71
Ermine - 66
Gen - 50
Inviso - 50
Snake - 47
JONA - 44
KBM - 41
charon - 38
scarlet - 24

Wickle throws his time of being on top out and Stifled gets the lead, while scarlet takes a bite out of the bottom spot and plans to never let go.
---

this list is quickly going to hell
---

WickIebee posted...

JONALEON1 posted...

Genny- She leaves a detective for some bum on the grounds that she wants to make her own mistakes, such as accumulating a massive debt.

She didn't leave him for that, she left for some grand glory thing of getting out of a relationship with someone who was reckless, basically. We never get her real insight in it, she just ended up with the guy eventually while her success was limited.

Reckless? Subjective. Pre-Bebop Jet struck me as by-the-book anything BUT. No kidding on not getting any real insight. Jet shows her the damn pocket watch and instead of explaining that or the note she deflects with a "I'd forgotten all about that thing". WTF you jackass this man has dwelled on his perceived mistakes for years and that's all you have for him? That's just infuriating to me, I guess because I consider myself loyal. Also her new bf is such a downgrade. I can't say he's a terrible person because he's so generic and the episode is barely about him, but from what little we see of him he's a trigger happy radical idiot that's not worth the time of day even on a stopped clock. Fuckin' derp.

I forgot the Ed shenanigans with the captured bounty head at the beginning. Probably would've raised the session mm 3 spots higher because I really like that sequence. Still the sins are just unforgivable. I liked JONA's explanation for the cuts/close up shots, but as they don't show up anywhere else in the series they're just off putting to me.
---

Yeah Im with Gen. The girl was a complete waste of time. Its a miracle Jet was even able to get any kind of growth or closure from that situation because she sure wasnt helping anything.

---

14. Asteroid Blues
Total: 173 pts.

KBM - 5
Johnbobb - 6
Ermine - 7
Wickle - 11
scarlet - 13
charon - 15
Gen - 16
Karo - 16
JONA - 18
Inviso - 21
Stifled - 21
Snake - 24

KBM - This is how you do a pilot episode right. In 25 minutes, this episode manages to clearly and efficiently introduce the world and broader concepts of the world the show will take place in, on top of being a genuinely entertaining and involving standalone story that does an admirable job of introducing Spike and Jet as our primary leads. Asimov is a strong villain, and the sequences with the Bloody Eye in particular are beautifully animated. Great stuff to get you excited for the series to come.

Johnbobb - My girlfriend is a huge fan of the show and tried to get me to watch it years ago, when I still hadn't seen many anime. I ended up falling asleep during it. Now, years later, I have no excuse no not watch through the whole series with her, and honestly, I don't think I was at a place to really appreciate it back then. The music is the first thing to catch my eye. I'm a fan of jazz/blues to begin with, so having that to emphasize the action is just such an excellent touch. It doesn't take long to immediately get a grasp on who Spike is, and what this show is setting out to do.

Mickayla's thoughts:
I've probably seen this intro thousands of times, but I could watch a thousand times more.
16/26

Ermine - No cats were harmed in the making of this episode.

Huh... This wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I'm going into this completely blind despite it being insanely popular. Anyways, Spike is... not quite what I thought he'd be like. I thought he'd be this super cool dude that's always chill and badass but, at least from this episode, he's a bit of a clown. Not that that's bad or anything, just took me a bit off guard. Even though I've heard praises about the dub being super good I'm not too sold on the voices yet, they feel a bit off but I'm sure I'll get used to them.

Even though this is the first episode, it's still very solid and doesn't lag around at any point. The ending in particular is the highlight for me, and while expected, I thought pulled off quite well. The visuals are all pretty damn good and pleasing to look at and overall it has me interested in seeing more. Pretty strong start.

7/10

Wickle - Here we meet Spike and Jet for the first time, also the indian I cannot remember the name of already. Spike is something expected of a shounen protagonist, kind of lazy and OP, though a bit more suave and a go my own way character like a James Bond-type of person. Its a good mix at the moment. In this episode, he meets a Hispanic girl who just chose the wrong company, forced to carry his drugs and she killed him for it. Then promptly died after the enemies caught on. I enjoyed the sight of how she died, with the vials flying out like they were her innards. Just a minor sad story.

scarlet - The series kicks off with this episode, a wonderfully entertaining piece that shows us Spike and Jet by themselves, doing their thing as bounty hunters in the year 2071. As the series' self-contained episodes go (meaning episodes that are not part of either of the series two plot lines), it's one of the strongest. Spike is pursuing a dealer of a new drug which makes its user faster, stronger, his sight keener, and damn near impossible to beat in a fight.
Rating: 81/100
---

charon - The first episode introduces you to only Spike and Jet, which I'll say the intro for the show gets increasingly odd since the other characters don't show up until a bit later, especially Edward but I'll discuss that more in that episode's writeup. My favorite part of this is the bell peppers and beef bit, it's a pretty hilarious exchange between the protagonists. The typical formula for the show is introduced here; a bounty head is hunted down, typically they die and then Spike and Jet are still broke. The antagonists here aren't bad, pretty middle of the road in terms of the rest of the series offerings. I initially thought Katerina was more important because I hadn't seen the show before so perhaps I was a little more invested in her than other one off characters later. Asimov is definitely an asshole though and probably one of the more despicable characters on the show.

