‘Cowboy Bebop: Shooting Star’ Manga Review: Before the Anime

The “Cowboy Bebop: Shooting Star” manga is a bit of an oddity. Created by Cain Kuga in parallel with the now legendary “Cowboy Bebop” anime, “Shooting Star” debuted in Monthly Asuka Fantasy DX magazine in September 1997, predating the show’s premiere by several months. This much lesser-known companion manga retains the same core premise and characters as the anime while creating its own completely new narrative and lore.

“Shooting Star” delivers a mostly fun and frothy sci-fi action romp, complete with snarky jokes, explosive action sequences and the occasional moment of pathos. The artwork is a departure from the iconic designs of the anime, featuring a softer and more malleable aesthetic that reflects this iteration’s lighter and more comedic tone. Spanning only 10 chapters spread across two volumes, “Shooting Star” is a quick and breezy read. However, it falls victim to its own brevity when it comes to developing its world and characters.

How to Buy the ‘Cowboy Bebop: Shooting Star’ Manga Series

Editorial Note: Because he acquired the books for Freddy to review, Joseph Rauch wrote this section.

Normally our section on how to buy the book or book series is at the end of the review. This case is special. Both “Cowboy Bebop” manga series are out of print. You can only acquire used copies.

Of the two manga series, I think “Shooting Star” is the one most worth buying. It has one less volume, but you get unique artwork, better behind-the-scenes stories from the author and more original stories that aren’t filler. If you decide to only buy “Shooting Star,” I recommend shopping on Amazon:

• Volume 1 for $17.71
• Volume 2 for $44.94

I don’t know exactly why volume 2 has a much higher price. The seller for volume 1 is ThriftBooks-Baltimore. The seller for volume 2 is Extra Speedy Books, which doesn’t provide as much information on their Amazon storefront pages. Nonetheless, both have good ratings.

Because the books are out of print and will likely never be mass produced again, there is an interesting supply and demand dynamic. If the number of purchases increases while the number of resellers decreases, the book will become more rare, and the price will go up. To those who are hesitant to buy now because of the cost, remember that the price could increase faster than inflation.

Read our review of the other “Cowboy Bebop manga

‘Cowboy Bebop: Shooting Star’ Summary: A New Origin Story for the Bebop Crew

Set in a desolate and desperate near future, “Cowboy Bebop: Shooting Star” follows the bounty hunting crew of interplanetary spaceship, the Bebop. A few decades prior to the beginning of the manga’s plot, an accident during the installation of a space travel gate leaves Earth borderline uninhabitable, and humanity is scattered across the solar system. The unrest and instability caused by this catastrophe has led to discord and crime so dire that the government has turned to bounty hunters to help keep some semblance of peace and order.

The manga’s story details the formation of the Bebop’s crew, consisting at first of only the nonchalantly cool Spike Spiegel and the gruff but caring Jet Black. The first few chapters add kooky kid hacker Ed, super intelligent corgi Ein, and vampy trickster Faye to the team and introduce them all to Scorpion, the leader of the Dragon Head Syndicate and the main recurring antagonist of the series. The second half of the manga is mostly episodic heists and bounty hunts that occasionally reference earlier plot points and hanging threads.

Audience and Genre: A Lighter Shade of Sci-Fi Noir Manga

“Shooting Star” is a generally lighthearted and fast-paced adventure through the solar system. While the more tragic and seedy facets of this postapocalyptic world do sometimes get a passing mention, the narrative rarely dwells on those aspects for very long. The science fiction angle is also not particularly complex, and any important concepts are explained repeatedly, so there isn’t much risk of being confused by the futuristic elements of the plot.

Possibly due to being published in a magazine known primarily for shojo manga, “Shooting Star” reads as though it was written for a younger audience than the anime original. The violence, drama and sexuality have been toned down significantly in favor of highlighting the banter and fun mismatch of the Bebop team.
While she was mostly a comedic relief side character in the anime, Ed’s increased focus in the manga speaks to its shifted priorities. Instead of dramatic standoffs and poignant reveals, we now get more of Ed crashing ships and misinterpreting the dangers of a given situation.

