Cowboy Bebop

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Cowboy Bebop (1998-1999) is a critically acclaimed 26 episode Japanese animated series by Shinichiro Watanabe about the misadventures and tragedies of a crew of bounty hunters living in the spaceship named Bebop. An animated film written by Keiko Nobumoto was released in 2001.

Asteroid Blues[edit]

[Jet brings up a wanted criminal on the monitor]
Jet Black: Asimov Solensan. He's our next target. [Spike looks uninterested to his dinner]
Spike Spiegel: Uh, listen, Jet...
Jet: This guy's a major player in the syndicate, operates all around the asteroids.
Spike: You said "bell peppers and beef"...
Jet: His name's Asimov Solensan. Are you listening to me?
Spike: There's no beef in here. So, you wouldn't really call it "bell peppers and beef" now, would you?
Jet: [pause] Yes, I would.
Spike: Well, it's not!
Jet: It is when you're broke, all right?
Spike: What happened to the million woolong reward we got for that last guy?
Jet: The repair bill for the cruiser you wrecked, and the one from the shop you trashed, and the medical bill from the cop you injured killed the dough! [both pause for a long beat] Now, three days ago, there was a big shootout between his group and a rival syndicate. He killed his own guys then took off like the wind. Word is, he's hiding out with some sweet thing in Tijuana.
Spike: TJ? That place is for small fries.
Jet: Yeah, well, this small fry is worth two-and-a-half million.
Spike: I don't feel like it.
Jet: Speaking of beef, they say in TJ, "the carnitas are out of this world"...
Spike: This is real mystic and all, but uh, do you have anything to eat here?
Old Man Bull: [Stomach growls]
Spike: I see.
Old Man Bull: The red-eyed coyote will appear in the Zona Norte at the far end of town. That is what I see.
Spike: A red-eyed coyote north of town?
Old Man Bull: You, Swimming Bird.
Spike: Hm?
Old Man Bull: The Swimming Bird will meet a woman. The bird will be hunted by this woman, and then-- death.
Spike: [beat] One more time.
Old Man Bull: What's that?
Spike: I was killed once before... by a woman.
Old Man Bull: You take women too lightly, my friend.
Spike: On the contrary. Catch ya' later. [he exits the tent]
Old Man Bull: Wakan Tanka, guide his spirit.
Antonio: This again?! Son of a bitch! Takin’ my money like that, ya’ cheatin’ dogs! Why the only reason you can even live here is ‘cause of what I done! I busted my tail to dig that gate!
Carlos: For criminy sakes, you always say the same thing when you’re losin’. We all dug that gate together and you know it.
Jobin: That we did. We worked like there was no tomorrow.
Spike: I’m just an old-fashioned cowboy.
Jet: Having ourselves a little nap, huh?
Spike: I had a sweet dream.

Stray Dog Strut[edit]

[Spike talks to a cashier while looking at weapons]
Cashier: Pet shop? What kind?
Spike: The shady kind.
Cashier: Listen, bro, here's the deal. You can buy anything here on Mars from guns to human lives. And of course, choice information can be purchased as well. So if you wanna know something, let me see some cash. [Spike looks at a pair of long black nunchucks]
Spike: Hmm. Long chain on this one. Way of the Dragon model?
Cashier: Hey, pretty good eye! That's a rare one from back in the mid-30s. [Spike tries using the nunchucks]
Spike: Yeah, it's an antique for sure.
[Hakim and Spike confront each other on the bridge]
Hakim: So are you a bounty hunter, or some animal rights chump?
Spike: You know, you really make me laugh, Hakim--risking your life for a dog that’s only worth a fistful of woolongs.
Hakim: What's it to you?
Spike: Nothin' but a giggle, but you're worth a barrel full of woolongs yourself, my friend.
Spike: I hate kids and pets. They’re all a royal pain in the butt!
Spike: [at the park holding the Welsh Corgi on lead] Why don't you do this part?
Jet: Complaining again. Didn’t your grandmother ever tell you that a good boy has to finish what he starts?
Spike: My grandmother died before I was born.
Jet: My condolences.
Spike: Well, here’s another great moment in the legend of Spike, famous bounty hunter and dog walker.
Jet: Now don’t get too hot-headed, Spike.
Spike: You haven’t seen hot-headed yet, Jet!

Honky Tonk Women[edit]

[Faye talking to a shopkeeper right before a shootout]
Faye: You know the first rule of combat? Shoot them before they shoot you.
[Spike and Jet talking in a casino elevator]
Jet: So Charlie says, "Only hands can wash hands. If you want to receive, you have to give." Something like that. I wish I could remember the exact words. Anyway, I think Charlie's telling us to just do it. Ha... What do you make of it?
Spike: Somehow I don't think Charlie Parker'd be quoting Goethe.
Jet: Come on, it's just a dream I had. Lighten up.
Spike: I have a feeling that dream's gonna suck up our last five thousand woolongs.
[Spike and Jet talk to Faye handcuffed to the toilet]
Faye: What do you want?
Jet: Well, we were thinking about you and we had a little change of heart. Why lock a fine young lady like you up in a place like this?
Faye: You creeps aren't getting any ideas, are you?
Jet: On the contrary. We're taking you someplace where you'll be very well protected.
Faye: [passive] Oh, and where would that be?
Spike/Jet: The police station. [Faye gasps]
Jet: You were right. 200K is chump change compared to your price, Faye Valentine.
Faye: I don't believe this! Do they put a bounty on me?
Spike: Six million fat woolongs.
Faye: Six million? Is that all they're offering?
Jet: ..Just how much money do you owe, anyway?
Faye: We're Romanies. For eons we've wandered the stars looking for love. It's our way.
Spike: Huh?
Faye: You don't know anything, do you? Romanies are gypsies! And you know what we call someone like you? A Gorgio—that means a bumpkin that doesn't know which way is up.
Spike: "Gorgio", I like that. [Faye howls out loud, Ein yawns]
Faye: The wilds are calling me! You can't keep me locked up!
Jet: Save it for the police.
Spike: Come on, Jet, let's get outta here.
Faye: [grunts] Fine! I'm not gonna run away! At least uncuff one hand! I can't even go to the bathroom this way!
Jet: Man, you're a real talker, aren't ya?

