cowboy bebop

Cowboy bebop
- a complete review

Why is the renowned animation TV series called 'cowboy bebop' in the first place. It gives some people the impression of a big farm, bull riding and flying loops which of course don't appeal to us as much. Cowboy bebop, as the screen dub says in the opening episodes, is about a new genre of jazz that defies convention and age. Also, it's the name of the fishing ship Jet owns, a rather dilapidated n worn down ship on which the cowboys dwell. Cowboy is not only about Spike Spiegel. They're the awesome fours, Spike, Jet, Ed and Faye. [sorry i have to disclude the cutie data dog Ein, since he can't talk]

Once upon a time, in New York City in 1941... at this club open to all comers to play, night after night, at a club named "Minston's Play House" in Harlem, they play jazz sessions competing with each other. Young jazz men with a new sense are gathering. At last they created a new genre itself. They are sick and tired of the conventional fixed style jazz. They're eager to play jazz more freely as they wish then... in 2071 in the universe... The bounty hunters, who are gathering in the spaceship "BEBOP", will play freely without fear of risky things. They must create new dreams and films by breaking traditional styles. The work, which becomes a new genre itself, will be called... COWBOY BEBOP



Cowboy bebop is a concoction of sci-fi, modern jazz, action, thrill and melancholy. Opening theme 'tank!' is a total blow away. Jazzy blue and bloody red and characters inked against smoking guns. The almost nasal drumbeats 'du la ba' tinkles every sinew and nerve. It's almost modern art judging from the choice of colours. Like what Munch[please imagine double dots on the 'u'] mentioned about a billiard room, the light was dim and idle players lazed about, chatting and smoking. You thought it was burnt candle light and grey but after a drink, you put down your glass of pint and jerked up your sleepy head, it wasn't any colour. It was blood red and green. That's the touch closest to the bebop funk.

Screen grabs from the opening theme 'tank!'









Lyrics composed by Jim Jensen [a v. good lyricist as i've come to notice] in the cowboy bebop movie - knocking on heaven's door best describe the detachment, mockery and apathy in the 'real folk blues'.
'Come to brain dead, can't decide...Ask your conscience the why and how, do it right, do it wrong or do it now'
'Happiness is just a word to me, it might have meant a thing or two if i'd have known the difference'
Don't mistake it for a pessimistic movie that merely whines about the thorns of life. It's a matter of CHOICE of the way to live a life as entitled by every free human being. Fires that burn bright still and scotch the scars that can never heal, stoned hearts sink into hibernation until brutally awoken by thousand stomps that shatter the sanctuary, or a yearning that's been searching for its echo since the day stars adorned the sky. Every single one of them LOVES life but how badly wounded they're in the long ride. You lay down your cigar n hiss 'C'est la vie'. Not much different eh? Even in the cosmo year of 2050. 'Just another smoking gun, a sign of my indifference' It's real. It's blue. It's human. It's every piece of us.

Never seen a sky so blue
Life is just a dream you know
Don't wake me up from my dream
It's really everything it is
I'm ascending
among the stars
they really aren't so far
no black and white in the blue

-[Blue]


Space Cowboys

Spike Spiegel

Mushroom hair, cigarette butts, brown eyes of slightly different shades, blue suit, sleeves round up to elbow, slouching back, sleepy face.
'Yo!'
Spike comes across as a lazy character. The way he drags himself with hands stuck in pockets, mushroom hair that rids of all necessity for extra combing n styling, lanky body that leaves long dark shadows on the pavements. This is the 'present spike', a man who hides his past and chooses to live a rather 'aimless' life as a bounty hunter. I doubt he knows any real happiness although the temporary dysfunctional family he has - Jet, Faye, Ed & Ein gives him some comfort but when the shadows of past catch up with him, Spike is no longer the laid back careless person we know. He falls silent and appears very much alone again.

