crack_van | Fandom Overview: Cowboy Bebop

Hi! I'm bebopgirl and I'll be your van pilot for the world that is Cowboy Bebop this month. Cowboy Bebop has a loyal following within the world of anime and for the purpose of recs I'll focus on the anime but there is also a small manga series as well.

Most of my recs will have a focus on Spike along with Edward, the team's teen hacker (and my personal favorite). But the whole team will get a turn before the end of the month.

The Team (with help via wiki):

Spike Spiegel is a former member of the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate who is haunted by the memory of his time in the organization, particularly of his romantic relationship with a mysterious woman named Julia, and his conflict with arch-rival and former syndicate partner, Vicious.

Jet Black, a former Inter-Solar System Police (ISSP) officer and the owner of the Bebop. Once called "The Black Dog" by his fellow officers for his relentless nature, he bears a cybernetic arm as constant reminder of what happened when he rushed into trouble without looking first. Like Spike, he is haunted by the memory of a woman: Alisa, his longtime girlfriend who left him without reason.

Ein, a Welsh Corgi and former lab animal identified as a "data dog" by the scientists who created him. The reason for this title is never explained, but it is suggested that he possesses enhanced intelligence, which he displays in subtle ways throughout the series including perfectly hacking the 'Scratch' website in session #23. Despite his enhanced intelligence and comprehension, the rest of the Bebop crew often fail to notice these qualities.

Faye Valentine, an amnesiac awakened from a 54-year cryogenic slumber after being critically injured in a space flight. Upon awakening, she is tricked into assuming the massive debt of the man who woke her and constantly attempts to gamble on quick cash as a solution to her debt. Her gambling, cheating, and competitive skills, are unrivaled except by Spike. Most of her past and her real last name are a mystery.

Edward, a young, eccentric computer genius and master hacker. Ed is a girl, though her name and appearance suggest otherwise. She gave herself the fanciful name "Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV" after running away to an orphanage, but after her father is found, it is revealed that her real name is Françoise Appledelphi. She goes by the name Radical Edward when hacking, and commonly spends the most time with Ein. There is also an idea bouncing around within the CB fandom that she could have ADHD among other problems. I just like to think she's kooky, which makes her a lot of fun and is also the comic relief of the show.

Random idea for Ed: am I the only one that thinks Bryce Dallas Howard would make a perfect older Ed?

Vicious, Spike's former syndicate partner and the only recurring antagonist of the series. He is seen in several episodes striving for power within the organization by killing members of the organization's leadership. His relationship with Spike and Julia is displayed through flashbacks that Spike experiences, but never explained in detail.

Julia, a beautiful and mysterious woman from both Spike and Vicious' pasts. 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 is a stark contrast to the world she inhabits: her blond hair, bright red umbrella, and automobile stand out noticeably in the otherwise drab environments in which she is seen.

There is also the bounty head of the session but for the sake of the overview I'll skip over that for the moment.

Overview (with help via wiki once again) - The crew of the spaceship Bebop are a partnership of bounty hunters, called "cowboys", who travel the solar system trying to apprehend bounties. Jet Black is the owner of the Bebop, but has partnered with Spike for his diverse combat skills. Though he is reluctant to admit it, Jet has also come to rely on Spike for companionship in the normally solitary field of bounty hunting.

Most episodes revolve around attempts to bring in a specific bounty. Some of the Bebop's varied targets include small time thugs, gangsters, hackers (known as "net divers" in slang) with Ed being one of the most known, religious leaders, psychopaths, genetic experiments, mutant creatures and petty thieves. Occasionally the Bebop crewmembers' pasts catch up with them, and the show regularly turns to the history of the main characters, alongside more general events in the past, in flashbacks. For example, Spike's past as a syndicate enforcer appears in a number of episodes.

There also also plots around the mystery of Faye's past and Jet's former life as a cop plus Ed's solo session (pure comic relief but a very funny storyline). Even Ein gets a session early in the series to give some of the data dog's backstory.

Fandom Resources -

Of course one of the major sources for CB fanfic is via fanfiction.net in the anime area. Within LJ the major community for Cowboy Bebop is via

cowboybebop along with several comms for Adult Swim (the place most fo us first found CB in the first place). But I am taking suggestions for more sources to add to the list before the end of the month.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yay! Glad to see this series (the first anime series I watched from start to finish) getting a van of it's own! Looking forward to what turns up!

Yay! (Though, would it be at all possible to make the above-the-cut picture smaller? It's throwing off the margins on my friends page.)

yay cowboy bebop!!!

Could you shrink the image, or place it under a cut? It's stretching out my friends page and makes it difficult to read. Thank you.

Thank you for this overview. I've added a cowboy bebop tag for your use.

OMG, I'm so glad you've finally gotten around to adding this fandom! I've loved the crew since FOREVER and I'm crossing my fingers for Agent Orange to show up. *hinthinthint*

Fandom Overview: Cowboy Bebop

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