Gateway Shuffle[edit]

Spike: The music box is broken, or is it? It starts to play and a haunting tune fills the air. I awake suddenly from my dream, there is no music box and yet there it is, a tiny one, nestled in my hand and I awake from the dream again as if I were peeling an onion. It’s a dream no matter how far I go; I can never reach reality, trapped in an endless nightmare.
Faye: When you're told not to open something, well, who can resist?
Faye: You know what they say cowboy, easy come easy go.
Spike: That missile will hit Ganymede before I have a chance to recharge!
Faye: Hey there, have a little trouble?
Spike: Huh?
Faye: I can bail you out for 80%...
Spike: You're insane!!
Faye: OK, bye-bye now!
Spike: Alright, 40%, that's my last offer!
Faye: OK, I get the 60!
Jet: Deal, just do it!
Spike: "Next time", "we'll make money"? Jet, is she saying what I'm thinking she's saying, cause if she is...
Jet: I don't know and I have no opinion.
Spike: Man, she's taking a shower in our shower. That's not OK, right?
Jet: Don't know, I have no opinion.
Spike: ...fine, I'll go tell her myself.
Jet: Mmmm... huh?- Wait, Spike! [three gunshots are heard] Bad move, Spike-o!

Ballad of Fallen Angels[edit]

Spike: Isn't it bad for your health to drink it all in one gulp, Annie?
Anastasia: What's bad for my health is seeing you come back to life. It's a shock to the system.
Spike: Hey, thanks a lot for the warm welcome.
Anastasia: Hmph. Why welcome the dead? It's all futile.
Spike: But I'm alive.
Anastasia: No, you're not. You died three years ago. That's how things work here.
Jet: Let me tell you something. You're not gonna get any reward money from Mao. [Spike inserts bullets into a magazine] He's already dead. Assassinated. Internal politics. Between rival crime syndicates. You understand? It's a trap!
Spike: Yeah, I know. I know the whole sad story. [inserts magazine into his pistol]
Jet: And you're still going? Wait, does this have to do with Mao?
Spike: Yeah. I have a debt to pay off.
[Jet hesitates to find the urge and answer Spike's question]
Jet: You wanted to know what happened to my arm.
Spike: Huh? [Jet holds the wrist of his prosthetic arm]
Jet: This is what I've paid. Yeah, for being too gung-ho and running ahead of the game. You get the point?
Spike: I don't want to do this, Jet.
Jet: Then why are you?
Spike: Let's just say my past is catching up to me.
Vicious: When angels are forced out of heaven, they become devils. You agree, don't you, Spike?
Spike: I'm just watching a bad dream I never wake up from.
Vicious: I'll wake you up right now.
Spike: What's your rush, Vicious? After all, it's been a long time.
Vicious: [chuckles] Are you pleading for your life?
Spike: Hardly. Begging doesn't work on you, remember? Even if it's coming from the man who took you in and made you what you are.
Vicious: Perhaps, but he was a beast who lost his fangs. That's why he had to die, Spike. And that's why you have to die.
Vicious: You should see yourself. Do you have any idea what you look like right at this moment, Spike?
Spike: What?
Vicious: A ravenous beast. The same blood runs through both of us. The blood of a beast who wanders, hunting for the blood of others.
Spike: I've bled all that kind of blood away.
Vicious: THEN WHY ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!
[Spike, bandaged head to toe, regains consciousness. Faye is watching over him, humming]
Faye: Oh, you're finally up, huh? You slept too much, you've been asleep three days. Yeah, I was starting to worry about you. Hey, you should be grateful to me for staying here.
[Spike beckons her over]
Spike: [muffled] You sing off-key.
[Spike screams in pain and Faye angrily walks out of the room]

Sympathy for the Devil[edit]

Jet: Damn, that blues-harp sounds sweet. I knew it would.
Spike: Heh... I thought you like jazz.
Jet: Don't be dense. I started wailing the blues when the doctor whacked my bottom on the day I was born.
Spike: A baby hipster, very cool.
Jet: Yo! Hey, Fatty! Fatty River, long time no see!
Fatty: Oh! Who'd have guessed, if it isn't Jet Black! [they both pat each other's shoulders] Well, well, when the hell did you blow in?
Jet: How about you? You're lookin' pretty cheery. What happened, did you catch a nice big one? [both laughing out loud]
[Wen takes Zebra to the exit; Giraffe then sees them and follows them before Spike tails behind him]
Jet: I had no idea you were a fan of the blues, Fatty!
Fatty: You kidding me? I listened to the blues when I was still in my father's sack, if you know what I mean!
Spike: Come on! There's nothing to be afraid of. Come here, let's talk.
[Wen shoots Spike's right arm, throws his pistol off to an empty area]
Wen: You'd better stay out of it. [Spike turns to him] Little twerp like you sticks his neck out too far, he'll get it cut off. Understand? [Spike then starts groaning in pain]
Spike: Don't give me that crap, kid!
Wen: Sorry, but I'm not a kid.
Spike: Yeah, all kids say that. [Wen pauses for a long beat]
Wen: I know what I look like, but I was alive when this place was an outpost, before the asteroids were even settled. Get the picture?
Jet: When the Gate exploded, a coordinate system was created from the resulting twists in hyperspace—a kind of singularity that drew in vast amounts of energy, enclosing and crystallising them into a single faceted stone, the gem that makes up this ring. The same energy broke Wen's circadian rhythm. His pineal body continually produces a substance like melatonin that inhibits ageing. That's the theory in a nutshell. Get the picture?
Spike: Yeah, as if.
Jet: [sighs] I don't either. Which simply means, there's no way to know for sure until we stick the gem into the kid and find out.
[Spike puts the gem-pointed bullet into the gun and cocks it]
Jet: Anything could happen. It could blow sky high the moment it hits.
Spike: ..Kinda makes it interesting.
Wen: I see... Yes, I can finally die at last... [Spike walks to him] Ah, I feel so heavy... [sighs] But I feel... I finally feel at ease. Do you understand? [Spike pauses] Do you understand? Do you...?
[Wen passes on. Spike picks up his harmonica, blows into it with no sound]
Spike: Yeah, I understand... as if.
[Spike throws the harmonica in the air, slowing uses a finger gun gesture to it]
Spike: Bang.

