Cowboy Bebop has one of the most iconic TV intros of all time (it might be the most iconic anime intro of all time, though Neon Genesis Evangelion also has a fair claim to that throne), so Netflix’s live-action version of the show has a lot to live up to. The most important piece has been in place for a few months, with original composer Yoko Kanno coming back with new and old music for the Netflix show, but the Cowboy Bebop intro is more than Kanno’s jazzy “Tank!” and the way it lays the groundwork for all of the music in the show. The whole intro sets up the sci-fi/noir/action movie aesthetics of the show, with the four main characters in silhouette doing cool poses and smoking and dancing while the show’s various very cool spaceships pass by. Eagle-eyed viewers will also notice that the jumbled text in the background isn’t just a string of cool phrases like “New York City” and “bounty hunters”and “conventional fixed style jazz,” it’s also a vague backstory for the show itself and its concept of a community of space bounty hunters in the 2070s who call themselves “cowboys” and how it all echoes back to—ahem—bebop music from the ‘40s. In short, eat your heart out, Evangelion. This is better:
Now, as part of the festivities surrounding its big Tudum event, Netflix has released the full intro for its version of Cowboy Bebop, which is starring John Cho as Spike, Mustafa Shakir as Jet, Daniella Pineda as Faye, and Alex Hassell as Vicious. You can see Netflix’s intro below:
The teaser images that Netflix released a while back suggested that the creators of this version are doing their best to remain faithful to the spirit of the show without necessarily imitating it, and this intro suggests that, well: They nailed it. Using the original version of “Tank,” and a heady blend of live-action and animation, it pretty much perfectly captures the show’s jazzy, slightly goofy vibe. Plus, plenty of shots of Ein, the corgi, which: We’re not going to complain about more Ein.
Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop will premiere on November 19.