However, there is a fun bonus layer for older readers and fans of classic movies. Though seemingly only added for the English translation, each of the manga’s chapters is named after an important older film that foreshadows the upcoming story’s plot or themes. Some are very on the nose, like “Dog Day Afternoon” introducing Ein the corgi or “The Kid Stays in the Picture” adding Ed to the team. Others are a bit more interpretive or only make sense in retrospect, such as “The Man Who Would Be King” and “The Great Escape”. While the writing itself doesn’t otherwise reference film particularly often, these chapter titles offer a hint at what’s to come for those in the know.

While the manga is good at what it does, those expecting something deep or moving will most likely leave disappointed. “Shooting Star” is best enjoyed by those seeking a short and fun romp that might not leave as lasting of an impact as the anime or some of the manga’s contemporaries.

Perspective: Movie-Themed Vignettes From the Bebop Crew’s POV

Similarly to how the anime called its episodes “sessions” in honor of its musical theming, the manga takes up a film motif, renaming its chapters “shoots” and granting each one the title of a famous movie. In that same spirit, each chapter feels like a short film covering a single heist.
We mainly follow the Bebop crew, with most of the writing being comprised of their dialogue. Occasionally, we will get some narration or briefly switch perspectives to see what another character is up to, but all of the stories are led by and largely filtered through one or more of the core four characters.

Three Cs: Compelling, Clear, Concise

Editorial Note: We believe these three factors are important for evaluating general writing quality across every aspect of the book. Before you get into further analysis, here’s a quick breakdown to clarify how we’re using these words:

• Compelling: Does the author consistently write in a way that would make most readers emotionally invested in the book’s content?
• Clear: Are most sentences and parts of the book easy enough to read and understand?
• Concise: Are there sections or many sentences that could be cut? Does the book have pacing problems?

Compelling: Surface-Level Fun

“Shooting Star” mostly consists of the dialogue of the Bebop crew, with the occasional break for narration or exposition. Their snarky barbs and jabs are fun to flip through, and most action scenes contain a few jokes or explanations to keep things light, legible and moving forward.

While the writing itself is solid enough, the actual content doesn’t give much reason to stay invested. Because most of the chapters are largely self-contained, the only thing holding the reader in terms of plot and character is their interest in that episode’s specific heist. Otherwise, it’s just the jokes and charisma of the main cast keeping someone engaged.

Clear: A Little Murky Because of Occasional Layout and Translation Issues

The plot and characters of “Shooting Star” do not get particularly deep or complex. The language is kept simple and understandable, the plots are straightforward, and any important concepts are explained several times, sometimes across multiple chapters. The main obstacle to reader comprehension will most likely come from either the page layouts or the periodically questionable translation.

In terms of the layout, certain experimental pages and action scenes can leave the reader confused as to which order the panels are meant to flow in. Some of the imagery can also become a bit murky due to a combination of intricate artwork, dark colors and attempts to simulate movement. With the translation, there are a handful of typos and grammatical mistakes throughout. While often not bad enough to hinder overall understanding, you might have to reread certain sections multiple times due to inconsistent pronouns or it being unclear who is speaking.

Concise: Too Short and Sweet

“Shooting Star” lasts only 10 chapters across two volumes. With each chapter focusing primarily on its own story, nothing ever gets the chance to overstay its welcome. The plot moves at an almost breakneck pace, and the dialogue and exposition keep things succinct with only one or two exceptions.

This brevity can be a hindrance, with even several characters in-universe pointing out the unrealistic pace at which things move at times. The manga’s short chapter length and early cancellation can be felt in how rushed and unfinished certain arcs feel. “Shooting Star” likely would have benefitted from having a few more chapters to elaborate on its story or from axing some of the sillier and more episodic adventures in favor of expanding on what’s already here.