Heavy Metal Queen[edit]

V.T.: Talk about the bottom of the food chain. Bounty hunters must be the lowest form of life there is.
Spike: You think so?
V.T.: I know so. Human beings are just a price tag to them. They live by gambling on other peoples' lives.
Spike: Yeah? Well, that may be.
V.T.: So have a seat. The drinks are on me.
[Spike and Faye hitchhike inside V.T.'s Heavy Metal Queen tanker ship, with loud heavy metal music playing in the background]
Faye: [shouting] How many times do I have to tell you the same thing?! Short, bald with glasses and Saraswati—
Spike: [shouting] Huh?! What're you saying?!
Faye: I JUST SAID IT!! OHHHH!! Can you please turn down that repulsive music?!
V.T.: I don't think so. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do".
Faye: Huh?
V.T.: And it's not repulsive, it's very soothing. It's called heavy metal, by the way.
[Jet's repairs to Faye's ship still aren't done]
Faye: It's so ugly... and pieces of it are still broken!
Jet: [mutters] Too bad it wasn't your mouth that was broken.
Faye: I heard that.
[Spike goes outside to find his ship has been vandalized]
Spike: Ack! My ship!
Muriel: Yeah, it was trashed by those three guys. I think they were called the "Something Brothers".
Spike: You were watching?
Muriel: Uh-huh!
Spike: Then Muriel, why didn't you tell me about it?
Muriel: But I did tell you. I told you just now!
[after escaping the exploding Linus mining satellite]
Spike: Thanks for the help, Victoria Terpsichore. [V.T. is stunned] And give your husband my thanks, too. I figured out who you were because of this. [gives pocket watch to V.T.] Of course, everyone's heard about him... the legendary bounty hunter Terpsichore, and wife. [V.T. gives a moment of silence]
V.T.: I won't be able to give him your thanks for a while. I'm afraid he's doing all his bounty hunting up in Heaven these days.
Spike: I see. [V.T. gives the wad of bills to Spike, he takes back his thousand woolong note] The rest is for your husband. I'm sure he's got a hangover up there. [V.T. gasps in surprise] Treat him to a prairie oyster on me.

Waltz for Venus[edit]

Rocco: Come on, can't you show a little mercy and compassion?
Spike: 'Fraid I'm fresh outta that stuff.
[Spike gives a third of the bounty to Faye]
Spike: That's all you're gonna get, Faye.
Faye: I know... don't sweat it.
Spike: Depositing it at the casino again?
Faye: It's a lot more fun than the bank.
Spike: Girl never gives up...
Rocco: How did you do that?
Spike: You're tense, I'm calm. You apply excessive force, I control that force through fluid motion. That means relaxing the whole body so that it could react instantly without resistance. You know, without thought. Do you see now? It means becoming like clear water.
Rocco: Water?
Spike: Right. Water can take any form. It drifts without effort one moment then pounds down in a torrent the very next.
Stella: Everyone says bad things about him... And he seems to hang out with some bad people... But Rocco is a good person.
Spike: I might be one of those bad people he hangs out with.
Stella: Maybe. Guess you could be one, but if you are, you’re very different. I can feel these things. Both you and Rocco have something beautiful inside you. It’s hard for most people to see it, but it’s there. I know it is, that’s why I’m sharing my tea with you.
Spike: Something beautiful, huh? I’m afraid that… afraid that I lost that a long time ago.
Stella: I... I never got to see Roco once with my own eyes...Hey, what was Rocco like?
Spike: You know without looking, right? He was a great guy. Exactly the person you thought he was.

Jamming with Edward[edit]

Spike: I'm gonna have to pass this time.
Jet: You're leaving me alone with her?
Spike: Yeah, what's the problem? She's all gung-ho about this thing, y'know.
Jet: I'm not the type to be led around by a woman.
Spike: Then you'll have to lead her around.
Jet: I'm even less the type to do that.
Faye: Hackers are nerdy, pasty, tubby little geeks with triple-thick glasses, and this one is probably a demented otaku with smelly feet, so catching him will be a breeze.
Jet: Is that right? And what do you know about hackers, anyway? It might've been like that when you were young, but that was a long time ago.
Faye: What are you trying to say, Jet? That I'm starting to get old like you?
Jet: Well, you can't tell a woman's age by looking—oww!! [Faye rams her heel into his foot]
Faye: And you can't tell what a woman will DO by looking, so you'll have to be very careful.
Jet: Same with a snake!
Spike: [chuckles] You two make a lovely couple.
Faye: I'm waiting!
Ed: Ed will introduce Ed's full name - Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV.
Spike: That's a long name.
Faye: Who the hell's this?
Ed: Ed made up that name for Ed, isn't it cool?
Spike: If you made it up, how can you be the 4th?
Jet: [describing Edward from conflicting interviews] Radical Edward's profile: He's a 7 foot tall ex-basketball pro Hindu guru drag queen alien.
Spike: Jet, do you know that there are three things that I particularly hate?
Jet: Really?
Spike: Kids, animals, and women with attitudes. So tell me, Jet... WHY DO WE HAVE ALL THREE OF THEM NEATLY GATHERED IN OUR SHIP!?!?

