List of Cowboy Bebop characters
The following is a list of major and minor characters from the anime series Cowboy Bebop, directed by Shinichiro Watanabe and written by Keiko Nobumoto, its manga series adaptation, written by Kuga Cain and Yutaka Nanten, and its live-action adaptation, developed by André Nemec and written by Christopher Yost.
''Bebop'' crew
Spike Spiegel
Spike Spiegel is a tall, lean, and slightly muscular 27-year-old bounty hunter born on Mars. Spike has a history of violent activity, seen through flashbacks and dialogue with the Red Dragon Syndicate. He is often depicted with a cavalier attitude, but occasionally shows signs of compassion when dealing with strangers.The inspiration for Spike's martial arts is found in Bruce Lee, who uses the style of Jeet Kune Do as depicted in Session 8, "Waltz for Venus". He has fluffy, blackish green hair and reddish brown eyes, one of which is artificial and lighter than the other. He is usually dressed in a blue lounge suit, black skinny tie, with a yellow shirt and Lupin III-inspired boots.
A flashback in Session 6 revealed that his apparently fully functioning right eye was surgically replaced by a cybernetic one. A recurring device throughout the entire show is a closeup on Spike's fully natural left eye before dissolving to a flashback of his life as part of the syndicate. As said by Spike himself in the last episode, his right eye "only sees the present" and his left eye "only sees the past". The purpose of this cybernetic eye is never explicitly stated, though it apparently gives him exceptional hand–eye coordination – particularly with firearms. He is also a talented pilot in his personal fighter, the Swordfish II, a modified racer.
In the final episode, Spike kills Vicious and collapses afterward, but his fate after the battle has never been officially confirmed. Spike does go from seeing his beloved and recently departed Julia with his left eye, the eye that sees his past to seeing her with his right eye, the eye that sees his present. In a May 2013 interview, director Shinichiro Watanabe stated "I want the audience to interpret it however they want to. I want them to interpret it themselves. Just because I put something there does not mean they have to believe it. If I say something in an interview that tends to make it official so I try to avoid a definite answer. In the past, people watching my shows have come up with better ideas than my original intention for the story. So I think it's good to let people use their imaginations."
Faye Valentine
Faye Valentine is one of the members of the bounty hunting crew. She is often seen with a cigarette and in a revealing outfit complete with bright yellow hot pants and a matching, revealing top. She sports violet hair and green eyes. Although appearing to be no more than 22–23 years old, Faye is actually around 77 years old, having been put into cryogenic freeze after a space shuttle accident, wherein she spent fifty-four years in suspended animation. During the course of the series, Faye crosses paths with Spike and Jet twice and makes herself at home aboard their ship the second time around, much to the consternation and disapproval of the two men, both of whom have their own reservations about women in general.Seemingly little more than a thorn in her partners' sides, Faye is actually a well-rounded member of the team. She can handle herself exceptionally well in spite of her slight appearance, displaying at least once in the series that she has a powerful punch. Adept at flying, Faye has stood her ground just as well as Spike has in an aerial dogfight in her ship Red Tail, and at times even against Spike in an aerial dogfight. She also excels with guns, and is first seen in the series completely destroying a shop with a Heckler & Koch MP5K, though she is immediately apprehended afterward. In the movie, she is seen with the same gun, in addition to her normal companion: a Glock 30. Faye has an almost unstoppable attitude, and even her sometimes innocent smile can be seen as dangerous. She has many bad habits, such as drinking, habitual gambling, smoking cigarettes and occasionally cigars, becoming unnecessarily violent, and turning on partners when the profits seem too skimpy. Sarcastic and presumptuous, she rarely appears weak or in need of support. She brags and takes care of herself, never trusting others, cheating and lying her way from one day to the next. She also shows herself capable of unpredictable behavior, as when she kissed Ed on the mouth to snap Ed from one of her rambling moments.
