User Reviews

Ballad of Fallen Angels is one of the very best Cowboy Bebop episodes ever, and could be one of the most gorgeous pieces of television of all freaking time if I'm being perfectly honest. Spike's past has come crawling back to haunt him and it's like it will never go away. Spike must confront his friend-turned-enemy: Vicious; and this could mean life or death for our beloved 'space cowboy'.

'Ballad' has strikingly gorgeous animation to it and cinematography that evokes not only the best animes out there, but also the finest film-noirs as well. Spike's history with Vicious is never explicitly stated, though the flashes of their backstory we do get leaves us thinking that there's a whole lot more to what's going on than what is on screen. Spike is a happy-go-lucky kind of fella who's seen some rough sh!t throughout his life, and I think this episode shows both those sides to his character (even if they're over-shadowed by the admittedly awesome gun-fights in this episode).

Cowboy Bebop is still great stuff twenty years on; and I love re-watching it again and again!

This is the first masterpiece of an episode in a series with several.

In this episode we first meet the main antagonist and Spike's ex-partner in crime, Vicious, and we glimpse some of Spike's dark past. It's the first episode to address this main running storyline: the conflict between Spike and Vicious which will be a dominant presence throughout the series, always looming and occasionally sweeping in as it does here.

Intensely creepy, with a fantastic action sequence at its climax, and not to mention a very funny scene at the end involving Spike and Faye. Damn near perfect in every respect.

The upcoming Netflix live-action adaptation made me revisit this series, and after a rewatch, I can tell it has aged phenomenally, both from a technical and narrative standpoint.

This episode in particular is my favorite, introducing the main antagonist in a chilling manner.

The final scenes are rather memorable, having a great atmosphere and music.

This is arguably the best episode of the entire series that is without a doubt a masterpiece of a show. After four average episodes Ballad of Fallen angels comes as a tornado and takes everyone by surprise. The story involves Spike's past and his inability to escape it. His story in a way that can be described in no other words but Brilliantly. And introduces his arch nemesis who also captures the role of a ruthless villain beautifully. The episode starts of strong and takes viewers on a roller coaster ride. The soundtrack is masterfully done that captures every moment beautifully. Whole episode is full of thrill, tension and emotions. And the whole church shootout is certainly one of the most iconic scenes of the whole series. Overall this episode really proves what Bebop is all about and it is near perfection.

Although I'm not the biggest fan of Cowboy Bebop as a whole, I have to say when it's good, it's REALLY good. This episode does just about everything perfectly. The animation, music, voice acting, and sound design are all amazing, and the Church Shootout Scene is one of the best scenes in all of anime. But what really made me love this episode is the little things. The symbolism, subtle details and forshadowing; plenty of conversations which flesh out the characters and hint at greater things to come. And once you've seen the series in its entirity, all these little moments become so much meaningful. It's intense, funny, emotional, and truly is one of the greatest pieces of television ever.

Honestly, I will admit that, at the time of watching this episode of this anime, I'm still new to this genre. But wow was this episode a wild ride! This is where this show stops being just another anime, and becomes a great piece of art and a classic.

CB is the gold standard of adult-themed anime. Episode 5 is one of the best. Bebop captured a moment in time, and it's fortitude in the genre comes from this intangible quality.

The first four episodes of Cowboy Bebop were pretty good. Not truly excellent, but they sure had their things going for them. Then episode five came around, and it's just on an entirely different level. This is, hands down, one of the best anime episodes I've ever seen. It can easily keep pace with a myriad of high-level Hollywood productions, with a fantastic direction, gorgeous visuals, a solid story, and a glorious soundtrack.

Thing is, it pretty much comes out of nothing. The series, at least so far, has anime-typical direction, but this one episode is true art. The previous episodes had a reasonable soundtrack (the opening theme is especially excellent), but they certainly didn't have multiple highly unique vocal tracks. The series had a bunch of pretty visuals, but definitely not these gorgeous set pieces.

I have no idea where it's coming from, why this fifth episode is an absolute work of art where the previous four episodes were "only" solid sci-fi.

And I genuinely can't get over the fact that this episode has both 'Rain' and 'Green Bird' as original soundtrack (never mind Schubert's 'Ave Maria'). Like, what is even going on here?

This is simply one of the best pieces of fiction ever crafted. The episode fills its runtime with gorgeous animation, epic action, and poetic storytelling. There's no single flaw in the episode. Vicious' entrance into the anime is cold and brilliant, and the episode showcases Cowboy Bebop's masterful sense of storytelling ability and style. Every main character is fleshed out. The climax is gorgeously drawn and brilliantly staged. Cowboy Bebop is my favorite anime, with no shortage of incredible episodes full of amazing storytelling, but this episode stands alone as something special. Truly a masterpiece.