Basic Facts about Spike

->Height: 185cm
->Birth place: Mars
->B-day: June 26, 2044 (Gemini)
->Age: 27

->Skills:
highly competent at hand to hand combat (he trains a lot obviously. I'm not sure if all the martial art movements are reminiscent of Bruce Lee, since the director Watanabe seems to be a big fan. In session#8 Waltz for Venus, Spike teaches Roco some basic combat skills and the foundamental principles Spike expounds on seem to come from taichi - how one visualizes movements as a flowing body of water, and that instead of opposing ur opponent's attack with brutal force, you should take advantage of his strength and make it ur own.)
smart
lots of stealthy movements ^_^ (in session #5 Ballad of the Fallen Angel, he manages to throw a hand dynamite at Vicious even in the kind of situation where he's falling from the church top and shards r flying around, and in session #4 Gateway Shuffle, he slips the virus vile into the terrorist woman's pocket. nobody noticed obviously...)
History: used to be in a syndicate called 'Red Dragon'. later quit and lead the life of a bounty hunter

->Hates
Tomboys (Faye that is), beasts (poor Ein...) & Rugrats (hoho Ed...)

From the end of session #9 Jamming with Edward
SPIKE: Hey, Jet, did you know that there are three things that I hate?
JET: Whatever...
SPIKE: Rugrats... beasts... and tomboys.
JET: Oh?
SPIKE: Don't give me that! Why do we have all three neatly gathered here?!

Also hates Andy Von De Oniyate (a true western cowboy, from session #22 Cowboy Funk. Andy's a dumb ass cowboy who loves to boast n show off, somewhat like Spike except Spike's way much smarter. Spike got stomped by Andy's horse hahahaha I can't help laughing about it.)

End of #22 Cowboy Funk
The Bebop. Spike eats large spoonfuls of "SON-OF-A-GUN STEW."
[note: this stew is a product of Andy..., brought home in bountiful by Faye]
SPIKE: Well, it was only a rich boy's hobby. His level, no, rank was really
no match for me. Hey, are ya listening?
JET: Yeah, yeah.
SPIKE: So, he just wasn't any enemy of mine. Of course, I never had him in
my line of sight. Hey, are ya listening?
JET: Yeah, yeah.

->Loves
What does Spike like? HMM, this's a tough question. We all know Spike loves Julia, but what else? Possible contenders:
Food, esp. prairie oyster-mixing gin, egg yolk, hot sauce, and pepper.According to Spike himself, prairie oyster's good for hangovers.
(from session#7 Heavy Metal Queen, thanx to TV scripts compiled by the webmaster of The Real Folk Blues, a truly wonderful & professional cowboy bebop fan site.)
Pool games
Well, I'm not sure about this one. Maybe Spike plays pool to kill time. We know that Spike met Julia when he was playing pool. And in session#20 Pierrot le Fou, he was also playing pool at a bar called 'c'est la vie', and appeared to be an extremely skilled player. Well, Spike's good at almost everything so to speak... anime characters are more or less perfect.
cigarretes
smoker, hopeless

->Relationships
with Vicious: used to be borther in arms way back in the syndicate. but later there's only hatred n desire for revenge. Possibly because of Julia who was initially Vicious' lover but 'betrayed' him n chose Spike. Personally I think Julia's not the major reason. Vicious has a very dark personality and the only thing he values is power. He'd kill anyone who gets in his way. Vicious said that he's the only person who could kill Spike and that they had the same blood running inside them.(in session#5 Ballad of the Fallen Angel) The first part is true, as in they killed each other in the end. For the latter part however, Spike tossed his past behind him and severed all ties with the syndicate, including Vicious. Quoting Spike, 'I've bled all of that blood away'.
In a word, they're the death of each other.

with Julia: the lovers. Spike was astounded by Julia's beauty when he first saw her in the club where they played pool. It was love at first sight. In flashback scenes, it seems that Spike was severely wounded in a mission. Bleeding all over as he was, he stumbled upon Julia's house in his little leftover consciousness. Julia nursed him back to health and was seen humming a gentle tune while Spike was still in his somber state. That's probably where it all started. But Julia is Vicious' lover and this love triangle isn't going anywhere. Spike asked Julia to elope with him, to escape to a place where nobody would trouble them, to leave the whole syndicate thing behind. Julia hesitated because she knew Vicious would never let them free. Spike came up with a plan: he would feign death after one last assignment and Julia would meet him at the decided place and they would run away together. Spike gave her a piece of paper with the secret address written on it. That fateful night, Spike waited in the rain with a bouquet of roses for his lover who never came. From that day one, Spike became another person, lived another life, a bounty hunter. Obviously he didn't know what happened to Julia who later disappeared from the syndicate. It is only in the grand ending episodes that we're told Vicious threatened Julia with a gun 'either both of you die or you kill him yourself'. Julia didn't kill Spike and coz of that, she was forever chased by the syndicate, a life on the run. In the last episode, Julia met Spike again, the moment of reunion filled with complicated feelings. And transient promise of happiness just to be shattered once more. In a gunfire, Julia was shot in the back. It was a rainy day. Spike cuddled Julia close in his arms.
'This is ... a dream...'
'Yeah... just a bad dream'

