Music as Character: The Soundtrack of Cowboy Bebop
Promo image from IMDb
What is Cowboy Bebop?
Cowboy Bebop, released in 1998, has become an anime classic, popular among older and younger fans alike. Its superior animation, fascinating storylines, and a cast of misfit characters draw you into their world and don’t let you go.
Heavily inspired by American culture, this anime has a neo-noir feel with touches of spaghetti western. Shinichirō Watanabe of Sunrise studios masterminds this show and is well known for his use of music to enhance a story.
Who Created This Unique Soundtrack?
The soundtrack was created by established Japanese composer, Yoko Kanno, but Watanabe’s inspiration for the music centered on 1940’s jazz, particularly Bebop — hence the name.
Kanno takes this concept and runs wild with it, creating one of the most original soundtracks in anime history and sparking the production of eight CD’s worth of music and a five disc boxset that is a must for any fans.
Watanabe and Kanno had worked together previously on the OVA Macross Plus. Like Cowboy Bebop, the soundtrack was fundamental to the story, since it centers on a pop star named Sharon Apple. Thus, when Watanabe felt ready to start Cowboy Bebop, he immediately knew that only Kanno could produce his vision.
Kanno is an unorthodox composer with adeptness in multiple genres. Her quirky persona, widely known in the anime fandom, undoubtedly helps. But her influence ran deeper than just the music: Watanabe based the unique character of Radical Edward on Kanno, while her real-life Corgi was the inspiration for the data dog, Ein.
How Was the Soundtrack Created?
In order to create the massive soundtrack, Kanno formed a band called the Seatbelts, who performed most of the music in the show. The soundtrack proved so popular that the band toured after its release.
Live performances can be found on YouTube, especially the beloved theme, Tank!. Additional parts of the score were performed by the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra.
How Does the Soundtrack Function as Another Character?
Tank! establishes for the audience the tone of the show and builds anticipation for what comes next. The extended saxophone solo, so indicative of the Bebop movement, is iconic to the show. While jazz is a heavy influence, the soundtrack swings wildly from spaghetti western scores to pop songs.
The soundtrack represents the action and characters, each having a hand in supporting the development of storylines and character development. The music emerges as a supporting character, guiding us through the series and asserting itself as a powerful addition to the cast in its own right.
A beautiful example of this is the song Rain, sung by Steve Conte. No other song could so intrinsically set the melancholic atmosphere that’s present when Spike must confront his former life, see Julia again, and fight Vicious.
Ask any fan — they’ll readily tell you all about the tragic nature of this two-part episode and confirm the song’s tone as essential for the mood of the events.
Standout Tracks on the Soundtrack
There are also some songs that, while supporting the plot, are also straight-up bangers that can be appreciated on their own:
- The Seatbelt’s Piano Black is a great instrumental that highlights how good Kanno’s band is at playing jazz.
- José Izcue’s Memory is a music-box-inspired tune that’s repeated throughout the show any time Spike reminisces about his past.
- Steve Conte’s haunting ballad Words We Couldn’t Say provides the background to Spike’s search for Vicious.
- And Mai Yamane, my favorite vocalist, provides two of the best songs on the soundtrack, Want It All Back and Don’t Bother None, offering more upbeat music for action sequences.
Why Get the Soundtrack?
By now it should be apparent that Cowboy Bebop is one of my favorite anime soundtracks of all time. It has something for every taste and is the one of the most ambitious ever created. The sheer volume of songs for a 26-episode show is stunning.
If you’re considering purchasing the soundtrack, it’s available in a CD box set, but if you’re a vinyl nerd, they’ve also got you covered. If, instead, you’d prefer to just try it out, all of the albums are available on streaming services as well.
Do yourself a favor and go check them out.
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Gretchen Wallett
Gretchen Wallett has a Bachelors in English from Indiana University and a masters in Library and Information Science from Drexel University. A life-long reader, they are passionate about spreading the love of reading and access to information. They also enjoy writing about books and researching topics of interest to them. They live in a cozy little cottage in Indiana with her partner, Steven, and their two cats, Simon and Lil Bit.