She is a woman who is skilled at getting what she wants; her indomitable exterior hides a more delicate interior. Upon awakening from her 54-year cryogenic sleep, not only was she saddled with a massive amount of debt that she had no means to pay, but she was also diagnosed with total amnesia, a stranger in a mysterious world that she was not a part of and did not understand, surrounded by people who claimed to be helping her but were only there to take advantage of her naiveté. 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. Faye is supposedly her real name, as a high school classmate recognises her and calls her by that name. In her debut episode, she claims to be descended from Romani people, but it later becomes apparent that that was likely a lie. Utterly betrayed by someone she thought she could trust after waking, Faye found herself burdened with even more money to pay, and the situation resulted in the hardening of her personality to an extreme degree. She even says in Session 11: "we deceive or we are deceived", and that "nothing good ever happened to me when I trusted others".
By the end of the series she learns to value her comrades, coming back to the Bebop when she realizes that it is the only home that she has left, naming it as the "only place I could return to". She grows to understand the disadvantages of being a loner, and that even though her "family" is somewhat dysfunctional it is still a place where she will always belong.
Throughout the series, though she grows to care for Jet and even Edward in her own way, it is her relationship with Spike that remains a cause for consideration by most. In Session 20, Spike teases her and asks if she will come to help him if he gets into trouble, and though she scoffs at his remark, she eventually does. Faye even points her gun at him in a threatening gesture in the last episode, as Spike is walking away to what she and Jet both realize is his possible death; after he leaves, Faye cries. When asked, Watanabe stated in an interview: "Sometimes I'm asked the question, 'What does Spike think of Faye?' I think that actually he likes her quite a bit. But he's not a very straightforward person so he makes sure he doesn't show it."
Jet Black
Known on his home satellite as the "Black Dog" for his tenacity, Jet Black is a 36-year-old former cop from Ganymede and acts as Spike's foil during the series. Physically, Jet is very tall with a muscular build. He wears a beard with no mustache, and is completely bald save for the back of his head. Spike acts lazy and uninterested, whereas Jet is hard working and a jack-of-all-trades. Jet was once an investigator in the Intra Solar System Police for many years until he lost his arm in an investigation that went awry when his corrupt partner betrayed him. His arm was replaced with a cybernetic limb—an operation later revealed to be by choice as biological replacements were possible. He wanted the fake arm as a reminder of the consequences of his actions. His loss of one of his limbs 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, and even has interest in Goethe. As a character, Jet is the quintessential "dad" even though he often wishes people would view him as a more brotherly figure. Of the crew he shows the most obvious affection when dealing with Edward, most obviously shown when he tells her a story in Session 18; he is also shown attempting to reassure himself after she and Faye leave the crew of the Bebop.Jet is skilled with handguns, typically carrying a pre-2004 Walther P99, and also uses the netgun. He is proficient in hand-to-hand combat as well. Compared to Spike, Jet tends to use more raw muscle than technique. He is also a skilled mechanic and pilot. Aside from the converted interplanetary fishing trawler vessel Bebop, Jet flies a smaller ship called Hammerhead. The Hammerhead appears to be a modified salvage-craft, to which Jet has added larger engines and fuel tanks. It features a mechanical arm equipped with a harpoon as its main weapon, which is somewhat analogous to Jet's own mechanical arm. Both the Hammerhead and the Bebop are able to land on water, and have a fishing theme. It is later revealed that the Bebop was originally a fishing ship that Jet "customized" with larger engines. He is very protective of the Bebop, often being reluctant to bring it into situations where it could be damaged, and taking great offense when someone insults it.
Jet once lived with a woman named Alisa, who left him, claiming that he was overprotective towards her. They meet when the Bebop stops on Ganymede, Jet's homeworld and Jet goes to find her. He talks to her and then leaves, but later he finds out that Alisa's new boyfriend, Rhint, is wanted for murder. Jet detains Rhint and later hands him over to police.