Top Anime Similar to Cowboy Bebop

Shinichirō Watanabe has been blazing a sci-fi trail since his co-direction stint on the popular Macross franchise, Macross Plus. Over his 35-year career, he has created some of the most beloved and influential series, such as Cowboy Bebop, his jazz-infused magnum opus. This series follows a ragtag group of badass space adventurers as they navigate the neo-noir depths of deep space. Cowboy Bebop's iconic score by Yoko Kanno has played a significant role in its timeless appeal, keeping the series in the public consciousness through live performances, soundtrack re-releases, and more.

The renowned science fiction show has long been shaping cinema and storytelling, with creators like Rian Johnson of Star Wars, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Diego Molano of Victor and Valentino citing Cowboy Bebop as a massive influence on their work.

6 Best Anime Like Cowboy Bebop

6 ImagesCowboy Bebop also stands as one of the few anime series that many non-anime fans have taken the time to explore. All of these reasons and more make it one of the most vital and long-lasting entries into the anime canon. If you're wondering what to watch after your latest (or first) Cowboy Bebop binge, we're here with a list of the best space-faring, globe-trotting, morally-ambiguous anime that you can dive into next.

Lazarus

Our first recommendation is Watanabe's newest series, Lazarus, which premiered its first episode on Adult Swim at midnight on April 5th. Produced by MAPPA and Sola Entertainment, with John Wick director Chad Stahelski overseeing art direction and original compositions by Kamasi Washington, Floating Points, and Bonobos, Lazarus has generated more buzz than perhaps any other anime release of the year. It serves as a great stylistic companion to Cowboy Bebop, returning to the gritty, underdog sci-fi of that series — in contrast to Watanabe's more recent works like Carole & Tuesday — and feels shockingly relevant in 2025.

The series follows the invention of a life-saving miracle drug that turns fatal three years after its use, putting millions of lives at risk. Enter our hero, Axel, a regular convict and jailbreaker tasked with assembling a team to find the enigmatic doctor who created the drug and enlist his help to develop an antidote within just 30 days. So, start the countdown and prepare for a darkly wild ride.

Terminator Zero

Continuing with more grounded and bleak sci-fi, next up is Terminator Zero, an impressive addition to the Terminator lore directed by Masashi Kudō, produced by Production IG, and created by Mattson Tomlin (director of the Netflix film Project Power starring Jamie Foxx). Though it's more serious than Bebop and much of Watanabe's work, it shares a stylistic flair in its action sequences and impeccable gunplay that will satisfy that particular craving and fill the Cowboy Bebop-shaped void in your action-anime viewing life.

When it comes to contemporary sci-fi that grapples with the technology and culture of our times, Terminator Zero is unmatched, making it a must-watch in 2025. Moreover, if you're seeking an aesthetically pleasing modern anime that's as visually appealing as Cowboy Bebop, you'll be hard-pressed to find better than this stunningly slick and boundary-pushing series that tells the story of the Terminator franchise's Judgement Day through a distinctly Japanese lens for the first time.

Space Dandy

This addition to the Shinichirō Watanabe catalog saw the trailblazer stepping back to serve as general director, with Shingo Natsume directing this hilarious serialized space opera brought to screens by the Japanese animation studio Bones. If you're looking for an easy, breezy throwback to classic Saturday morning cartoon fare that evokes the same nostalgia as Cowboy Bebop, this is a fantastic choice.

Filled with nods to tons of classic sci-fi and anime, this charming adventure follows the titular Dandy, an outer space bounty hunter whose entire purpose is to discover and register new alien lifeforms. He's as stylish as Spike and Faye Valentine and exudes enough swagger to save the world. While the premise may seem simple, the show ventures into unexpected and existential territories as Dandy uncovers the truths of the universe and his own existence while hunting aliens alongside his cute crew of a robot and a cat. Although it may not have achieved the same global reach and massive success as Cowboy Bebop, it's deeply rewatchable, visually stunning, and incredibly fun.

Lupin III

If you're seeking a series that fills you with the same adventurous joy and feeling of unlimited potential as Cowboy Bebop, then look no further than the delightfully fun crime caper Lupin III. Since its debut in 1965 — written by Kazuhiko Katō under the pseudonym Monkey Punch — the charming franchise has expanded across manga, anime, video games, and multiple cinematic releases. When it comes to on-screen adaptations, the best place to start is the 1971 anime adaptation of the same name, which introduced audiences to Lupin, a uniquely laid-back criminal inspired by the legendary and fictional gentleman thief Arsène Lupin.

The first season runs 23 episodes and features directors like Masaaki Ōsumi, as well as future Studio Ghibli legends Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. It's a great starting point to explore the best of what Lupin III has to offer, and the good news is, if you become a fan, you have five decades of stories, movies, and shows to dive into next.

Samurai Champloo

Samurai Champloo is often considered the spiritual successor to Cowboy Bebop. The series began to take shape while Shinichirō Watanabe was working on Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, which is evident in Champloo's art style, structure, and storytelling. However, it might surprise you that this is a historical action tale rather than the sci-fi genre Watanabe is best known for. While the genre may differ thematically, the series is equally concerned with life, the cost of living freely, and the struggle to overcome and eventually accept mortality.

Like much of Watanabe's other work, the story centers on a ragtag group of morally compromised heroes: an outlaw named Mugen, a tea server named Fuu, and, true to any good Edo period tale, a ronin named Jin. One of the standout aspects of this series is that, due to its period setting, Watanabe was inspired to emphasize the importance of inclusion and tolerance, steering clear of nationalistic overtones.

Trigun

If what excites you most about Cowboy Bebop is the stylistic action and the hook of a morally complex anti-hero against the world, then Trigun is likely to become your next favorite anime. The series was adapted from the hit manga of the same name by Yasuhiro Nightow, which originally ran in Monthly Shonen Captain. It debuted in Japan in 1998 and in the US three years later at the cusp of the new millennium.

The series, like Cowboy Bebop, is a noir-inspired space western, but with heightened stakes as it follows Vash, a man with an immense bounty on his head due to some out-of-control superpowers that led to him accidentally destroying a city. As we learn about the man they want to kill, we also learn about those trying to kill him, setting up a compelling conflict that would earn the anime spots on multiple "best of the year" lists and make the manga so successful that it would sell out in the US.