Gen - A now commonplace storytelling practice, this episode drops you right into the middle of the lore. It gives the viewer a pretty basic explanation of what Spike does for a living and demonstrates his relationship with Jet without spelling it out for them. I admire the ease at which these two protagonists communicate and it makes for a fun dynamic. There are a couple things that aren't fully explained, but they add to the intrigue of the show and leave me wanting more.

Karo - The first episode of the show, and it gives a good idea of what the series is about as Spike and Jet chase down a bounty on a drug smuggler.
Unfortunately, most of the cast has yet to be introduced, and even those who have we don't really get much in the way of who they are other than 'badass bounty hunters'.
It's a decent start, but there is much better to come.

JONA - The episode begins with a glimpse of what is to come in the future with Spike in the rain with a dark, moody atmosphere, with glimpses of a gunfight and has a nice music box tune playing. The fact that this shows before the energetic opening and doesn't coincide with the actual episode, helps you learn what to expect from the series. The actual episode starts with Jet cooking peppers and "beef" while Spike is practicing Jeet Kune Do. This leads to a pretty funny exchange between the two with Jet telling him about the bounty and Spike just wondering "WHERE'S THE BEEF?" The episode does a great job immediately showing the contrast between Spike and Jet. Spike is reckless and has a carefree attitude compared to Jet, who is more level-headed and serious. Their actions when it comes to finding more information on the bounty are different, with Jet going through the cops and Spike getting info from Laughing Bull. There's a good foreshadowing line by Spike where he says that he was killed by a woman. Asimov and Katerina are introduced in a cool scene with the selling of the drug, Bloody Eye. Asimov's facial expressions are great and the first person viewpoint of his with the drug effect is really cool. When Spike and Asimov meet again, Spike wears an outfit that's a neat Clint Eastwood reference and they have a good fight scene, with Spike showing off his Jeet Kune Do. The ending is great with Katerina killing Asimov and then has her awaiting death herself, while all Spike can do is watch. The episode ends in an almost book end, with Jet cooking the same dish, but this time Spike ends up practicing his Jeet Kune Do in a different room looking out into space, absorbing what he just saw. The episode's a great start to the series, as well as being a good comparison to the end of the series, but also a fun Robert Rodriguez-inspired episode on its own.

Favorite Song: Road to the West
---

Inviso - Im gonna be honestif I wasnt watching more of this as a result of the ranking, I wouldnt go out of my way to seek out more of the show past this episode. Its justits very slow, and even though Spike is charmingits weird to me. I enjoy at least SLIGHTLY larger casts than this one, because it gives me a chance to examine multiple characters and determine who I like, who I dont likeand whatever. This is just very straight-forward, with some actionand it didnt grab me, I guess.

Stifled - This was a pretty cool start to the series. Red Eye is a devastating drug. Imagining someone like Pierrot or Vicious using this is pretty terrifying. But instead, the guy that actually does use the drug is pretty boring and unlikeable. I think I would have enjoyed the episode more if he wasnt such a whiny little bitch. Maybe Im being overly picky since its just the opening episode. After all, we cant start the show off with a top villain. But still, I was left wanting more out of the character. Otherwise, the episode itself is fairly fun and action packed. Certainly not a bad watch. Justnot ideal.

Snake - The cold open is gorgeous with beautiful classical music and great animation. I like the juxtaposition of the lively intro with the opening, it clues you in into what tones the show will potentially be juggling. The theme rocks by the way. The art direction and I like the idea of musical theming, like how this episode mainly uses blues tracks. Character dialogue is clunky and really exposition heavy, and the poignant ending is kind of hampered a little bit by underdeveloped antagonists. However, Asteroid Blues does well in establishing Spikes character and makes you excited for the future to come.
---

Outlier

Stifled - 102
Wickle - 96
Karo - 89
Johnbobb - 79
Ermine - 73
Inviso - 57
Snake - 57
Gen - 52
KBM - 50
JONA - 48
charon - 39
scarlet - 25

Stifled's still got his Red Eye on the prize of being the top outlier.

Anyways, we are now at the halfway point!

Here's what's left:

Ballad of Fallen Angels
Waltz for Venus
Toys in the Attic
Jupiter Jazz (Part 1)
Jupiter Jazz (Part 2)
Black Dog Serenade
Mushroom Samba
Speak Like a Child
Pierrot le Fou
Brain Scratch
Hard Luck Woman
The Real Folk Blues (Part 1)
The Real Folk Blues (Part 2)
---