The Ships of Cowboy Bebop

[@Spacedock]

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[@LUKAS3675]

did you like planetes? best sci-fi anime ever

[@makbar59]

Debatable. You should check out "Legends of Galactic Heroes" super long series but well worth it. Especially if you like animes that delve deeper into politics, human emotions and motivations but with real battle tactics(closer than any other show) in Space.

[@michaellewis1545]

I recommend Outlaw star

[@eps200]

makbar59 Got to second this. It's the greates space opera ever put to screen by a huge margin. Makes the rest look like skirmishes with trivial politics.

[@LUKAS3675]

Never watched, if you just introduced me to a better Anime than Cowboy or Planetes I really really owe you one!

[@fnsmike]

You note that every ship was "diverted from their original purpose" - the more I think about it the more this seems like a meaningful thematic observation on the story as a whole.

[@danle7022]

Same for crew members, cop, patient/scammer, gangster, hacker, data dog, now all repurposed bounty hunters

[@Kapowmonkey]

Don't forget the space trucks. I know they're only there for one episode, but they all had so much character and energy in their individual designs

[@swhaw]

I loved that episode.

[@freshFerdinand]

That's such an underated episode.

[@petman515]

And some of the best cargo ships in sci fi

[@omg_RANCORS]

i really liked the space trucking episode as well. the trucks were great, keeping cargo in a long thin line to reduce force and yeah man how every one had such unique "trucks" normally you get to see one or two unique ships and then its just copy paste copy paste ships. i know that in reality unless you are pretty close to a star you couldnt see paint and color on a ship but i have a hard time believing that people wouldnt still have flamboyant ships brightly colored and fun. sure most of the time you couldnt actually see them, but like the space truckers, when you can its important to have the personality.

[@BLAZE084]

I’ve always wondered: did cowboy bebop influence space truckers or vice versa on the design of the actual space trucks.

[@jimmyseaver3647]

“See you, space cowboy.”

[@ColinRichardson]

Came to say the exact same thing

[@xsailor85]

👉BANG!!!

[@uss_04]

Wonder if he was spoiled by the series by all the Cowboy Bebop memes.

[@DuoSanguis]

You're gonna carry that weight.

[@azminek7154]

@@DuoSanguis Hit's you like a cargo train.

[@BanzaiSoldier117]

“You said bell peppers and beef, where’s the beef?”

[@raptorpl3421]

It is when u broke

[@adamlytle2615]

I loved that they could hang out on the landing pad of the Bebop when they were landed in the water. Just lounging about in folding chairs and chaise lounges, sunbathing and enjoying a beverage on the deck of their spaceship.

[@Gabdube]

It's "chaise longue", not lounge. It means "long chair".

[@romannumeralvii4285]

Even fishing off it lmaooo

[@sugna2571]

So, the reason that the ships are so well designed, is because they are why the show was made. Bandai (i think) got in touch with the director and basically said "Make a show with cool spaceships, we want to sell toy spaceships we dont care what its about as long as its got spaceships". I utterly adore this show and am so happy that you enjoyed it enough to make a video!

[@lechking941]

it basicly was born from stupid and ended with a hell of a bang.

[@deusexaethera]

6:59 - The ring isn't an airbrake, it's a thrust-reverser. It pivots rearwards to intercept the rocket's exhaust stream and redirect it forward. Jet aircraft all have these same devices to slow-down after landing, because they would melt their wheel-brakes otherwise.

[@ChrisCanCosplay]

"Better than Firefly." -Spacedock You heard it here, folks!

[@zachjollimore4339]

It is tho.

[@rolothomosky]

Wasn't it the inspiration for Firefly?

[@wdarkk]

​@@rolothomosky The anime people argue about whether Firefly ripped it off or not is Outlaw Star.

[@lordofworldz]

@@wdarkk But there are no ships with fully functional fighting arms in firefly so....yeah

[@modisp]

Cowboy Bebop did Firefly, better than Firefly and BEFORE Firefly.

[@Hy93Ri0n]

He's in boys! He did the thing! He did the thing!

[@flounder2760]

or Outlaw Star

[@DonaldWWitt]

+Terenin Ironic since Daniel noted the Bebop is armed with "Powered Hands" and "Rocket(r)anchors", which I assume are the robotic arms we see on top of the ship and its' rocket powered anchors respectively, where combat with the former is OS' trademark gimmick (SHIPS! WITH! GRAPPLING ARMS!!!) and the latter certainly wouldn't be out of place being used in combat in that show.

