I have never seen the “Cowboy Bebop” tv series so I probably am not the right demographic for “Cowboy Bebop: The Movie”. I was left very confused by this anime action flick and felt that it was taking itself way too seriously. Maybe everything will click for those familiar with the show.

Set on a futuristic Mars, “Cowboy Bebop” follows a cocky bounty hunter and his crew, who are on the trail of a terrorist after an explosion releases a deadly virus. With the fate of the world at stake, the secrets of this new weapon reveal a chilling conspiracy.

I did not care for the characters in this movie. I’m sure fans of the series will be know the main characters well but they did not leave a great impression on me with this film. The main hero, Spike Spiegel, feels so generic as we have seen his kind in so many films and tv shows. I particularly hated the villain. He clashes with the heroes so much that they almost feel as though they are from different movies. The heroes appear light-hearted but the bad guy is so bleak that I came away feeling very confused as to what exactly the filmmakers were going for. The animation is pretty good but not great.

I like some anime and I definitely have enjoyed some of the anime films out. Some talk about “Cowboy Bebop” as one of the best anime shows out there yet this movie does little to convince me of that. If you are a fan of the series then you probably are the right audience for this film but I think general audiences are going to be left as puzzled as I was. It’s not really a bad movie, I just did not see anything special here.