Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is returning to Japanese theaters in a 4K remaster starting October 30, 2026, supervised by director Shinichiro Watanabe. Merchandise tied to the anniversary and to the 1998 TV series continues to release, including apparel collaborations and two plastic model kits of the Swordfish II.
The Cowboy Bebop property is moving through a commercial cycle that pairs the 25th anniversary of the 2001 feature film with a steady stream of merchandise tied to the original 1998 Sunrise series. The film's 4K remaster opens in Japanese theaters on October 30, 2026, under the full supervision of director Shinichiro Watanabe. The announcement included a new anniversary visual by Toshihiro Kawamoto, the film's character designer and animation director, with background art by Atsushi Morikawa and main title design by Toshiaki Uesugi of Mach 55. Watanabe said he hopes audiences will experience "the crystallization of the passion and soul we poured into this work, in the darkness of a movie theater."
Around the same period, two apparel collaborations with Number Rock launched within days of each other. The first, announced in late August, brought T-shirts, tote bags, and keychains, with an EXCLUSIVE LINE lottery T-shirt using 15-color silk screen printing. The second, announced a week earlier, added a denim tote bag and detailed reservation-sale items: four T-shirt designs and a tote bag. Both lines ran SNS giveaway campaigns on X and Instagram. The collection pairs the series with Number Rock's vintage-style garment construction.
For modelers, Good Smile Company is releasing two plastic kits of Spike Spiegel's Swordfish II under its MODEROID line. A 1/48 scale DX-SCALE version is a high-end model with metal parts and multiple gimmicks, while a 1/72 scale entry-level kit focuses on ease of assembly. Both are supervised by mechanical designer Kimitoshi Yamane and scheduled for December 2026. The two-kit split gives fans a clear choice between a premium build and a simpler, lower-cost entry point.
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Facts
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- has a special collection with T-shirts, denim tote bags, and keychains · 2026-08-20
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- includes a lottery-sale EXCLUSIVE LINE T-shirt using 15-screen silk screen printing · 2026-08-20
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- reservation-sale items include four T-shirt designs and a tote bag · 2026-08-20
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- has an SNS giveaway campaign running on X and Instagram through the release · 2026-08-20
- Noted
- Number Rock has opened a special Cowboy Bebop collection with T-shirts, tote bags, and keychains. · 2026-08-29
- Noted
- The lineup includes an EXCLUSIVE LINE lottery T-shirt with 15-color silk screen printing, plus pre-order items in multiple body types. · 2026-08-29
- Noted
- Sales start August 28 at 10:00 AM through the official web store, with a giveaway on X and Instagram. · 2026-08-29
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- The collection pairs the 1998 Sunrise series with Number Rock's vintage-style garment construction, offering a lottery-only flagship T-shirt alongside standard pre-order pieces. · 2026-08-29
- Noted
- Good Smile Company is releasing two plastic model kits of Spike Spiegel's Swordfish II from Cowboy Bebop. · 2026-06-27
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Sep 1
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, the 2001 feature set between episodes 22 and 23 of the Cowboy Bebop TV series, is returning to Japanese theaters in a 4K remastered version starting October 30, 2026. The remaster was created under the full supervision of director Shinichiro Watanabe, who said he hopes audiences will experience "the crystallization of the passion and soul we poured into this work, in the darkness of a movie theater." The announcement came with a new 25th anniversary visual drawn by Toshihiro Kawamoto, the film's character designer and animation director, with background art by Atsushi Morikawa and main title design by Toshiaki Uesugi of Mach 55. The film follows Spike Spiegel and the Bebop crew as they chase a 300 million woolong bounty tied to a bioterror incident on Mars, a case that leads them to a man who was supposed to have died in a past war.
Aug 29
Number Rock has opened a special Cowboy Bebop collection with T-shirts, tote bags, and keychains. The lineup includes an EXCLUSIVE LINE lottery T-shirt with 15-color silk screen printing, plus pre-order items in multiple body types. Sales start August 28 at 10:00 AM through the official web store, with a giveaway on X and Instagram.
Aug 20
Number Rock has released a Cowboy Bebop special collection with T-shirts, denim tote bags, and keychains. A lottery-sale EXCLUSIVE LINE T-shirt uses 15-screen silk screen printing. Reservation-sale items include four T-shirt designs and a tote bag. An SNS giveaway campaign runs on X and Instagram through the release.
Jun 27
Good Smile Company is releasing two plastic model kits of Spike Spiegel's Swordfish II from Cowboy Bebop. The MODEROID DX-SCALE 1/48 scale is a high-end model with metal parts and multiple gimmicks, while the MODEROID 1/72 scale is an entry-level kit focused on ease of assembly. Reservations are open at Rakuten Books.
Jun 9
Good Smile Company is releasing two assembly plastic model kits of Spike Spiegel's Swordfish II from Cowboy Bebop under its MODEROID line. A 1/48 scale DX-SCALE version and a 1/72 scale entry-level version are both scheduled for December 2026, supervised by mechanical designer Kimitoshi Yamane.