[@FlorenceFox]

@@flounder2760 Outlaw Star is SUCH an underappreciated series, and I always thought the concept of grappler ships was something that was really unique.

[@LightOfZeon]

If you rewatch and look a bit closer at some of the non-hero ships you'll find that the Redtail is actually the same base design as the patrol craft the various police departments use. I fell more in love with the design when I noticed that.

[@jasoncaldwell8199]

It's an older model though- like the Blues Brothers buying a police cruiser at auction!

[@DanteYewToob]

I always figured she stole it and just kept it because it suited her. Making it a stolen police cruiser is even better, because you can absolutely picture it. She's under arrest, on the way to the patrol craft she drops something like a lipstick device and as the cop puts her in the vehicle she triggers some sort of disturbance (explosion, siren... something Faye-like) and when the cop leaves "Stay put! Don't touch anything!" "Oh, wouldn't dream of it, officer!" She slips the cuffs and takes off in her new zipcraft. A few days later it has a new paint job, a few modifications and she never looks back. Perfect.

[@pseudotasuki]

But with big-ass guns strapped to it.

[@travispollett2120]

Not sure about this but it was my impression when watching the show that one of the big reasons Spike never used the cannon much was because they couldn’t afford to. Which always struck me as awesome because you rarely ever come across a spaceship not using weapons because of the price. It’s usually have gun will shoot but even energy weapons have a cost and with how broke the crew of the Bepop are it makes sense they can only fire a massive cannon very rarely. I may be totally off base with that but it’s what my impression was when watching the show. Excellent video as always. Been hoping you would do the Bepop for a while and you did not disappoint.

[@Pip8448]

Yes. I remember Jet getting mad, because Spike decided the cannon was needed. It was a great scene.

[@andrewsuryali8540]

It's not the cost of firing the cannon. It's the cost of fixing the Swordfish after firing the cannon. The cannon is a kitbash retrofit after all. Plus, Jet is always scared shitless by the collateral damage the cannon is capable of and the inevitable remuneration costs.

[@AtrociousAK47]

yeah, if i recall correctly, there was a scene where spike uses some missiles but they turn out to be duds, and it is mentioned that missiles are expensive

[@zaggrukk8644]

I believe, also, that it has a tendency to overload the ships' systems. Seeing how the gun has the highest tech in the whole ship. It's the only thing that isn't run off of the old mono system.

[@JaxRhapsody]

The swordfish is technically a race vehicle.

[@Ghlain]

Got another space anime for you. It is called "Planetes". It's about a ship crew that goes around clearing up space junk in planetary orbit to make it safe for other ships. Cause even a loose screw can hit you like it was fired from a railgun. The ship they use is called the Toybox. Basically a large boxy utility ship with smaller craft tucked inside. Really well thought out show.

[@jgraaay18]

I second this; as hard sci-fi anime go, Planetes is a standout.

[@Vaasref]

I also recommend. It's good stuff.

[@anuvisraa5786]

i was going to recommend it to

[@hennaikimono]

Planetes seemed boring from the look of of it and I never gave it the time of day, but since reading this I might just watch it, thanks.

[@jonathonharlan5709]

I third? this! Planetes is one of the most underrated space anime shows out there, and is just wonderful. Many feels.

[@AbbreviatedReviews]

I had this short moment where I was like "these aren't real, they're cartoons!" like somehow everything else was real.

[@h.plovecat4307]

Endyo You just have to belieeeeeeeeve

[@reptilespantoso]

I can only say: "watch the series". You'll be immersed into it, quite quickly. :-)

[@BrokenCurtain]

There are some great science fiction films and series out there that just happen to be animes. "Planetes" for example is so hard, you can cut diamonds with it.

[@uss_04]

Its a pretty good series. Funny how if it isn’t a live action, people dismiss it.

[@Thor13332]

I love Planetes but it's kind of hard to come by on dvd these days.

[@steave1425]

7:09 Another really cool thing, if I remember correctly, is that we actually see the plasma gun fired so rarely because it's really expensive an they're basically allways broke, so they only fire it if absolutely necessary.

[@MrBCWalker01]

Cowboy Bebop, as with Outlaw Star, is now 20 years old. Both are iriginally aired in Japan in 1998. Outlaw Star has just as neat ship designs, but with a different asethetic- and you WILL NOT fail to notice where Joss stole River from if you watch Outlaw Star.

[@deathsheep]

Legend of the Galactic Heroes would be good too

[@FlorenceFox]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that when they saw Firefly for the first time.

