Cowboy Bebop: Music and Martians

The epic anime about bounty hunters in space where the soundtrack is often as important as the animation itself is one of my personal favorites. The 26 episodes are called sessions, and their titles often are taken from songs or refer to specific styles of music. The soundtrack is heavily influenced by jazz and the fight scenes are wonderfully in time with the music. The story takes place in a future where interplanetary travel and terraforming have become commonplace thanks to astral gates which function like wormholes. Since a gate near earth collapsed our planet has been severely damaged by constant meteor impacts which led to many people leaving to live elsewhere in the solar system. In order to keep the peace throughout space the Inter-Solar System Police (ISSP) was formed, but due to bureaucratic red tape it is difficult for  them to catch criminals so the police offer rewards to bounty hunters commonly referred to as cowboys. The anime is about a group of cowboys and their adventures traveling around trying to catch enough criminals to feed themselves.

Jet Black

The owner of the spaceship Bebop, a converted fishing barge, Jet was a detective working for the ISSP until he lost his arm in an ambush. Fed up with corruption in the force he  quit to catch criminals on his own as a cowboy. Jet was known in the ISSP as The Black Dog for never letting go once he caught a law breaker. His manner of catching crooks is  methodical, he is an expert investigator, and he is well connected. Jets hobbies include old westerns, philosophy, shogi, and bonsai. He also has a modified tow ship named Hammerhead that sports a handy harpoon for stopping fast getaways.

Spike Spiegel

Jets partner and the main character Spike once worked for the martian mafia syndicate The Red Dragons. Spike’s style is quite different then Jet’s as he is impulsive and lazy. He often chooses to follow his instincts rather than planning ahead. Spike is a skilled martial artist and an expert marksman. He owns The Swordfish a fast racing ship with a plasma cannon on its nose. Spike’s rash personality often gets him into trouble. He enjoys smoking, slight of hand, and generally acting laid back.

Ein

Ein is a Welsh Corgy. He lives on the Bebop and every so often shows his true genius. Ein is a “data dog” which basically means that he has an insane amount of knowledge implanted in him.

Faye Valentine

Faye is a tough female bounty hunter, and freeloader on the Bebop. She has a huge debt from being cryogenically frozen, and she cant remember her past or why she was frozen. Ever since Faye has tried
to escape her debt while spending all her cash gambling. Faye has a small zip craft spaceship that is well armed with machine guns. Often selfish and obnoxious Faye irritates the other cowboys, but when its needed she proves to be somewhat reliable.

Edward

Radical Edward is a mysterious child, and genius hacker from earth. Her androgyny often confuses everyone, but her unusual behavior borders on insane.  She joins the Bebop crew apparently just for kicks, but her computer skills are invaluable time after time. Her and Ein are practically inseparable. By the way Ed’s real name is Francois Applederry.

Those are just the main characters. There are many side characters, mostly bounty heads, and some important recurring characters. I know this show is pretty famous from its run on Adultswim, and the movie. I will most likely do a review of the movie at a later time. Until then everyone should check out the forum.