MOVIE INTRODUCTION

Knockin' on Heaven's Door contains all the best elements of the Cowboy Bebop series and more. It has great characters, an interesting story, fast-paced action, humor, dogfights, kickass style, gorgeous art, and typical Yoko Kanno (read: brilliant) musical score. Most of the action takes place on Spike's home planet (Mars), but the movie has very little science fiction in it. With the exception of the spaceships, the technology portrayed in the movie is either present-day or very feasibly near-future, which makes the bioterrorism threat portrayed in the story that much more real. To reveal more might lessen the pleasure of your first viewing of the movie, so I'll leave the plot description at that.

The movie focuses mainly on Spike, Faye, and new characters Vincent and Electra, but Jet, Ed, and Ein all play their parts. There are even cameo appearances of other series regulars, and subtle references to events and themes dealt with in the television show. As a whole, it expands and enhances the Cowboy Bebop universe without overcomplicating or contradicting it, as tends to happen with so many movie/series combinations. The show is made better by the movie, and the movie is made better by the show... but Knockin' on Heaven's Door is also remarkably self-contained plot-wise, and should be easily accessible by those who have never seen an episode of the series. Think of it as a two-hour TV episode... only it's the best TV episode you'll ever see.

After I saw KOHD for the first time, it became my all-time favorite anime movie. It's just that good, and it has to be seen to be believed.