Julia Cowboy Bebop

Julia is a beautiful and mysterious woman from both Spike and Vicious' pasts. Initially Vicious' girlfriend and possibly a Syndicate member herself, she and Spike started a dangerous affair that led to Spike offering to abandon the Syndicate and elope with her, despite the fact that the Syndicate punishes desertion with death. Arranging to meet at a graveyard later, Spike goes to confront the Syndicate with his resignation, resulting in a violent gun battle where he is presumed by the Syndicate to have died. Vicious discovers the affair, however, and confronts Julia, telling her that she would have to kill Spike at the graveyard, or else they would both be killed. To protect not only herself but also the man she loved, Julia goes into hiding, never meeting Spike as both of them had planned; Spike himself was never aware of Vicious' threats until the very end of the series. Because of this, Spike is led to believe that Julia betrayed him, and adopts his characteristic fatalist mentality.

Julia Cowboy Bebop

Despite being among the main driving points for the entire series, Julia only appears in flashbacks until the final two episodes of the series. She acts as a stark contrast to the world around her—her blond hair, bright red umbrella and automobile stand out in the otherwise drab environments that she inhabits.

Julia Cowboy Bebop

After meeting Faye Valentine by coincidence, Julia and Spike are reunited. However, soon they are ambushed by Vicious' henchmen at Annie's convenience store, and one of the men kills Julia from a gunshot. Her last words to Spike are It's... all a... dream.....

Julia Cowboy Bebop

Julia Cowboy Bebop

Jet Black Cowboy Bebop

Jet Black, born December 3, 2035, and known on his home satellite as the "Black Dog" for his tenacity, Jet is a 36-year-old former cop from Ganymede (a Jovian satellite) 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 (ISSP) for many years until he lost his arm in an investigation that went awry when his corrupt partner (and friend at the time) 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 what happened. 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 (he named his ship the Bebop, referring to a type of jazz), especially Charlie Parker, and even has interest in 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 Black Cowboy 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 great 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, most likely because Ganymede's surface is mostly covered with water. It is later revealed that the Bebop was originally a fishing ship that Jet "customized" with larger engines.

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.

Jet Black Cowboy Bebop

In a later episode, another Vicious/Spike 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 (ambiguously) 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 Black Cowboy Bebop

A possibly related note: Jet Black is also the name of the drummer in long-running English band The Stranglers and his nickname is in reference to the Led Zeppelin song "Black Dog".[citation needed] Jet also bears a remarkable resemblance to Daisuke Jigen from Lupin III. The name "Jet Black" itself also refers to a shade of especially dark black.

Jet Black Cowboy Bebop

Jet Black Cowboy Bebop

Faye Valentine

Faye Valentine (born August 14, 1994) is one of the members of the bounty hunting crew in the anime series Cowboy Bebop. She is often seen with a cigarette and in a revealing outfit complete with bright yellow hot pants and a matching, revealing top (and on occasion a bikini). She sports violet hair, green eyes, and a voluptuous body. Although appearing to be no more than 23 years old as her body suggests, Faye is actually upwards of 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 (set in 2071), Faye manages to cross paths with Spike and Jet twice before she finally makes herself at home aboard their ship the second time, much to the consternation and disapproval of the two men, both of whom have their own reservations about women in general. Faye herself is brash, egotistical, and quite lazy, despite taking plenty of time to pamper and care for her own appearance. Faye has been arrested several times in the series and has spent time in handcuffs on the ship. She, at times, expects the boys to take care of bounties for her, while she sits by idly to reap the benefits and eat all their food, another source of conflict.

Faye Valentine

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 for a woman of her slight appearance, displaying at least once in the series (in "Cowboy Funk") 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 (though Spike eventually proved the better pilot). She also excels with guns, and is first seen in the series completely disabling 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. 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.

Faye Valentine

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. In an early episode, she states that she is descended from Roma people, but she may well have been lying. 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.”

Faye Valentine

Throughout the series, though she retains her sarcastic demeanor and unpleasant nature up until the very end, it is easy to see her grow as a character. 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.

