First, we had Sentai with their $800 Legend of the Galactic Heroes set. Now it’s Funimation’s turn to ask fans to dig deep.
Yesterday, Funimation announced that they will (potentially) produce a trio of limited edition sets to commemorate Cowboy Bebop‘s 20th anniversary. In a notice on Twitter, Funimation revealed that they will open a reservation campaign for the sets on May 1.
The three planned editions are as follows:
Bebop Crew Edition ($500)
The features for this set include:
- Two PVC bookends featuring the Bebop crew
- Cowboy Bebop on Blu-Ray
- Cowboy Bebop the Movie: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door on Blu-Ray
- Two-LP vinyl soundtrack
- 200-page artbook
- Five (5) Lithographs
The Boogie Woogie Box ($350)
The features for this set include:
- Rigid box with metal clasps
- Cowboy Bebop on Blu-Ray
- Cowboy Bebop the Movie: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door on Blu-Ray
- Two-LP vinyl soundtrack
- 200-page artbook
- Five (5) Lithographs
The Bounty Hunter’s Steel Edition ($250)
The features for this set include:
- Rigid Collector’s Box
- Cowboy Bebop on Blu-Ray
- Cowboy Bebop the Movie: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door on Blu-Ray
- Two-LP vinyl soundtrack
- 200-page artbook
- Five (5) Lithographs
According to Forbes, pre-orders will run from May 1, through May 31. The publication reports that only the sets which receive more than a thousand pre-orders will actually be produced. No matter the version, though, this will be the first time that Cowboy Bebop‘s soundtrack is available on vinyl.
Forbes adds that a general purchase period for the sets that cleared a thousand sales will be held between June 4 through July 13. More details will be announced on Funimation’s website on May 1.
Cowboy Bebop is a 1998 series from studio Sunrise. Shinichirō Watanabe (Space Dandy, Samurai Champloo) directed the project, which featured character designs by Toshihiro Kawamoto (Blood Blockade Battlefront, Wolf’s Rain). Keiko Nobumoto (Tokyo Godfathers, Macross Plus) was in charge of series composition.
Yoko Kanno (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Macross Frontier, Space Dandy) scored the show’s soundtrack.
Bandai Entertainment originally released the title in North America on VHS and DVD. Cowboy Bebop was the first anime title to air on Adult Swim in the United States, and has aired numerous times since that initial broadcast. Though Bandai closed its doors in 2012, the show has since been rescued by Funimation. They describe Cowboy Bebop as:
The Bebop crew is just trying to make a buck. This motley lot of intergalactic loners teams up to track down fugitives and turn them in for cold hard cash. Spike is a hero whose cool facade hides a dark and deadly past. The pilot Jet is a bruiser of a brute who can’t wait to collect the next bounty. Faye Valentine is a femme fatale prone to breaking hearts and separating fools from their money. Along for the ride are the brilliant-but-weird hacker Ed and a super-genius Welsh Corgi named Ein.
On their own, any one of them would be likely to get lost in the sprawl of space, but together, they’re the most entertaining gang of bounty hunters in the year 2071.
Funimation currently offers Cowboy Bebop on several streaming services, including Crunchyroll (subtitled) and FunimationNow (dubbed).
Sources: Twitter (WTK), Twitter (Funimation), Forbes
Funimation Unveils Three Cowboy Bebop 20th Anniversary Sets; Soundtrack to be Released on Vinyl for the First Time Ever – Samantha Ferreira
