“Cowboy Bebop” debuted on Adult Swim on an unsuspecting Sunday in September 2001, nine days before one Tuesday would shatter our sense of security forever: 9/11.
The rest of the shows on the mature animation block were comedies while “Cowboy Bebop” was anime, although unlike nearly anything else the genre’s American aficionados were accustomed to. Shinichirō Watanabe's vision marries futuristic visuals with realism, with the series' jazz score treated as something to be felt and then absorbed, like dry skin lathered in shea butter. Thus, the auteur shaped the Adult Swim brand’s lasting association with a vibe – that indescribable impression that made “Cowboy” character Spike Spiegel as much of a blue romantic as an ace bounty hunter.