Faye Valentine

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. There is also speculation that she holds a romantic interest in Spike. Although 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). Faye also reacts with fear and concern when being told by Vincent about his meeting with (and supposed dispatching of) Spike in Cowboy Bebop: The Movie. Faye's voice actress Wendee Lee has also stated that Faye cares for Spike very deeply, but tries to mask her feelings (so as not to seem vulnerable). Although he comes to see her as a companion, Spike's romantic feelings toward Faye seem to be void or, at the least, well-hidden, though he does come to her aid when she is kidnapped by Vicious and in session 23 when he goes to free her from the Scratch cult and watches over her while she recovers. Furthermore, in "Ballad of Fallen Angels", as Spike recalls Julia before fully awakening, a scene with Faye watching over him replays at the end of the sequence. This could imply Spike's feelings for Faye are similar to his feelings for Julia. 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."

Faye Valentine

Faye Valentine

Spike Spiegel

Spike Spiegel is a fictional bounty hunter who was born on Mars. He is 27 years-old and, in appearance, is tall and thin. He has fluffy dark green hair and reddish-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"). 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.

Spike makes use of sleight of hand techniques to win card games, pick pockets, and even to slip things onto other people unnoticed. He is also shown to sneak up on enemies through disguise or quiet movement. He is skilled in weaponry (such as his personal Jericho 941 as well as other guns and explosives) and hand-to-hand combat skills. He is a superb martial artist, using Jeet Kune Do, which was developed by Bruce Lee. Spike is also a pilot, and flies a converted Asteroid racer called Swordfish II which is armed with four machine guns, multiple missile launchers, and a single plasma cannon.

Spike Spiegel

When he is not shown working or practicing martial arts, Spike is very laid back, sarcastic, and lackadaisical, often a source of consternation for his crew mates.

Spike's philosophy seems to be based on the ancient samurai ideals of immediacy, such as considering oneself as dead and the idea of death being an awakening from a dream, which are both elements of bushidō illustrated in the Hagakure.

Spike Spiegel

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 says that this could apply to Spike's relationship with Faye.

Spike Spiegel

Spike Spiegel

Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop (Kaubōi Bibappu) is a Japanese animated television series. Directed by Shinichirō Watanabe and written by Keiko Nobumoto, Cowboy Bebop was produced by Sunrise. Consisting of 26 episodes, the series follows the adventures of a group of bounty hunters, or "cowboys", traveling on their spaceship, the Bebop, in the year 2071. It is considered one of the best anime series ever made.

Cowboy Bebop was a commercial success both in Japan and international markets, notably in the United States. After this reception, Sony Pictures released a feature film, Knockin' on Heaven's Door to theaters worldwide and followed up with an international DVD release. Two manga adaptations were serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Asuka Fantasy DX.

Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop has been strongly influenced by American music, especially the jazz movements of the 1940s-60s and the early rock era of the 1950s-70s. Many of its action sequences, from space battles to hand-to-hand martial arts combat, are set and timed to music. Following the musical theme, episodes are called Sessions, and the episode titles are often borrowed from album or song names ("Sympathy for the Devil", "Honky Tonk Women", or "My Funny Valentine" to name a few), or make use of a genre name ("Mushroom Samba" or "Heavy Metal Queen") indicating a given episode's musical theme.

Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop

Quatre Raberba Winner

Quatre Raberba Winner (Katoru Rabāba Winā, derived from French quatre, lit. "four"), a fictional character, is one of the central characters in the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam Wing and its various spinoffs. He is the fifteen-year-old pilot of the mobile suit Gundam Sandrock.

Quatre Raberba Winner

Quatre is of Arab descent. His last name Winner (written in Arabic as Fayez), could suggest that he is of a Jordanian origin since its one of the most known families in Jordan. The first name (Quatre) is from French and translates to the number four. His middle name suggests Berber heritage, which would partially explain his appearance as some Berbers carry European DNA.

Quatre Raberba Winner

His encounter with Wing Zero notwithstanding, Quatre seems the most well-adjusted of the Gundam pilots, generally displaying a kind, humble personality. As a believer in the ideal of pacifism, he is a reluctant soldier who expresses sorrow when forced to kill his enemies. He thinks first before he acts, regrets the bad decisions he makes, and always tries to seek forgiveness. He also has a fondness towards animals and loves to play with them.

