Critical Reception

Cowboy Bebop received unanimous acclaim, beginning at the time of its initial broadcast. Beginning in 1998, Japanese critic Keith Rhee highlighted the series as a standout in an otherwise "run-of-the-mill" season, praising its overall production values, and singling out Kanno's soundtrack as "a much-welcome change from all the sugary J-pop tunes of most anime features". Rhee also highlighted the show's Japanese "all-star cast", which his colleague Mark L. Johnson described as being filled with "veteran voice talent", turning in even greater performances than those of their "above average" US counterparts. In 1999, Australian magazine Hyper reviewed the anime and rated it 9.5 out of 10.

T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews gave the entire series a perfect score of 5 out of 5 stars, with reviewer Christina Carpenter believing Cowboy Bebop as "one of the best [anime]" and touting it as a masterpiece that "puts most anime...and Hollywood, to shame". She described it as a "very stylish, beautifully crafted series that deserves much more attention than it gets". Carpenter praised the animation as "a rarity and a marvel to behold" and that it was "beyond superb", and the plot and characterization as having "a sophistication and subtlety that is practically one-of-a-kind". She also praised the soundtrack, and hailed the opening theme as one of the best intro pieces she had ever heard. Carpenter went to say that Bebop was a "must-have for any serious collector of Japanese animation".[109]

In his 2018 review of the series, Paste critic John Maher wrote, "It feels like a magnum opus produced at the pinnacle of a long career despite being, almost unbelievably, Watanabe's first series as a director. It is a masterwork that should justly rank among the best works of television of all time." It was also placed at #1 on the publication's list of the "50 Best Anime Series of All Time".[112]

In an April 2019 interview with Diego Molano, creator of Victor & Valentino, he said that Cowboy Bebop was the first anime he "obsessed over", as he spent time tracking down VHS tapes of the show in high school.[114] He also argued that this series showed him "how cinematic and emotional animation can be".

Accolades

In the 1999 Anime Grand Prix awards for the anime of 1998, Cowboy Bebop won two 1st place awards: Spike Spiegel was awarded the best male character; and Megumi Hayashibara was awarded the best voice actor for her role as Faye Valentine. Cowboy Bebop also received rankings in other categories: the series itself was awarded the 2nd best anime series; Faye Valentine and Ed were ranked the 5th and 9th best female characters respectively; "Tank!" and "The Real Folk Blues" were ranked the 3rd and 15th best songs respectively; and "Ballad of Fallen Angels", "Speak Like a Child", "Jamming with Edward" and "Mish-Mash Blues" were ranked the 2nd, 8th, 18th and 20th best episodes respectively.[115]

A 2004 poll in Newtype USA, the US edition of the Japanese magazine Newtype, asked its readers to vote the "Top 25 Anime Titles of All Time"; Cowboy Bebop ranked 2nd on the list (after Neon Genesis Evangelion), placing it as one of the most socially relevant and influential anime series ever created.[118] During that same year, Cinefantastique listed the anime as one of the "10 Essential Animations", citing the series' "gleeful mix of noir-style, culture-hopping inclusiveness and music".[119] In 2007, the American Anime magazine Anime Insider listed the "50 Best Anime Ever" by compiling lists of industry regulars and magazine staff, and ranked Cowboy Bebop as the #1 anime of all time.[120] In 2012, Madman Entertainment compiled the votes of fans online for "The Top 20 Madman Anime Titles" and ranked Cowboy Bebop at #7.[121]