[@deusexaethera]

I've seen Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, and Firefly. River wasn't "stolen" from Outlaw Star, she's just another permutation of the "broken girl who's paradoxically hyper-dangerous" character archetype.

[@memnarch129]

Yep. River is the Live Action Melfina.

[@pkscarr]

Cowboy Bebop was one of the first scifi shows for me where I really loved the ship designs as much as the story... That whole "we bought what parts we could afford and bolted it together" aesthetic and feel of the ships is brilliant, it really helps the shows core plot of a crew that can just about make ends meet rather than being some hero group with a shipyard at their disposal

[@Blargenth]

What I love about the Bebop 1, is that its hangar/launch deck, as well as its front hull design are highly based off of the Japanese I-400 from world war 2

[@justinallen4903]

I always loved the episode where Spike manually activates the RCS thrusters via valves in the cockpit. This seems like a nice safety feature that would save your ass if your flight computer went out (and you had the knowledge of orbital mechanics to make proper use of it).

[@danielmashmann3644]

What no mention of the great Jazz music, love it. This is one of the reasons I love the older anime shows they took a great deal of time to flesh out their characters and story lines, anyway keep up the good work, love the videos. See ya Space Cowboy.

[@99bulldog]

I think it's time we blow this thing, get everybody and the stuff together. Okay. 3, 2, 1 Let's jam!

[@giorgioantonaci7097]

PARA PARA PARA PARARAAAAAAAA PARA PARA PARA PARARAAAAAAAA

[@evlkenevl2721]

I wish everyone could hear that song on a good sound system. One of the best opening themes ever.

[@dwolvin]

Tank! makes a great phone ringtone...

[@christophermitchell7001]

"Toys in the Attic" was the episode that got me into anime,.... period. I saw it when it first aired in the US more than two decades ago simply by accident and have been hooked on everything from Gundam to Outlaw Star ever since. Please include more anime content into your channel. There is a vast well spring of ships and cool ideas that is just waiting in the wings for you to jump on.

[@vorlon010]

The MONO system is a great bit of utilitarian spaceship design. Dunno if you noticed but all the ships, as well as sharing the bubble cockpit, are piloted in the same motorcycle-like stance. Good ergonomics and a well thought out system, especially for a zero-G cockpit. Also, while obviously not an issue for an anime, one aspect of the design is that it'd work really well if it were a live action production, as that pose gives a lot of great angles to view your characters, what they're doing and the world around them. And as I said on Facebook, the movie has the best interpretation of nanotechnology that I've ever seen, would be interested to hear your thoughts. Also, a lot of people are recommending Outlaw Star. I'd second that, though I'll note it's a lot less hard-scifi than Bebop, production values are a little lower, but the ship designs are a bit more inventive and whacky. It's a pretty great show, if a little more stereotypically 'anime' than Bebop

[@DycuswasHere]

Yes! I love these ships! I’m glad you covered the Bebop too, it’s usually overlooked in favor of the smaller ships

[@1d10tcannotmakeusername]

6 hours and 40 minutes to complete watching all of Cowboy Bebop? Watching a Cowboy Bebop Marathon is on my bucket list now.

[@blazejon]

One of my fav anime series of all time. Check out the movie too!

[@jonedvinz]

Cowboy Beebop knockin on havens door

[@KickstandOptional]

"Cowboy Bebop: the Movie." Knockin' on Heaven's Door was the working title, and may or may not be the name it was released under in Japan. In the English version it couldn't use that name because the copyright on the Dylan/Guns n Roses song by the same name is very strongly enforced.

[@p.mc.4449]

@@jonedvinzHeaven's Door, but, close enough.

[@p.mc.4449]

@@KickstandOptional they recently released it in steel case blu-ray with "the movie" on the spine. And, Knockin' on Heaven"s Door on the front cover.

[@JC-ln6on]

P. Mc. - So very good.

[@CaptRicoSakara]

Cowboy Bebop is one of those animes you'll watch again and again. Glad you enjoyed it! =)

[@MMmmmVarley]

I am happy you found, and enjoy Cowboy Bebop. The fine details that get talked about and/or animated are just so wonderful.

[@kerosoldier]

if you liked bebop, i think youd like outlaw star as well

[@h.plovecat4307]

kerosoldier Great minds think alike.