Ganymede Elegy[edit]

Faye: He's kidding himself if he thinks his old girlfriend's still carrying the torch for him.
Spike: And you're kidding yourself if you think every woman's like you. They're not you know.
Ed: Duty calls, THREE O'CLOCK TEA!
Jet: Nope, just wandering around with some weirdos.
Alisa: I don't need time that stands still.
Jet: I'll do this. You can go back.
Spike: You are not gonna let him go, are ya?
Jet: When I was a cop this was my beat. I'm the Black Dog, and once I bite, I don't let go. I have no regrets about her, but I'll settle this score on my own terms.
Spike: Sense of justice and duty, huh...

Toys in the Attic[edit]

Jet: Humans were meant to work and sweat to earn a living. Those that try to get rich quick, or live at the expense of others, all get divine retribution somewhere along the line. That's the lesson. Unfortunately we quickly forget the lessons we've learned, and then we have to learn them all over again.
Faye: "Survival of the fittest" is the law of nature. We deceive or we are deceived. Thus, we flourish or perish. Nothing good ever happened to me when I trusted others. That is the lesson.
[Spike is unable to figure what toxin Jet has in the database]
Faye: So what is it? [hears Ein barking] Ein, give it a rest, would ya?
Spike: Well, this is not an ordinary rat. [Ein keeps barking] Huh? Ein, keep it quiet!
Faye: So what could it be, then?!
Spike: Well, it's a—
Ed: A mystery space creature! [Spike and Faye gasp; she runs upstairs] Spooky! The attack of the horrible alien!
Spike: Well, yeah... That is possible, I suppose. [scoffs] Oh yeah, right. [Ed suddenly jumps down next to Spike]
Ed: Then what is it? It's not in the database, right?
Spike: Well, uh— [Ed points]
Ed: Look! These pairs are abnormal.
Spike: Uhh, you think so?
Ed: Ed has never seen this before. [Spike grumbles] So what else could it be but a horrible alien, huh? What?
Spike: Maybe it's... something like a rat went through a mutation and it evolved... and turned into some kind of unusual creature, and secreted this new form of mysterious poison.
Faye: Oh, that's brilliant. Right out there with Ed's theory that it's a horrible alien! Really pitiful.
Ed: August 6 - sky day! Today, Ed goes looking for the spooky mysterious horrible alien. Lesson, lesson... if you see a stranger, follow him.
Spike: And what was the real lesson? Don't leave things in the fridge.

Jupiter Jazz (Part 1)[edit]

[Old Man Bull gazes a shooting star in the sky]
Son: A star just fell from the sky.
Bull: That is not an ordinary star, my son. That star is the tear of a warrior.
Son: What warrior is it?
Bull: A lost soul who has finished his battle somewhere on this planet.
Son: Ahh...
Bull: A pitiful soul who could not find his way to the lofty realm where the Great Spirit awaits us all.
Wang Long: Callisto is a frigid planet, Vicious. You'll need special clothing for the arctic conditions.
Vicious: Cold climates do not concern me.
Wang Long: True, your heart is colder than any planet. Colder than the eye of a snake about to strike.
[Spike gets into his Swordfish II getting a lead on Julia, turns to Jet]
Spike: I'm gonna go look.
Jet: You're not!
Spike: I'm gonna go look for my woman. You can go look for the other one.
Jet: So you're not gonna help me, are you? [long pause] That's it! You've really gone too far. Then don't come back, there won't be a place for you. [Spike puts his coat in the cockpit]
Spike: That's your call, pal. [Jet grunts] Anyway, at least you won't be lonely now, not with your weird roommates.
Jet: My roommates?! That's why you've been staying here?! You're being stupid! It's been three years since I teamed up with you, but I never knew you had such ridiculous ideas about this thing. What a joke! And I thought you were the one who was lonely!
Spike: I'm glad we cleared that up.
Jet: Good riddance! [walks off, Spike gets into ship] At least I'll be able to keep some food in the place now! [Spike inserts engine key] I never did understand you, right to the very end!
Spike: I don't understand, either.
Spike: [confronts Vicious and Lin] Are you seeing Julia behind my back?
Lin: Spike!
Spike: Lin. You've gotten pretty big.
Vicious: He doesn't work under you anymore, Spike. Things are different now.
Spike: Like you using her name for your scummy drug deals? I truly pity her for that.
Vicious: If there's anyone who needs pity here, it's you.
Gren: Take care. [Faye looks up] That was close. When someone sneezes and doesn't get told to take care, that person turns into a fairy... That's what they say around here.
Faye: Then it's okay. I'm already a fairy.
Faye: I am alone. I don't need any comrades, they're not worth it. I end up worrying about things I shouldn't. You know, me being such a prize and all that. All the guys end up fighting over me like dogs. They say humans are social animals, they can't live alone. But you can live pretty well by yourself. I tell ya, instead of feeling alone in a group, it's better to have real solitude all by yourself.

