Rating: 
Summary: 5 episodes of a GREAT show
Review: There are 5 episodes on the dvd, and they run about 24 minuteseach. The Amazon review is referring to the VHS edition. It's a greatshow and perhaps the best anime DVD out in some ways. Get it.
Rating:
Summary: Cowboy Bebop Doesn't Fail to Impress
Review: Cowboy Bebop is a very impressive example anime. It's got everything that I believe a good series should contain. While there's not much of a continuing plot this far into the series, the stories in each episode are very entertaining. The action in the series is top notch and the animation is some of the finest I've seen. The animation is mostly hand drawn, but on occasion it is mixed with computer generated elements. I've seen this done before and I didn't like it, but they've pulled it off very nicely and it only makes things better in this case. Also, one of the things that I truly love about this series is the music by Yoko Kanno. The soundtrack is a jazzy blues style that would be splendid to listen to by itself. However, the way that it is used in the show is simply amazing. The contrast of mellow jazz music and fast paced action is enough to send shivers down my spine. This is done especially well in the first and fifth episodes. All in all, I'd say that Cowboy Bebop: Session 1 DVD is definitely worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: Deserves 10 stars
Review: Cowboy Bebop is the best anime series in existance and I'm willing to fight/kill anyone who says otherwise.
I bought each individual dvds, but I highly reccomend buying the complete boxed set.
One million stars
Rating:
Summary: There are no words...
Review: To describe it's brilliance. I've tried many times, but every time my description comes up short. I've already done a review for the whole set (a great Amazon exclusive I highly recommend instead of purchasing one at a time). I'm just gonna go episode by episode. If you want Char bios, take a look at one of the other 100+ reviews here, I don't waste space.1: Asteroid Blues: Series opening, quick glimpse into Spike's past, then normal episode. One of the finer moments is when Spike beats up a bad guy while he is on a performance enhancing drug (great first hand-to-hand combat scene). I'm trying not to ruin the episode, so just watch it. 2: Stray Dog Strut: Ein-isode, where the little data-dog is introed. Good Enter-the-Dragonish pretences and whatnot, as well as the funny comment "Seems that way", and showing that scientists may be geniuses, but are also stupid sometimes. 3: Honky Tonk Women: Faye-isode, introing the Queen of Hearts, a con artist and general scoundrel. Wonderful space-combat and pretty funny plot, letting Faye come out on top for once. 4: Gateway Shuffle: Mainly a normal episode, with little meaning and interest. I personally think it's the worst in the series (though still better than any episode of Trigun). The only thing this sets up is that Jet has connections in the ISSP (Stellar Police) 5: Ballad of Fallen Angels: Spike-isode, the first of many, showing a bit more of the coolness seen in the beginning of Asteroid Blues. It seems Spike used to be a mob hitman along side Vicious, a wicked alter ego and obvious antagonist. When you see Spike don a trenchcoat, you will be hitting one of the coolest scenes in all of cinema, especially because of tone, lighting, and music. I am currently looking into getting the soundtrack of the series just because of the end of this episode. All together, this is probably the best of the DVDs, although I think it's solely because of Episode 5. The extras aren't wonderful, but you're getting an extra episode for your cash. While I say it's the best DVD, if the series isn't complete, it's not worth buying. I still suggest you buy the full set (you can get there via a review I did by clicking on my name above). If you want to find out more about the 6 DVDs in this series, or how it measures up to the horrible-yet-staunchly-defended Trigun, click on my name and read my other reviews.
Rating:
Summary: Spike is a fallen angel?
