The anime series Cowboy Bebop is an overwhelming critical success that's often cited as a fantastic entry point into the medium of Japanese animation for beginners, but the series that secretly connects to it, Samurai Champloo, is just as great--it just doesn't get quite as much attention.
Cowboy Bebop is a sci-fi neo-noir anime with a Jazz soundtrack that follows a band of perpetually broke outcasts aboard their ship, the Bebop, which sets out from planet to planet in the solar system in hopes of finding the bounty head that'll buy them their next tank of fuel. In many ways, Samurai Champloo is the perfect mirror. Set in Edo-period Japan to a hip-hop soundtrack, Champloo also follows a group of perpetually broke outcasts, this time made up of a masterless samurai, a criminal, and a young girl as they make their way across Japan in search of her father, "The Samurai Who Smells of Sunflowers." Cowboy Bebop's Spike and Samurai Champloo's Mugen even look so much alike that many fans believe Mugen to be a distant ancestor of Spike's. A connection between the two shows was even confirmed by the creator of both series, Shinichiro Watanabe, in a 2019 Q&A session!
Samurai Champloo was created in 2004, and was Watanabe's first big project after Bebop. As a result, Champloo developed into something of a response to what Bebop became. It took on a more comedic tone, focused less on continuity and serialization, and became littered with anachronisms, all of which helped the series find its own voice. The series' name is derived from an Okinawan dish, chanpuru, and its related term which simply means "something mixed together," a fact which embodies the melding of cultures and time periods that defined the series. And yet, even in spite of this distinct tone and setting, Champloo still had enough in common with Cowboy Bebop that fans coming off Watanabe's earlier work could easily find themselves at home by the end of the first episode.
Why Samurai Champloo is the Perfect Companion to Cowboy Bebop
Watanabe built the bones of what would be Samurai Champloo while the Cowboy Bebop movie was still in development, so the two series have been tied together since the moment Champloo was created. While other works directed by Watanabe, like Space Dandy, are also said to have a connection, they came much later and had much less of a direct influence. Samurai Champloo has positioned itself as a direct counterpart, making many of the opposite choices that Bebop did. Bebop is grim, dark, and moody, with many scenes at night or in confined areas like spaceships, while Champloo is often bright, colorful, and even hopeful, largely set outdoors and among nature. Where Spike is patient and clever, his counterpart Mugen is uneducated and impulsive, seemingly alive only to fight. And although both Jet and Jin have a past as a government enforcer, Jet quit in disgust, while Jin chose instead to kill his own master. Turning Bebop's tropes and characters on their head led to a series that's just as fascinating, which is a real credit to Cowboy Bebop creator Shinichiro Watanabe's skill as a storyteller.
Although Samurai Champloo may be more obscure than Cowboy Bebop to the casual anime viewer, both series are truly incredible works in their own right, and they're best enjoyed together. There really aren't any other two anime with a relationship like that that these works share, so fans of Cowboy Bebop who've yet to try Samurai Champloo should do themselves a favor and give it a shot.