Jupiter Jazz (Part 2)[edit]

Gren: You said that you don't need comrades, but I am attracted to that word. To the point of tears...
Faye: Why are you going to see Vicious? Didn't you say he framed you?
Gren: [beat] I want to find out if he did.
Faye: He'll murder you.
Gren: Death does not frighten me.
Faye: You're lying. [Gren pauses for a beat]
Gren: Either way, I don't have long to live.
Jet: [shows photo of Faye to the Blue Crow bartender] Are you sure it was this woman?
Bartender: Oh, yeah. It's been six months since I saw a woman in the flesh, and two years since I saw a girl that good-looking. Trust me, I wouldn't make a mistake about that.
Jet: [to himself] Man, I sure wouldn't want to live around here.
Bartender: She sat over there talking to Gren. [Jet sees a lone bar stool] Julia used to sit in that same seat.
Jet: Julia?
Bartender: About two years ago, she wandered in out of the blue. Month later, she disappeared.
Jet: Yeah? What kinda girl was she?
Bartender: She was a real woman.
Vicious: I'm the only one who can keep you alive... And I'm the only one that can kill you...
Vicious: There's nothing to believe in. Nor is there a reason to believe.
[Spike carries up a slowly dying Gren into the cockpit of his ship]
Gren: I get it now. You're the one, aren't you? You're Spike. [sees Spike's different shades of brown in his eyes] Julia was always talking about you. Your eyes are different colors. I remember her saying that. [Gren's eyes are watering] Said you get a strange feeling if you keep looking straight into his eyes.
Spike: Where'd you meet her? Where was she?
Gren: Right on the corner bar stool. She'd slip in when I wasn't looking. And she'd ask me to play the same song every time she came in. Strange lilting tune, and then she would smile. Ohh, what a smile. So sad... so beautiful.

Bohemian Rhapsody[edit]

[Chessmaster Hex starts laughing uproariously after Ed wins in a game of e-chess]
Hex: This is either an idiot or a genius! I like this fellow...!
[when the boss catches the chess piece thrown by Jet]
Jet: This is a game, all planned out in advance. You Gate guys know exactly what I'm talkin' about. You put a bounty out on some mastermind who may not even exist, which means you don't want the police to know who's really behind this. You suits are using us bounty hunters like pawns, and I don't appreciate it. [the boss pauses for a beat]
Boss: Bounty hunters should look for bounties. I suggest you do that. Maybe you used to work for the ISSP, maybe not. Either way, you'd be wise to drop this line of inquiry. [turns away] Our guest is leaving now. Make sure he's escorted out of the building.
Faye: So, listen, guys. Why don't we all pony up the information we have on this case, and agree to spilt the bounty three ways. Whaddaya say?
Spike: You're kidding, right? You're the one who said to work separately. "Each one gathering the facts and examining them"?
Jet: Occasional rivalry between comrades is healthy. I believe that's the way you put it.
[Spike and Faye crash into Chessmaster Hex's room, aiming him at gunpoint]
Spike: Chessmaster Hex, I take it.
Faye: Don't try anything. Understand?
Hex: You both... [turns to see Spike and Faye] Well, could you just be a little quieter, please?
[Spike and Faye look confused at each other; Jonathan appears between them]
Jonathan: Old man... [starts growling with anger] Hand it over!! [aims his heavy gun at Hex's face]
Spike: Hey, hold on a minute!
Jonathan: Pretending to be senile won't get you out of this.
Faye: Who are you?!
Jonathan: Either you give me the money you took, or I put a hole right through your brain!
Hex: [chuckles as he touches his gun] That's quite a large pipe there.

My Funny Valentine[edit]

Faye: [takes a closer look at Ein] I've been trying to figure out who it is you remind me of. Now I know. It's that guy with the thin eyebrows. Whitney Hagas Matsumoto. I wonder why I suddenly thought of him out of the blue like that. Do you want a secret about my past? Do you? [Ein yawns hard] Tch...
Doctor Bacchus: "Who am I? My past? My future?" These are questions every human asks at least once in their life.
[Whitney and Faye hide in the woods from a collection agency ship]
Whitney: If we stay here, we'll both get caught. You'd better jump out and run.
Faye: What about you?
Whitney: I'll meet you at the medical clinic. All right?
Faye: But why are you helping me like this?
Witney: Our prince has to protect Sleeping Beauty. That's the way it works.
[Faye has just poured out her life story to Ein in front of the bathroom. Spike flushes the toilet and emerges from the bathroom stall next to Faye]
Faye: [grumpy] How long were you in there listening, Spike?
Spike: Too long. Your story needs editing.
Jet: You think it's safe to leave 'em alone?
Spike: Worried about him or her?
Jet: I'm afraid she might let him escape or something.
Spike: Well, she'd have to have a heart to do that.
Jet: Don't be fooled 'cause she acts tough. Babes like her are the first ones that go soft when it comes an old boyfriend.
Spike: Is that right?
Jet: Women are hopeless. They don't work on reason.
[as Faye pushes Whitney into her ship, she aims her gun at Jet and Spike trying to come over]
Faye: Stay back! We're leaving! [Jet and Spike stop at their tracks]
Jet: She wants the guy instead of the money.
Spike: Jet caught him! It's his reward, Faye!
Faye: I have some history to work out with this guy, so I claim first rites to him and to the bounty that's on his head!
Spike: [dumbfounded] Is it just me, or did that not make any sense?
Jet: Just like I said, women don't work on reason.

