Spike Spiegel (born June 26, 2044) is a tall and lean 27-year-old bounty hunter born on Mars with a history of violent activity seen through flashbacks and dialog with the Red Dragon Mafia. He is often depicted with a cavalier attitude, but often shows signs of compassion when dealing with strangers. The inspiration for Spike's martial arts is found in Bruce Lee who uses the style of Jeet Kune Do as depicted in Session 8, "Waltz For Venus". He has fluffy, dark green hair (which is inspired by Yusaku Matsuda's) and reddish brown eyes, one of which is artificial and lighter than the other. He is usually dressed in a blue leisure suit, with a yellow shirt and Lupin III inspired boots. 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"). One theory is that his natural eye may have been lost during the pre-series massacre in which he supposedly "died". The purpose of this cybernetic eye is never explicitly stated, though it apparently gives him exceptional hand-eye coordination with firearms (Spike's gun of choice is a Jericho 941, as seen throughout the series). In the first episode, when facing a bounty-head using Red Eye, Spike mocks him, calling his moves "too slow". At first, this seems like posturing on Spike's part, but even with his senses and reflexes accelerated to superhuman levels by the drug, the bounty cannot even touch Spike. A recurring device throughout the entire show is a closeup on Spike's fully-natural left eye before dissolving to a flashback of his life as part of the syndicate. As said by Spike himself in the last episode, his right eye "only sees the present" and his left eye "only sees the past". Spike often has a bent cigarette between his lips, sometimes despite rain or "No Smoking" signs.

Jet Black (born December 3, 2035), known on his home satellite as the "Black Dog" for his tenacity, 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 (later revealed to be by choice, as biological replacements were possible, he wanted the fake arm as a reminder of what happened), yet 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).

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 her 23 years alive suggests, Faye is actually upwards of 74 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 spends much time in handcuffs on the ship or being frisked. 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.

Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV (born January 1, 2058) is the self-invented personal name of an elite hacker prodigy from Earth. Her birth name is Franoise. "Radical Edward" is a very strange, somewhat androgynous, teenage girl claiming to be around 13 years in age. She has a feral aspect reflected in her mannerisms, bare feet, strange postures and gangling walk; she raises one arm at the shoulder while raising the other leg which remains bent at the knee, then kicks it out, transfers her weight onto it, and repeats the motion with her other leg. Ed could be considered a "free spirit"; she is fond of silly exclamations and childish rhymes, easily distracted, and the show's primary source of physical humor. It is presumed she has a learning or developmental disability similar to ADHD but this is never specified (of note however is the fact that ADHD is considered highly heritable, and the condition seems to affect Ed's father as well; it is thus distinctly possible that she may have inherited such a disability from him). Over the course of the show she rarely walks anywhere, preferring to run, crawl, flip, roll, walk on her hands, ride piggyback, or at the very least saunter. Ed wears a very loose sleeveless shirt and very tight violet bicycle shorts but is always barefoot; she uses her feet for tasks which one would usually use hands, such as scratching her nose, clapping, and typing, and it seems she has followed this habit throughout her life: even during a flashback of several years ago wherein she appears to be around 7-9 years in age, she wears a dress over her usual loose shirt and shorts but is still barefoot. In one episode, she considers putting on socks and shoes, but quickly removes them, as even wearing socks hampers her, and she falls over seconds after putting them on; she also appears to be exceptionally strong and flexible, being able to support her weight on her arms for several minutes at a time, and to scratch her nose with her toe.

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