Cowboy Bebop

Author: Hajime Yadate

There was an explosion in the late 1990s that led to many top-notch anime series debuting. It's the late 21st century and Earth is pretty much uninhabitable. That leads Earth to colonize the planets and moons of the solar system, and there's a massive up-tick in crime, leading to bounty hunters assisting in the capture of criminals. A crew of ex-criminals, former cops, and of course, a talking dog, get together for a series of adventures into organized crime. Perhaps no other piece of science fiction media (OK, maybe Blade Runner…) has managed to accomplish such a perfect blending of scifi with Film Noir. The space-faring elements and the crime storytelling leave a viewing guessing which direction the story is going to take, and how, and if, anything will work out. The characters are rich, and deeply flawed, while the stories themselves are both hard boiled and humor. The artwork in particular is astounding, and takes inspiration from 1980s anime, classic pulp cover art, and movie posters. Why it's on the list: This was the peak of 1990s anime science fiction, and one of the most brilliantly conceived series of all time.