Black Dog Serenade[edit]

Fad: [sticks a revolver on Jet by the bridge] Caught you redhanded. Littering. That's a 20,000 woolong fine, my friend.
Jet: [chuckles] Then I'll need to collect on that loan I gave you with seven years' worth of interest, [offers his hand] and penalty fees. [Fad pats his hand back]
Fad: Hey, when did you buy me that cup of coffee? It's way past the statute of limitations. [hurls his revolver back in its holster]
Jet: So you still think you're a shooter with an old gun like that? ISSP sure can waste tax money.
Fad: On the gun? [Jet holds a cigarette in his mouth]
Jet: No, on your salary.
[Jet opens his Hammerhead when Ed is hanging on a hook upside-down]
Ed: You came back!
Jet: Hm? I'm leaving again. And don't stay there, you're in the way. [Ed drops from the hook, somersaults and lands down on her feet, Ein comes by]
Ed: Bring Edward some souvenirs this time. [Ein barks]
[Jet pauses for a beat, turns to Ed]
Jet: Edward... if I don't come back, water the bonsai for me, okay?
Ed: All right! [starts dancing] Bonsai, bok choy, wise guy, water boy! Lights shine bright in the old town tonight!
[Jet is confronted by Fad after shooting Udai in the head]
Jet: Why'd you blast him? [Fad walks to him] Because he was telling the truth? You came here to shut him up for good, didn't you? [Fad stops] Well? No answer? [beat] How about it, partner?!
Fad: You brought it on yourself, partner. You just couldn't play the game like everybody else. The people who go against a syndicate lose, Jet. They lose big.
[outside the prison ship, Fad's ship explodes and causes a tremor; Fad holds himself]
Fad: Either they give up like you did, or they die young. This is the real world. There's no place for pretty ideals.
Jet: And that's why you betrayed me? That's why you lied and took me out here?!
Fad: You were the best man. I wanted to team up like back in the old days.
[Fad slowly lifts his revolver and aims it at Jet for a long beat]
Fad: Sayonara... partner.

Mushroom Samba[edit]

Faye: [arguing over empty rations] We haven't had anything to eat in two days! Wouldn't you call that an emergency?!
Spike: I want some bell peppers and beef...
Jet: We're out of fuel, end of story. If we can just hold out a little longer, our inertia will carry us to Europa.
Ed: Stomach's caving in!
Faye: If we only we could use that energy to fuel ourselves...
Jet: Keep mouthing off like that and I'll toss you out into absolute zero.
Spike: At this point, even Ein looks good enough to eat.
Faye: Watch it, Spike. I bet you're looking pretty good to him too.
Younger Shaft Brother: [confronts Domino, Ed and Ein] Hey! Hah! Now don't tell me that you forgotten who I am so soon, [snaps fingers] Domino!
Domino: Let's see...
Shaft: Think, dammit! I'm the youngest Shaft brother! We bought all those mushrooms from you!
Domino: Hm... I don't remember you.
Shaft: No? Do you wanna know why I drag an empty coffin like this wherever I go, huh? Heh-heh... I'll tell you. 'Cause I'm puttin' your corpse inside it!
[his white coffin is suddenly run over by truck; everyone pauses for a beat]
Ed: ...Pieces, pieces, all gone.
Domino: What's what with who? [Shaft is doing an angry expression]
Shaft: My older brother ate a mushroom that he bought from you and then, he laughed until he twisted his intestines to death!
Domino: Happy way to die, I'd say. [Ed starts laughing]
Shaft: Shut up! The whole thing was your fault!!
Domino: I call that unjust resentment.
Ed: Edward is hungry! [Ein barks, Shaft pulls out a grenade launcher]
Shaft: Yeah?! Then eat this, fool!
[Spike continues walking up an endless stairway and sees a frog]
Frog: Hey, mister. [pause] This here is the stairway to heaven. You know that, don't cha?
Spike: ...Obnoxious little frog. [continues walking up]
Frog: Fine, why should I care? I warned you, though!
Jet: [Talking to his bonsai trees] So that's it? The secret to the universe is so simple! By the way, just who am I anyway?

Speak Like a Child[edit]

Younger Faye (on a tape): In your time, I'm no longer here. But I am here today, and I'll always be cheering for you right here. Cheering for you, my only self.
Spike: Most things get better when I kick them...
[Jet holds a cassette-sized package to Faye on her way back from the horse race]
Jet: Pay up. 6300 woolongs.
Faye: What? Where did that come from, huh?
Jet: Special delivery for you.
Faye: Well, I didn't order anything.
Jet: It was COD. [Faye grunts] Top it off, there's no return address on it. I had no choice but to accept it and pay your ta— [Faye slowly reaches the handle and shuts the cockpit door] Hmm? Hey, hold on! [Faye flies her ship away from the Bebop deck] Hey, I want my money or else!
Spike: [turns away from fishing] She's a busy girl, huh?
[Spike and Jet walk through a submerged corridor to a museum underground]
Jet: Tell me again why in the world we're going through all of this?
Spike: It's a lesson to remind you that treasure hunts are always trouble.
Jet: Treasure hunts? What treasure are we hunting?
Spike: Tamatebako, was it?
Jet: When he opens the Tamatebako, he turns into an old man. Now I know why.
Spike: Even if we turn back now, we wouldn't be any younger.
[Jet stops on his tracks, looks down to see a catfish-like creature suckling on his right leg]
Jet: This place is some Ryūgū-jō... [grabs fish off his leg and throws it] Where'd that minx run off to, anyway?
[Jet tries to put the Betamax tape into a VHS player]
Spike: What's wrong?
Jet: The size...
Spike: What about it?
Jet: It won't go in. [tries forcing tape in]
Spike: Push harder.
Jet: But it's... [Ed comes behind them]
Ed: Ahhh, that's the wrong one!
Spike/Jet: Huh?
Ed: You got a VHS.
Spike/Jet: Huh?
Ed: It won't play beta.
Spike/Jet: Huuuh?!
Younger Faye (on a tape): Well, knowing me, I'm sure I am troubling a lot of different people.
Younger Faye (on a tape): And now a big cheer from my heart. Let's... go... me, all right! Do your best! Do your best! Don't lose me! Let's go, don't lose, don't lose me! Do your best! Do your best! Me, me, me! Don't lose, don't lose! Me, me, me! Go me!

