Episode Guides

ASTEROID BLUES

Small-time hoodlum Asimov Solenson and his girlfriend Catalina are on the run from the mob with a priceless shipment of the illegal drug “Bloody Eye.” There’s also a bounty on their heads, and freelancer Spike Spiegel is determined to get it. The couple twice elude Spike in a chase across the surface of Mars, but his Swordfish II speedster is a tough craft to outrun. A tough, uncompromising opening, considered “too hot” for Japanese terrestrial TV, and only shown on the serial’s satellite run.

Session #2

STRAY DOG STRUT

Notorious pet-thief Abdul Hakim is on the run with a stolen experimental creature, but Spike and Jet have a lead. Thanks to a tip-off from a disgruntled plastic surgeon, the boys are the only ones who know Hakim’s new face, and plan on bringing him in before anyone else finds out. Except Hakim’s lost his pet to another thief, and the super-intelligent creature has given them both the slip.

Session #3

HONKY TONK WOMEN

Legendary gambler Faye Valentine is on the run with a six million woolong price on her head. Casino-owner Gordon makes her an offer she can’t refuse – “help” a special client to lose all his money, and he’ll pay off her stupendous debts. The prize: the best code-breaking program in the history of mankind, hidden inside a special casino chip… a chip that falls into the unsuspecting hands of Spike Spiegel…

Session #4

GATEWAY SHUFFLE

Ever since escaped convict Twinkle Maria Murdock took over, the Space Warriors ecological group have become increasingly militant. They’ve moved on from merely saving the Ganymede sea rat – now they’re holding eight million people to ransom with the deadly simian-rabies virus “Monkey Business.” The government is ready to admit defeat, until Faye takes a package from a dying astronaut in a drifting wreck… (Not shown on the original broadcast run).

Session #5

BALLAD OF FALLEN ANGELS

The Red Dragon syndicate is trying to go legit, but mid-ranking mobster Vicious is killing off all the moderates. Nobody can stop him – the one man who could have, is missing, presumed dead. His name was Spike Spiegel, whose former gangster past is something of a surprise to his current associate, former cop Jet Black… (Not shown on the original broadcast run).

Session #6

SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

Supplies are running out, and Faye is even reduced to eating Ein’s dog food. The boys are chasing a hoodlum who turns up mortally wounded, pressing a strange gemstone into Spike’s hand. The key to the mystery lies in the terrible gateway incident that wiped out so much of the world’s population fifty years earlier… though in the case of one individual, it had an entirely different effect… (Not shown on the original broadcast run).

Session #7

HEAVY METAL QUEEN

There seem to be more cowboys than civilians hanging around – everybody wants a piece of the reward on explosives expert Decker... everybody, that is, except no-nonsense lady space trucker V.T., who hates bounty hunters. But Spike thinks that V.T. protests a little too much, and offers her the hand of friendship. When another trucker gets hurt, it’s V.T. and Spike who join forces, before Decker and his cargo of solid nitro blow everything sky-high.

Session #8

WALTZ FOR VENUS

It’s open season on bad-guys in the beautiful cities of Venus, and the crew of the Bebop have had a run of good luck. After he thwarts a hijacking attempt on a Venus-bound liner, Spike even gains an apprentice – would-be martial artist Roco. But Roco has stolen a priceless sample of the Grey Ash plant – the only cure for an allergic reaction to genetically-engineered Venusian flora that has left his sister completely blind. Does Spike have the heart to turn him in? Or will Roco’s former buddies get to him first…?

Session #9

JAMMING WITH EDWARD

A world-class graffiti artist is drawing on entire continents, etching patterns on the Earth with orbital lasers. Suspecting a computer hacker, the police put out an 8 million woolong reward on the culprit, and the Bebop crew leap into action. Except the culprit is an artificial intelligence, and the “hacker” is its only friend, a child prodigy who insists on calling herself Edward Wong Hai Pepelu Tivrusky IV, or Radical Edward.

