Cowboy Bebop Remix volume 3

Reviewed By: Carla Land

Bandai Entertainment DVD

Review based on disk 3 (episodes 11-14)

Rating 13+

What it’s (basically) all about:  The Bebop and her crew are back, this time not chasing bounties so much as leftovers and their pasts. Spike, Jet, Faye, Ein the dog and Ed are a pretty dysfunctional family, but they’re a family just the same.

Nitty Gritty: In episode eleven the crew is being attacked by year old leftovers that have escaped from a forgotten refrigerator in the hold. Twelve and thirteen take Spike on a quest to find his lost love, Julia, only to find his worst enemy, Vicious, instead. Episode fourteen has them tracking down a chess playing ghost. It’s pretty much par for the course for the Bebop.

Episodes twelve and thirteen are a two part episode that sheds some light on Spike’s past. Gren, who is a former army pal of Vicious, ended up in prison after Vicious betrays him. While in prison, he tries some new medicine that has an interesting side effect…his hormones have changed to be on the more effeminate side, which Fay discovers when she sneaks up on him in the shower to collect the bounty on his head. (His chest resembles hers in size and shape, and it’s shown in full-frontal fashion.)

Language is pretty mild, and “sh*t” is used less frequently than in the past. There is still violence and some gunplay. Spike still smokes like a chimney, and Jet loses even the clothes on his back against Faye in a dice game (but we don’t see anything below the belt).

Special features include an interview with Cartoon Network producer Sean Akins, DVD credits, and previews for Mars Daybreak, Planetes, and Scrapped Princess, all of which are appropriate for all audiences.

Survey says: This still belongs in adult collections, especially with the turn of events in the two-part episode. Nudity aside, the circumstances around it will be confusing to the less mature.

Personal Ad:  I think Cowboy Bebop is one of the better anime series that has been shown on American TV. It’s one of the longest running shows on Adult Swim for a reason. If you have to chose between this and another anime, I’d pick this one.