[@Manguskahn]

Outlaw Star is quite a lot more "soft scifi" and with more of the common anime and scifi tropes. That said, the characters are fun, the ship designs are unique, and the music is great. That and SPACESHIP MELEE COMBAT

[@brentc2411]

Was gonna say this

[@brentc2411]

OmenRider soft in some ways, but the way they do docking, take off and landings and space movement is pretty hard root

[@warcorer]

Was right about to post this as we’ll outlaw star is pretty good

[@CassDaMan1138]

*TANK! by the Seatbelts*

[@KickstandOptional]

All of the music Yoko Kanno composed for the series is phenomenal. "Goodnight Julia" and "Road to the West" still give me chills.

[@Duomaxwell02M]

And I raise you with “ *What planet is this-!* ”

[@808INFantry11X]

@@Duomaxwell02M knocking on heavens door

[@memnarch129]

@@KickstandOptional Not just this series, ALL her music if Phenomenal. She is probably THE anime music composer of all time. She also did the music for Escaflowne and Ghost in the Shell.

[@memnarch129]

Its always nice to see another Space Cowboy join the club. Know Spacedock is a ship review channel but I would LOVE to hear your breakdown of the series itself

[@setojurai]

Firefly is like Beebop as Beebop predates Firefly.

[@808INFantry11X]

Yeah but similar concept what he meant by it. Unlike most science fiction shows this doesn't view the world through the cutting edge like star trek, Halo, Stargate SG1 Atlantis Universe, Star Wars, BSG, B5 etc. Those shows normally look at the universe in the more cutting edge stand point while Firefly and Cowboy Bebop show the mundane every day living in the future the technology is not cutting edge or even standard in most cases gives it a rogue and rustic feel whic is kinda refreshing.

[@Gabdube]

Firefly had magical gravity. That's among the absolute highest of imaginable tech. "Low-tech" or "rusted future" in techno-fantasy is exclusively aesthetic, not a degree of scientific or technological advancement. Defying the very laws of reality is pretty fucking advanced; no matter how rusty your magical bucket is.

[@matthewcoyle4131]

More specifically it's like Outlaw Star. It also predates it and Firefly definitely swipped a few things from it.

[@moroteseoinage]

Thanks, Uncle Neckbeard!

[@Joshua_N-A]

Isn't Firefly more to Outlaw Star rather than CB?

[@dazooej5785]

wait did you see the cowboy bepop movie, if you haven't then you are in for a treat.

[@p.mc.4449]

especially, if you watch it before the last 2 episodes.

[@lordvanazir1007]

Welcome to the Cowboy Bebop fandom glad you enjoyed the show and glad you loved the ships just as much as the rest of us. did.

[@The-Ink-Dragon97]

Dan, *please* do more anime shows. I really want to see the Space-battleship Yamato and see your take on it as well.

[@GrimmNinetyThr33]

yea there are several good space animes. legend of the galactic heroes and planetes are two of the best space shows of all times.

[@spiritofthewolf15x]

I'd love to see Spacedock cover Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, just to hear his commentary.

[@ThomasTee]

over the top > WAAAAAY over the top > OVER 9000!!! > Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

[@darwinxavier3516]

@TheThomasTea Take that number and add 24 more 0's.

[@katarn109]

He really must take a look at the Legend of The Galactic Heroes ships.

[@jasoncaldwell8199]

Faye's ship is a retired police car- a couple of times in the series and the AMAZING movie, we see newer models of her ship- always used by police. Makes you wonder how she got it. We actually saw where Spike got his racer when he takes it back (barely flying) to get it repaired. Jet's vehicle is a tow truck- will the big arm and flatbed for grabbing vehicles. We see him use that arm pretty agressively a couple of times. Also, the Swordfish can carry missiles- we see they bought cheap missiles I one episode and the guidance is garbage so they don't hit anything. LOVE this show!

[@XTINFILM]

You should do Ryo-Ohki (space pirate ship) and her friend Ken-Ohki (space bounty hunter ship) from Tenchi Universe. The Tenchi universe is space fantasy but it's ship designs are of above average quality. It's also got one of the best cast of characters ever.

[@audioguitarman]

Glad you finally got to it! Just to add, if I'm not mistaken the inspiration for the Swordfish II's folding wings was naval aircraft that do the same thing to conserve space on carriers. I'm not 100% certain of this but a quick image search for 'naval plane wings' gets you a lot of mostly prop planes with eerily similar fold up wings.

[@BatteredWalrus]

And now i've got the theme stuck in my head again

[@philips.5563]

I'm very happy to see you cover this. The Swordfish II is the exact shape and size of longing for adventure. It thoroughly deserves it's place of honor in the history of science fiction.

