Disney’s Mandalorian series was able to break the increasing disenchantment of Star Wars fans with the recent material. The space western series directed by Jon Favreau not only captures the beauty of the world created by George Lucas gracefully but, bestows us with the cutest thing of the decade and has the grit and tone of American western in a sci-fi setting. With no release date for the 3rd installment, you can quench your thirst for cool bounty hunters, amazing combat sequences, lovable characters, and a soulful storyline with the shows given below.
# Cowboy Bebop
This anime is the haven for all the space western fans, anime or otherwise. Undoubtedly, you will find the anime topping the recommendation list of every article related to the sci-fi western anime genre. There are a few who need an introduction to the saga created by Shinichiro Watanabe and those of you might get acquainted after binging the upcoming Netflix adaptation. The setting follows a squad of bounty hunters wandering throughout the solar system to make ends meet.
The squad is led by charming Spike Spiegel while ex-space cop Jet Black steers their ship, Bebop through the beds of asteroids in the wide stretch of galaxies, and Faye, Ed, and Ein make the team whole. From the beautiful character design to the moody atmospheric backgrounds to the utterly fantastic soundtrack to the nearly seamless quality of direction makes the series a must-watch.
# Trigun
It’s an all-time classic coming from the same era as Cowboy Bebop and worth of comparison in both its narrative structure and themes in addition to being a future-western. Generally, it’s much more hopeful than the depressing mode that prevails from Bebop. Vash the Stampede is the protagonist and is a legendary outlaw with the largest bounty of all time on his head. Destruction always follows him but he is peaceful to a fault and always finds a peaceful solution no matter the cost to him. But this ideology clashes with Nicholas Wolfwood who is not afraid of killing in order to keep his orphanage afloat. The show creates a conflict between the realist and the optimist.
# Space Dandy
With the same guy who directed Cowboy Bebop, Shinichiro Watanabe, on the set for Space Dandy you can expect the same level of greatness, amazingly written characters, and emotional peaks. Despite having a lot of similarities in the way the setting and characters are set up is completely different. It is about a group of bounty hunters in space who are faced with new and hilarious situations as a part of their life in each passing episode. The series is best known for its irreverent dry humor and free-spirited adventures.
# Galaxy Express 999
If you are looking for a journey similar to the Mandalorian, you should definitely check out Galaxy express 999. It follows a boy traveling from planet to plant in a railroad system stretched across the depth of space in order to avenge his mother. It is a creation that dates back to the times of the original Star Wars. It is a part of a larger universe created by mangaka Leiji Matsumoto.
# Desert Punk
It takes place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland known as the Kanto deserts where resides an elite mercenary whose abilities surpass all of his peers. He holds the reputation for always completing every job he has ever taken on. He is not Djin Djarin but the protagonist of Desert punk also known as Desert punk. Here the similarities end and his life takes a complete 180-degree turn in this devastated society.