# Cowboy Bebop: The Movie  (Spoilers likely)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-the-movie-spoilers-likely/166942>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [April 6, 2003, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-the-movie-spoilers-likely/166942 "2003-04-06T23:01:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-the-movie-spoilers-likely/166942/21 "2003-04-09T18:46:54Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by psiekier \*  
> **Y’know, my friend Charles, who is a huge anime fan and pretty much my best source, said pretty much the same thing. Spike is Lupin, Jet is Jigen Daisuke, and if you can’t see the similarities between Faye Valentine and Fujiko Mine (“Mountain Peaks”), you’re blind. That’s why he was never able to get “into” _Bebop_.**

I don’t get it; he couldn’t get into it because he didn’t like those characters, or because he thought _Bebop_ was being derivative? If it’s the latter, then that’s missing one of the main points of the series. One of the things I like about the series is that they took the “jazz” theme and carried it through everything – it’s basically “anime jazz.” Just like jazz musicians took traditional instruments and melodies and used them to create something new, _Bebop_ takes well known characters (Lupin et. al.), character types (the hacker, the martial arts expert, the cyborg), settings (sci-fi, westerns), and anime standards (robots and spaceships, barely-dressed women), throws them all together, and makes something new out of them.

As for the Spike == Lupin thing, one of the creators/character designers of the series said as much in an interview. Their nature isn’t the same, obviously, and Spike is 1000 times more interesting a character than Lupin, but the inspiration is there.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-the-movie-spoilers-likely/166942/22 "2003-04-10T17:41:33Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by SolGrundy \*  
> **I don’t get it; he couldn’t get into it because he didn’t like those characters, or because he thought _Bebop_ was being derivative? If it’s the latter, then that’s missing one of the main points of the series. One of the things I like about the series is that they took the “jazz” theme and carried it through everything – it’s basically “anime jazz.” Just like jazz musicians took traditional instruments and melodies and used them to create something new, _Bebop_ takes well known characters (Lupin et. al.), character types (the hacker, the martial arts expert, the cyborg), settings (sci-fi, westerns), and anime standards (robots and spaceships, barely-dressed women), throws them all together, and makes something new out of them.**

Charles is always “looking for something new.” I think he felt that he had already seen _Bebop_ because he was familiar with _Lupin III_.

Still, strangely enough, he was a vast ever-increasing anime collection, yet only actually watches and enjoys a small portion of it. You’d think he’d get _Cowboy Bebop_ in there accidentally by now.

> [@](#):
>
> **As for the Spike == Lupin thing, one of the creators/character designers of the series said as much in an interview. Their nature isn’t the same, obviously, and Spike is 1000 times more interesting a character than Lupin, but the inspiration is there.**

I find Lupin just as interesting as Spike, if not more so - do we need a new thread on this?

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-the-movie-spoilers-likely/166942.md?page=1)