[@panstan8499]

Y'all I need to watch this

[@weldonwin]

Three, two, one, Lets Kick It

[@nolanmartin4813]

weldonwin let's jam?

[@steelgreyed]

If you are any fan of Sci-Fi, Cowboy Beebop most likely inspired what you enjoy watching. Its up there with the original Blade Runner that it.. stole lightly from. When I say stole, yes they're bounty hunters too, however they took the Cyber-Noir-Punk theme, almost singlehandedly turned it into Steam-Noir-Punk that was still funny and released it back into the wild to spread...

[@Samm815]

Its Space-punk.

[@p.mc.4449]

Watch the movie before the last 2 episodes. Trust me. ;-)

[@Gelb33]

Thabk you Spacedock, thank you for honoring one of the greatest anime series of all time. I first watched Cowboy Bebop when I started university, it was just so inspiring, an amazing cocktail of humor, action, drama and everyday life with the Sci-fi in the background. I still have the complete DVD collection in my basement somewhere and now I am going to go back and find it. Thank you

[@spikespiegel5878]

spike approves

[@pandorasflame7742]

Pretty sure the “weapons” are self explanatory. Rocket anchor- an actual anchor with rockets (possibly to anchor it in space). Powerhand- probably the nickname for arms or something that helps load the ship or something very similar.

[@JohnnyJayAppleseed]

Spacedock, Have you ever thought of taking a look at the ship classes of the Robotech - Macross Saga? Both Human and Zentradi? Both have diverse classes but on different side of the "naval" spectrum. the Zentradi have a heavily developed Ship Navy while the Humans have a huge dreadnought/carrier type ship and a diverse small craft navy reverse engineered from rebuilding the crashed alien dreadnought/carrier.

[@ReZel80657]

The first Macross show was great but it all went downhill after that, Macross Plus was good but not as good as the original and Macross Seven was much too drawn out and everything maybe other then Zero after Seven was awful which is damm shame. Much the samme happened to Gundam after Gundam 00 as everything other then Unicorn and The Origin are awful

[@JohnnyJayAppleseed]

Well i was talking specifically about the The Macross Saga, or First Robotech War en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robotech_(TV_series)

[@marwapranata5698]

the original macross is much better

[@anime4326]

Macross delta was less drawn out than 7 and really good.

[@imscary2]

Macross does have LOTS of other resources to do research from not just the anime and manga. There are lots of role play and fiction written about it.

[@lirdoing]

When I saw the title - I knew this was going to be good! (Finally some cartoon ships!!!) Grew up on this show, saw it many times from cover to cover - and it was still so interesting to see someone that haven't seen it yet talk about it! Great stuff, keep em coming!

[@vlweb3d]

Make sure to also watch ... THE COWBOY BEBOB MOVIE - Stairway To Heaven

[@p.mc.4449]

"Obnoxious little frog."- Spike Speigal That's a funny episode. The movie is called Knockin' on Heaven's Door

You know, I was wondering if you'd ever get around to Cowboy Bebop, and now you have! It's such a great show -- compelling characters and stories, great music, and fantastic design. Everything works.

[@CaneMcKeyton]

I didn't expect this from you but yah, I'm glad you covered it. It really does subvert a lot of the typical anime scifi tropes and flashiness for a surprising degree of hard science

[@WRMonger1]

I’ve got the whole series on DVD and watch it a lot. Some episodes are very sad but then life can be too.

[@horton3556]

I'm happy to finally see some anime on here. Another great Science Fiction series to watch would Space Battleship Yamato 2199 the version from 2012 and not the one from the 60ies.

[@monarchsub]

hey now whats wrong with the one from the 60ies!!!!

[@ReZel80657]

Its from 1974 not from the 60´s

[@horton3556]

Nothing its just some of its Ideas and storytelling are out dated and the animation can be a bit of an eyesore. Don't get me wrong iv'e watched it and love it but I would not recommend watching it first.

[@omg_RANCORS]

the modular "command pods" is such a cool idea. it totally makes sense that most systems would have very similar internal systems so making a variety of pods connect to many different kinds of ships totally follows. Spikes pod may be able to get the max out of the Swordfish 2 cuz it is set up for that. but either of the other two could swap in and pilot it. most of the analog signals, the joysticks and buttons, are likely turned into a digital signal before connecting with the ship so of course they would work. just so awesome. love the ships of bebop, cant wait for you to get back to the other ships. loved the breakdown of the swordfish 2

[@andyrihn1]

I personally prefer Trigun as far as space cowboy stories but this show definitely takes it in the vehicle department

[@p.mc.4449]

But, in Trigun, he was the one being hunted. And, after the crash landings, they didn't go into space, again.

