We see you, curious travelers. Welcome to your guide for Netflix’s live-action Cowboy Bebop series. Before we get into this, we’re guessing you might have a question about the infamous title. “What exactly is a Cowboy Bebop?” In short, Cowboy Bebop revolves around a trio of bounty hunters, also known as cowboys, who hustle their way across the galaxy on a ship called the Bebop — a reference to the mid-1940s jazz movement marked by fast melodies and intricate composition — looking for their next baddie. Fret not, space cowboys in training, no matter if this is your first or umpteenth rodeo with Spike, Jet, Faye and the gang, we’ve grabbed everyone and got the stuff together to bring you the best guide to navigate the world of Bebop. 3... 2... 1... let’s jam. 

In 1998, the anime series Cowboy Bebop hit the small screen in its native Japan, and in 2001, it became the first anime to air on Adult Swim. Though it was canceled after one season, Cowboy Bebop was praised for its edgy and nuanced writing, cinematic style and eclectic, jazzy score. To many, the experimental series ultimately came to define anime in the modern era. Now, thanks to showrunner André Nemec and executive producer Christopher Yost, the Bebop universe has been given new life. The Netflix adaptation condenses the sprawling 26-episode anime format to 10 one-hour episodes and adds new dimension to the characters, exploring the struggles and motivations of the core space cowboys.

The series is set in 2071. The solar system has been colonized by humans after a cataclysmic disaster rendered Earth nearly uninhabitable 50 years earlier. With the majority of Earth’s survivors scattered across the lawless far reaches of outer space, chaos ensues. Criminal organizations like the Syndicate are running rampant, so the understaffed Intra-Solar System Police (ISSP) enlists the services of bounty hunters (also known as cowboys) to help capture wanted criminals. That’s where our ragtag bunch of bounty hunters comes into play. 

Spike Spiegel (John Cho)

Meet the broke-boi cowboy who’s fueled by cheap noodles and smartassery. Don’t let his rascally cynicism and aloof demeanor fool you: He can bring down the galaxy’s scummiest criminals as easily as dropping one of his customary wisecracks. Before he joined the crew, Spike worked as a hitman for the all-powerful Syndicate, where he developed lethal combat skills that would make him one of the most feared cowboys in the galaxy. Spike now spends most of his time capturing high-profile criminals for the largest payout with his friend Jet Black. However, like a Byronic space hero, he remains haunted by a past he can’t escape involving a secret affair with the lover of his rival. 

Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir)

A lover of jazz and the owner and captain of the Bebop ship, Jet carries the weight of a troubled past and some underappreciated empathy. Equipped with a mechanical arm, he’s an ex ISSP cop forced into bounty hunting after being betrayed by his partner. When we meet him, Jet’s settled into his new nomadic life, chasing after formidable foes for the right price. He gets extra points for his ability to almost suppress his annoyance caused by the bickering of his crewmates Spike and Faye Valentine.

Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda)

Meet Faye Valentine, a sassy space grifter navigating the cutthroat lawlessness of the cosmos in search of her missing memories. Faye suffers from amnesia, due to being suspended in a cryogenic state after a space shuttle accident. After waking up with no recollection of her own identity, she does whatever it takes to survive, eventually becoming a scheming bounty hunter. In both the anime and live-action, Faye starts out as Spike and Jet’s competitor but eventually ends up joining them early on in the series. Having survived betrayal, Faye’s built up a tough exterior, but soon enough, you can see she’s a troubled woman. While her boisterous disposition never fails to annoy Spike and Jet, their adventures together pull them all into the sort of friendship ripe for sitcoms.

Radical Ed (Eden Perkins)

So it turns out that the most feared hacker in the galaxy is just a hyperactive kid who’s destined to get on the nerves of the Bebop crew. Known as Radical Ed, her moniker is short for Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV, a name she gave herself after her absent-minded father accidentally abandoned her. She’s taken down drug dealers and police-operated killer satellites all with the click of a mouse. She’ll never miss an opportunity to prove herself and then some. The live-action series hasn’t revealed all its plans for the happy-go-lucky hacking prodigy, but we’re sure interested to see how she’ll hack her way into the hearts of the Bebop crew. 

