List of Cowboy Bebop characters
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The following is a list of major and minor characters from the anime series Cowboy Bebop.
Spike Spiegel
A 27-year-old bounty hunter who was born on Mars. In appearance, Spike is tall and thin, but with muscular shoulders. He has dark green hair and red/brown eyes, one of which is artificial and lighter than the other. A flashback in Session #6 revealed it was his fully functioning right eye which was surgically replaced by the cybernetic one (although Spike himself may not have conscious recollection of the procedure since he claims to have lost his natural eye in an "accident"). The purpose of this cybernetic eye is never explicitly stated. It is hinted that the prosthetic gives him exceptional hand-eye coordination - particularly with firearms - as well as a time-stalling effect similar to those of the ficticious narcotic "Red Eye" seen in Session #1In the first episode, when facing a bountyhead hopped up on "Red Eye", Spike mocks him, calling his moves, "Too slow." At first, this seems like posturing on Spike's part, but even with his senses and reflexes accelerated to superhuman levels by the drug, the bounty cannot lay a finger on Spike.. He is usually dressed in a blue leisure suit, with a yellow shirt and Lupin III inspired boots. Spike often has a cigarette between his lips, sometimes despite rain or "no smoking" signs.
Though Spike's surname name is likely of Jewish or Israeli heritage, he is not shown to be a practicing Jew in the series. "Spiegel," which is a Levite name, and his unusual choice of a Ta'as Jericho 9/41 pistol as his primary weapon. The Jericho is a NATO spec 9 mm, .40, .41 (no longer in production), or .45 sidearm used by the Israeli military and produced by Ta'as (formerly Israeli Military Industries). The producers of Cowboy Bebop have been quoted as saying they chose the name Spike Spiegel because "it sounded cool." It also happens to be the real name of director/producer Spike Jonze. [link] It's not likely that he is jewish since his appearance was modelled after a chinese actor.
Spike has many talents and abilities, making him an excellent bounty hunter. He has very sharp eyesight and abnormally acute perception, and is extraordinarily lucky. Spike makes use of sleight-of-hand techniques to win card games, pick pockets, and even to slip things onto other people unnoticed. Where Spike really excels, however, is in combat. He is well versed in weaponry (such as his personal Jericho 941 as well as other guns and explosives) and hand-to-hand combat skills. He specializes in Jeet Kune Do, the style developed by Bruce Lee, though he has a penchant for high kicks, which Lee's disciples mostly eschew. Spike is also an excellent pilot, and flies a converted Asteroid racer called "Sword Fish II" which he has armed with four machine guns and a plasma cannon.
When he's not working or practicing his martial arts skills, Spike is very laid-back and lackadaisical, often a source of consternation for his crew mates. Some members of the Bebop crew occasionally refer to him as a "lunkhead" due to his attitude, and generally Spike just takes life as it comes.
Several years prior to Session #1, Spike had been a rising member of the Red Dragon crime syndicate where he was partnered as a sweeper and enforcer along with his then best friend, Vicious. Badly injured after a shoot-out in the slums on Mars, Spike stumbled to the home of Julia, Vicious' one time girlfriend. The pair fell in love while she nursed him back to health. Spike decides to break from the syndicate and elope with Julia. Realizing that his best friend has essentially gone soft and has fallen for his girlfriend, Vicious gives Julia a painful ultimatum: to either murder Spike or face death for treason. Although only speculated as the actual incident, Spike managed to fake his own death by engaging in a gunfight alone in church against a rival syndicate, thus seemingly dropping from Red Dragon notice. He waited for Julia so they could escape and be free but she never showed.
One of the recurring themes surrounding Spike's character is how he views himself and his life. He claims that one eye - his right one, the prosthetic - can only see the present, and the other - the left, his real eye - can only see the past. This is revisited by a close-up on Spike's left eye every time he has a flashback of his life before coming aboard the Bebop.
Some time after his "death," Spike met up with former cop turned bounty hunter Jet Black, and the two men became partners. Spike moved onto Jet's ship, the "Bebop," and the two men worked together for about three years before being joined by the rest of the crew.
