Cowboy Bebop is a franchise near and dear to our hearts here at Anime Ltd. Since our announcement a few months ago that we intend to release a set commemorating its 20th Anniversary, we've been getting bombarded with questions about when you can expect details on it - for which to be clear, we're delighted so many of you have been eagerly anticipating news on it! Well the wait is over as today we can finally reveal to you all the info you need to know about our Cowboy Bebop Ultimate Edition Blu-ray release.

So sit back, relax, grab a drink and read on below for all the juicy details. (Oh, and on the off chance you're not familiar with Cowboy Bebop we'll give you a quick introduction to it as well.)

ABOUT COWBOY BEBOP

Director: Shinichiro Watanabe (Terror in Resonance, Space Dandy, Kids on the Slope, Macross Plus)

Music: Yoko Kanno (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Terror in Resonance, Wolf's Rain, Space Dandy)

TV Series Synopsis: Join the always-cool Spike Spiegal, investigative genius Jet Black, the alluring Faye Valentine, the amazing (but weird) Ed and the super-smart Welsh Corgi named Ein as they try to make a buck in the year 2071. How do they do it? They're bounty hunters!

WHAT'S INSIDE this ultimate edition?

When it comes to Cowboy Bebop and the possibility of being able to bring out any kind of Ultimate Edition style release, we've always said that if was something we could do we would want to be able to include the movie, Knockin' on Heaven's Door, or the soundtrack to the TV series in some form. We're delighted to say that both will be included in this package! Here's all the juicy details for you -

First of all, it's worth noting that only 1000 units of this set are produced. This is a one-time print run, so if/when it's sold out, that's it. There won't be any more.

Cowboy Bebop Ultimate Edition

Inside this set you will get the following:

1) Cowboy Bebop TV Series

--- The entire Cowboy Bebop TV Series (26 episodes) over four Blu-ray discs with English and original Japanese (with English subtitles) audio options. On-disc extras for the series being:

• Audio Commentary on episode 1 with the Japanese voices of Spike and Jet, Koichi Yamadera and Unshou Ishizuka
• Audio Commentaries on episodes 5 & 10 with Wendee Lee (the English voice of Faye) and ADR producer, Yutaka Maseba
• Audio Commentary on episode 17 with director of the series, Shinichiro Watanabe and Music Composer, Yoko Kanno
• Audio Commentary on episode 24 with the Japanese voices of Faye and Ed, Megumi Hayashibara and Aoi Tada
• Japanese Blu-ray/DVDcommercials for Cowboy Bebop
• Music video for the iconic opening song, Tank!
• Tank! Remix by DJ Food video
• Ein's Summer Holiday short
• Clean Opening and Ending title sequences

Vinyl gatefold packaging that will house the four Blu-ray discs that contain the TV series

2) Cowboy Bebop The Movie

--- Courtesy of our friends at Manga Entertainment UK, the feature film Cowboy Bebop The Movie (aka Knockin' on Heaven's Door) on Blu-ray with both English and original Japanese (with English subtitles) audio options. On-disc extras for this being:

~ Behind the Scenes Featurettes

• From the Small Screen to the Big Screen with comments from Shinichro Watanabe (Director), Koichi Yamadera (Japanese voice of Spike), Unsho Ishizuka (Japanese voice of Jet), Beau Billingslea (English voice of Jet), Wendee Lee (English voice of Faye) and Mary E. McGlin (English ADR Director).
• International Appeal - What's Not to Like? with comments from Shinichro Watanabe (Director), Toshihiro Kawamoto (Character Designer), Wendee Lee (English voice of Faye), Mary E. McGlin (English ADR Director), Yoko Kanno (Composer), Steve Blum (English voice of Spike), Beau Billingslea (English voice of Jet), Megumi Hayashibara (Japanese voice of Faye) and Aoi Tada (Japanese voice of Edward).
• Spike: A Complex Soul with comments from Toshihiro Kawamoto (Character Designer), Shinichro Watanabe (Director), Koichi Yamadera (Japanese voice of Spike) and Steve Blum (English voice of Spike).
• Faye: An Intellectual Vixen with comments from Toshihiro Kawamoto (Character Designer), Megumi Hayashibara (Japanese voice of Faye) and Wendee Lee (English voice of Faye).
• Ed: Residential Eccentric with comments from Toshihiro Kawamoto (Character Designer), Aoi Tada (Japanese voice of Edward), Melissa Fahn (English voice of Edward) and Mary E. McGlin (English ADR Director).
• Jet: No Ordinary Dad with comments from Toshihiro Kawamoto (Character Designer), Unsho Ishizuka (Japanese voice of Jet) and Beau Billingslea (English voice of Jet).

