Cowboy Bebop is a sci-fi and anime classic, and its unique mix of western tropes with space travel makes it hard to find anything else that can compare. however, Cowboy Bebop Has one contemporary anime series that is nearly as good, and that shares a lot of the tropes that make Bebop big: pay star.
pay star is a 1998 sci-fi anime series by Sunrise, the makers of Cowboy BebopWhich already makes it highly comparable. Similarly, it appeared early in the Toonami and Adult Swim era, and helped establish the block into what it is today.
Not similar Bebop, pay star is actually based on a manga, the signature series of the same name that ran for 21 chapters from 1996 to 1999. Although it did not have the lasting impact that Cowboy Bebop However, the series was popular enough to return to Toonami in 2017 and 2018, around the time that pay star Finally got a release on Blu-ray.
Which makes Outlaw Star a worthy competitor to Cowboy Bebop
Outlaw Star embodies many of the same ideas as Bebop
pay star is a series featuring Gene Starwind, an “outlaw” who comes into possession of his own starship, which he calls the pay starWho initially works with a single partner – in this case, the 11-year-old Jim Hawking. After receiving the ship and a mysterious girl in a box named Melfina who has some connection to the ship, Gene and Jim set off into the stars in search of something known as the Galactic Line, which is said to be able to make any wish come true. True. Along the way, they make other strange companions, while avoiding both the space forces that patrol the galaxy and the space pirates that would seek to steal his advanced starship and reach the Leyline itself.
Like Spike and the gang on the BebopGene and his crew are often broke and take whatever jobs they can get to keep flying. They even occasionally participate in bounty hunting, though the bounties are few and far between pay stars universe. Gene, like Spike, is a skilled fighter who primarily uses a gun, although his is a special gun that uses the series’ equivalent of magic. The show has a careful balance of comedy and drama, striking a tone very similar to that Cowboy Bebop. And while you have an ongoing plot that culminates in the final episodes, pay star Also has many stand-alone episodes about particular jobs the crew winds up doing.
What sets Outlaw Star apart from Cowboy Bebop
Outlaw Star has a mystical element that Cowboy Bebop does not
As one might gather from the term “galactic line,” pay star Has a much more mystical bent to it than the fairly hard sci-fi that is Cowboy Bebop. Magic is a fact of life in the pay star universe, though the mana that magic relies on has become increasingly scarce, and fewer and fewer people know how to use it. Gene is able to use magical bullets, called caster shells, which are enchanted to have tremendous power – some of them even draw from his own life force in order to maximize damage. Their mission to reach the Leyline, however, means that Gene and his crew must deal with magic far more often than anyone else.
The series is also set in a sprawling space setting, with the entire galaxy as their stage, whereas Cowboy Bebop is generally limited to the Earth’s solar system. There are even aliens in these pay star universe, such as the Ctarl Ctarl, cat-like aliens that can transform into monstrous cat forms. One such alien, Aisha Clanclan, is even a major character on the show pay star. The series also features bio-androids, something that wasn’t really shown in Cowboy Bebop In general. The ship itself is also more of a character than that Bebop Is, with an AI persona known as Gilliam.
Does Outlaw Star really stack up to Cowboy Bebop?
Outlaw Star isn’t as iconic, but it’s almost as good
Play useless star Missing some of the things that make Cowboy Bebop So memorable and iconic. There are already very few anime series that can compete with Bebop In terms of music, so it should come as no surprise that Play useless starThe soundtrack is not that good. The humor of the series could also be a little more dated than Cowboy BebopIt is, which can make it a little more difficult to watch. It is also generally considered that the plot becomes a little weak towards the end, although the actual finale is quite exciting. Despite the disadvantages, though, pay star is a worthy companion piece to Cowboy BebopAnd fans looking for more would do well to check out this ’90s sci-fi classic.
Play useless star Can be streamed on Hulu.