Spike supposedly died from his final duel with Vicious, and the fading star in the ending theme of the finale is thought to prove it. However, in an interview, Wantanabe stated "I've never officially said that he's died. At this point, I can tell you that I'm not sure if he's alive or dead." [link]. He also stated that he believes fans would be upset if there was a continuation.
Spike's philosophy seems to be based on the ancient samurai ideals of immediacy: considering oneself as dead and the idea of death being an awakening from a dream are both elements of Bushido illustrated in the Hagakure.
Watanabe has admitted that Spike has a habit of being very indirect with his emotions, for example behaving antagonistically towards someone he actually likes. He hints that this could apply to Spike's relationship with Faye.[link] Spike is voiced by Koichi Yamadera in the Japanese version and Steven Blum (as David Lucas) in the English version.
Jet Black
Jet, known on his home satellite as the "Black Dog" for his tenacity, is a 36-year-old former cop from Ganymede (a Jovian satellite) and acts as Spike's foil during the series. Where Spike acts lazy and uninterested, Jet is hard-working and a jack-of-all-trades. Jet was an investigator in the Inter Solar System Police (ISSP) for many years until he lost his arm in an investigation that went awry. His arm was replaced with a cybernetic limb (later revealed to be by choice, as biological replacements were possible, he wanted the fake arm as a reminder of what happened), yet his loss of limb coupled with the general corruption of the police force prompted Jet to quit the ISSP in disgust and become a freelance bounty hunter. Jet also considers himself something of a renaissance man: he cultivates bonsai trees, cooks, enjoys jazz/blues music, especially Charlie Parker's flavor, and even has interest in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. As a character, Jet is the quintessential oyaji or "dad" even though he often wishes people would view him as a more brotherly figure (so as not to seem old).
Jet is skilled with handguns, as well as the use of the netgun. He is good with hand to hand combat as well. Unlike Spike, Jet tends to use more raw muscle than technique. He is also a great mechanic and pilot. Aside from the Bebop, Jet flies a smaller ship called "Hammerhead." The Hammerhead appears to be a modified salvage-craft that uses a mechanical arm equipped with a harpoon as its main weapon, a metaphor for his own mechanical arm. Both the Hammerhead and the Bebop are able to land on water.
During the series, it is revealed that Jet once lived with a woman named Alisa, who left him because he was too controlling. Later they meet up again when Alisa's new boyfriend Rhint is wanted for murder. Jet then ends up in a situation somewhat similar to that of Vicious, where he must hunt down a woman who broke his heart, and her lover.
In a later episode, another Vicious/Jet parallel is set up when Jet finds out that it was his old partner Fad who betrayed him (though in Jet's case, there was no love affair involved). Fad arranged for Jet's death in a setup, but he survived with only a missing arm and a scar on his face. It is worth noting that Jet managed to face the demons of his past and let them go, in contrast to Spike, who was (apparently) killed when he confronted his. This is likely due to the contrast in the two approaches to the past. While Spike hid and fled from his past, Jet tracked it down and confronted it.
Jet is voiced by Unsho Ishizuka in the Japanese version and Beau Billingslea (as John Billingslea) in the English version.
Faye Valentine
By all appearances, Faye is a twenty-three year old woman in 2071. However, she was actually born in 1994 and was cryogenically frozen sometime before the gate incident. Faye is confident, audacious, independent, and somewhat self-centered. She is also quite lazy, but takes time to care for her appearance. She enjoys gambling, and often loses a great deal of money doing so. Faye is a very competent bounty hunter, being skilled in flying and both hand-to-hand and firearm combat.
