From the original release of the first disc: "Jazz Agers, flower children, lost generation, beatniks, rockers, punks, nerds, hackers, lovers, generation X - whatever the designation, there have always been outlaws in our society who live in pursuit of autonomy. At times they are revered for their roles as pioneers, challenging the unknown; other times people consider them lawless desperadoes and a dangerous presence. Yet, really, it is only their exuberant music and an autonomy founded to express opinions different from those of others that set them apart from the rest of society.

The year 2071 A.D. That future is now. Driven out of their terrestrial eden, humanity chose the stars as the final frontier. With the section-by-section of collapse of the former nations a mixed jumble of races and peoples came. They spread to the stars, taking with them the now confused concepts of freedom, violence, illegality and love, where new rules and a new generation of outlaws came into being. People referred to them as Cowboy Bebops…"

As I said before, "like the aforementioned Firefly, society has its share of lost souls trying to scrape by using any means possible. Set much closer than that show to our own time though, it looks at the logical end result of many trends started in the 1980's (in particular, privatization, environmental concerns, and a general distrust of government). As the new frontier of space is opened up by virtue of various colonies and jump gates, societal means of control have all but broken down. The vast expanses of space have opened up far more opportunities for the criminal element to do as they please with unprecedented impunity, with the crooks knowing the governments are too thinly spread to do much outside their boundaries. As a result, a formalized structure of bounty hunters, known as "cowboys", travels the limits of known (and sometimes unknown) space to capture these crooks much as was used in the Old West in the USA (popularized by a multitude of movies like The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly starring Clint Eastwood). The bounties are measured in millions of Mulons, the standardized currency of the time.

Cowboy Bebop Remix focuses not on the entire system but on a small group that use it to pay their bills. Set on the spaceship Bebop, the lead character is Spike Spiegel; a former Mafioso from Mars. His fighting skill, luck, and overall cool in any situation serves him well as he seeks out those who'll bring in the best rewards (broadcast by means of a silly western style television show that lists the top bounties of the week). His partner, Jet Black, is his polar opposite; an ex-cop with tremendous investigative skill, a sense of morals about doing the right thing (unlike Spike's view of flexible morality), and a cyborg enhanced body as the result of his past service to humanity (when he was more inclined to protect and serve for the public good). In previous episodes they also picked up a genius dog, Ein, a computer genius human named Ed, and their sneaky femme fatale, Faye Valentine; all of whom expanded the ship's crew and provide more than a little extra excitement and adventure to the mix.

The episodes this time were 11) Toys in the Attic, 12) Jupiter Jazz 1, 13) Jupiter Jazz 2, and 14) Bohemian Rhapsody. A lot has been written about the first three episodes (as well as discussed online in various forums) but the essence of the show is contained so well in them that they form a nucleus of mid season episodes that worked better than most series usually provide. In Toys, there was a basic story about like Alien; where the crew fell victim to an alien life form stalking the ship (complete with those tracking devices used in the movie). This led up to the Jupiter episodes where Spike's past (in the hope of seeing Julia again) pops up and he has to deal with his arch rival, Vicious, yet again. The show was largely episodic but the recurring characters interacted so well in large part because they were used sparingly (heightening the tension) but Faye going off on her own while Spike went to deal with the possible appearance of his former lover, meeting with Vicious instead, was a classic double part episode. The last episode of the disc, Bohemian, was curious in how well in showcased Ed's talents, but also managed to provide some background into the late Gate Corporation (delving into the largest corporations is a good way to see how the rest of society has progressed in any society). In all, the four episodes were exceptionally tight with the same brand of twisted humor, the same sense of style, and the same level of quality, which is why I rated the volume as Highly Recommended.

Picture: Cowboy Bebop Remix 3 was presented in the original 1.33:1 ratio full frame color it was made in back in the late 1990's. It looks like a product of the time and doesn't compare to the rich complexities of a show like Samurai 7 that has all the benefits of a huge budget and modern techniques but the sheer style alone was enough to win it awards and accolades. While the anime style didn't have as high a frame rate as some of you are used to, it used a lot of camera angles and techniques from film to convey a sense of the story (and stories in the sense that each episode was like a movie onto itself). There was some minor pattern noise on occasion but the overall look of the movie was extremely fitting of the material (a rundown future where making ends meet sometimes trumps individual moralities). For the record, the visual aspects of the remixed volume did not appear to be different to me so this was not a selling point if you already have the previous volumes.

Sound: The audio was presented in both the original 2.0 Dolby Digital tracks (Japanese and English with optional English subtitles) as expected but also the newly remixed 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround version of the tracks. I know that a lot of older movies have been manhandled this way, often resulting in weakening the quality of the audio (purists would possibly argue that the original is always better) but this was definitely an exception to the rule. The dialogue was enhanced in terms of separation, the sound effects sounded cleaner and better placed, and the music score (an important part of the show mind you) benefited the most. Both language tracks were exceptionally well done, using silence as much as talking and music to tell the story. I blind tested the audio with a few friends and each of them, even the nearly tone deaf one, heard a difference. I also spent some time listening to the show without watching it (but paying close attention) and it really seemed a lot better (also adding some background details I missed previously at that). Was it worth buying another copy of the show? That's a personal matter for you to decide but due to the nature of this release and its importance to anime; it was worth it to me (along with the extras that is).

Extras: The best extra for me was the interview with Cartoon Network producer, Sean Akins. As a leader in the field of anime by virtue of his knowledge and influence as much as his position, he discussed the show and how it still airs on the network (though during early morning hours) years later; a tribute to the staying power of the classic show it is. He provided some interesting background tips on the show and it was well worth watching for me. Otherwise, there were some trailers and a cardboard protective sleeve for the DVD case but that's it.

Final Thoughts: Cowboy Bebop Remix 3 was another solid offering that will appeal to hardcore fans of the series and perhaps convince others to join in on what many have called the best series in anime to date. That the volume spent so much time balancing the past of the characters and the present was pretty cool, though I particularly enjoyed seeing Ed get some quality time during her chess game with the idiot savant in episode 14 (she's what a number of your kids will likely grow up to be like). I've seen some mighty good series since this came out that challenge it in terms of the complexities of the details, the interesting characters, and the premise of the show but it will always be worth a look when some improved version comes out. That said, Bandai has released the show in several versions so there may well be a limit to the amount of double dipping fans will put up with in the future. In all though, I can't deny the appeal of the show and the new audio track was worth upgrading for this anime fan. Check it out and I think you'll figure out what I mean.

If you enjoy anime, take a look at some of the recommendations by DVD Talk's twisted cast of reviewers in their Best Of Anime 2003, Best Of Anime 2004, and Best of Anime 2005 articles or their regular column Anime Talk.