with Jet: They're the perfect partners. Jet used to be a cop but quit his job after an accident which severed his left arm. The cowboys used to be Jet n Spike but later Ed and Faye joined them on the fishing ship and together they kicked off a wonderful bounty hunting team, although it seems that they each has their own best interest at heart and money is all that matters ^_^ Jet probably knows Spike best if not counting people from Spike's past. Jet is like the big brother who takes care of everyone althou it's not his character to display his caring nature so openly. Spike often critizes Jet's cooking.
In episode#1 Asteroid Blues,
JET: Hey, Spike! It's ready!
SPIKE: I'm just about done myself. What's cooking?
JET: Special, "Qing-jiao-rou-si." (Beef with bell peppers)
The living room.
JET: Asimov Solensan. This is our next target.
SPIKE: Hey, Jet...
JET: He's a high-end of the syndicate that deals all around the asteroids.
SPIKE: About this "Qing-jiao-rou-si..."
JET: This guy's name is Asimov Solensan. Weren't you listening to me?!
SPIKE: You DON'T call a meatless "beef with bell peppers" "beef with bell
peppers"... do you?
JET: Yes, you do.
SPIKE: No, you don't!
JET: You do when you're broke!
SPIKE: What happened to the 1 million Woolongs we got as bounty from that
last guy?!
JET: The repair bill the plane you wrecked and the repair bill for the shop
you trashed and the medical bill for the cop you injured KILLED ALL
THE DOUGH!

Now you see how those two get along/put up with each other. In the final session, Spike came back to the ship for one last time. They had the last meal together. It was a quietly moving scene. Their merry laughters hardly covered their unmeasurable sorrows. Jet knew he wasn't able to hold Spike back coz he only knew Spike too well. And he knew he would lose him. But he couldn't ask Spike to stay.

The Bebop. Jet awakes from a nap on the couch and sees Spike.
JET: Spike, you...
Spike smiles.
SPIKE: Do you have anything to eat? I'm starving.
Jet serves up a plate of bell peppers.
SPIKE: The food you cook tastes horrible, as usual.
JET: For that, you sure are eating a lot.
SPIKE: Hunger is the best spice, they say.
Spike finishes the meal.
SPIKE: Do you know a story that goes like this? There once was a tiger-
striped cat. This cat died a million deaths and was reborn a million
times and was owned by various people who he didn't care for. The
cat wasn't afraid to die... One day, the cat was a free cat, a stray
cat. He met a white female cat, and the two cats spent their days
happily together. Years passed, and the white cat died of old age.
The tiger-striped cat cried a million times, and then died. It never
came back to life...
JET: That's a good story...
SPIKE: I hate that story. I hate cats.
JET: That's what I thought.
The two laugh for a good while. Spike gets up and begins to walk away.

Men never cry. He laughs. He laughs. They laugh to hide their tears.What liars.

with Faye: They're the eternal enemies. As said, Spike totally dispises 'tomboy'. Faye pisses him off. They constantly fight over food, money(Faye wastes most of it on gambling), and bounties. Even when Spike is moribound (the 'renowed mummy' in session #5 & #20), Faye never shows any gentle caring nature typical of a normal woman. Despite all these, we see sparks of hope passing between the two. Is it possible that a relationship will grow?
There're several occasions where Faye lets her thoughts slip. In sessoin#20, Spiked said 'this's probably gonna be the death of me' after he received the invitation from the man-killing machine Tongpu and he asked Faye 'will you come and rescue me?', Faye looked away and muttered 'baka(fool)'and indeed she went there to help Spike although her spaceship was crashed and herself trapped.
And it's also quite obvious that Faye was struck by a pan of jealousy when Julia asked her to deliver a message to Spike.
Well, a sign and head shakes to all the faye-spike supporters out there. They're probably the last possilbe match in the whole universe. The feeling Faye has towards Spike is more like family instead of opposite attraction. In the last episode when Spike bid goodbye and walked away, Faye stopped him and told him she had already lost her family and there was nowhere she could turn to. Now she found a new one but Spike was about to leave them. She simply couldn't bear the thought of losing another one close to her heart. Tears streamed down her face as Spike disappeared into distance.

