Cowboy Bebop
Shinichirō Watanabe
A classic, beautiful anime with understated dialogue, heavy action, and a phenomenal 26 episode arc.
The best main trio you could ask for in Spike, Jet, and Faye (and Ed an Ein too of course).
Faye Valentine may be the real lead character for me. Spike is an absolute classic and perfectly voiced. And Jet and Ed too are fantastic characters, but Faye pulls it all together and shows the most dynamism of the gang. The ensemble shines in full and Spike is such an iconic figure and one of my favorites in all of stortelling. I love it all, I suppose.
Really though, the music and the animation driving all the story beats are the true stars of this one. You're not necessarily hanging on every word waiting for the next twist or turn of the arc. It's a classic noir and it plays out beautifully, but the music... the jazz beats and the gorgeous animation work together with it all for some sublime viewing. Every time is a good time watching it (~8x in my life?).
Mostly serious but generous dallops of humor each episode. I cannot recommend this show enough and it may be a good entry point for anyone considering anime (although Fullmetal: Brotherhood may be my recommendation along those lines).
Note: Cowboy Bebop also has a phenomenal standalone movie that can be watched canonically ~S1E22ish IIRC.
And also see: Samurai Champloo, another tight 26-episode series from the same brilliant minds.
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