-Spike and Jet are two bounty hunters that live in the far off future. In this future the earth is not under attack by evil robots or anything like that, it's just severely messed up due to asteroids constantly smashing into it. So mankind lives in space and like we always do manage to mess up even space and have criminals running rampant, which is when Spike and Jet are called in to take down these criminals who run away. Spike is tall slender man that loves to smoke and has one eye in the future and the other in the past. In the very first episode, we see Spike in a violent gun battle against people unknown, and we really don't revisit that event till several episodes later. That aspect of showing us one thing then moving on to the other then returning to it is one of the reasons why the show is so great. Just when you think they forgot something or just had a random episode they come back to it and prove you wrong.
-The non-linear approach to the show is great and sets it apart from other animes and what makes the show great. Spike's partner is a former cop called Jet who has a prosthetic arm. He is a good person but don't count on him to be your guardian angel when you need him most. Much like Spike, we learn more about him through flashbacks and begin to understand why he puts on that tough exterior that he has. Joining the two bounty hunters is a sexy woman called Fey who doesn't remember anything from her past. She was in a coma and when she woke up, she remembered nothing, not even her own name. and like always we also learn more about her as the show moves on and see what her makes so Fey. The last crewmember on this bohemian space ship is a hyperactive girl called Ed who's a computer genius. She's my favorite character on the show and she's just cute as hell.
-What sets this fantastic piece of anime apart from others is just how mature and intelligent it is. They don't water down the show so kids can understand, and since their target audience is not kids it gives the chance to do whatever they want. The heroes in this shows aren't pure of heart, and don't walk around catching bad guys because they feel it's the right thing to do. They catch bad guys because of money and they live their lives the way they want to. Spike is a chain smoking man that has in some way given up on the finer things in life and Jet is just a hard ass who sometimes has a heart of gold. Fey is also not a role model since she dresses like a hooker from California and has a gambling addiction. I think the only truly good people on the show are Ed and Ein the dog, and by making all the characters flawed and not perfect they give the show an amazing sense of realism. The episodes mature and wonderfully written with my favorite episode being "The Real Folk Blues".
-The music is also a highlight of the show and is really a surprise. There is a lot of action in the show and you'd expect loud brassy music or some BS techno music, but instead what we get is quite, peaceful smooth jazz music. I was never a fan of that type of music but after watching the show I now owe a lot of records from the smooth jazz realm. The creative team behind the show made a very smart move by doing that, because we know it's an action scene so we don't need loud music to tell us that. The smooth jazz is also an advertising ploy and is heavily advertised in the promos. Jazz isn't the only music though as they employed some deep African drums for one episode, some boys choir for another, and soft rock music for a lot of episodes.
-This show along with the superb "Gundam Wing" is something I really want to make into a movie and coincidentally the same anime studio makes them both. I already have the story pinned down and plan to add some more once I think about it. If I were making it right now I'd probably cast little Dakota Fanning as Ed, Clive Owen as Spike, Jessica Alba as Fey, The Rock as Jet, and Keanu Reeves as Vicious.