[@monarchsub]

Glad u liked it! Also your excitement make me wanna go back and watch the show again it's been a while since i last had.

[@tanwenwalters7689]

Bang.

[@patliao556]

Great video for one of my favorite anime of all time, but one little nitpick (that might not necessarily be true, I haven't done the research): I'm pretty sure the Swordfish II does NOT have retrograde thrusters built into its airbrake, rather, when the 'airbrake' closes, it simply seals off the aft end of the craft, forcing the exhaust forward, thus creating a temporary retrograde thruster out of the main drive.

[@TheWalpurgisnacht]

If you are going to discuss space anime, would you do Macross and Gundam next?

[@Sneemaster]

I was just rewatching Cowboy Bebop this week. Watched it first almost 20 years ago. Thanks for posting this!!

[@lockgridandkey8423]

You're gonna carry that weight

[@dustinmckay4953]

I only recently learned the full meaning of that line. It's from the last song the 4 members of The Beatles ever recorded together

[@AsbestosMuffins]

one of the interesting thing about bebop was that every colony that they landed on has a very large body of water seemingly for them to land on. in context it makes a lot of sense for your medium sized ships to land on something as large and soft as water, so you save your large spaceports for the very large transports and the smaller craft can land on smaller civilian airport type places

[@Slye_Fox]

Will you be doing Outlaw Star in the future?

[@devincherry6891]

I teach a class I call "cinema science" and LOVE showing Bebop next to Firefly and The Mandalorian. I love the juxtaposition of 3 obvious scifi "westerns in space" between the surprisingly HARD scifi of Bebop and the pure fantasy of The Mandalorian. Bebop is absolutely the epitome of the space western genre though, and I agree, it is the best of them.

[@Sinapus]

"Don't leave things in the fridge..."

[@35Cypher]

Cowboy Bebop is what introduced me to anime. I immedately fell in love with the style, characters, and ships and I'm very glad people are still able to have that initial experience so many years after it was on the air.

[@DrewDyrewood]

Can you do the Space Battleship Yamato?

[@thorzcunstellarfighter3724]

Scratch vk Space Battleship Yamato 2199 would be awesome

[@rammstein2seth1]

By far the one ship I was more interested than ANY in the bebop series was the MILITARY FIGHTERS used during the dogfight in the BEBOP MOVIE. Someone needs to respect the thought that went into the design. The fuel tank and cockpit BOTH separated upon ejection.. GENIUS! and also rhe design is for maximum maneuverability -woof

[@dazooej5785]

if you are trying anime with sci-fi plus ships, I would suggest Legend of the Galactic Heroes

[@eps200]

Dazooe J LOGH is perhaps my favourite sci-fi ever and in contention for my favourite peice of fiction had the pacing been less glacial. That said the ships aren't anything special IMO.

[@dazooej5785]

I agree on the way the ships moves and stuff but I do like myself a Barbarossa or a Perceval.

[@isaiahsmith7123]

Yessss. Although the ships are super similar I really like the Hyperion, Königstiger, and the Muffese.

[@GrimmNinetyThr33]

eps200 tthe ships and the station are pretty good, and imo the show goes into the tactics of space battles better than anythjng else

[@GaldirEonai]

I also really like the fighter designs of LOGH. Both sides' fighters completely toss out the "planes in space" aesthetic. No wings, no aerodynamics at all, lots of steering thrusters in the right spots, no transparent cockpit canopies (which would be a nice way to get fried by radiation in the kind of space combat that LOGH features)...

[@brokenursa9986]

Cowboy Bebop was utter perfection. I'm honestly annoyed that their designs are even cooler than my own.

[@yuphine9001]

YES!!!

[@Pip8448]

I've watched Cowboy Bebop a few times (because it's great) and watching this and the description given to the show just makes me want to watch it again.

[@vonfaustien3957]

Come on space balls is a classic do mega maid/spaceball 1

[@RaidenTheWild]

I'm pretty sure "Rocketranchors" was a typo, and they meant to say "rocket anchors" which you can clearly seen on the sides near the front of the ship. I also think the "Powerhands" are the pair of cranes you can see at the top there. For some reason I couldn't find any sources bringing that up.

