In the year 2071, humanity has taken to the stars and colonized cities among the planets of the solar system. Crime has likewise grown and the Inter-Solar System Police is stretched too thin to handle it all. As a response, they resurrected the institution of bounty hunting, and the profession of "cowboy" has become more prevalent and popular. And this is where out story begins.
After barely managing to capture a bounty at a casino, our heroes, Spike Spigel and Jet Black, get a lead on a bounties Asimov Solensan and his wife, Katarina, who are pushing a drug called Red Eye which causes users to experience a high while increasing aggression. However as the cowboys close in on their mark, they find themselves dealing with a rival bounty hunter, Faye Valentine. They also start to tangle with the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate — the last people Spike's Dark and Troubled Past wants to deal with...
Tropes
- Abusive Parents: In the original, Katarina was simply Asimov's accomplice. In this version, Katarina's reason for running was to get away from her abusive father. When Faye mentions she's after her to bring Katarina home on the request of her father, she instantly panics at the name.
- Advert-Overloaded Future: The neon-sign saturated future version is shown when Jet is flying through the Astro Gate. However everywhere else shows no more (or less) advertising than in the Earth cultures they are copying.
- Adaptational Early Appearance: Faye, the Red Dragon Syndicate, Vicious and Julia are introduced in the opening episode of the show, rather then the Debut Queue of the anime.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: In the anime, Asimov became progressively more obsessed with Red Eye, to the point Katarina had to put him down herself when it was clear he was utterly addicted to it. Here, despite still using the drug, it's more out of reluctance at his buyer's request to prove that it's real and for self-defense against Spike and Jet in the climax. Otherwise he's shown caring very deeply for her.
- All for Nothing: Spike and Jet manage to capture the main bounty at the start, but the damage to the casino from the fight is taken out of their bounty, to the point they're barely left with anything.
- *Click* Hello: Faye's introduction has her pull a gun on Spike from behind as he's talking with Katarina.
- Destructive Savior: In the Batman Cold Open our heroes interrupt a casino robbery in progress, but one of the robbers is carrying a BFG disrupter that blows a hole in the wall, whereupon we get a Reveal Shot that they're on a Space Station. Continuous Decompression ensues until the waitress is able to throw the shielding switch. The charge for damages not only wipes out any profit from the bounty, but Jet and Spike managed to kill all the other members of the gang and they were not wanted dead or alive.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: In the anime Asimov is killed by Katarina when it becomes clear he's too addicted to Red Eye and needs to be put down as they head for a police blockade. Here, Faye shoots him in the neck to prevent him from killing Jet via choking. He bleeds out as Katarina flies the two of them towards the police blockade, where the two of them are shot to pieces.
- Disgusting Public Toilet: Faye Valentine is not happy about being locked up in the toilet of the Bebop by Spike Spiegel. It's not like the rest of the ship is much cleaner.
- Even Evil Has Standards: The lead robber knows the danger to shoot a desrupter inside the space station.
- He Knows Too Much: A rare hero to villain example. While fighting one of the Syndicate goons, one of them recognizes Spike as "Fearless". He shoots him to keep the member from leaking out that he's still alive or Spike's associations with the Syndicate whom Jet doesn't know about in this version. Unfortunately, one of the goons overhears his conversation and slinks away, later reporting this back to Vicious.
- Hypocritical Humor: Jet tells off Spike for killing the other casino robbers because there's bounties on them as well, only to immediately kill one of them.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: Seeing Katarina in trouble and pinned by the goons, Spike decides to take action and single-handily kills near all of them.
- Know When to Fold Them: The lead robber knew the danger to shoot a disrupter inside a space station.
- The one lone Syndicate goon who was with the group initially sent to find Asimov wisely runs after seeing Asimov kill them while under the effects of Red Eye.
- Spike attempts to persuade Jet in calling off the pursuit of the couple when he hears the Syndicate is involved, claiming it's too dangerous. In truth he knows they'll recognize him should they run into them — which is exactly what happens, though Spike is able to keep this fact from Jet.
- Mêlée à Trois: Spike and Jet find themselves contending against Faye, who is trying to get the bounty on Katarina, and the Syndicate, whom Asimov double-crossed.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: At the start, the bounty job gets botched up because Spike didn't wait on Jet's signal. He complains to Spike later if they went with his plan they could've controlled it enough that would've had minimal damages and got more of a payout from the bounty's subordinates too.
- Mythology Gag:
- The beginning of the episode is one to Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door opening which likewise had Spike and Jet trying to capture bounties, one of them being in the restroom during the initial shoot out and Spike saving an old lady in the process. The only difference is this version takes place in a casino on a space satellite rather than a convenience store.
- Faye being held prisoner in the restroom of the Bebop is one to the third episode of the anime after Spike and Jet escape on her ship after having to run from the casino they were playing in. Here, Spike brings her to the ship both to get information about Katarina and Asimov and to get her out of the way. As in the anime, she manages to escape when the boys are busy.
- Oh, Crap!: Spike and Jet get this when their first bounty pulls out a disruptor and both them and the lead robber try to advise him not to use it, as they're in a space station and a shot would damage the walls enough to blow a hole out into space. Unfortunately their warnings falls on deaf ears and this is exactly what happens, with our heroes, the bounty and a few civilians just barely managing to hang on before an emergency shutter is activated.
- Pillow Pregnancy: As in the original, Katarina's "pregnancy" is really just a holding bag for the Red Eye drug, and is revealed when a stray shot clips it in the climax.
- Sickening Slaughterhouse: Our introduction to Vicious involves one of his minions being being marched through a storehouse with rows of giant tuna laid out on the floor. The minion nervously eyes the various hooks and other implements of the trade, but as it turns out Vicious uses a katana to off him.
- Suicide by Cop: Katarina does this voluntarily in this version after Asimov is killed, jumping into a craft and flying at the police. She prefers death to going back to her family.
- Swiss-Cheese Security: Faye takes control of the Bebop because Jet has left the password to the ship's computer written on a sheet of paper out in the open.
