Warning: The following contains minor spoilers for Lazarus, Episodes 1-3, now streaming on MAX.

I love Shinichiro Watanabe’s Cowboy Bebop, but like… in the way that I feel like most people love it. By that I mean I’ve watched it at least once, hold great respect for the artistry apparent in its creation, and I rewatch the three or four episodes I liked the most every once in a blue moon. I actually rewatch the movie more than I do the TV series. Bebop is awesome, but it probably wouldn’t make my top ten (unlike the movie, as I’ve written before).

I compare it loosely to my feelings on Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad because, despite it not being among my favorite TV shows, I recognize its patience and strong storytelling and thus have no issues sharing in the fandom’s appraisal of it. It’s possible to not love something while still recognizing its strengths and how it resonated with people. Good art doesn’t need to be for everyone, but I think it’s good (and even necessary) to appreciate widely acclaimed art even when we might not vibe with it.

On that note, it amuses me when I think about Watanabe’s popularity among even the most casual of anime fans, young and old. Without even leaning into it himself, this man has achieved a kind of brand recognition that can sell entire shows just by slapping his name on the tin. Granted, that’s not all that different from how most works from notable directors are marketed, but in Watanabe’s case, it strikes me as particularly impressive because I can easily imagine a universe in which his works are widely considered “mid”.