Wild Horses[edit]

Miles: Hey, do people ever tell you you don't talk much?
Spike: Hey, do people ever tell you you talk too much?
Doohan: Do you want to use the machine, or do you want the machine to use you?
Doohan: You can still back out of this, you know.
Miles: Negative, Blue Sox fans never leave the game early.
Spike: Whatever happens, happens.

Pierrot le Fou[edit]

Pierrot: [introduces himself] Hello, gentlemen. I journeyed here in order to take your lives.
Jet: [learns Mad Pierrot's past] In the beginning, he escaped from the facility to seek revenge... but now he seems to actually enjoy the act of killing. Apparently his mind is continuing to regress. So he's like a child with superhuman combat capabilities. And really... there's nothing more pure and cruel as a child.
Bob: [tells Jet about Mad Pierrot] This guy's a perfect killing machine. They say that nobody who's seen his face has lived to tell about it. Those few that managed to get away were hunted down relentlessly, and they always turned up dead. They say he appears with a smile, and he leaves with a smile...
Ed: [strolling about] Faye-Faye! Smoke-smoke, Faye-Faye! Puff-puff, Faye-Faye! [Faye comes out the bathroom]
Faye: My name's Faye, not "Faye-Faye". You just say it once, okay? [Ed comes to Faye with her computer on her head]
Ed: Faye-Faye! Some weird mail came-came for Bebop-Bebop!
Faye: [sighs] I would've been able to pay it off if I had just a little more time. Would you hold still? [holds Ed's head, reads mail on computer] Hmm... "Hello, boy. You are invited to a wonderful party"? Wait a minute... this is... All right, don't tell Spike about this. It's a secret, okay?
Ed: But why? Faye-Faye, why keep it a secret?
Faye: If we don't, that lunkhead—
Spike: Will run right out to the party? [Faye sees bandaged Spike behind her]
Ed: It's secret mail-mail from Mars. [Spike reads mail; Faye leans down on a wall]
Spike: It's Space Land. Nice place to hold a party, don't you think?
Faye: Yeah, you're gonna go like that? It's uh, perfect for a masquerade, isn't it? [Spike looks at his left hand for a moment]
Spike: Maybe this is the one, the one I won't come back from. The end. [Faye is worried] Just playin' with your head. Would you rescue me if it were true? [Faye pauses for a beat]
Faye: ..Lunkhead.
Ed: [waving about] Lunkhead-lunkhead-lunkhead! [laughing]

Boogie Woogie Feng Shui[edit]

Jet: They sure are disrepectful fellows.
[Spike and Faye are smoking by the stove]
Faye: What do you think, Spike?
Spike: They make a good couple.
Faye: I think it's a dangerous combination.
Spike: And why's that?
Faye: The more righteous a guy was back in his youth, the more likely he is to fall for some young thing when he gets older.
Spike: Is that right?
Faye: Definitely. Men are extremely predictable.
[Spike sees Faye, Ed and Ein peeking in the main room]
Spike: What're you up to?
Faye: Take a look over there. Jet's got a friend.
Spike: Hm? [sees Meifa and Jet in the main room] Ohh...
Faye: It's a fine romance.
Spike: She's too young for that.
Ed: [starts crawling and singing] Hot-dog bun, not too young!
Faye: Maybe she's got a thing?
Spike: Nah, 'fraid she's too old.
Ed: [crawling back] Oldy, moldy, history, mystery!
Jet: Now, I don't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing that we brought her out there, but that is how this peculiar case ended. Meifa went back home to Mars, our no-smoking area became a smoking zone again, and life returned to the same daily routine just like before. One thing has changed, though. When I read the news, I never checked the horoscopes anymore.

Cowboy Funk[edit]

Faye: A horse, huh? I thought it sounded kinda fishy when you said you'd nab him while you were out foraging.
Spike: What do you mean?
Faye: I mean you spent all our food money, didn't you?
Spike: I what?
Faye: What'd you blow it on? [Spike points to horseshoe prints on his back]
Spike: If I'm lying, then how the hell do you explain this on my back?!
Jet: Okay, okay, chill! I totally buy the horse.
Faye: You do?
Jet: But you're lacking creativity in the cowboy character. He's lame.
Faye: Yeah, maybe that's the problem.
Jet: Perhaps if he was a samurai instead?
Faye: Now that I wouldn't question.
Andy von de Oniyate: [aims his pistol at Jet] I know that's you, Teddy Bomber.
Jet: Huh? Who, me?
Spike: I told you. [Andy aims his second pistol at Spike]
Andy: Or is it you? [Spike then talks back at Andy]
Spike: Are you braindead or what?! We met each other yesterday!
Andy: Hmm... I don't recollect.
Spike: WHY, YOU!! [a suited man talks to Andy]
Man: Um, excuse me, sir. Horses aren't allowed in here and it's very disturbing for our customers...
Andy: Oh-hoh, but my Onyx is no ordinary steed. [Teddy Bomber is growling with rage] She's a good compadre who eases my mind and plays a decent game of chess.
Spike: Horses can't play chess!!
Jet: Who cares?
Teddy: If there's one thing I hate, IT'S BEING IGNORED!!
Jet: Andy really pushes your buttons. What is it about him that gets you so bent?
Faye: I know why he hates the guy. They're too much alike. [Spike angrily slams his fist on the table]
Spike: What part of me could be anything like that stupid ass?!!
Jet: The part that makes you so damn troublesome.
Faye: Mm-hmm.