~ Storyboard Comparisons: these show in a picture in picture style format how the finished animation looked compared to the original storyboard. This is shown for four particular scenes:

• Scene 3 - The Virus
• Scene 6 - The Moroccan Bazaar
• Scene 15 - Ed Finds Love
• Scene 17 - Spike Confronts Vincent

~ Conceptual Art Galleries: these give you the opportunity to look through a variety of art relating to the film itself. There are 5 galleries in total focusing on:

• Characters
• Aircraft
• Automobiles
• Monorail
• Accessories

~ and there is a also an original U.S. Theatrical trailer for the film.

3) Cowboy Bebop TV Series Soundtrack CDs

--- For the first-time ever in the United Kingdom, three full Cowboy Bebop TV Series Soundtrack CDs "Cowboy Bebop" (which we refer to as Soundtrack 1 in this release), "Cowboy Bebop NO DISC" and Cowboy Bebop BLUE". Track listing of each below for you:

"Cowboy Bebop" (Soundtrack 1) Track listing:

1. "Tank!"
2. "Rush"
3. "Spokey Dokey"
4. "Bad Dog Biscuits"
5. "Cat Blues"
6. "Cosmos"
7. "Space Lion"
8. "Waltz for Zizi"
9. "Piano Black"
10. "Pot City"
11. "Too Good Too Bad"
12. "Car24"
13. "The Egg and I"
14. "Felt Tip Pen"
15. "Rain" (Lyrics: Tim Jensen, Artist: Steve Conte)
16. "Digging My Potato"
17. "Memory" (Music box overbdubbed)

Total Duration: approx 53 minutes

"Cowboy Bebop NO DISC" Track Listing

1. "American Money"
2. "Fantaisie Sign" (Lyrics/Artist: Carla Vallet)
3. "Don't Bother None" (Lyrics: Tim Jensen, Artist: Mai Yamane)
4. "Vitamin A"
5. "Live in Baghdad" (Lyrics: Gabriela Robin, Artist: Masaaki Endoh)
6. "Cats on Mars" (Lyrics/Artist: Gabriela Robin)
7. "Want It All Back" (Lyrics: Tim Jensen, Artist: Mai Yamane)
8. "Bindy"
9. "You Make Me Cool" (Lyrics: Brian Richy, Artist: Masayoshi Furukawa)
10. "Vitamin B"
11. "Green Bird" (Lyrics/Artist: Gabriela Robin)
12. "Elm"
13. "Vitamin C"
14. "Gateway"
15. "The Singing Sea" (Lyrics: Chris Mosdell, Artist: Tulivu-Donna Cunberbatch)
16. "Forever Broke"
17. "Power of Kung Food Remix" (Arranged by DJ Food)

Total Duration: approx 50 minutes

"Cowboy Bebop BLUE" Track Listing:

1. "Blue" (Lyrics: Tim Jensen, Artist: Mai Yamane)
2. "Words That We Couldn't Say" (Lyrics: Tim Jensen, Artist: Steve Conte)
3. "Autumn in Ganymede"
4. "Mushroom Hunting" [Based on a track by DJ Food] (Artist: Tulivu-Donna Cumberbatch)
5. "Go Go Cactus Man"
6. "Chicken Bone" (Lyrics: Gabriela Robin, Artist: Sydney and Sister R)
7. "The Real Man"
8. "N.Y. Rush"
9. "Adieu" (Lyrics: Brian Richy, Artist: Emily Bindiger)
10. "Call Me Call Me" (Lyrics: Tim Jensen, Artist: Steve Conte)
11. "Ave Maria"
12. "Stella by Moor"
13. "Flying Teapot"
14. "Wo Qui Non Coin" (Lyrics: Tomoko Tane, Artist: Emily Bindiger)
15. "Road to the West" (Lyrics: Gabriela Robin, Artist: Aoi Tada)
16. "Farewell Blues"
17. "See You Space Cowboy... (Not Final Mix Mountain Root)" [This is a hidden track which is an alternative version of The Real Folk Blues] (Artist: Mai Yamane)

Total duration: approx 71 minutes

Vinyl gatefold that will store the 3 soundtrack CDs, plus "The Movie" Blu-ray disc

4) ARTBOOK

---  Our Cowboy Bebop Ultimate 120-page Art Book featuring art from the franchise that is divided across three sections: Line Art, Rough Sketches and Artworks. (Dimensions of book are 30.5cm x 30.5cm - the same size as a vinyl record, obviously thickness differing because of the page count. You can see how this will look below.

The Artbook

5) AND IT ALL COMES INSIDE...

--- and is if that wasn't enough, all of this is packaged inside an individually numbered Cowboy Bebop themed vinyl flight case! In keeping with the theme of this being a vinyl flight case, the fact the book is sized with that in mind too, we've also taken this into account when it comes to how the TV series, Movie and CD soundtracks are being stored.

The Flight Case

As you've seen pictured above, there will be two vinyl sized jackets inside the flight case. The first will house all four Blu-ray discs that comprise the TV series, with the jacket design being one tailored to the fact the TV series is stored inside. The second jacket being designed and themed around the three soundtrack CDs and the Blu-ray of Cowboy Bebop The Movie specifically. You can see these designs below.

HOW MUCH IS THIS? WHERE CAN I BUY IT? WHEN'S IT RELEASED?!

This Ultimate Edition set will be available to order exclusively through Zavvi.com and our AllTheAnime.com online store. Pre-orders on both sites will be commence today (Wednesday 7th November 2018).

You can find the listings for both our AllTheAnime online store and Zavvi below.

ORDER AT ALL THE ANIME
ORDER AT ZAVVI

The product itself will be shipping in DECEMBER 2018, so it will be available in time for Christmas! (Please FAQ section at end of this blog post for more information.)

UPDATE: 11TH DECEMBER 2018
We regret to inform everyone this product is now expected to ship from 31st December 2018. We sincerely apologise for the delay.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Each store only has a select allocation of units so once it appears as out fo stock on either store it means the allocation for that respective store has been sold. It's unlikely there will be any additional units after that.

And now one of the most important questions: HOW MUCH IS IT? This Cowboy Bebop Ultimate Edition release will have an SRP (Suggested Retail Price) of £299.99.

But, until Friday 7th December 2018 at our AllTheAnime.com online store you can pre-order it for £224.99 (valid while stock lasts).

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

This section is pretty self explanatory. Here we will address all sorts of questions you may have, or perhaps answer some you never even considered. (Some of the questions may likely answer things that have already been noted, but we're all prone to skimming through web pages, so we like to touch on things a few times to be sure.)

How much is this set?
As noted in the section above, the SRP for this is £299.99. Though until 7th December 2018 you can order at our AllTheAnime.com online store for £224.99

What's the release date of this?
In short, it will be in time for Christmas. We can't give an exact shipping date at this time, but we can least tell you at time of writing we intend for this to be shipping by the week before Christmas at the latest. (Obviously this will be updated once we can confirm for sure.)

UPDATE: 11th December 2018 - We regret to inform everyone this product is now expected to ship from 31st December 2018. We sincerely apologise for the delay.