Character Development: Surprisingly, A Manga-Original Character Gets Fleshed Out More Than the Bebop Crew

One of the major defining aspects of the “Cowboy Bebop” anime is how it uses revelations about the pasts of its characters to add shading and dimension to otherwise stock noir archetypes. “Shooting Star” is not as interested in digging into its characters. While this lack of development might be a byproduct of the manga’s sudden cancellation, it unfortunately remains that the story doesn’t have much time to devote to fleshing out its main cast.

Each of the four main human characters undeniably has a strong and defined personality. Spike is incredibly skilled in combat and roguishly charismatic, but he’s often too brash and stubborn to work well with others or keep himself out of trouble. Jet is the team father whose main goal is just keeping the Bebop together and the crew fed. Ed is a hyperactive tech genius whose impulsiveness and incessant jabbering often cause as many issues as they solve. Faye is a con artist who is willing to use her looks and any lies necessary to get what she wants. Ein, the fifth member and mascot of the team, is admittedly mainly there to be a cute dog and to give Ed someone to talk to when the rest of the squad is on missions. The team has solid chemistry despite the comedic mismatch of personalities, and their banter and interactions are the crux of “Shooting Star.”

Unfortunately, either due to differing priorities or the truncated run, “Shooting Star” doesn’t do much to deepen or flesh out its characters. Each of the main players in the story gets an introduction chapter in the first half, and then they each stagnate once joining the crew. We learn next to nothing about the Bebop team’s backstories or their driving desires. Their rivalry with the Dragon Head Syndicate is almost entirely circumstantial, and no one seems to be changed or affected long-term by anything that happens. Many times, it feels as though the main characters are stuck simply reacting to this week’s new characters while arguing and sniping at each other.

Strangely, the most poignant moments in the story are reserved for the original side characters. Scorpion, the leader of the Dragon Head Syndicate, benefits the most from this as the only character besides the Bebop crew to appear in more than one chapter. He is even introduced as a major player in the plot before Faye and is now the direct impetus for her meeting and joining the main team in this new version of events. Despite his still very limited appearances, we learn more about Scorpion’s past and motivations than anyone else, and his arc is basically the only one with an actual conclusion, even if it does feel rushed and sudden.

Story: Episodic Adventures Across the Solar System + the Scorpion Story

Each of the 10 chapters of “Shooting Star” tells its own mostly self-contained story, usually about the Bebop crew trying to catch a new bounty. With the exceptions of new members joining the main team and Scorpion’s storyline, virtually nothing carries over from one story to the next. While this gives the manga an episodic charm almost like a Saturday morning cartoon, it also means that very little gets developed or elaborated on. Because the chapters are so short and the main Bebop crew are the only recurring characters, nothing feels particularly consequential or meaningful, and any conflicts are wrapped up within a few pages.

The manga focuses mainly on comedy and action, with the brevity of the chapters lending a madcap energy to most of the events. Things are generally kept pretty lighthearted, with often only the final standoffs containing anything approaching drama.

Still, the manga does have some strong moments hidden among its usually aimless hijinks. The height of this quality is probably the Chessmen. Despite their goofy name, this vigilante group’s spotlight chapter is in contention for the darkest “Shooting Star” gets, and it’s also one of the most memorable chapters as a result. Spike commenting on the aftermath of the Chessmen’s actions is the closest this manga gets to matching the depth and nuance of the anime.

Despite the manga’s structure, there are somehow still some strange issues with pacing. While some of this problem can likely be chalked up to its abrupt cancellation, the manga lacks any real ending or closure. It also makes the bizarre decision to end Scorpion’s storyline with several chapters left to go, despite Scorpion and the Dragon Head Syndicate being basically the only throughline to the overall plot.

The manga then meanders to a close with something resembling a two-parter where the first half introduces some minor issues at the very end that are immediately solved in the second half. The chapter concluding Scorpion’s story could have easily been moved to the finale spot without changing much, and it would have been a much more cathartic and meaningful ending, even if it would still likely feel sudden and rushed due to the manga’s short run.