In truth, Faye's indomitable exterior hides a more fragile interior. Faye awoke from her cryogenic sleep with total amnesia in a mysterious world that she didn't understand, surrounded by people who were all-too-willing to take advantage of her naïveté, contributing to the hardening of her personality. The surname "Valentine" was merely a name given to her by the doctor who woke her; the circumstances of her accident, her previous life, and even her real name all remain a mystery, and are only gradually revealed as the series progresses. It has been hinted that she came from Singapore on Earth, and was the daughter of a very wealthy family, as the city's famous Merlion Statue features prominently in scenes of her childhood, and that memories and a film from her childhood showed her living in a large mansion.
Throughout the series, some believe it is hinted that Faye may be in love with Spike Spiegel. Though this is never stated, her attraction may be implied by her interactions with him (Pierrot Le Fou, My Funny Valentine, Speak like a Child, The Real Folk Blues) as well as her fascination with Julia (Jupiter Jazz, The Real Folk Blues). Though he comes to see her as a companion, Spike does not appear to have romantic feelings for Faye, as is evidenced by his decision to seek Julia and face Vicious in The Real Folk Blues.
Faye is voiced by Megumi Hayashibara in the Japanese version and Wendee Lee in the English version.
Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV
The assumed (read "self-given") name of an elite netdiver from Earth, Ed is a very strange young girl assumed to be about 13 years old. Ed could be considered a "free spirit"; she is fond of silly exclamations and childish rhymes, easily distracted, and the show's primary source of physical humor. Over the course of the show she rarely walks anywhere, preferring to run, crawl, flip, roll, walk on her hands, or even just saunter. In the English version, she always refers to herself in the third person. Not much is known about her origins, only that she spent some of her earlier childhood in an orphanage. (A man named Appledelhi Siniz Hesap Lütfen eventually claims to be her father and calls her Françoise, suggesting she might be Turkish, as this man's name means "excuse me, check, please" in Turkish.) Ed's primary use to the Bebop crew is as a hacker; she is widely known to be a genius behind a computer (and possibly unparalleled, save for Ein the dog). Ed has a strong rapport with Jet, who acts as a surrogate father, and Faye, who acts as something of a big sister (much to Faye's chagrin). Ed also seems to be the only person who can understand Ein. In the end of the series, at Faye's prompting, she leaves the Bebop to (presumably) look for her dad, taking Ein who chose to leave with Ed, rather than remain on the Bebop with the others.
Originally, Ed's character was based on a description of the series music director ("a little weird, catlike, but a genius at creating music") and was originally going to be a dark-skinned boy. It was presumably changed to even the gender ratio on the Bebop, which was, with Ed as a boy, three guys and one girl. This original character design appears in one episode, stealing a clearly "adult" magazine from a bookstore by smuggling it under his shirt.
Ed is voiced by Aoi Tada in the Japanese version and Melissa Fahn in the English version.
Ein
Ein is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi brought aboard the Bebop by Spike after a failed attempt to capture a bounty. Ein is a "data dog": while the televised series only briefly hints on the fact that this means Ein's brain was somehow enhanced drastically, the manga shows Ed accessing data stored in Ein's brain via a virtual reality-type interface with which she has a conversation with a human proprietor. It is obvious that Ein is abnormally intelligent, as he is able to answer the telephone, drive a car (just the wheel), use the Internet, play Shogi, and generally do a number of other things that an average canine shouldn't be able to do, but he never talks in a human language during the show. He does, however, speak during one of the previews. He is able to 'speak' to other species, as demonstated in Episode 17, "Mushroom Samba" (He spoke to a cow with a subtitled bark of 'Thanks', to which the cow has a subtitled moo back of 'No Problem'). Ein is apparently also able to hack into computers via a brain wave interface (demonstrated in Episode 23, "Brain Scratch"), further indication of his abnormal capabilities. It is likely that Ed is the only crew member with any idea of Ein's capabilities, as the other crew members are quick to dismiss Ein, and never seem to acknowledge him as more than a pet. Ein initially takes a shine to Jet, but when Ed joins the crew, he comes around to her as well. Frequently the two trade roles, with Ein expressing very human sentiments via facial expression and Ed regressing to a feral state. He went with Ed after she left the crew, probably because of his attachment to her. His name is a pun on the Japanese word for "dog" (inu) but is also German for "one". 'Ein' may also be short for 'Einstein', after Albert Einstein, because of the extraordinary intelligence he expresses. It should also be noted, however, that "ein" is also Japanese for the perineum, but this epithet is highly doubtful, as the German pronunciation (which in Japanese would technically be phoeneticized as ain) is used.
