“Three years ago…” It’s a time frame that keeps popping
up all over Cowboy Bebop. It seems that
the year 2068 was basically the “Origin Year” for every character in the series
and even the main antagonist from The Movie.
The Cowboy Bebop TV Series sheds a lot of light on the histories of its
main cast but doesn’t give us everything, especially in the case of Spike. So, idk…I cant be the only one who’s thought
about what sort of adventures the Bebop crew might’ve been on before they all came
together in 2071, or even what they might be up to afterwards. As we begin the countdown to the release of
the Live Action Netflix Series on November 19th (and the First
Impression Friday episode that comes with it), I’ll be doing a few new Cowboy
Bebop Top 5 lists, starting with today’s Top 5 Cowboy Bebop Side
Stories/Prequels (and one sequel) I Wanna See.
#5-Ed: Nothing Good Ever Comes From Earth Ed might have the longest history to explore of anyone in
the Bebop crew, save I guess for Spike.
We learn that Edward was left at orphanage by her father at a very young
age and has been on her own pretty much ever since.
When did the tiny terror touch her first
keyboard and what kind of trouble did she get up to that made her the infamous
“Radical Edward”?
This side series
prequel wouldn’t just open the doors to more Mushroom Samba esque zaniness for
our favorite hacker but also give us more of a chance to look deeper into what
Earth has become Post Gate Disaster.
Ein
might not be around to back her up but I’m sure Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky
IV can carry her own series.
#4-Jet: The Black Dog Who Bite and Never Lets Go
Before he was a Bounty Hunter on a dinky ship with a crew
of misfits, Jet Black was a cop working for the Intra Solar System Police
(ISSP).
Jet gained quite the rep and never
let a perp out of his sight once they entered it.
I could see a Jet Black ISSP prequel done in
the same style as the black and white flashbacks seen in Black Dog
Serenade.
It could be an old school noir
anthology, almost like the Law/Cop side of an episode of Law and Order.
There’s the added bonus of several characters
from Jets past that we’ve seen in the series like Bob and Fad who could get
better fleshed out as well.
#3-Faye: The Endless Debt
Faye’s origins are pretty well documented in the Cowboy
Bebop TV Series: she’s one of the few survivors of a shuttle caught in the
Hyperspace Gate Explosion and was placed in Cryo for over 50 years.
Upon being unfroze, Faye found herself
tricked by a Con Artist and inherited his debts in addition to the ones she had
to pay post Cryo Freeze.
So what did
Faye do right afterwards?
How did she
get into Bounty Hunting and what sort of sexy escapades was she into before she
crossed paths with Spike and Jet?
I
could see this acting as a series sort of in the vein of the Lupin III spin off
“A Woman Called Fujiko Mine” and could either be a dark, sexy thriller or more
of a goofball comedy.
Either way, I’m
sure we’d all like to see how Faye settled on her iconic sexy outfit.
#2-Spike: The Red Dragon Chronicles
Spike’s past is glimpsed but rarely discussed in great
detail and I think that’s kind of done on purpose.
You can piece together the story but I think
a proper prequel film or OVA series is long overdue.
Spike’s always been easy going and kind of
lazy but that’s all masked a very dark history of violence and we know when he
gets mad, Spike can be very good at doling out violence.
This would be a good chance to see Spike bond
with his former bestie, Vicious, and see the beginnings of his doomed romance
with Julia.
The Spike/Vicious angle
might be the best sell of this whole thing.
Spike would have to be a very, very different kind of guy back in the
day to associate himself with someone as vicious as…well Vicious.
#1-Carry On, Bebop
Let’s be clear about something: Cowboy Bebop has one of
the most perfect finales in all of Anime and is fine just as is………but has that
ever stopped anyone from wondering what came after Spike collapsed on those
steps?
This idea is very much inspired
by the bonus episode in Gundam Wing: Episode Zero.
Maybe we jump forward a year to 2072 and see
where our favorite crew has gotten to.
Naturally, there’s two angles to approach: did Spike die or survive the
finale?
I guess you could keep it
ambiguous and just check in on the others: did Jet and Faye stay teamed on the
Bebop or split up?
Did Ed and Ein ever
hear about Spike’s final brawl with the Red Dragons and seek out their old
comrades?
And if Spike is alive, did he
join up with Jet and Faye again or is he off living his own life in
solitude?
This is a tough sell.
Why ruin such a perfect ending and risk
another Madoka Magica Rebellion?
Then
again, the Bebop Movie, Knockin on Heavens Door, perfectly inserted itself into
the Bebop timeline without mucking up anything and is probably the high point
of Cowboy Bebop to me.
Well you know
what Spike always says, “Whatever happens, happens.
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