Ein

If there’s an award for best dog in space, it would certainly go to Ein, the Bebop’s resident canine. In the anime, this pup also doubles as a corgi-shaped supercomputer that can communicate with others outside its species.

Vicious (Alex Hassell) 

There’s always the proverbial final boss in any series, and in Spike’s quest for a resolution to his Syndicate past, Vicious is it. While the anime Vicious is a madman driven by pure hatred toward Spike, the Netflix version humanizes Vicious’ story, making his father one of the Syndicate leaders and filling in the gaps of his sparse personal history and relationship with Spike. While his father wants Vicious to earn his place at the top of the organization on his own merit — nepotism be damned — Vicious’ ego and desperate hunger for power make him impatient. This thirst for influence, along with an unfortunate love triangle between himself, Julia and Spike, leads to a series of explosive confrontations that influence everything from the central plot to the climax of Season 1. 

Julia (Elena Satine)

The woman at the dead center of the Spike-Vicious rivalry. In both versions of the series, her relationship with the two men and the tension that unfolds between them is told in flashbacks. While working for the Syndicate, Julia helps nurse an injured Spike back to health but not without giving him a little extra medicine and attention, if you catch our space drift. From there, the two have an affair that Vicious finds out about. This conflict gives Spike the push he needs to attempt to leave the dangerous syndicate, with Julia in tow. However, trouble ensues when they get separated, and Spike has to leave without her when she doesn’t show up at the rendezvous point. In the end, Spike is forced to fake his death after an ambush by Vicious. At the beginning of each version of the show, Spike has begun his life as a bounty hunter, and Julia is in hiding. 

The Bebop Ship

Jet names his ship in honor of bebop jazz. It once served as an old fishing trawler, but after his forced retirement from the police force, he retrofitted it into a big ol’ flying space tin can. That honking mass of a ship has seen its fair share of damage in a bounty hunting–related shootout or two but still provides the domestic comforts of a bachelor pad in space. It houses an iconic yellow couch, a semi-empty fridge mostly containing bell peppers (sans beef, much to Spike’s chagrin) and Jet’s tranquil bonsai room.

Mars

There are many places scattered throughout the galaxy that the Bebop crew visits, but none are more important than Mars. Other than being Spike’s birth planet and home to his occasional safe space (Ana’s Bar in the live-action), it’s also home to his arch-nemesis, his former lover and a beautiful cathedral. Conveniently located and expertly terraformed because of its similar atmosphere to Earth makes it the perfect place for a swinging showdown. 

Ana’s Bar — Tharsis City 

The first commandment of Ana’s Bar is “differences die at the door.” As the most visited jazz lounge in the solar system from all walks of life — celebrities, gangsters and corrupt cops — it makes sense to lay down some ground rules for this underground speakeasy. Fans of the anime will note the upgrade here from Anastasia’s Convenience Store, but, nevertheless, like the anime, it offers the troubled Spike a sort of respite and a place to learn about the Syndicate’s latest diabolical plans.

The Cathedral

Behold the old Syndicate stomping grounds for worship and unholy ass whoopings. This cathedral was made famous in the anime’s episode “Ballad of Fallen Angels” and re-created in the live-action episode “Supernova Symphony.” It’s a shadowy place with loads of elegant stained glass ripe for breaking. You know, it would be a shame if two characters with a giant rivalry had to meet here for an epic showdown. 

Vicious’ Penthouse

Never seen in the anime, Vicious’ lair adds a new dimension to the unwieldy villain. Luxurious and adorned with satin, silks and marble statues, it’s a tribute to the stylish madman. If you were ever curious to see where the “galactic” magic happens, now’s your chance to see his thread count. 

Showrunner André Nemec (best known for other action-packed and quasi-sci endeavors such as the 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Alias and Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol) helms the transition from anime to live-action for the series. You can read more about his approach to livening up the dystopian space romp on Polygon. 

Christopher Yost serves as executive producer and writer. With superhero credits under his name such as Thor: Ragnarok and The Mandalorian, the latter also being about an anti-hero bounty hunter with a complex past, Yost has certainly got this. 