->In depth
A 'living dead' so to speak. Ever since Spike left the syndicate - Red Dragon, left Viscious, left his lover Julia, he had been living in a dream he didn't bother to wake up from. There's been a controversial discussion between whether Spike indeed died in the end or just badly wounded. When he limped down the staricase one hand covering the wound across his stomach, he looked up to the men and the sky - 'Bang', there he fell with a loud thump. So was he dead or just fainted? I'd say he's dead, truly physically dead at last. Before Spike was about to leave for his destiny, Faye stopped him and questioned why he decided to meet his past again.

Spike continues to walk away.

FAYE: My... memory came back.

Spike stops.

FAYE: But... nothing good came out of it. There was no place for me to
return to... This was the only place I could go back to! But now...
Where are you going?! Why do you have to go?! Are you telling me
you're going to just throw your life away?!

SPIKE: I'm not going there to die. I'm going there to see if I really am
alive.

There wasn't any meaning in living anymore once his past was teared up to pieces right before his eyes. With Julia gone, Annie dead and revenge brewing, Spike was a tattered man with a thousand bleeding wounds who wouldn't even feel the pain. What is that mockery 'bang' in the end all about? That smeer of irony on his face.


Faye Valentine


Jet Black


Ed & Ein

Viscious


Julia



Episode Reviews
Forewords
The unique thing about bebop TV series is, the title of each session pays their homage to respective songs or movies.

Session #20 PIERROT LE FOU
There's a French movie with the same title back in 1965, directed by Jean-Luc Godard and it's about a guy called Pierrot who escaped from his boring life and ran away with his gf to the Mediterranean Sea. The contents of this session had nothing to do with the movie though.
'Pierrot' is a character in French pantomime (where pple communicate with gestures and facial expressions but no sounds). The word has a theatrical colour to it. Pierrots are often dressed in a huge white tunic and their faces are painted white as well.
'Fou' is a French word for 'insane, mad' so the title goes 'Pierrot goes mad'.

Synopsis :
A men-killing machine called 'Tongpu'- result of experimental failure, escaped from the organization where the secret experiment was conducted and ran around killing people for fun. One night Spike(out of all luck that is)witnessed Tongfu's crime scene and thus became the killer's next target. Tongfu invited Spike to a theme park on Mars where the bloody game started.

About Tongfu:
The top killing machine was an experimental failure. He was genetically altered to be a lethal assassin[for government organizations]. We see in flashback scenes pieces of broken clues : a rather confined room neatly tiled but of extreme paranoic feel, genetic maps, protein assays, a trail of blood drawn into the needle tip, an eye surgery underway, a man running on the exercise bike and his blood pressure and heart beat measured by complex devices. And the wicked thing is the presence of a cat around the surgery table, silently watching. We see the panic in Tongpu's wide open eye as surgical knife worked around it. And the image of the code ruby-coloured eye of the cat was clearly imprinted in Tongpu's memory as fear for cat later became his weak spot. So the experiment failed. Tongpu became a maniac who had superior killing skills but whose mind slowly retrograded to that of a child. That explained for his costumes, the make up and the overly exaggerated body gestures.
Just like Pierrot, Tongpu wore a wide tunic and his face was painted wide.

In Depths:

The perfect killing machine had the playful mind of a child. You'll be chilled to the bone as you watch that wide grin spreading on his ghostly white face, exposing two rows of carnivorous teeth. He killed his preys as if he was playing a game and he thorougly enjoyed that. Try to imagine an assasin in your new novel. An assassin who forever has a wide smile on his face as he slashes and kills. And after he politely takes off his tophat,gently bows, straightens up his back, smiles at you and greets 'hello, gentlemen!', he starts firing without a blink.

to be c'td