Cowboy Bebop became such a legendary anime not just thanks to the story beats and characterization involving Spike and the other members of the Bebop, but thanks to the score of Yoko Kanno that was able to create a franchise that remains legendary. With the opening theme, Tank!, still considered one of the greatest opening themes of all time within the medium of anime, it’s no surprise that one high school jazz band would take the opportunity to recreate the classic score.
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The live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop was a controversial series, with anime fans torn on whether it was able to be a worthy recreation of the crew of the Bebop. While the first season of the series ended on quite the cliffhanger with the bounty hunters of the Bebop parting ways following the fight against Vicious and taking the opportunity to introduce Ed within its final moments, it seems that we’ll never see the resolution of the first season’s storylines as Netflix announced the adaptation’s cancellation soon after the series premiere. Despite this, Netflix is still working on live-action anime adaptations including the likes of One Piece, Avatar The Last Airbender, Gundam, and Yu Yu Hakusho to name a few.
Reddi User Juntingunit shared this performance of Tank! from the South Anchorage High High School Jazz Band proving how much the theme song of Cowboy Bebop has resonated not just within the realm of anime, but within the world of pop culture in general around the world:
Despite having Yoko Kanno return to helm the musical score of Cowboy Bebop’s live-action series, it, unfortunately, wasn’t enough to save the show from cancellation. While Kanno did bring some old favorites to Netflix’s take on the world of the Bebop, the composer also took the opportunity to weave new tunes for the cast of bounty hunters.
What do you think of this performance of Yoko Kanno’s Tank!? What other anime themes do you think can stand up to the legendary theme of Cowboy Bebop? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Bebop.