Shinichirō Watanabe, the original anime director and creator, returns to the live-action as a creative consultant for the series. IGN sat down with Watanabe at Melbourne’s Madman Anime Festival in 2017 to talk about his inspiration behind the series, its popularity 20 years later and some unearthed sketches of his. Since the series’ end in 1998, Watanabe has gone on to create more popular genre-bending musical anime series like the hip-hop-fueled samurai tale Samurai Champloo and Carole & Tuesday, about two friends on Mars who start a band (also available on Netflix). In 2019, Watanabe joined director Motonobu Hori at MCM London Comic-Con to talk about Carole & Tuesday, musical influences on Cowboy Bebop and more. 

There’s no Bebop without legendary composer Yoko Kanno, and she returns for the Netflix live-action to serve up a new score. The music of Cowboy Bebop lives large over 20 years later, not just for its jazz-driven space-noir uniqueness but also for how it helps to further convey the emotions of characters in a particular scene. In an interview with Otakon in 2013, Watanabe said this about Kanno’s influence: “[I] took inspiration from [Kanno’s music] and created new scenes for Cowboy Bebop. Then she would be inspired by [my] new scenes and they would give her new ideas for music.”

Eagle-eyed fans of the series will also note the symbolic fusion of music and narrative in the Cowboy Bebop episode titles, also known as “sessions,” to emulate a jazz feel. Each session of the anime ( e.g., “Session 14: Bohemian Rhapsody” or “Session 7: Heavy Metal Queen” ) is titled after some musical pop-culture reference, and the Netflix live-action also shares that same sentiment (ie: “Session 2: Venus Pop” or “Session 1: Cowboy Gospel”). And you’ve got to admit, talking about your favorite session instead of using the plain old episode verbiage is a pretty cool piece of Bebop lingo amongst the fanbase.

If you’re hungry for more musical lore, you can find out more about the history, legacy, and composition behind the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack with The Ringer’s The ‘Sound Only’ Guide to ‘Cowboy Bebop’ on Spotify. And don’t miss this awesome (and rare!) behind-the-scenes look at the genius composer at work as she explains her process for coming up with the eclectic sounds that make up the retro-futuristic galaxy. 

Yoko Kanno and the Music of Cowboy Bebop

The influence of Bebop’s cosmic reach has inspired everyone from Quentin Tarantino to the Fairly Oddparents. In its 23 years, the two-dimensional anime maintains its loyal hold in three-dimensional ways. Just a few examples include: gritty fanfiction, a viral ice skating routine, an animated children’s cartoon parody, a delightful music analysis, a popular Black reimagining of the series, a slam dunk sports shout-out by the NBA, a COVID-19 charity fundraiser and this EDM infused Bebop banger. Plus, the show gave us some of the best reaction GIFs and memes that can be used in countless situations. Much like the Bebop crew on a bounty, there’s no hiding from the show’s impact on mainstream culture. 

Bebop has also expanded into the worlds of gaming, fashion, films and books. The most exclusive artifacts in the Bebop treasure trove are the 1998 Playstation 1 and 2002 Playstation 2 video games from Japanese entertainment company Bandai. No matter how high the bounty goes for these, they remain Japanese exclusives. However, thanks to some superfans, you can now watch a 10-part English sub of the 2002 game. If you’re looking for the latest merch, ranging from action figures to shot glasses, you can shoot your woolongs over to Entertainment Earth. If new space threads are what you want, Hot Topic and Box Lunch have plenty. If you’re looking to learn about the crew off-screen, Titan Publishing and Netflix have teamed up for a series of books and comics continuing the adventurous shenanigans of Spike, Jet and Faye. 

And in 2001, the continuing popularity of the anime series led to the release of Cowboy Bebop: The Movie . This action packed-adventure follows the Bebop gang as they fight to save Mars from being taken over by a deadly virus. In 2008, a Hollywood adaptation starring Keanu Reeves was in the works but was soon abandoned after creative differences and budget issues. The folks at Fandom put together this in-depth look at the original script plotline that you can check out. 

We hope this guide pilots you on your journey through all the intergalactic fun the Bebop universe has to offer. 

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