'Cowboy Bebop' Announces 20th Anniversary Screenings

Cowboy Bebop is hitting a big milestone this year, and it's about time theaters caught on to the ordeal. The hit show turns 20 in 2018, a fact which Spike Spiegel lovers are having trouble believing. So, it's only natural for fans to want to revisit the series, and some theaters will help fans do just that.

Unfortunately, for now, that means you will have to go to Japan.

Recently, fans learned a theater in Tokyo will host Cowboy Bebop screenings in August to honor the anime. Both the television series and its film will go up on the big screen thanks to Cinema City.

According to the theater, the special screenings will include updated sound to give fans a new watching experience. The events will also feature talks from members of the Cowboy Bebop staff, so diehard fans who happen to be in Japan may want to take a stop (via ANN).

On August 18, the anime's first 13 episodes will be screened before the Cowboy Bebop talk show gets started. That panel will include staff members like director Shinichiro Watanabe, music director Shiro Sasaki, and writer Dai Sato.

If you want to finish the anime, you can sit through episodes 14-26 on August 25. Producer Masahiko Minami, character designer Toshihiro Kawamoto, and critic Ryota Fujitsu will speak at that event's panel.

For those just interested in the franchise's film, you can catch it at Cinema City if you're around. Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door will screen for a short time between August 25-31.

For those unfamiliar with Cowboy Bebop, the series was first created by Sunrise in 1998. It was directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, with scripts written by Keiko Nobumoto, character designer Toshihiro Kawamoto, and songs composed by Yoko Kanno. Set in the year 2071, the series explores many existentialist philosophies as it follows the adventures of Spike Spiegel, and a group of bounty hunter misfits aboard the titular spaceship the Bebop.

The series premiered in Japan back in 1998, and ran for 26 episodes until 1999. It was licensed for an English language released by Bandai Entertainment and Funimation, and was the very first anime series to air on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block in the United States. It's often credited by fans from the 2000s as a major "gateway" show to the world of anime overall and has gone on to major critical, cult, and commercial success.

Would you attend an anniversary screening if it came to the US? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!