You’ll be able to binge the original Cowboy Bebop anime on Netflix before the streaming service drops the live-action adaptation. So if you want a refresher on the source material, or if you have never seen it and want to check it out before the new series, you’ll get your chance.
The anime will become available to stream on October 21. It consists of 26 episodes. (It is currently available on Hulu.) The live-action series arrives about a month later on November 19.
The anime was directed by Shinichirō Watanabe, with a screenplay by Keiko Nobumoto, character designs by Toshihiro Kawamoto, and music by composer Yoko Kanno. It was released in Japan in 1998 and in the U.S., on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, in 2001.
Watanabe, who consulted on the live-action show, stated:
“For me, it’s a great surprise and honor that the Cowboy Bebop universe has thrived for over 20 years and will continue onward.”
André Nemec (High Fidelity, 2014’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) developed the live-action version, with a script by Christopher Yost (The Mandalorian, Thor: Ragnarok). John Cho toplines the cast as bounty hunter Spike Spiegel, with Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black, Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine, Elena Satine as Julia, and Alex Hassell as the gangster Vicious. A Welsh Corgi named Henry plays Ein.
Kôichi Yamadera, who voiced Spike, added:
“Cowboy Bebop is an important work for me. I have long anticipated a live-action version. I can feel the strong respect it has toward the anime. I hope that viewers will see the atmosphere of the Spike character that I previously portrayed in John Cho’s performance, who is skillfully taking on the role in this version. There are also many settings and developments that can only be pulled off in a live-action series. I hope that both people who love Cowboy Bebop and those who are new to the title can enjoy this new series!”
It was also announced that Yamadera and the rest of the voice cast of the original anime would dub over the dialogue for the Japanese version of the live-action series. Joining Yamadera are Taiten Kusunoki as Jet, Megumi Hayashibara as Faye, Norio Wakamoto as Vicious, Gara Takashima as Julia, Tsutomu Taruki and Miki Nagasawa as TV hosts Punch and Judy, Takaya Hashi as the Teddy Bomber, Kenyu Horiuchi as Rester House sax player Gren, Masako Isobe as Spike’s former mentor Mao, and Romi Park and Hikaru Midorikawa as Vicious’ twin enforcers Shin and Lin.
Check out the animated version of Cowboy Bebop on Netflix on October 21, and then the live-action take on November 19.