[@hyenaguy2602]

More cartoon ships, please!

[@MultiTomcat67]

I thought of the Hammerhead as a space tow truck. Faye's Zipcraft: a bubble cockpit with weapons added on; great in tight places.

[@DeconvertedMan]

Oh my word do robotech!!!!!!!!

[@DocD173]

The Bepop felt like such an inspired ship design. The centrifuge drum in the middle is just such a rad idea

[@fullfrontal2860]

If what a feel sci-fie treat, then I suggest you watch Mobile Suit Gundam of the UC timeline.

[@ReZel80657]

Not all of the shows and movies in the UC timeline are all that good

[@Galdenberry_Lamphuck]

Shilka Hans, get the Colony

[@darwinxavier3516]

Don't fucking Zeta or ZZ. 08TH MS Team and 0080 are some of their best series.

[@ieuancarruthers1123]

Cowboy Bebop is amazing; one of my all time favourite shows and I'm glad it's made an appearance on your channel, thank you!!!

[@OspreyKnight]

So, I'd like to point out that cowboy bebop was a show, from the outset designed to sell space ship toys. The backers came to the creators, said we don't care what you do, sell us some spaceships. Knowing that just makes this show even more incredible for me. It clearly demonstrates how business can use really good art to sell their products. And creating such a cool story in a relatively hard scifi universe is even better.

[@andrewsuryali8540]

OspreyKnight That's incorrect. Bebop has a total of 15 kits and toys of spaceships and all were released after the series ended; many of them years after. Originally only THREE kits were released. Bebop was part of the Sunrise Renaissance, series released at a time when Sunrise was trying to revamp their studio from their Gundam-only reputation. They signed a deal with Bandai that Bandai would finance the shows and retain exclusive rights to any mecha from them, and also first pick for character figures. Bandai agreed because they too wanted to get out of what was then a Gundam rut. Total freedom was given to mecha designers of the show. The designers themselves came from primarily a games industry background, where there is no constraint imposed by plamo manufacturing processes. However, it was always understood that the shows would stand on their own merit as shows first and marketing gimmicks later. That's why some of these shows have utterly ridiculous mecha designs that would be hard to mold in plastic. The reason we don't see shows like Bebop anymore is because Sunrise ended up profiting from the arrangement but Bandai didn't. Well, not financially at least. The new designs did inspire Bandai to invest on new molding techniques for odd-shaped objects, which is why a lot of the newer Gundams are much more curvy than their blocklike ancestors.

[@OspreyKnight]

I bow to your knowledge!

[@benjaminbierley2074]

The show defiantly has those small detail touches that add up to make it great. The space scenes often feel like they take place in space with zero-g playing a factor in the action rather than "just" ships zipping around like airplanes, those thrusters get used a lot. Not to mention the physics work that must have gone into animating some of those same space scenes.

[@darwinxavier3516]

Welcome to anime. Fair warning, we have a huge mountain of mediocre garbage to sift through but there are a LOT of gems you can find in the pile. Bebop is probably the best gateway show for anyone trying to get interested in anime, especially if you watch the English dub which has amazing voice acting. You should watch the movie. It has the Swordfish dogfighting two black ops military aircraft and holding its own.

[@darwinxavier3516]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/hF7Rg6Gamc5qh5o Just rewatched the dogfight. It was actually 3 military grade aircraft.

[@fightingtypegymleadermicha1539]

black lagoon in dubbed (the correct way to watch black lagoon, shame on the lack of cheesy fake russian accents) is THE gateway anime though just 80s action movie the anime

[@davebignell773]

As I recall the Gap series of books by Stephen Donaldson featured ships with internal centrifuges for gravity - one Police Cruiser was commandeered for an urgent secret mission despite being badly damaged and having an internal spin displacement, and there is a section where the ships captain is complaining about the effect that damage could have on his ship. It’s a very cool idea, which does deserve to be used more often.

[@Galvars]

Better then Firefly... you... you... HERETIC!

[@acerimmer2b]

Please, saying Firefly is better is the true heresy; and that's coming from another big Firefly fan.

[@Galvars]

Another heretic!... it's spreading! Call the Inquisition, we have some burning to do!

[@mattkozak3937]

Galvars I am a leaf on the wind watch how I get stabbed in the chest

[@veleriphon]

Galvars we've been expecting your Inquisition...

[@djuradimitrijevic9570]

Only heresy hear is you did not watch bebop ... otherwise you would not make such a statement ...

