Summary
Cowboy Bebopis widely regarded as one of the greatest anime of all time, but early in its production, the entire project almost got canned for a ridiculous reason. This decision was made by the show’s original backers, a company that nearly everyone in the anime fandom is familiar with: Bandai.
Cowboy Bebop, as many fans know, was originally funded with a cynical goal in mind:to sell spaceship toys ofBebop’s ships. Bandai ordered an anime featuring spaceships, and provided little to no feedback to series creator Shinichiro Watanabe during its development, effectively giving Watanabecarte blancheto design the series as he wanted. That’s how the series came to be what it is, but when Bandai saw what Watanabe was actually making, they immediately lost faith.
Bandai attempted to pull the plug onCowboy Bebop, nearly killing the series before it aired.
Cowboy Bebop Was Almost Killed Because It “Couldn’t Sell Toys”
The Series Was Axed by Toy Executives
Ironically,Cowboy Bebopmodels and toys have since been made and actually sell quite well even to this day, something Watanabe seemed very satisfied with. Ultimately,Cowboy Bebopfulfilled its intended purpose even in spite of the problems that Bandai had with it, and managed to become one of the most unique and iconic anime in history to boot. It would’ve been an incredible tragedy hadCowboy Bebopreally been canceled then and there over something as silly as toy sales.
Cowboy Bebopnavigated some very difficult situations in order to be made, and in some ways it’s a miracle that fans got the show that they did. Yet, despite all odds,Cowboy Bebophas gone on to be one of the most influential anime of all time–and a decent seller of spaceship toys, too.
Cowboy Bebop
Cast
Cowboy Bebop is a 1998 animated series set in 2071, where humanity has colonized the Solar System following a catastrophic event. As crime surges, bounty hunters known as “Cowboys” are employed by the Inter Solar System Police to capture criminals in exchange for rewards.
