Best Cowboy Bebop Episodes

Cowboy Bebop is a 1997 anime centering on a bounty hunter crew traveling in their spaceship, the Bebop. It is an old classic among anime fans for its perfect mixture of comedy, action, and story.

Cowboy Bebop is one of the most beloved anime of all time and has many critically acclaimed episodes. This list counts down the ten best of them.
The Top Ten
1 Episode 5: Ballad of Fallen Angels

Really, were you expecting anything else? So much revealed really just with still shots in about two minutes. Also, the action was stellar in this episode.

While pursuing an executive of the Red Dragon crime syndicate, Spike confronts Vicious, an old enemy.

I love this episode. The best part of the episode was the song rain.

2 Episode 12: Jupiter Jazz Part I

Faye leaves the Bebop for Callisto. While Jet chases her, Spike finds some clues about the location of his old girlfriend Julia, which leads him to a confrontation with Vicious.

3 Episode 26: The Real Folk Blues Part II

Reunited, Spike and Julia plan to escape the Red Dragon Syndicate, but Julia is killed. Spike returns to the Bebop for a last meal with Jet then storms the Red Dragon's headquarters to confront Vicious. Shin is killed. Spike fights his way to the top of the Syndicate skyscraper, but is wounded. Spike shoots Vicious, killing him. Spike faces Syndicate members. He makes a gun gesture and says "bang" before collapsing.

4 Episode 20: Pierrot Le Fou

Spike is targeted by an insane assassin named Mad Pierrot after accidentally witnessing the kill.

Incredibly dark and psychedelic espiside. The villain is as crazy as they come. Should've continued as a subplot.

Absolutely in the top 5. Best stand-alone episode with some of the best action.

5 Episode 13: Jupiter Jazz Part II

Faye is helped by Gren, who holds a grudge against Vicious. He and Spike reach Vicious at the same time, and a threeway battle takes place.

6 Episode 25: The Real Folk Blues Part I

Spike and Jet are ambushed by members of the Red Dragon Syndicate. They are saved by Shin, who explains that after Vicious unsuccessfully tried to seize the organization, everyone connected to him is being hunted down. Faye finds Julia and passes a message from her to Spike. Spike rushes to Julia. Vicious escapes and kills the leaders of the syndicate.

7 Episode 8: Waltz For Venus

Spike meets Rocco Bonnaro, who is on the run from the Venusian mob for stealing a rare plant, which he will use to pay for surgery to restore his sister's eyesight.

8 Episode 24: Hard Luck Woman

The Bebop is forced to make an unscheduled stop on Earth where Faye travels to the landmarks she saw in the video. She and Ed find an orphanage where Ed once lived and find a picture of her father. Faye and Ed find an old schoolmate. Jet and Spike track down their bounty, but Ed reveals that the bounty head is her father, and she placed the bounty herself in order to find him. Ed's father speeds off. Faye finds ruins where her home used to be. Ed leaves the Bebop.

It's a fantastic episode of Bebop. From Faye's realization that the home she sought is gone, to "Call Me Call Me", to Spike and Jet eating Faye and Ed's eggs after accepting that they've left, to Ed's message on the deck of the Bebop, to the final caption, it strikes all the right chords. While the ending of "The Real Folk Blues" is perfect, it doesn't hit me emotionally the way this episode does at the end. I still tear up every time!

9 Episode 18: Speak Like a Child

A package addressed to Faye arrives on the Bebop containing an old tape, a time capsule recording made by a teenage Faye.

Gets me teary eyed every damn time I watch it.

10 Episode 6: Sympathy for the Devil
The Contenders
11 Episode 1: Asteroid Blues
12 Episode 17: Mushroom Samba
13 Episode 11: Toys In the Attic
14 Episode 10: Ganymede Elegy
15 Episode 23: Brain Scratch

This episode really nailed the whole cult part; Scratch felt like a genuine cult in action. Also, Londe's speech at the end was just brilliant.

16 Episode 2: Stray Dog Strut
17 Episode 3: Honky Tonk Women
18 Episode 7: Heavy Metal Queen
19 Episode 22: Cowboy Funk

This episode had it all! Maybe I'm just sentimental after seeing this show so many times but this episode cracks me up every time.

This episode was hilarious. Watching Spike get annoyed with someone who was exactly like him was the best.

20 Episode 16: Black Dog Serenade

Gotta say, while it probably has a lot to do with my particular love of film noir, I really dig this episode. It's nothing super special, but I think it's pretty perfect for what it is.

21 Episode 4: Gateway Shuffle
22 Episode 14: Bohemian Rhapsody
23 Episode 15: My Funny Valentine
24 Episode 19: Wild Horses

How is Wild Horses ranked second to last with the iconic 'whatever happens, happens' scene?

25 Episode 21: Boogie-Woogie Feng-Shui
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