In the film Cowboy Bebop, there is a bounty hunter named Spike who is the main character. He is a very interesting character because he used to be part of a gang, and now stays under the radar and does work as a bounty hunter. Spike has a unique personality and there were a couple of scenes that really showed a lot about who he is as a person. One of these scenes was in the beginning of the movie when Spike deals with the criminals in the convenient store. He puts an old lady’s life at risk in the process, and doesn’t care at all. It shows that he will do whatever it takes to get the job done. At this point in the film, you are not quite sure as to why he works so hard, but know that he does. The second scene that shows a lot about Spike’s personality comes very soon afterwards, when he is sitting with Jet in their “hideout”. He talks about how he is sick and tired of not having money and is tired of eating instant noodles. They then hear about a reward for catching a criminal, Vincent, for 300 million woo long and instantly react to it and know the need to do this job.
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| Image from Anime Cosmos |
This part of the movie is a rather important one in showing what kind of a person Spike is. It shows that even though he is doing work, he is in desperate need for money, and that could very well be one of the incentives that pushes him to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Another thing this scene reveals is that by him having a hideout, and doing his work very discretely, and solo, that he is trying to stay quiet. He knows that he has left the syndicate and that they are out to get him, so he is alone in this world, trying to make a living as a bounty hunter. These scenes show very well what kind of a person Spike is, and as the movie goes on you start to learn more and more about who is he… and who he was.
Spike as a character is for sure a loner but I do think that he cares about what he is doing. He might be in it for the money but that is not the only that motivate him, he has morals and more importantly as the movie progresses he shows that he is not as heartless as he appears to be. Spike might be a loner but he does end up needing his crew to save the day, even in the first scene Jet plays a pivotal role, even if he does miscount the number of bandits. Furthermore, if you’re going to say that we learn more and more about Spike as character it would be a good time to elaborate on that, not everyone has seen Cowboy Bebop and not everyone that has will have picked up on Spike’s subtle but definite character development. Spike is more than just a lone cowboy, he has a conscience, which is why he continues to pursue Vincent.
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