In an interview with Watanabe and Shin Sasaki, the managing director at Studio Dawn, the latter defined that anime as a style was gaining regular recognition by the point “Cowboy Bebop” was conceived. Dawn skilled immense success with their flagship anime collection, “Cell Go well with Gundam,” which kickstarted a whole trade of plastic mannequin kits often known as Gunpla, which continues to be well-liked in the present day. Though “Cowboy Bebop” was initially meant solely for Japanese audiences, Sasaki claims that the studio instantly acknowledged the anime’s world attraction as a consequence of Watanabe’s gripping world-building:
“The Japanese animation trade was at a excessive level at the moment, and Dawn much more so with the success of flagship IPs like ‘Gundam.’ That is why we had been ready that granted us some leeway to experiment with new ideas. ‘Cowboy Bebop’ was an try and create a brand new world and produce one thing contemporary to the viewers. Once we noticed the world crafted by the employees, we knew it’d have nice success abroad.”
The rationale “Cell Go well with Gundam” resonated with audiences could be attributed to the collection’ practical, but cool-as-hell robotic designs, whose expertise was offered as scientifically-accurate and virtually possible. Aside from this, the collection paints a gritty, nuanced image of conflict whereas that includes characters who’re humanized by means of and thru, as an alternative of being placed on a pedestal and lauded as heroes.
“Cowboy Bebop” adopts the same method in terms of its world constructing and characters. Though set in a dystopian world, the issues that ail the protagonists are innately human and don’t partake within the conventional traits related to heroism. Aside from this, the aesthetics of the world, rife with beat-up spaceships, futuristic planets, and practical socio-cultural tropes, made “Cowboy Bebop” beloved and particular.
