These are the 15 series that you must watch right now

The short-lived Netflix live-action series may have soured some on the property, but there’s a reason why Cowboy Bebop is almost always seen as shorthand for ‘classic anime.’

The show’s legendary 26-episode run fuses creator Hajime Yatate’s effortless eye for action with composer Yoko Kanno’s kinetic jazz soundtrack. What’s the final result? As the show puts it, in tongue-in-cheek fashion: “The work, which becomes a new genre itself, will be called… Cowboy Bebop.”

It is entitled to be so confident. The story follows Spike Spiegel and his motley crew of bounty hunters as they attempt to snare some of the galaxy’s most wanted criminals in the hope of some woolongs and a warm meal. 

Each episode is a riot of color and chaos, as Spike, Jet the stoic, Faye the hairy, Ed the energetic, and Ein, Ein’s super-smart canine, rush towards their next targets in frantic fashion. Beneath it all, it’s tinged with a sense of melancholy, each member of the Bebop crew trapped by their tragic pasts. There’s never been a show quite like this. Many have attempted to recreate its coolness. All attempts have failed.