Shinichiro Watanabe is widely regarded as one of the greatest anime directors of all time. While he has created numerous films and series–including the new show Lazarus, which recently started airing this year–his sci-fi western Cowboy Bebop and hip-hop-infused historical epic Samurai Champloo have solidified his place in anime history. Both shows are widely considered two of the best anime series of all time. If you’ve ever wanted to add these groundbreaking series to your collection, you’re in luck, as Blu-ray editions of both series are on sale thanks to Amazon’s Big Deals Days 2025 event. You can grab the Cowboy Bebop: 25th Anniversary Special Edition for $27.49 (was $50), while the Samurai Champloo: The Complete Series Limited Edition is available for $53 (was $90). These discounts will only be available during Prime Big Deal Days sale, which runs October 7 to 8, so grab them while you can.
$27.49 (was $50)
Widely considered one of the best–and in many cases the best–anime series of all time, Cowboy Bebop is a sci-fi western about bounty hunters Spike and Jet, who eke out a living chasing down targets across the solar system. Throughout the series, their crew expands to include the femme fatale Faye Valentine, young hacker Ed, and a super-genius Welsh Corgi named Ein. As the ragtag group completes various jobs on behalf of shadowy clients, they eventually find themselves entangled in a multi-planetary conspiracy.
If you’re looking to grab the show on Blu-ray, Amazon has two versions on sale during Prime Big Deal Days. The first is the five-disc Cowboy Bebop: 25th Anniversary Special Edition for $27.49 (was $50). This version includes a bonus disc with extra special features and an exclusive slipcase cover. For a slightly cheaper option, Cowboy Bebop: The Complete Series Blu-ray is available for $23.49 (was $60). While it’s certainly the better deal of the two, it lacks the extra bonus features from the 25th Anniversary Edition.
Aside from the bonus disc and different cover art, these Blu-ray sets are otherwise identical. Both versions collect all 26 episodes–which have been remastered in high definition and retain the original 4:3 aspect ratio, plus the option to watch dubbed or subbed. They also include a selection of special features, which we’ve outlined below.
Cowboy Bebop Blu-ray special features
- 25th Anniversary Retrospective featurette (25th Anniversary Edition only)
- 20th Anniversary interview with Spike Spiegel’s Japanese voice actor, Koichi Yamadera (25th Anniversary Edition only)
- Memo from Bebop: The dub session remembered
- Cowboy Bebop Session Zero
- Clean opening and closing credit sequences
- Ein’s Summer Vacation
- Tank music clips
- Dinner aboard the Bebop
- English and Japanese audio commentaries on select episodes
- Interview with Wendee Lee
- Interview with Cartoon Network producer Sean Akins
$23.49 (was $60)
After Cowboy Bebop, Watanabe’s next big series was Samurai Champloo. Like Bebop, it follows Watanabe’s stylistic preference for blending striking visuals and meticulously animated fight scenes with contemporary music–in this case, the jazzy beats and street fashion aesthetics of underground hip-hop, which was popular in the early 2000s. The show is set in alternate Edo-era Japan and follows the young waitress Fuu and her two unlikely companions–the outlaw Mugen and the ronin Ji–on an adventure to find a mysterious samurai who smells of sunflowers. It often ranks high on lists of the best anime–though admittedly not quite as high as Bebop. Nevertheless, it’s well worth picking up while it’s on sale.
Right now, you can grab Samurai Champloo: The Complete Series Limited Edition for just $23.49. This box set, first released last year, bundles all 26 episodes on three Blu-ray discs, a stylish display case, and six art cards. For the on-disc special features, there are promo videos, trailers, concept art, an image gallery, and cleaned-up credit sequences.
Plenty of other influential anime series are on sale during Prime Big Deal Days, and we’ve gathered up several into the list below. This includes the landmark film Akira, which raised the bar for what anime could bring to the movie screen when it was first released in 1988. Outlaw Star is another western-themed anime series that Cowboy Bebop fans will want to check out, while Ergo Proxy is a thought-provoking examination of identity in a world where humans and robots co-exist. Check out a few more picks below, or browse all the anime deals at Amazon.
More Prime Big Deal Day Anime Blu-ray Discounts
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Source: GameSpot
