Cowboy Bebop

Well, if there ever were an anime that’s pretty much designed for Adult Swim, it’s COWBOY BEBOP. Obviously, the self-contained nature of the episodes makes them ideal for catching the odd one at 1:00 AM on Wednesday morning. You really don’t have to have seen the previous episodes to get what’s going on, here. Plus, the provocative visuals and jazz music stylings give it something of an installation art feeling. Much like AEON FLUX, this seems like something that’d be perfect to be projected on a wall at a party. You wouldn’t have to pay full attention to it, but it’s concise enough that you’d get the gist pretty quickly if you did.

More to the point, the Roullete Wheel casino ship just SCREAMS “album cover.”

Actually, in the spirited of installation art, and roulette, I want you all to picture the rest of this WATCH & LEARN as being like a big, spinning wheel, and you’re the ball.

RUDDA RUDDA RUDDA… DINK!  

I’m a little confused to what the deal was with the “chip within a chip.” It had important information, I got that, but why did the sharks need Faye to get it from them? Wasn’t it already in their possession?

RUDDA RUDDA RUDDA… DINK!  

The BIG SHOTS bounty hunter show is quickly becoming one of my favorite parts of every episode. I’m shocked there isn’t a real life equivalent… hosted by Hawaii’s toughest S.O.B. Dog.

RUDDA RUDDA RUDDA… DINK!  

Faye’s a Roma, huh? Hilarious. I remember spending a week on the Roma in a class in college called “Sociology of Developing Nations.” Perhaps it’s endearing that European stereotypes have endured into the far future. You’ve got a lucky, superstitious thief? Of course she’s a gypsy!

RUDDA RUDDA RUDDA… DINK!

It seems like every episode pays tribute to a different action classic. #1 was DESPERADO, #2 was GAME OF DEATH (as gla55jAw pointed out)… and this one’s definitely evocative of MOONRAKER. Anybody else fell that way?

Anyway, you landed on red. Collect your chips and read my comments on the previous episode, here.

Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of   HYBRID BASTARDS!  &   UNIMAGINABLE. Order them on Amazon   here  & here.

Thanks for the shout out Tom.
On the topic of why they used Faye, I think they used her because a) she has a debt to them and b) because she is notorious for having perfect luck, so she will make them money at the table and the deal should go down smoothly. This was to be a top secret exchange between two parties so they didn't have the chip already. I mean they killed the guy who wound up losing the chip to Spike because he wound up with Spike's chip.
 
Most of the sessions are their owned contained story, but there are some reoccurring characters and references and some story lines  that span the whole series. The first one that comes to mind (since I just watched it) is the 5th session, which is also an amazing episode.

I thought we eventually figured out for sure what her story was...the tape she found later?  She had a reason for lying...I mean she isn't evil or anything.....I mean thinking fay was evil..well that would just be vicious (pun intended)

@zaldar said:

" I thought we eventually figured out for sure what her story was...the tape she found later?  She had a reason for lying...I mean she isn't evil or anything.....I mean thinking fay was evil..well that would just be vicious (pun intended) "

We find out a lot in later episodes. Don't ruin it for Tom!