Vicious
Vicious lives up to his name: he is ruthless, bloodthirsty, cunning and ambitious, willing to do anything in order to secure a position of power. He is often referred to or depicted as a poisonous snake. However, it is suggested in the series and in guidebooks that he has not always been like this, and that the betrayal of Spike, his friend, and Julia, his lover, pushed him over the edge and made him into the monster that he is in the series. His weapon of choice is not a firearm, but a katana which he wields skillfully, even against gun-wielders. However, he was an infantry rifleman during the Titan War and is shown firing an automatic pistol in a Session #5 flashback, as well as in the Session #26 flashback of him and Spike fighting back-to-back. Early on, Vicious is sometimes seen with a black bird on his shoulder. This bird is eventually used as a distraction and weapon, either a cybernetic or robotic construct with built-in explosives.
Later in the series he is captured by his own syndicate during a civil war where the old red dragon guard was being replaced by the new one. He escapes and kills the 3 leaders of the red dragon syndicate proclaiming himself the new leader.
Because of his heavy, ever-present bags under his eyes, and his affinity towards Red Eye deals, it is implied that he is a user of the mind and vision altering drug. Evidence of this is briefly seen druing a flashback at Julia's apartment which shows a capsule of Red Eye on the window sill.
Vicious was Spike's partner in the Red Dragon crime syndicate until they fell into conflict over Julia. After Spike's supposed death, Vicious also leaves the Red Dragons briefly to fight in the Titan War of 2068 although his precise motivations for enlisting remain a mystery. The blood feud between Spike and Vicious is an ongoing storyline throughout Cowboy Bebop. Vicious believes that he is the only one who can kill, or "awaken" Spike, as Spike is the only one who can do the same for Vicious. Vicious' real age is revealed in the official guidebook 'The After': at 27, he's the same age as Spike, although he appears to be much older.
Vicious is voiced by Norio Wakamoto in the Japanese version and Skip Stellrecht (as Henry Douglas Grey) in the English version.
Julia
Julia is a beautiful and mysterious woman from both Spike and Vicious' pasts. A love triangle among the three caused Spike to leave the syndicate rather than challenge Vicious. Spike had wanted to take her with him when he left the syndicate, but she was blackmailed by Vicious into almost shooting Spike. Vicious found out they were planning to run away together and confronted Julia, telling her he would kill Spike, or both of them would be killed. To protect not only herself but also the man she loved, she ran away, never meeting Spike at the cemetery as both of them had planned. (Spike himself was never aware of her reasons for not meeting him until the very end of the series.) Julia only appears in flashbacks until the final two episodes of the series. Julia acts as a stark contrast to the world around her — her blonde hair and her bright red umbrella and automobile standing out in the otherwise drab environments that she inhabits.
Julia's name comes from the Beatles song "Julia" on The White Album.
Julia is voiced by Gara Takashima in the Japanese version and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (as Melissa Williamson) in the English version. McGlynn also directs the voices in the English version, also as Melissa Williamson.