Where can I order this?
This will be only be available online exclusively through Zavvi.com and AllTheAnime.com. Where possible, we (AllTheAnime) intend to make this available to purchase at events we exhibit at.

Why I can't I buy this from any other retailer?
For this particular release, it's an exclusive to product to Zavvi.com and AllTheAnime.com.

What are the dimensions of the vinyl flight case?
Approximately 33cm x 35cm x 21cm. (So it can fit standard 12" vinyl packaging, for reference.)

How is the product packaged shipping?
Due to the unique size of the overall product, it will be shipped in a box with packaging inside to protect it. (Obviously the box it will be too large to fit through a letter box.) Inside the vinyl flight case itself, the two vinyl style gatefolds will each be shrink wrapped. Additionally to ensure the gatefold packaging and the artbook are not moving around inside the box there will be a blank card fitment to fill the remaining space. Then there will be a layer of bubble wrap underneath the lid of the flight case itself top ensure there's no vertical movement inside.

Why is only Blu-ray included in this?
It's a very unique product, and for this we wanted to present the series in the best visual quality possible. This is why Blu-ray it's only included on Blu-ray. However, the entire series is available to purchase separately on DVD.

What's the aspect ratio of the episodes/movie on the Blu-ray discs?
The TV series was created at a time before widescreen was the norm, so all the episodes are presented in pillarboxed format. Meaning it retains it's original 4:3 ratio with black bars present either side of the image.

The movie however was a theatrical film and was created in widescreen (16:9). That is retained on the Blu-ray that is included in this set, courtesy of Manga Entertainment UK.

How come you're able to include The Movie in this set when a different company distributed it?
It's not the first-time we've collaborated with our friends at Manga Entertainment UK on a project. When it came to this project specifically, we made no secret that we always intended to accommodate the movie in some way, shape or form in our Ultimate Edition of Cowboy Bebop. Luckily the stars aligned and we have been able to include their Cowboy Bebop The Movie Blu-ray disc in this release!

Why no soundtrack on vinyl?
Being able to include the soundtrack on vinyl is something we've love to have done, but in our eyes for this to truly be an Ultimate Edition we wanted to be able to include the TV Series soundtrack in full rather than only part of it was of prime importance to us. Though vinyl was not possible, when the opportunity to include three full soundtrack CDs presented itself, we jumped at the chance to make this happen! Plus we feel being able to include three full soundtrack CDs helps add to the overall experience and completist nature of this set. We hope you agree too!

What Blu-ray disc masters are you using?
For the TV series, we are utilising our own Blu-ray master, which has been included in a past release of ours.

For Cowboy Bebop The Movie, we are utilising the same disc master Manga Entertainment UK have used for their own Blu-ray release. (A disc master that first utilised by Umbrella Entertainment in Australia, for those curious.)

All the discs are coded to Region B, for playback in UK & Ireland.

How are the discs stored inside the flight case?
They be contained inside vinyl gatefold/jacket style packaging. The TV series will be inside one jacket, the soundtrack CDs and Movie Blu-ray discs being in the other. 

How many units are there? How long will this be available for? 
In total, 1000 units of this set are being produced. In terms of availability, that ultimately (no pun intended) comes down to how many units are sold. We have no way of being able to forecast that. We would suggest pre-ordering to avoid any potential disappointment on missing out.

Will the CD soundtracks be available separately?
In short, no. We only have clearance to include them as part of this Ultimate Edition set of ours.

If this set sells out at either AllTheAnime.com or Zavvi.com, will there be any more?
It's highlight unlikely. The reason being that both stores only have a set allocation of units. So should it appear as out of stock on either site, we don't expect there to be any more units available.

And with all of that being said, I think that about wraps up this post detailing our upcoming Cowboy Bebop 20th Anniversary Ultimate Edition set! We hope you're excited for this. Let us know what you think - and if you have any question about something we may have missed, shoot them our way and if needed we'll add them to the FAQ section too!

Signing out~!

Jeremy