[@Lorgs1]

I saw only half of this video, then went and watched the first ten episodes of cowboy bebop before I got back here and saw the rest. Thank you for recommending this show. I love it and I agree with everything you said in this video

[@rooster4382]

All time favorite shot from the show is when the Sherman tank rolls out of the hangar pulling a space shuttle

[@Rycel2001]

Really happy you gave Cowboy Bebop a try! I was a little disappointed you didn't mention the control interfaces of the pursuit craft, because having a spaceship handle like a motorcycle I think is another unique design idea. I hope you can give other anime a chance on your channel soon. I don't know if you would consider mobile suit-style craft for Spacedock, but classics like the MS-06 Zaku II from Mobile Suit Gundam, and the VF-1 Valkyrie from Super Dimensional Fortress Macross would make great additions to you series.

[@TheOneandOnlyDuck]

Glad you finally watched Bebop. The whole production design is incredibly well thought out. Watch Outlaw Star! "They re-purpose all the ships" - You forgot the episode when they resurrect a space shuttle to rescue Spike ( "Wild Horses" ) Also, the small crafts are not capable of atmospheric re-entry, hence the shuttle rescue in Episode 19: "Wild Horses". Also, next time you should discuss the space "semi-trucks" from Episode 7: "Heavy Metal Queen". That concept is amazing. Lastly, the Swordfish engine is a vector-thrust engine and that big hoop on the back is actually two pieces that clamp over the thrust nozzle and redirect the thrust flow forward just like the thrust reversers on a boeing 727. I know too much about these ship designs because I'm working on a CG short film and I'm trying to recreate these ships in 3D.

[@rickrudge9349]

I totally agree with you. I’m late to the whole Cowboy Bebop universe too. Another thing about the small fighter is that inside is almost like a motorcycle.

[@nathanieljackson5554]

Great breakdown of the ships from one of my favorite sci-fi shows. I think Joss Whedon was partially inspired by Cowboy Beebop when he wrote Firefly.

[@reptilespantoso]

@Spacedock glad you like this 20 year old series! This and Samurai Champloo (not sci-fi) have a special place in my heart. ;-)

[@PhileasLiebmann]

Fun fact: one of the reasons all the ships are so cool is because the show was at least in part pitched on the backs of those designs. One of the conditions the creators were given by Bandai was that in order for them to fund the series they had to include merchandisable spaceships that would sell as toys or models.

[@nyetloki]

8:08 common fiction trope: vigilante using a muscle car. The swordfish is the same thing.

[@luisdominguez2048]

It’s one of my favorite sci-fi series. Right up there with Trigun and Irresponsible Captain Tyler

[@trippcailean9594]

the universe cowboy bebop takes place in is extended in "space dandy" and the ship design theme of space is a vast ocean is carried through

[@trippcailean9594]

the aloha oe is one of my favorite scifi ships

[@heckyd]

Thank you so much for doing this! Its one of my favorite anime series and had an amazing production crew! I see people wanting to see Gundam which is a good series to cover but i'd love to see Space Battleship yamato or Starblazers as its known as. The Yamato is one of the most iconic ships in Japanese history and i would love to see you cover it!

[@byaafacehead]

This episode made me grin. And also realizing that I should probably rewatch this show..

[@jeremywaltz]

The music of Cowboy Beebop is also amazing. Really, this is an outstanding show in every facet.

[@JustTooDamnHonest]

The Millennium Falcon and The Bebop are beautiful pieces of scrap and we love them both and Cowboy Bebop is iconic and sci-fi anime personified and like you SD I watched it years after it's run and after watching it when I was 14 years old and it blown me away from the characters to the ships and the finale was just excellent. BANG!!! PS: The Swordfish is also my personal favorite ship in the anime and it just reminds me of those vintage cameo cars that you see on display at car shows.

[@WhiteWeaseI]

Spacedock, have you seen the Cowboy Bebop movie? There's dogfight scene near the end with the sword fish II, and man, the choreography is just fantastic.

[@fightingtypegymleadermicha1539]

it also has the two best fight choreographics of bebop, one of them taking from bruce lee (which then naruto would later take as well...) The movie is like one of the two part story episodes (all the spike syndicate related stuff) of bebop with tone, but stretched into a 3 part in length, yet seemed even more dense in quality. Probably the best of bebop and nails what the show did best.

[@pseudotasuki]

FYI: Those interchangeable transparent bubble cockpits are called MONOpods. Referring to the various standardized systems used in those ships.