Cowboy Bebop (Tengoku no tobira), directed by Shinichirô Watanabe, is a Japanese animation. The film has a schmaltzy filmscore, intended to be jazz; hence, the name “bebop.” The central characters are bounty hunters, referred to as “cowboys” at an early point in the film, and the location is Alba City on Mars in the twenty-second century (which has a copy of Tokyo Tower). The bounty hunters track criminals, dead or alive, to get the reward. At the beginning of the film we see them in operation at a convenience store, which yields only enough bounty for a diet of dry noodle soup in a styrofoam cup, just the kind of item found in a convenience store. Later, a big explosion occurs, and many are found dead. The cause at first is unknown but appears to be biological terrorism. The explosion is some sort of warning about the release of microscopic robots on Hallowe’en night; the villain is Vincent Volaju (voiced by Daran Norris). Although medical authorities do their best to cope with the crisis, their role is soon preempted by a civil defense “homeland security” agency. Next, the army takes over, again ineptly. Clearly, the cowboys have been set up in the film to come to the rescue at the end, led by handsome Spike Spiegel (voiced by Steven Jay Blum). The plot is simple, and those who enjoy colorful animations will have nearly two hours minutes of visual joy. MH