Review: This is a beautiful series, the best anime I've ever seen and I've seen a lot of it. If you've never watched anime before, this is really the perfect series to start with, and disc 1 is the perfect DVD. The first 4 episodes are good in their own right, they introduce you to the main characters, the style and feel of the series, the ubiquitous sense of humor, the sci fi futuristic back drop. These first four are not stunning and appeared to depict an episodic series which was interesting and entertaining but perhaps without much background and mythology. Then I saw the 5th episode "Ballad of fallen angels" and I was shocked. It is such a stunningly gorgeous episode I was caught completely off guard. It was the episode that introduced elements from spikes past heretofore unknown to us. You become aware at the level of thought and depth of the series, that the characters all have intricate and detailed histories that still affect them profoundly. In fact that turns outs to be a reoccurring theme throughout the series, how none of us can truly escape our pasts. Another strange metaphor that continuously reoccurs throughout the episodes is spikes reference to life being like `watching a dream', I'm not sure why that image is used but it could perhaps refer to eastern mysticism and Buddhism where waking up from the dream of life and seeing what is true is an often used metaphor. My sense of the show completely changed when I saw this installment, I became curious as to what all the images and references to spikes past meant. The last scene in the episode, spikes 'fall from grace' from the spires of the beautifully drawn cathedral, is maybe the most artistic thing I've ever seen in any entertainment genre. From the dual with his nemesis Vicious to the mysterious and somehow sad images from his past flashing before his eyes to the moody piano sonata, this scene and this episode remains my favorite in the entire brilliant series. If you watch this DVD, you'll know if the series is for you after you watch the 5th episode. If you watch the entire series prepare yourself for the saddest ending you could imagine. The ending is more tragic than the Shakespearean tragedies you might have read in high school or college. A tear dripped down my face when I had finished the series, and I'm a manly man so that speaks to how very sad it is. I really can't recommend `Cowboy Bebop' any more highly, see it if you can... you won't soon forget its beauty.
Rating:
Summary: Spike and Jet hook up with Ein and Faye on Bebop
Review: It is pretty much impossible to start watching "Cowboy Bebop" and not think of this anime as an imaginative synthesis of some of your favorite films from the past. I would start off by characterizing it as "Blade Runner" with a "Pulp Fiction" attitude, but I can easily add another dozen films to that list. But what strikes me the most about the five episodes collected on this first DVD is the stylish use of montage, which is more inventive than you will find in standard film noir. You will also find that not only does the show rely on composer Yoko Kanno's jazz soundtrack, but that the style of jazz is spread throughout most episodes as well. The lead character is Spike Spiegel, a bounty hunter who is too caustic to be too laconic, aided in his efforts by Jet Black, an ex-cop who is now part-cyborg, and Ein the genetically enhanced Welsh Corgi. In the third episode space gypsy Faye Valentine, who does an even better job of finding trouble than Spike, joins the group just to make things really interesting. The standard joke is that good deeds might go unpunished but they also go unrewarded as well, which is not a good thing when you are an intergalactic bounty hunter. The first episodes of the series from 1998 are included here. Basically we start with the team of Spike and Jet, after which Ein and Faye are added to the mix and our futuristic dysfunctional family is formed. Episode 1, "Asteroid Blues," has Spike and Jet on the trail of Asimov Solenson who is involved in the "Bloody Eye" drug trade. Episode 2, "Stray Dog Strut" has the boys going after Abdul-Hakim and his big bounty on Mars but ending up with a new crewmember instead. Episode 3, "Honey Tonk Woman" is the most memorable of the set because it introduces Faye, who meets Spike over a friendly game of blackjack. Episode 4, "Gateway Shuff" is the best of these early episodes, with the target being Twinkle Murdouch, whose Space Warriors are going to either save the endangered species of the universe or turn human beings into monkeys by unleashing a virus. Episode 5, "Ballad of Fallen Angels," has Spike meeting up with a character from his past named Viscous. We can argue about which episode is the best, but these first five are all above average. As to the style versus substance debate, my perspective would be that there is nothing really new here on the macro level, but that on the micro level where style reigns there is a great deal of inventiveness. Each story is tweaked in ways that make the storyline seem rather fresh, and not just because it is set in the future. For example, this is a futuristic world where drugs are still around, which is no surprise, but the type of drugs are certainly different from what we have seen before. However, the art, with its combination of cel and CGI, is of higher definition than what television viewers usually see with anime. For me the only significant point of contention with this first set of episodes is that the dubbed voices have the stylistic flatness you usually find with anime on this side of the ocean, which does not work with the visuals. Consequently, my vote is for listening to the original Japanese voices and going the subtitle route. You can do both, but the original is a whole lot better and adds another dimension to the reputation of "Cowboy Bebop" as the best Japanese television anime.
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