Cowboy Bebop (2021)
The space Western story follows Spike Spiegel and his rag-tag crew of bounty hunters, or Cowboys, as they try to capture the galaxy's worst criminals and survive the unexpected dangers they encounter throughout space, sometimes saving the world in the process but always leaving millions in damages.
Richard reviewed
October 18, 2025•
Knew the anime. Knew the odds. Live action adaptations usually crash and burn.
But this? Surprisingly watchable.
John Cho brings Spike to life with just the right mix of swagger and weariness.
Jet’s gruff charm lands, Faye’s snark hits and even Buggy the Clown, wait, wrong show, even Vicious gets some depth.
The jazz is still there. The vibe? Noir meets space western with a Netflix filter.
It doesn’t try to copy the anime frame by frame, it remixes it.
Sometimes that works. Sometimes it’s like watching cosplay with a budget.
Still, it’s got soul.
The sets feel lived in, the fights are stylized and the cast commits. It’s flawed, but it’s not soulless.