Cowboy Bebop is typically hailed as one of the most important and influential anime of all time, while other series mentioned in the same breath, Samurai Champloo and Space Dandy, garner similar reactions from fans. As each are notably directed by Shinichirō Watanabe, each series are compared to each other on a basis of quality, idiosyncratic blending of Japanese and Western aesthetics, and their fantastic, genre-bending soundtracks. But Space Dandy stands out as an unusual spiritual sequel to Cowboy Bebop in how much it strays thematically, to feel wholly fresh and wildly entertaining.

Space Dandy is a wild series that quickly reminds its viewers that, while retaining the pulpy flair and brilliant soundtrack of Cowboy Bebop, it is a vastly different breed of science fiction with different 20th-century aesthetic influences. While the narrator describes the series protagonist in many of Space Dandy's cold openings as a dandy in space, he's often more crude, superficial, and carefree than what the image of a dandy in space may conjure up. Beyond Cowboy Bebop, creatively and its vague in-universe connections, it deserves to be examined for its uniquely strong qualities.

Space Dandy Takes What Made Bebop Special and Makes It Absurd

We're All Fools, so Let's Dance, Baby

Upon its immediate reveal to newcomers fresh off Cowboy Bebop, it might be easy to make a surface-level comparison to Space Dandy: each features a spacefaring crew of bounty hunters. They juggle a sci-fi world with distinctive and memorable spaceships and a crew of ing characters to contrast the protagonist, and each borrows genre and artistic conventions from Western mid-20th-century popular culture. Yet, Space Dandy leans more heavily into pulp science fiction, or "Zeerust," to conjure images of a swashbuckling, jetpack-wearing Adam Strange or Buck Rogers-type instead of Cowboy Bebop's noir influences while never taking itself too seriously.

Space Dandy takes a similar episodic format to Cowboy Bebop, while going in surprising, anthology-focused directions where each episode can vary wildly in conclusions and developments. This much is proven in the first episode, where even the main characters die, or episode #4, when the crew of Dandy's ship, Aloha Oe, are irreversibly turned into zombies, along with every living creature in the universe. Later episodes return to the looming plot of Dr. Gel and the Gogol Empire pursuing Dandy, their war with the Jaicro Empire, and Dandy's role and unusual abilities. No episode takes itself too seriously.

Space Dandy’s Ridiculousness Hides A Serious Heart

Your Tears Make for a Fine Soup Stock, Baby

Space Dandy doesn't trouble itself with any pretenses about its characters, with Dandy being outwardly shallow and his companions Meow and QT being varying degrees of sympathetic at best. Dandy is content leaving even his allies to imminent death if he can ensure his safety, although he will rescue them in self-serving cases; he is not exactly a heroic character, but different episodes show his potential. Much like the strange sci-fi adventures Space Dandy often parodies, Dandy encounters mind-bending new worlds and people who leave a palpable impression on him, where viewers begin to see his more beautiful qualities.

One of the earliest instances is Space Dandy's journey through a wormhole to track down a fabled ramen in episode #2, only to find an elegant tale of an alien whose loss is quelled by the simple comforts of a good bowl of soup. Dandy is also not the only one who experiences emotional episodes. Meow, Dandy's Betelgeusian quasi-cat alien companion, returns to his homeworld in episode #10 through a loop. This Space Dandy episode presents Meow with his high school crush and his wholesome family's daily life, which he once deemed mundane, leaving him unbearably wistful upon leaving.

Other humans would discard QT, yet Dandy accepts him into his crew, bringing him along for his adventures.

Humans and aliens are treated humanistically in Space Dandy, including QT, the sentient robot aboard the Aloha Oe. In episode #13, the series dives into how QT's display of emotions, even love, is usually a cause for his decommissioning. This, alongside QT's name are a clear nod to Isaac Asimov, with the plot also having shades of Philip K. Dick. Other humans would discard QT, yet Dandy accepts him into his crew, bringing him along for his adventures. These shades of humanity are often glossed over by his other prevailing traits that are still on display.

Space Dandy Actually Takes Place in Cowboy Bebop’s Distant Future

There's Always Tomorrow, Baby

While it's reasonably likely that the series presents these moments as Easter eggs atop its abundant cultural references, Space Dandy and Cowboy Bebop share evidence of a mutual timeline. These instances include references to Woolongs, a recurring currency from Cowboy Bebop, used as the cash reward for bounties in Space Dandy, like 8m Woolongs for Gentooans in episode #5 or 100m Woolongs for Chameleonians in episode #12. But this connection could be more than Space Dandy creators borrowing conventions from the Cowboy Bebop days.

Other instances include a creature resembling Vicious' bird from Cowboy Bebop appearing in Space Dandy episode #26 and Bebop's fridge monster Alien reference resurfacing in Dandy episode #8. It's reasonable to believe these are simply nods to the beloved legacy of Cowboy Bebop. However, they may share a universe due to the flexible and relentlessly moving target of Space Dandy canon without spoiling anything. But one does not need to watch Cowboy Bebop before enjoying Space Dandy, or vice versa; it's a matter of personal taste.

How Does Space Dandy Compare To Watanabe’s Other Bebop Successor, Samurai Champloo?

I Can't Be the Only One, Baby

Space Dandy is like the chronically immature yet brilliant sibling alongside the clever and bright middle child Samurai Champloo and the eldest overachiever, Cowboy Bebop. Yet, they each share an adoring fan base grasping at each of their appeals. Thanks to sharply different genres and overall tonal differences, Cowboy Bebop. According to a Forbes interview with Watanabe, these differences and their consequences are a continuous, intentional choice by Watanabe to prevent audiences from losing interest in his work.

Once you have a successful title, you receive a lot of requests to make something similar and in this case, something like Cowboy Bebop. I have received these kinds of requests for more than 20 years. I understand the reasoning behind these requests, but if I went down that road I would end up doing the same thing over and over again. Ultimately, people would then get tired and lose interest in my work. I also feel I have more variety to offer within myself. With that in mind, I have avoided trying to do similar things.

-Shinichirō Watanabe

However, Space Dandy also sports a contrasting tone against Cowboy Bebop, albeit to different extremes. Dandy is a dreamy-yet-degenerate pompadour-sporting pervert and frequent patron of a spacefaring chain of "breastaurants" with an even more on-the-nose name than Hooters. Dandy is a less atypical anime protagonist than in the cases of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, appealing both to Japanese audiences for Dandy's lovable idiot antics. As a bonus, it appeals to Western audiences who were concurrently enjoying Rick & Morty and Guardians of the Galaxy, released within the same year.

One last comparison is warranted between Space Dandy and Watanabe's other series' soundtracks. Cowboy Bebop's music features Yoko Kanno's work with a strong focus on jazz; instrumental hip-hop is predominantly found in Samurai Champloo's soundtracks; and 1980s funk and disco music are infused into Space Dandy's score. Each soundtrack is a major reason why each series is among fans' favorite anime ever, and the contributing musicians include many iconic temporary composers. One noteworthy case is Chainsaw Man and Dan Da Dan's Kensuke Ushio contributing multiple songs across seasons 1 and 2 of Space Dandy.

When assessing the anime's quality as a Cowboy Bebop successor, it's not so much a matter of whether Space Dandy is better but the viewer's mood and tastes when deciding what to watch.

Source: Forbes