Cowboy Bebopis considered one of the greatest anime of all time, but the series only came to be thanks to a variety of coincidences that opened up the opportunity for series creator Shinichiro Watanabe to make the kind of show he wanted. One key event might surprise fans, however, and that event happens to have been the release ofStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.
Cowboy Bebopwas first released in April 1998, whileThe Phantom Menacedidn’t hit theaters until May 1999, so it might seem odd at first glance to think that the film had any influence on the anime series. However,The Phantom Menacewas in development for quite a long time, and there was already buzz about the movie when filming first began in 1997. With the overwhelming success of the originalStar Warstrilogy, fans and business people alike expected the same kind of pop culture phenomenon to occur with the new film.
Cowboy BebopandStar Warsreally couldn’t be more different, despite both stories being set in space and featuring spaceships, so it might be hard to imagine how the two could ever be connected. However, that simple commonality really was the driving force behindBebop’s creation.
Cowboy Bebop Was Intended to Ride Star Wars' Coattails
The Anime Was Counting on a Reinvigorated Interest in Sci-Fi
Many ofCowboy Bebop’s most dedicated fans are aware of the fact that there was a cynical reason behind the creation ofCowboy Bebop: the desire to sell spaceship toys.However, that desire on the part of Bandai to sell spaceship toys didn’t come out of nowhere. In fact, according toan interview hosted on Forbes with Shinichiro Watanabe, it was the anticipated success ofStar Warsthat led to this desire. Watanabe said, “The timing forCowboy Bebopwas whenStar Warswas coming back withThe Phantom Menace. That meantBandai thought anotherStar Warsboom was likely on the way and spaceships would be key. So they wanted to sell new plastic models of original spaceships. That resulted in their order to make an anime where spaceships would show up. So as long as there were spaceships, we could do whatever we wanted.”
So, whileCowboy Bebopwasn’t really inspired byStar Warsin any meaningful way, the series still might never have existed had it not been for the sheer anticipation surroundingthe release ofThe Phantom Menace.Cowboy Bebophas turned out to be an incredibly influential series, still talked about over 25 years later, despite not having released any new content since 2001. Bandai’s short-sighted desire to cash in onStar Warsaccidentally paved the way for one of the greatest anime series of all time, while simultaneously almost killing it before the world had a chance to seeCowboy Bebop’s brilliance for themselves.
Cowboy Bebop
Cast
Cowboy Bebop is a 1998 animated series set in 2071, where humanity has colonized the Solar System following a catastrophic event. As crime surges, bounty hunters known as “Cowboys” are employed by the Inter Solar System Police to capture criminals in exchange for rewards.
