Cowboy Bebop: What Happened To Every Character In The Anime

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop (2021). 

The ending of Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop season 1 leaves ample room to debate what happens next to each character – with the original anime plot leaving many clues in this regard. In many ways, the live-action reboot has incorporated many of the elements that made its predecessor a success. As a result, the Cowboy Bebop anime is a good source for anyone interested in the future of the show.

The Cowboy Bebop anime‘s final session ends with Spike saying his final goodbyes to Faye and Jet before heading towards a climactic confrontation with the Red Dragon syndicate members to avenge his one true love, Julia. The final battle ends with Spike killing Vicious, only to be seriously wounded himself in the ensuing confrontation before Spike descends the main staircase of the building before eventually falling to the ground. Yet Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop takes a decidedly different approach to many of the Bebop crew’s storylines, introducing several key plot divergences from Shinichirō Watanabe’s original anime in the process. Spike (John Cho) survives his fall from the church window before uniting with the freshly introduced Radical Ed (Eden Perkins), while Vicious (Alex Hassell) is left at Julia’s (Elena Satine) mercy after she takes control of the Red Dragon Syndicate. Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir) abandons Spike to ensure the safety of his daughter, while Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda) also parts ways with the Bebop to do some soul searching.

Despite these stark differences, however, what happens next to every character in the anime can act as clues for the direction of Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop season 2. The introduction of Ed will likely act as the catalyst to reunite the Netflix Bebop crew, while the survival of Spike, Vicious, and Julia from the church confrontation sets up a plethora of fresh narrative options for Christopher Yost and co. to work with. Here’s where Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop left each character, and what will happen to them next based on the anime.

Spike Spiegel

Spike’s fate at the end of Cowboy Bebop season 1 differs greatly from his infamous final anime appearance, in which he slays his nemesis Vicious before appearing to die on the steps of the Red Dragon building. Yet Spike’s season 1 ending is tonally much closer to his storyline in the Cowboy Bebop anime season 5, “Ballad of Fallen Angels,” in which Spike and Vicious battle before Spike is thrown through the window of a Cathedral. In both the Netflix series and the anime, Spike awakens on the Bebop attempting to heal from his injuries, although the subsequent scenes he is faced with differ dramatically as the anime’s argument with Faye replaced by Ed’s offer to hunt Vincent Volaju. Although his romantic arc with the new syndicate boss Julia seems unlikely to keep pace with the anime’s, the rest of Spike’s anime storyline is still very much in play for Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop, as after recovering from his wounds, Spike continues to hunt differing bounties while building to his final confrontation with Vicious. While it is unclear at this stage whether Julia will permanently replace Vicious as the primary antagonist of Cowboy Bebop season 2, her altered dynamics with Spike will be fascinating to watch unfold.

Jet Black

The addition of Jet’s daughter Kimmie Black (Molly Moriarty) fundamentally changes his character motivations in Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop. While Jet Black in the original anime is undoubtedly a quintessential father figure to the younger crew members of the Bebop, his loyalties largely remain unchallenged due to his close proximity to his surrogate family. The introduction of Kimmie, however, sees Mustafa Shakir’s Jet abandon Spike for putting his child in danger in “Supernova Symphony,” and creates a large plot divergence from the original anime. In Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop season 2, Jet is likely to cross paths with Spike and Faye again, given the fact he leaves with the Bebop and will continue to hunt bounties on his own. This assumption is backed up by Jet’s anime actions, with Jet sailing to his next bounty-hunting adventure alongside Faye after Spike’s death.

Faye Valentine

Although Faye in Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop undoubtedly retains the ennui and existential crises that characterize much of her persona in the anime, she too splits from the Bebop group in another change to the source material. Cowboy Bebop season 1 ends with Faye setting out to find her real family at Greenvale Avenue, whereas in the original anime, Faye accepts the Bebop crew as her surrogate siblings. This scenario is still set up for Cowboy Bebop season 2’s reasoning, however, with Faye likely to find answers to her heritage before reuniting with her true family aboard the Bebop in time to battle the Red Dragon syndicate once again, mirroring the events in “My Funny Valentine” and “Speak Like A Child” in the anime.

Edward

Ed’s character in Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop marks the boldest narrative decision to date from the series, with the popular child-genius only introduced fully in the season 1 coda. Yet in the context of the original anime narrative, this choice by Netflix makes sense, as Radical Ed is the last (human) character to join the Bebop team canonically. In both the Netflix and original anime series, Ed drip-feeds Bebop‘s Spike and Jet bounty information before she finally reveals herself, meaning her character arc is still fully in play for Cowboy Bebop season 2. In the anime, the Bebop crew visit Ganymede and get attacked by a mysterious bug aboard the ship immediately after teaming up with Ed, which are both stories yet to be told in the Netflix series. Ed’s introduction as she offers Spike the chance to hunt Vincent Volaju also sets up the incorporation of the Cowboy Bebop movie’s narratives into the Netflix series, in which Volaju attempts to eradicate the human population on Mars.

Ein

Ein, like his loyal friend Ed, is another character heavily under-utilized in the Cowboy Bebop Netflix series. The live-action Cowboy Bebop sees the genius Corgi abandoned by the crew of the Bebop in “Sad Clown A-Go-Go” to protect themselves from Mad Pierrot before he is ultimately united with his academic equal and trusted partner, Radical Ed. Given Ed and Ein’s bond is essential to the dog’s character development in the original Cowboy Bebop anime, this change will likely set up the rest of Ein’s story for the remainder of the Netflix original series as the pair attempt to reunite the Bebop crew members scattered across the galaxy.

Vicious

The Netflix Cowboy Bebop and original anime Vicious follow very similar narrative trajectories prior to the live-action series’ finale. Whereas Vicious is thrown from a detonated chapel balcony following his first vicious confrontation with Spike in the anime, his immediate fate in the Netflix series is far more intriguing. Despite his seemingly inexorable rise to power after uniting and taking control of the syndicate, Vicious is ultimately betrayed by Julia in Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop, leaving him imprisoned and at her mercy. This is an entirely new situation for the character of Vicious, with his anime counterpart never subdued until his climactic death at the hands of Spike in “The Real Folk Blues (Part 2).” The shifting power dynamic between Julia and Vicious will likely become one of the key subplots in Cowboy Bebop season 2, as his former lover consolidates her power ahead of an inevitable second confrontation with Spike Spiegel.

Julia

Of all the characters reimagined by the Netflix Cowboy Bebop series, Julia’s is by far the most fascinating as season 1 ends with her betraying Spike, imprisoning Vicious, and taking control of the Red Dragon syndicate. Her persona is far more nefarious than her anime counterpart, who acts primarily as a plot device to force Spike back into syndicate confrontations. The live-action Julia, however, is in completely uncharted character territory, with the femme-fatale looking to capitalize on her new powers as the head of the Red Dragon empire. Her growth in a villainous as Cowboy Bebop season 2’s primary antagonist is sure to set up the series’ climax as she faces off against her betrayed lover and the crew of the Bebop.

About The Author