Shinichiro Watanabe’s Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo set an unmatched standard in anime that even his genius might not replicate.

More than two decades after its release, Cowboy Bebop is making headlines again in 2025. The classic space-western anime is back on the radar thanks to streaming platforms and viral fan buzz.

In 1998, director Shinichiro Watanabe released Cowboy Bebop-- a unique marriage of action, sci-fi and Western that was groundbreaking for the medium of anime. Despite its similarities to iconic ...

By Rafael Motamayor Shinichiro Watanabe’s first anime, “Cowboy Bebop,” was quite an opening act. A story of space bounty hunters trying to scrape by, its genre mash-up of westerns ...