The series, which ran for twenty-six episodes (dubbed "sessions"), is set in the year 2071, and follows the lives of a traveling bounty-hunting crew aboard a spaceship, the Bebop.

The original crew is Spike Spiegel, an exiled former hitman of the criminal Red Dragon Syndicate, and Jet Black, a former ISSP officer.

They are later joined by Faye Valentine, an amnesiac con artist; Edward Wong, an eccentric child, skilled in hacking; and Ein, a genetically engineered Pembroke Welsh Corgi with human-like intelligence.

While much of the show is episodic, the main story arc focuses on Spike and his deadly rivalry with Vicious, an ambitious criminal affiliated with the Red Dragon Syndicate.

[26] The series also makes specific references to or pastiches multiple films, including the works of John Woo and Bruce Lee, Midnight Run, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Alien.

[31] Faye was described by her voice actress Megumi Hayashibara as initially being an "ugly" woman, with her defining traits being her liveliness, sensuality and humanity.

The leader of the series' creative team was director Shinichirō Watanabe, most notable at the time for directing Macross Plus and Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory.

[40] The atmospheres of the planets and the ethnic groups in Cowboy Bebop mostly originated from Watanabe's ideas, with some collaboration from set designers Isamu Imakake, Shoji Kawamori, and Dai Satō.

In spite of certain American influences in the series, he stipulated that the country had been destroyed decades prior to the story, later saying the notion of the United States as the center of the world repelled him.

Watanabe described his collaboration with Kanno as "a game of catch between the two of us in developing the music and creating the TV series Cowboy Bebop".

[39][45] Since the series' broadcast, Kanno and the Seatbelts have released seven original soundtrack albums, two singles and EPs, and two compilations through label Victor Entertainment.

[58] In the late 1990s, Manga Entertainment purchased the rights to Cowboy Bebop with plans to release the English-dubbed PAL version on VHS; however, this was never realized.

At the time of release, the art box from the Perfect Sessions was made available for purchase on The Right Stuff International as a solo item for collectors who already owned the series.

[59] The third release, The Best Sessions, was sold in 2002 and featured what Bandai considered to be the best 6 episodes of the series remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS surround sound.

In December 2012, newly founded distributor Anime Limited announced via Facebook and Twitter that they had acquired the home video license for the United Kingdom.

[85] In 2022, Cowboy Bebop made its debut in the Bandai Namco crossover game Super Robot Wars T, which is traditionally focused on turn-based mecha combat.

The submitted script was sent back for rewrite to reduce the cost and little has been heard about it since an interview with producer Joshua Long on October 15, 2010;[93] the project currently languishes in development hell.

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",[49] 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.

He characterized the series as "one of the most popular and respected anime titles in history", before adding that it was "a unique television show which skillfully transcends all kinds of genres".

First-time solo director Watanabe had created a gorgeous tale of morality, romance, and violence–a dark look at the lives of outlaws that's shot like an independent film.

He stated, "Regardless of the medium, be it live action television, film, or animation, Cowboy Bebop is simply one of the finest examples of storytelling ever created."

In his review, he describes the finale as "one of the best in television history", referring to it as a "widely revered" ending that "still sparks fan conversation, resonating with viewers 15 years on".

The website's critical consensus reads, "Blending a head-spinning array of genres and references, Cowboy Bebop is an anime television classic that must be experienced.

"[115] 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.

Free from many of the elements that accompany science fiction in general—whether that be space aliens, giant robots, or laser guns—the series delegates itself towards presenting a world that is quite similar to our own albeit showcasing some technological advances.

"[131]: 164  Robert Baigent, writing for the Graduate Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies, said that the series' appeal likely stemmed from the trend in anime to emulate Western fiction.

Club called Cowboy Bebop "rightly a huge hit", and listed it as a gateway series to understanding the medium of anime as a whole.

The show kicked off with a wormhole of a theme song, and the soundtrack moves so seamlessly through genres, from rock to country to pop to jazz to funk, it's shocking to learn that one set of musicians is behind it all".

Okamura used his experience from Cowboy Bebop to write the screenplay of Darker than Black, leading to narratives composed of two episodes similar to Japanese dramas.