Grencia Mars Elijah Guo Eckener
Gren was once a solider for the war on Titan who appears in the two part episodes 'Jupiter Jazz'. On Titan he fought beside Vicious, whom he looked up to and found encouragement in during the brutal, bloody war. After the war Gren came back in hopes of a life as a jazz musician but that plan was cut short when he was arrested on the pretence of being a spy. In prison Gren heard that it was Vicious who testified against him; this, the isolation, and insomnia drove him mad. To top it off the prison had taken to using prisoners for drug experiments, and he was forced to endure these tests, having powerfuly, highly addictive drugs forced into him. In turn, the drugs threw his hormones severely out of whack, and caused him to develop more a feminine figure, breasts included.Finally, after his body had been transformed and his sanity shattered, he managed to escape from prison, hiding away in The Blue Crow. After his escape from jail, Gren worked as a saxophone player at Rester House, a bar in a sector called 'The Blue Crow', which is located on one of Jupiter's moons, Callisto. He met Julia there and found out how Vicious betrayed him. A year later, Faye wandered into the bar, meeting up with Gren. In an act of kindness, Gren 'rescued' Faye from a fight she picked and allowed her to come back to his apartment. While Faye was there, Vicious called, alarming her and raising suspicions about the musician. Intruding on him while showering, Faye discovered Gren's secret, so to speak. Explaining to her how he came to be like he was, he also told her that he was going to see if Vicious really framed him, knowing that he did. When Faye said he'd be killed in the process, he said that death didn't frighten him, and he didn't have long to live, anyway. Disguising himself as a woman, so that Vicious wouldn't recognize him, Gren met up with the Syndicate member, along with Lin, who was there to protect Vicious. Exchanging Red Eye for Titan Opal, Gren suspected a trap, and that the case Vicious gave him had been rigged to explode, so he shot it open, setting off the explosive; after this Gren revealed who he was, and finally confronted Vicious about what happened when he returned from Titan. Exchanging fire, Lin threw himself in front of Vicious to protect him, and was killed. Meanwhile, Spike arrived and took after Vicious, however, Gren had planted the music box in the bag of Red Eye, and it was also rigged with an explosive, which did considerable damage to Vicious' ship. However, his own ship was wrecked in the process, and he was thrown from it. Spike, who wanted to find out about Julia, rushed down to help the other, only to find that he was dying. Acting on Gren's last request, he helped him back into his ship and sent him off to Titan, as, if he couldn't be there when he died, he'd at least be on his way.
Punch and Judy
Punch and Judy are the characters of the TV show Big Shot. The show provides information on various bountyheads, but is often unreliable. The Bebop crew often has the show playing in the background, but seldom pays close attention (they usually get their information from close contacts). Punch and Judy play the "cowboy" persona in a characteristic, "over the top" fashion. Punch adopts a mid-western drawl mixed with a Mexican accent (both faked), and uses random old-West sayings. Judy plays the stereotypical dumb blonde, and always appears in an open bolero jacket with nothing underneath, frequently wiggling her hips with excitement. Big Shot gets cancelled towards the end of the series, and Punch (lacking accent and costume) makes a brief cameo revealing his and Judy's fates: He moves to Mars to live with his mom and Judy is engaged to marry her agent.Punch and Judy are voiced by Tsutomu Tareki and Miki Nagasawa in the Japanese version, respectively, and Paul St. Peter and Lia Sargent in the English version, respectively.
The character names and the loose concept of Big Shot are most likely a tongue-in-cheek reference to the British style of puppet-show known as Punch and Judy.
The Three Old Men
Throughout the series, and the movie, three rude, foul-mouthed, crotchety old men make frequent appearances, as speaking characters, or in the background during scenes. They make various claims about what they did before becoming old-timers, including bounty hunting, building the stargates, farming, piloting planes in a war, and crop-dusting. They seem on speaking terms with many supporting characters, and though they run into the main characters often there is not much attention paid to them (or even that the main characters have seen them before). According to the movie credits, they are called Antonio, Carlos, and Jobim (a reference to the Brazilian musician Antonio Carlos Jobim). This is a common concept in some anime, also occurring in Love Hina.At least one of the men is deceased, as his was one of the bodies seen in a pile of executed corpses in "Brain Scratch".
References
| Main | List of Cowboy Bebop episodes > List of Cowboy Bebop manga | | List of Cowboy Bebop characters | List of Bountyheads in Cowboy Bebop |
|---|---|
| Music | The Seatbelts > Yoko Kanno | Cowboy Bebop (album) | Vitaminless |
| Other | Red Eye (drug) > Woolong | Cowboy Bebop (PlayStation game) | Cowboy Bebop (PlayStation 2 game) |
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