Shinichiro Watanabe is one of he most acclaimed directors in anime. Beginning his directorial career in 1987 with episodes of Dirty Pair: The OVA Series, Watanabe has gone on to helm some of the most lauded original anime of all-time. Samurai Champloo, Terror in Resonance, and the recently released Lazarus are all acclaimed shows. But, Cowboy Bebop is arguably his piรจce de rรฉsistance.
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Cowboy Bebop enjoys countless rewatches from old and new fans. But for those looking to branch out and explore other anime that are similar to Spike Spiegel’s tales of hunting bounties across space, we’ve got you covered. Here are the 10 best anime to watch if you like Cowboy Bebop.
10. Planetes (2003-2004)
One of the most breathtaking elements of Cowboy Bebop is how grounded and realistic its depiction of space is. In the year 2071, humanity has conquered space and turned it into an intergalactic highway for transportation and cruises. For fans looking for a similarly grounded sci-fi world, you don’t get any better than Planetes.
Created by Vinland Saga‘s Makoto Yukimura, Planetes follows a crew of space debris cleaners working for a giant intergalactic corporation. The series is a character study with the same slow-burn vibes as Bebop, as each crew member has big dreams and no feasible way of achieving them.
9. Space Dandy (2014)
Is it cheating to include one of Watanabe’s other works on this list? Absolutely. But Spike Spiegel doesn’t play by the rules, and neither do we. Space Dandy takes Shinichiro Watanabe’s love of music and dials it to 11. The series follows the titular Dandy, an alien hunter who traverses the galaxy with his cleverly named cat, Meow, and his robotic assistant, QT.
If you want to make Space Dandy even more interesting, Shinichiro Watanabe has revealed that all of his shows are set within the same universe. Watch Space Dandy’s wacky antics, and imagine it set in the same world as Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo.
8. FLCL (2001-2018)
The culmination of Cowboy Bebop‘s incredible writing, beautiful animation, and epic soundtrack all boil down to one end result: immaculate vibes. It is the vibes of Cowboy Bebop that fans remember best, and one of the best vibey anime that comes the closest to emulating that feeling and memorability is FLCL (Fooly Cooly).
Across five very short seasons, FLCL is a connected anthology series with weird aliens, robots, and an epic Vespa scooter. The first season follows Naota, a 12-year-old boy whose life is turned upside down when he meets a strange woman with a guitar on a Vespa. Each subsequent season is a bizarre reimagining of the same story.
7. Black Lagoon (2006)
Cowboy Bebop was an excellent gateway into anime for skeptics because it didn’t include a lot of the over-the-top trappings of the medium. There were no “Oni-chans,” “Senpais,” or “uwus” in sight. For audiences looking for a similarly adult anime with gritty violence, we recommend Black Lagoon.
Based on the manga by Rei Hiroe, the series follows Rokuro “Rock” Okajime, an overworked salaryman who is kidnapped by pirates on a work trip. When he learns that his company won’t pay his ransom, he decides to leave the corporate life behind and joins the pirates.
6. Outlaw Star (1998-2001)
Standing as another vibey anime from the ’90s, Outlaw Star is about as close as you can get to Cowboy Bebop. Not only are they both excellent sci-fi shows with incredibly compelling characters, but they were both animated by Studio Sunrise (who also collaborated with Watanabe on Samurai Champloo).
Outlaw Star follows Gene Starwind (excellent name) and his ragtag crew on the eponymously named Outlaw Star ship. While Spike Spiegal hunts bounties, Gene Starwind and his crew hunt space treasure, leading to some hijinks-filled adventures.
[RELATED – 10 Best Cowboy Bebop Quotes to Prove the Series Is an All-Timer]
5. Kids on the Slope (2012)
No, we won’t apologize for including two Shinichiro Watanabe shows on this list. Cowboy Bebop‘s soundtrack is arguably one of the greatest in anime history, and its OP, “Tank,” by SEATBELTS is legendary. For the musically inclined who want to dive deeper into the world of jazz, Watanabe wore his heart on his sleeve when he directed Kids on the Slope.
Based on the manga by Yuki Kodama, Kids on the Slope follows classmates Kaori Nishimi, Sentaro Kawabuchi, and Ritsuko Mukae, who form their own jazz band. The animation and music in Kids on the Slope is phenomenal, and the series features one of the best band scenes in the history of anime.
4. Lupin the 3rd (1971- )
On their travels across the galaxy, Spike Spiegel, Faye Valentine, Jet, and Radical Edward find themselves on the wrong side of the law more times than they can count, earning them anti-hero status. The Lupin the Third franchise, starting with Lupin the Third Part 1 (released in 1971), centers on arguably the most iconic anti-hero in anime.
Lupin the Third follows the adventures of the titular Lupin III, a master thief. As Lupin III and his team travel the world in search of riches, they are pursued by the relentless Inspector Zenigata, with decades of history behind this legendary franchise and a gorgeous new movie on the way.
3. Michiko & Hatchin (2008-2009)
As Cowboy Bebop progresses, the crew of the Bebop slowly begins to feel like a found family, albeit a very dysfunctional one. For fans wanting a series with similar themes of found family, which also includes a mature plotline and vibes aplenty, we present Michiko & Hatchin.
Debuting in 2008, this anime follows recently escaped convict Michiko, who wants to make the most of her newfound freedom. However, when she runs into Hatchin, a runaway girl fleeing her strict foster parents, she takes Hatchin under her wing.
2. Baccano! (2007-2008)
If you thought Cowboy Bebop‘s merging of the sci-fi and western genres was imaginative, it’s got nothing on Baccano! Based on the manga by Ryogo Narita, Baccano! blends action, fantasy, mystery, and the noir genre into a wild, time-jumping caper. Starting out with a group of alchemists in the 1700s trying to achieve immortality, Baccano! tells loosely interconnected stories set over three centuries.
It’s not just the genre-mashing that makes Baccano! akin to Cowboy Bebop, with its musical influence also a key highlight. Additionally, Baccano!‘s English dub is also phenomenal, just like Bebop‘s.
1. Trigun (1998)
To break Cowboy Bebop down to its most simplistic description, it is a western in space. There are bounty hunters, stand-offs and shootouts, bar brawls, pistols, ship chases emulating horse pursuits, and so much more that makes Bebop a classic western with a sci-fi veneer. As a result, it would be impossible not to compare it to Trigun.
While Cowboy Bebop dances around its western influence with jazz and other sci-fi elements, Trigun is a sci-fi western through and through. The series follows Vash the Stampede, who has a shockingly high bounty on his head for the brutal murder of countless men, women, and children. But the real Vash claims to have never killed a single soul.