Prose Style: Sharp and Succinct

Most of “Shooting Star” is comprised of dialogue, often between the members of the Bebop. These conversations are sharply written and witty, giving a spark of energy to the scenes where the characters are just conversing. Occasionally, the dialogue will briefly pause in favor of some narration or an internal thought from a character. Though never particularly plentiful or long, these moments flesh out the proceedings a bit, and they are always succinct and clear.

The gate accident, for example, gets an explanation at the beginning of the first several chapters, but it’s sectioned off from the rest of the plot-relevant writing and easy to skip for those who don’t need the information. The first priority of “Shooting Star”’s writing is to be snappy and energetic, and it succeeds at that by not getting too bogged down in exposition.

Dialogue: Witty Snark

The vast majority of “Shooting Star” revolves around conversations between or with the Bebop crew. Being a ragtag group of mismatched personalities, their dynamic is the source of most of the humor and heart of “Shooting Star.” Each character has a distinct way of speaking that reflects who they are as a character, and every conversation is snarky and full of verve.

Spike tends to clash with the group with terse remarks, while Jet is the one trying to calm things down and hold everything together. Faye speaks with a sly and seductive tone, and the reader is unsure whether anything she’s saying is true or not. Ed has the most distinctive way of speaking, often repeating herself or rambling incoherently. All of their interactions are snappy and sharply written, but it can sometimes be grating reading through all of Ed’s jabbering and repetition.

Setting: A Dystopian Solar System

“Shooting Star” takes place in a future where humanity has spread across the solar system after a technological disaster destroys most of Earth. Equipped with the Bebop, the manga sees our protagonists jumping from planet to planet, sometimes encountering danger even in the space in between.

The author has fun with this idea, giving each planet its own aesthetic and place in the galaxy. Pluto, for example, has become a prison colony where all of the worst criminal offenders are sent. Despite its dystopian premise and usually dilapidated environments, every locale visited by the crew is distinct and vibrant.
Key to the setting is also the rampant crime and chaos. Though it is generally a lighthearted comedy action series, the world of Cowboy Bebop is a dangerous place. Thieves and crooks wait around every corner, and even the people who seem nice can’t be trusted. There’s always a palpable sense that the Bebop crew is putting their lives on the line in an unsafe and unfriendly line of work. As a few scenes show, even civilians aren’t safe. That sense of peril brings a much-needed edge to the proceedings.

Rhetoric: Bits of Meaningful Darkness in a Lighthearted Story

As a story centering on a group of bounty hunters in a postapocalyptic future, “Shooting Star” intrinsically has some relationship to many heavy topics. There’s the economy, human nature, the government, policing, the prison system and classism, just to name a few. However, the author chooses to largely overlook most of the more controversial or political aspects of bounty hunting in favor of highlighting the fun and action that come with being something akin to a vigilante crime fighter. While there are occasional moments where the manga truly grapples with the darker aspects of its world, these moments are too few and short to overshadow what’s clearly supposed to be a relatively lighthearted romp through the solar system.

Cultural and Political Significance: From the Past, But Still Relevant

Cowboy Bebop sits in a special space reserved primarily for science fiction of a certain age. “Shooting Star” was written several decades ago, but it takes place in a year that still hasn’t occurred yet. As such, its vision of the future is filtered through the ideals, concepts and aesthetics of the 90’s.

Despite this fact, it’s striking how applicable many of its underlying concepts still are. At its core, this is a story about a group of outcasts trying to survive in a dying world. Many people living in today’s society can relate to having to do whatever necessary just to be able to afford food and shelter. When you add in the undercurrents of political corruption, environmentalism and existential ennui, you get a surprisingly prescient image of the modern day. Even though this manga tries to gloss over most of the seedier aspects of its world, the parallels to real life are too ingrained into the premise to completely ignore.