Brain Scratch[edit]

Spike: Why do you kill off the members of your own group? What's the point of that?
Dr. Londes: I am not forcing anything on anyone. They are merely practicing a faith that they've decided to believe in of their own free will. Tell me, why do you think people believe in God? Because they want to. It's not easy living in such an ugly corrupt world, there is no certainty and nothing to hope for. People are lost so they reach out. Don't you get it? God didn't create humans, no, it's humans who created God.
Dr. Londes: Do you want to know what the greatest and also the worst device that humans ever invented? It's television! Television controls people by bombarding them with information until they lose their sense of reality. Now television itself has become the new religion. Television has created a people who believe instantly in dramatic fantasies who can be controlled by tiny dots of light.
Spike: 'You're like a kid with a toy... You're the one that can't tell fantasy from reality. You're the one who lives in the little dots of light. If you want to dream, just do it by yourself!
Jet: It was all a kid's dream. I guess, all he could do was dream so the dreams turned dark.
Ed: And this time, I hope you have sweet dreams.
Dr. Londes: The souls that God has given us, our spirits. Our spirits, which found a way to swim through the immense network and live in the infinity of space. Is not the human body a mere shell, a form of existence all too small and weak for consciousness with such vast reach and potential?

Hard Luck Woman[edit]

Ed: I think I know, I don't think I know. I don't think I think I know. I don't think I think. Ahh!
Sister Clara: Our father who art in heaven... never mind the rest. Let's eat.
Sister Clara: In this world, people have to cherish what ties they have...
Appledelhi Siniz Hesap Lufen: Yes, happiness comes in the form of a map.
Appledelhi Siniz Hesap Lufen: Thanks for taking care of my son. Or was it my daughter?
Faye: It's the best, belonging is the very best thing there is.

The Real Folk Blues (Part 1)[edit]

Vicious: Don't forget, a snake's venom poisons slowly after the bite.
Faye: It might be good to pair up with another woman. How about it? Wanna partner up?
Vicious: ... And you will shed tears of scarlet.
[Jet walks up the main bridge with Spike sitting down, overlooking the surface of Mars]
Spike: Are you still in pain?
Jet: [beat] Have you heard this story?
Spike: Huh?
Jet: A man injures his leg during a hunt. He's in the middle of the savanna. No means to treat the wound. The leg rots and death approaches. Last minute, he's picked up by an airplane. He looks down and sees a land of pure white below him, glistening in the light. It's the summit of a snow-capped mountain. The mountain is Kilimanjaro. As he gazes down, he feels the life flowing out of him and then, he thinks, "That's where I was headed."
Spike: ..And?
Jet: I hate stories like that. Men only think of their past right before their death, as if they were searching frantically for proof that they were alive.
Jet: When you and I first met, you told me something. You said that you had died once, that you had seen death. Why can't you just let it go? [beat] Forget the past.
Spike: There was a woman. First time I found someone who was truly alive. At least that's what I thought. [long beat] She was the part of me I lost somewhere along the way. The part that was missing, that I'd been longing for.

The Real Folk Blues (Part 2)[edit]

Julia: It was raining that day as well.
Spike: And so you didn't come because of the rain?
Julia: I was supposed to kill you. It was all set up. If I had, I would have been free.
Spike: So why didn't you? You chose to be hunted. Why?
Julia: Why did you love me?
Spike: There once was a tiger striped cat. This cat died a million deaths, revived and lived a million lives, and he was owned by various people who he didn't really care for. The cat wasn't afraid to die. Then one day the cat became a stray cat, which meant he was free. He met a white female cat, and the two of them spent their days together happily. Well, years passed, and the white cat grew weak and died of old age. The tiger striped cat cried a million times, and then he died too. Except this time, he didn't come back to life.
Jet: Yeah. That's a good story.
Spike: I hate that story.
Jet: Huh?
Spike: I never liked cats, you know that.
Jet: Oh yeah. That's right.
[They laugh hysterically.]
Bull: Do not fear Death. Death is always at our side. When we show fear, it jumps at us faster than light. But, if we do not show fear, it casts its eye upon us gently and then guides us into infinity...
Spike: Look at these eyes. One of them is a fake, because I lost it in an accident. Since then, I have seen the past in one eye, and the present in the other. So I thought I could only see patches of reality, never the whole picture. I felt like i was watching a dream I could never wake up from. Before I knew it, the dream was finally over.


Faye: My memory..... Finally came back. But.... Nothing good came of it. There was no place for me to return to. This was the only place I wanted to go. And now your leaving just like that. Why do you have to go? Where are you going? What are going to do, just throw your life away like it was nothing?
Spike: I'm not going there to die. I'm going to find out if I'm really alive. I have to do it, Faye.
Vicious: So you're finally awake. I told you this once before, Spike: I'm the only one that can kill you and set you free.
Spike: Those words apply to you as well, Vicious. Either way, it ends tonight.
Julia: [Dying] It's all a dream.
Spike: Yeah, just a dream.
Spike: Bang...
[Spike smiles, then collapses on the floor]
Series Closing Line: You're gonna carry that weight.

About Cowboy Bebop[edit]

  • Back when Cowboy Bebop was in production, we never knew that Japanese anime would have any impact overseas, so we totally didn't see Westerners being exposed to the show. We just made what we enjoyed making, and the fact that it got accepted in the west at all was the most surprising thing. I grew up with US movies so it made me very happy that Americans liked my things, because I was raised on their things, in a way. The moment that made the biggest impact on me here did involve Edward, because Edward was a character I made thinking that no person existed like her in real life. But when I went to Texas, there was someone cosplaying as Ed, and it was like they'd stepped out of the anime. It was completely her if she had been living. How's that for a big impact?

Cast[edit]

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikipedia
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