Cowboy Bebop is one of the best anime there is. From its jazzy soundtrack to unique characters, the bounty hunting crew has gained fans from around the world. Yet, Cowboy Bebop is not a complete story. It’s the story after the story, the epilogue tale of a group of individuals who become a de facto family.
At the end of the series, almost everyone deals with the aftermath of their pasts and actions. Spike Spiegel faces his past, Faye Valentine recovers her memories, and Jet Black finally gets some closure. But, over the course of the series, fans only saw snippets of their past, that led these individuals to the Bebop. Each member has a different relationship with their past, whether they’re trying to forget it, embrace it, or want to recover it. Even so, it’s their past that made the crew who they are and exploring their past would let us know the team better. So, here are five Cowboy Bebop storylines that should be explored in a prequel series.
Faye Valentine’s Escapades
Viewers learned almost everything there’s to know about the sad past of Bebop’s femme fatale, Faye Valentine. At the age of 20, she lost her parents in a spaceship accident, which also left her severely injured. After spending 54 years in cryogenic sleep, she awoke with no memory of her past and a massive medical bill.
Having no recollection of her previous life and being betrayed by the first people she met after waking up had a profound effect on Faye. As a result, she became deceitful, scheming, and a hustler, with the philosophy of “leave before being abandoned.”
But, the anime only showed the naive young woman with no memory and how she met the Bebop crew. It would be interesting to know what happened to Faye before meeting Spike and Jet and how she became the femme fatale that fans know and love. Seeing Faye trick mobsters and criminals to do her bidding could be a possible storyline for Cowboy Bebop creators to explore in a prequel series.
Jet Black’s Time as a Policeman
Before he was the Bebop’s cook, captain, and father figure to Spike, Jet, and Ein, Jet was an investigator for the Inter-Solar System Police (ISSP). During his time at the ISSP, he earned the nickname, Black Dog, because, like a dog, he bites his prey and never lets go.
His stubbornness earned him not only a bad reputation with criminals but also corrupt cops in the force. All of this led him to lose his girlfriend and his left arm. Nevertheless, Jet enjoyed keeping the streets of Ganymede safe. An OVA special could detail his good times at the ISSP and could even include a cameo from Spike Spiegel and Vicious.
Edward and Ein’s Wacky Adventures
There isn’t much mystery behind Edward and Ein. Fans already know a lot about Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV, commonly called Ed, the happy-go-lucky computer hacker who grew up in an orphanage, and Ein, a corgi with high intelligence. In the anime series, Ed and Ein delivered the comedy relief and brought the youthful energy that the show needed. So, if the Cowboy Bebop creators want to explore the possibility of a prequel or special, then concentrating on these two would be a good path to take.
Ed is a unique and talented young girl, so to see how this young prodigy became the young woman that she grew into would be fascinating. And since not much is known about her time at the orphanage, studio Sunrise could explore this storyline and how Ed interacted with the other children, especially with Tomato, Ed’s then best friend.
Like Ed, Ein’s past is also an enigma to fans. All we know is that he was experimented on and is smarter than the average dog. But, how was he before the experiment and the events leading up to that? What was he like as a puppy? These stories could make for a really interesting prequel series or special.
How Jet and Spike Meet
The relationship between Jet and Spike is one to be admired. After leaving the ISSP, Jet buys a former fishing ship, converts it into the Bebop, and roams the galaxy as a bounty hunter. After four years, he meets, under untold circumstances, Spike Spiegel and they quickly become best friends.
But, how did this friendship come about? What did they like about each other that they become so close? These are questions that Cowboy Bebop doesn’t answer by the end of the series nor in the 2001 anime movie, Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.
Spike Spiegel and Vicious’s Friendship
Spike and Vicious’s relationship is very tumultuous. Vicious not only tried to kill Spike twice, — although you could debate the second attempt at killing him — but he also tried to manipulate Julia, Spike’s girlfriend, to murder him. But, before all of this, Spike and Vicious were good friends rising in the ranks of the Red Dragon Syndicate.
But how did that friendship come about and how did they get involved in the criminal organization? And although fans see snippets of their friendship through a series of flashbacks, a clearer image of this relationship could be an exciting storyline to explore in a prequel.
Nevertheless, studio Sunrise should be careful if they are going to create this story, because it’s this mystery about Spike’s past that intrigues fans and what makes Cowboy Bebop one of the best anime of all time. Thus, the story should not reveal valuable information that could tarnish this mystery nor put Spike in a negative light.
To avoid revealing too much, the studio could adapt one of the jobs the pair had to do for the syndicate as the prequel. For example, they could use something playful like them babysitting the bosses’ kid or pet dog that would add to the Cowboy Bebop experience but not change its magic.
The Possibility of a Cowboy Bebop Prequel
While it would be great to explore the Bebop crew’s past, prequels for anime series are rarely heard of, but not impossible. Anime shows like Rurouni Kenshin, Hellsing, and Fairy Tail all have prequels, so the popularity of Cowboy Bebop among Japanese and Western anime fans may see the adventures of the bounty hunting crew make their way back into production. But right now, no one can say — except the Cowboy Bebop creators — if or when this fantasy will come true.