Critiquing the Critics: An Obscure Curiosity

Due to “Shooting Star” being several decades old, obscure and out of print, there isn’t much in the way of current professional reviews. Most of the content online about “Shooting Star” comes from either “Cowboy Bebop” fan forums or manga archive sites.

For the most part, it seems that fan reaction to the series was largely mixed. Certain groups enjoyed the new spin on a tale they already knew and loved, while others felt it strayed too far from the original to feel authentic. Those takes ultimately come down to personal opinion, but even those who enjoyed the manga generally admitted that it wasn’t as strong as the anime and that it was best viewed as bonus content.

There also seems to be a minor misconception that “Shooting Star” inspired the “Cowboy Bebop” anime because its first chapter was technically published a few months before the first episode of the show premiered. This perception is completely untrue, and it’s debunked in the manga itself. At the end of both volumes, “Shooting Star” author Cain Kuga includes short personal bonus comics humorously discussing the process of creating the manga. In the first volume’s comic, she explicitly writes about being approached for the project after the anime had already entered production, receiving piles of notes from the show’s team about the lore and characters. Kuga mentions that, despite receiving so much information, she was given carte blanche to do as she pleased with the stories as long as the main five characters and the core bounty hunting premise were retained. Even during its inception, “Shooting Star” was always meant to be an alternate retelling of the anime’s original story.

Book Aesthetic: Stylish But Inconsistent

“Shooting Star” makes the interesting choice to diverge pretty significantly from the character design style of the “Cowboy Bebop” anime that inspired it. While many of the environments and locales maintain the anime’s sense of intricate futuristic dilapidation, the characters look much softer and more in line with the archetypal manga aesthetics of the time. This style is probably most easily seen in Jet’s softer facial features or Spike’s much less unkempt hair. “Shooting Star” is also much more willing than the anime to allow the characters to veer wildly off-model in to express emotions or heighten the comedy. Though the redesigns for the main crew are solid, those used to the anime might find that the characters occasionally look like completely different people.

While the quality of the art itself is quite high, the base concepts can unfortunately be a bit inconsistent. Many of the original characters created for “Shooting Star” have generic and unmemorable designs, which isn’t helped by how many of them only appear in one chapter. Even Scorpion, by far the most important character who’s not on the Bebop crew, has a design lacking in any major defining features beyond a huge black cape meant to signify his villainy.

The comic also has some minor issues with layout and panel positioning. There were several times across both volumes where the order of the imagery or text became unclear due to how everything was placed on the page. In addition, there are moments when the art becomes so dark or complex that it’s difficult to decipher what’s supposed to be happening, particularly in certain action sequences.

Some speech bubbles also don’t seem to correctly line up what is being said with who is saying it. It was never enough to make any of the scenes completely incomprehensible, but it was a consistent issue throughout.

Both volumes also begin and end with words from the author and publisher. The opening note is the same both times, explaining a bit about the history and intent of the manga and how this won’t be the same experience as the anime. At the end, each volume has a unique autobiographical comic exploring the author’s experiences creating “Shooting Star.”

Though short and presented in a comedic chibi art style completely different from the rest of the manga, these “slice of life” ending comics provide a fascinating insight into the creative process behind this interesting experiment. Cain Kuga discusses how and why she was approached for the job, the pressures of creating something new out of concepts that already existed, and the struggles of maintaining the difficult schedule of a manga artist.

The ending comic of the second volume even addresses the cancellation of the series, with the author recounting a heartbreaking story about how she had to make her friends work with her on vacation to meet a deadline only to be told that the series was cancelled after rushing back to hand in her pages for it. These brief comics add a surprising amount to the experience, and they help contextualize a bit about why the series ended up the way that it did, particularly when it comes to its extremely short length and abrupt ending.