Quatre Raberba Winner

Quatre is also implied to have a form of extrasensory perception or something similar, which he refers to as the "heart of outer space" ("uchuu no kokoro" in Japanese). This ability remains largely unexplored throughout the series, leaving many fans to speculate as to its depth and overall usefulness. Much of this debate is rooted in episode 10, which seems to imply that the "Space Heart" is a form of limited telepathy or empathy. In another case, in episode 26, he appears to be able to read Heero's thoughts (of 'the person on Earth': Relena) by touching his heart. However, this discussion is further complicated by a cryptic remark made at the end of the series, in which Quatre states that: "I understand now. The space heart is him [Heero]." Ironically enough, this would seem to imply that, for most of the series, even Quatre remains largely ignorant as to the exact nature of his abilities.

Quatre plays the violin and the piano, and confides to Lucrezia Noin that music relaxes him.

Quatre Raberba Winner

Quatre Raberba Winner

Trowa Barton

Trowa Barton (Torowa Bāton, derived from French trois, lit. "three") is one of the five leading characters from the anime Mobile Suit Gundam Wing.

Trowa Barton

Trowa is a quiet, though determined person. Patient and calm, he will analyze a situation before acting. He tends to prefer to be low-key, although some speculate he does have an unconscious desire to be noticed due to the fact that of all the names he could have chosen for himself, he chose that of an extremely wealthy and high-profile (though deceased) man; it would be difficult to blend in with a name like that. Trowa is often portrayed as an observer who carefully calculates the moves of others before deciding his own course of action. Blessed with unlimited patience, Trowa is able to wait until the opportune moment to come to the aid of his fellow pilots. When on the battlefield, Trowa attacks his enemies with utter ruthlessness and deadly accuracy. He tends to hide his feelings well behind an impassive mask.

Trowa Barton

Despite his emotionlessness, Trowa had developed a friendship with Quatre Raberba Winner. Symbolically, Trowa is often affiliated with masks not only because of his neutrality and his talent for infiltrating enemy ranks, but also because of his side-job as a circus clown --a job where his dress is a costume and painted mask. Trowa is also shown to have a strong connection with animals as when he first joined the circus. He seems passive about misfortune, seeming to have the attitude of "what will be, will be." Due to his long history of combat, he is the most experienced pilot.

Trowa Barton

Trowa Barton

Chang Wufei

Chang Wufei (Zhāng Wǔfēi) derived from Mandarin Wǔ (five) is a fictional character from the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. He is a central character of the anime and several of the derivative works that make up the After Colony fictional universe. Wufei is the pilot of Shenlong Gundam, one of five advanced mobile suits sent to Earth during the events of the anime. The character's voice in the animated works is provided by Ryuuzou Ishino (Japanese) and Ted Cole (English).

Chang Wufei

Chang Wufei is descended from a Chinese clan known as the Long Clan. The Long Clan was long ago banished into the rundown colony A0206 by their government, who were afraid of their power.

Wufei is a loner and prefers to fight alone. He is driven by a warrior's pride, and single-mindedly battles to achieve his objectives. However, his ideals have a tendency to have a naivety to them (i.e., "I will destroy all evil to change the world"). He looks down on those who do not follow the same form of warrior's pride as he does, and has a distaste for those who conduct themselves sympathetically on the battlefield. Contrary to common thought, he does not seem to look down on women in general, being amiable to many women on many occasions, including Sally Po, Lady Une, and in the Japanese version, his colony master (voiced by a man in the English version.) He does, however, look down on women who conduct themselves like the negative stereotype of women on the battlefield, such as Lucrezia Noin's apparent compassion for him due to his young age.

Chang Wufei

He regards strength and honor as very important; at one point when he lost to Treize in a duel, he thought he wasn't good enough to be a Gundam Pilot. Unlike the other four pilots Wufei doesn't fight for peace, instead he fights for true justice. Wufei prefers to call his Gundam Nataku in honor of the name his deceased young wife Long Meilan (or Meiran) called herself.

Chang Wufei

Chang Wufei