Cartoon Network will soon have a lot in common with Jupiter's watery moon Ganymede. When the network dives into Adult Swim, its new block of mature programming that will begin airing September 2, not only will the aquatic puns flood households across America, but Cartoon Network will also become the place that Jet Black, owner of the spaceship Bebop, will call home.

Set in the early 2070s, "Cowboy Bebop" follows bounty hunter Spike Spiegel and his shipmates aboard the Bebop as they patrol the galaxy searching for wanted criminals and meaning to their directionless lives.

"The world of 'Cowboy Bebop' is an underworld," says Masahiko Minami, series producer. And like any good underworld, "Bebop" is filled with fast women and fast machines; guns and gunmen; sex, drugs, and lots of jazz.

Hardly the typical fare of family friendly Cartoon Network.

"We're being very careful to delineate Adult Swim from the rest of Cartoon Network's programming," explains Tim Hall, executive vice president of Cartoon Network. "We'll make it very clear that this block is for adults."

Airing Sunday and Thursday nights from 10 p.m.-1 a.m. (ET, PT), the shows in the block will carry ratings of TV-PG and TV-14 and bumps at every break will alert viewers to the mature content contained therein.

"Cowboy Bebop," along with cult favorite "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" and several other animated programs targeted at adults ages 18-34, will compose Adult Swim's rotating line-up. With one-third of its viewership over the age of 18, Cartoon Network developing a block of programming catered to a more sophisticated audience would be the only way to properly honor its goal of "presenting the best in animated entertainment."

"Our mission for the shows will be the same as for the network at large -- to create shows that are enduringly smart, fun, funny and fearless but never antisocial or mean-spirited," elaborates Betty Cohen, president of Cartoon Network Worldwide.

As one of the only two programs in Adult Swim not originally created by Cartoon Network, and the only Japanese produced anime, "Cowboy Bebop" takes onto its deck a load of responsibilities. Stepping up to the tasks of "Sailor Moon" and "Dragonball Z," "Cowboy Bebop" will now be responsible for many a midnight channel surfer's first exposure to anime. The greater battle, however, will not be in winning over new fans, but appeasing the old.

A visit to any "Bebop" message board will reveal the disparate opinions of outspoken otaku. Editing is a prime concern. Fearing a treatment similar to "Blue Submarine No. 6" wherein cigarettes were digitally replaced with toothpicks, many fans would prefer "Cowboy Bebop" not even be shown rather than find itself under the knife in any way. Editing suggestions abound, with many fans suggesting episode lists similar to that of "Bebop's" original Japanese run, which only aired twelve of the show's 26 episodes. Other fans prefer that "Bebop" get as much exposure as it can, revealing the gem that it is to a wider audience. Still more would rather no one else knew about it, jealous of having to share something as precious to them as "Cowboy Bebop."

Noelle Chan of the Real Folk Blues message board reiterates Cartoon Network's intentions: "I've always described 'Bebop' as 'anime for grown-ups.' When I say that, I'm not just taking into consideration the blood, the violence, the occasional partial nudity, etc. As a whole, it's a very adult themed show. There are no henshin sequences. There are no pining teenaged heroines. There are no episode long fight sequences. To me, 'Bebop' is about a group of people dealing with the choices that they've made in their lives."

True to form, "the show that becomes a genre itself" will be revolutionizing the role of animation in America.

"Animation has never been an art that was solely geared toward kids," explains Mike Lazzo, senior vice president of programming and production for Cartoon Network.

But unlike anything before it, "Cowboy Bebop" will steer animation into uncharted waters. Even Miyazaki's "Princess Mononoke" only received a limited theater run in the U.S.; nothing compared to the 74.6 million homes Cartoon Network enters every day. Though mainstream critical response remains to be seen, "Cowboy Bebop" is guaranteed to make a splash.