‘Cowboy Bebop: Shooting Star’ Manga vs. Anime: A Weaker Reimagining

“Shooting Star” takes the basic premise and characters of the “Cowboy Bebop” anime and spins them off into a completely new story. The formation of the crew happens in a different order and under completely new circumstances. Beyond the gate accident that destroyed Earth and one or two major defining traits, each character also has a revised backstory, though their overall personalities remain largely the same. Gone are Vicious, Julia, Gren and any other side characters you may have grown attached to, replaced by the Dragon Head Syndicate, Scorpion, and a few one-off characters like mob boss Kai Lucas and vigilante group the Chessmen.

While what “Shooting Star” presents isn’t bad by any means, it’s difficult to live up to the depth and artistry of the “Cowboy Bebop” anime. However, that was also seemingly not the goal.

Instead of trying to directly imitate the style of the anime, “Shooting Star” leans into the zany futuristic hijinks and comedic mismatch of the Bebop crew. This narrative choice leads to a tone much closer to that of an action-oriented sitcom than the existential character drama of the original.

There are only two or three moments in the entire run that even approach the anime’s level of darkness. While they are some of the most memorable moments of the manga, they also feel a bit at odds with everything that surrounds them. Though its short length can be attributed to its sudden cancellation, Shooting Star needed at least a few more chapters to find its voice and flesh out its own version of this world and these characters.

Reviewer’s Personal Opinion: A Fun But Forgettable Oddity

“Shooting Star” is a fun time with solid artwork and 10 cute short stories. As a standalone piece of art, it accomplishes its goal of being fizzy and entertaining with the occasional moment of pathos. However, it’s difficult to recommend because it doesn’t do anything that you couldn’t find elsewhere, and it doesn’t allow itself the time or opportunity to expand on any of its ideas or characters beyond the surface level.

In reality, “Shooting Star” is probably best viewed as a curio for dedicated “Cowboy Bebop” fans. While the average reader might not gain much from reading through these stories, someone familiar with the anime will get a fascinating glimpse into an official alternate reality for these characters. There isn’t anything here that will surpass what the anime did, but it’s entertaining both as a thought experiment and as a footnote in the legacy of a legendary anime. It’s just a bit disappointing that it doesn’t push some of its original ideas further because the potential for an interesting and more lighthearted new spin on these characters is here.

Probably the most telling indicator of the manga’s main issue is a fan poll that the author included in the second volume. Readers of the manga were polled to find the top six most popular characters. In the final results, Jet doesn’t even make the list, Ein is above Faye, and Scorpion beats out the entire Bebop crew. However, Scorpion is still only #2. Who tops the list? A random doodle of an octopus that featured in the first volume as part of a joke. The author even laments that she put all of this work into the other characters and stories just to have everyone only focus on a purposefully bad drawing of an octopus.

Unfortunately this anecdote is only a symptom of the actual problem: there’s nothing to grab onto here. The stories are too short, and nothing gets the time or attention it needs to develop and stick with the audience. As such, all you’re getting is surface level style and humor that doesn’t leave a lasting impact. Scorpion is most likely only #2 because he’s the only character who gets any type of actual arc or backstory, and that includes the Bebop crew. When everything feels a bit shallow, rushed and underdeveloped, it makes sense that people wouldn’t connect to the characters and world as much. That’s how you end up in the sad situation where the joy and silly surprise of seeing a poorly drawn octopus is enough to make it the most memorable part of the whole experience for most readers.

‘Cowboy Bebop: Shooting Star’ Review: A New Timeline Cut Short

“Cowboy Bebop: Shooting Star” is a quick read and a fun time. It brings the iconic characters and world of the anime to the page with a new art style, its own remixed lore and a lighter tone. However, due to its short length and uneven execution, it is difficult to recommend “Shooting Star” to anyone but the most diehard “Cowboy Bebop fans.” While the humor and art are cute, the manga’s shallow plotlines and underdeveloped characters are unlikely to win any new converts. Those already familiar with the show, however, might get something out of seeing an alternate iteration of this universe and these characters.