Session #10

GANYMEDE ELEGY

It should have been a routine trip to drop off a captured felon, but this latest mission finds the Bebop landing on Ganymede, for the first time since Jet left his past behind eight years before. He tries to patch things up with Alisa, the girl who broke his heart, but instead walks into a crisis of loyalties, when her new boyfriend turns out to be a man wanted for murder. Does Jet help out the woman he once loved, take his revenge for a broken heart, or stay true to his cop’s code of honor…?

Session #11

TOYS IN THE ATTIC

With no criminals to hunt, the crew of the Bebop have nothing to do. Jet loses his shirt at dice with Faye, Spike tries some blowtorch cookery, and Ed tries to convince them all there’s an alien intruder wandering the ship. One by one, the crew fall prey to a critter in the ventilation system, and Spike is forced to do the unthinkable…. clean out the fridge. The episode was originally planned as a soliloquy by Ein the dog.

Session #12

JUPITER JAZZ (PART ONE)

Jet is hunting an escaped convict – a wartime spy on the run on Callisto. But Faye cleans out the safe and goes AWOL, hiding out in the men-only Callistan town of Blue Crow… which just happens to be the place where the Red Dragon syndicate are planning the system’s biggest Red-Eye drug-deal, and where Vicious’ old war buddy Gren is going to double-cross him.3

Session #13

JUPITER JAZZ (PART TWO)

Spike thought he was a dead man, but it would seem his former Red Dragon buddy Lin is not as loyal to Vicious as he pretends. In the sleet-driven streets of Blue Crow, Jet is chasing Faye, Faye is hunting Gren, Gren is gunning for Vicious, Vicious is after Spike, and Spike just wants to find his lost-love Julia. Spike discovers that he and Gren have a lot in common – they both loved Julia, and were both betrayed by Vicious.

Session #14

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

Someone is committing debit-card fraud on an interplanetary scale, cleaning out the bank accounts of all the pilots who pass through the automated toll booths on the interplanetary gateways. When all the suspects culprits turn out to be pawns in a bigger game, the Bebop crew track down the real mastermind – Chessmaster Hex.

Session #15

MY FUNNY VALENTINE

The Bebop is running low on supplies, tempers are getting frayed, and Jet is reduced to hunting down a small-time criminal who specializes in matrimonial fraud. All of which prompts Faye to think back on what few memories she has… retelling the story of when she was first woken from Cold Sleep, to discover that she had complete amnesia, that she’d been frozen for 54 years, and that she now owed 300 million woolongs in medical bills and interest. Only her lawyer, Whitney Hagas Matsumoto, showed her any kindness, but Faye seems doomed to a run of bad luck…

Session #16

BLACK DOG SERENADE

When criminals commandeer the prison ship that is supposed to be taking them to Pluto, there’s nothing the Inter Solar System Police can do… or is there? Jet’s old partner Fad comes to him for help, pointing out that a bounty hunter can go where officers of the law fear to tread. But Jet’s adversary is Udai Taxim, the former hit-man who cost him his arm… can Jet bear to dredge up memories of his former life? (Not shown on the original broadcast run).

Session #17

MUSHROOM SAMBA

Out of fuel, out of food, and sideswiped in a spaceborne hit-and-run incident, the Bebop crew are stranded in the wilds of Europa. A haul of suspect mushrooms causes trouble among the crew, with Spike accosted by a talking frog, Faye swimming in the toilet, and Jet trying to teach his bonsai trees the meaning of life. It’s up to Ed and Ein to save the day, and that entails catching fugitive pusher Domino Walker, unless rival bounty-hunter Coffee or avenging bad-mother brother Shaft catch him first. (Not shown on the original broadcast run).

Session #18

SPEAK LIKE A CHILD

Faye goes AWOL after a tough day at the races, and the last thing she wants to hear is that a package has arrived for her, cash-on-delivery. Spike and Jet let their curiosity get the better of them, and discover the package contains one of the last remaining examples of the antique video format known as “Beta.” Their quest to watch it takes them all the way to the ruins of old Earth, and leads them all back to the past that Faye herself can no longer remember. (This was the last episode shown in the original run on terrestrial television).

Session #19

WILD HORSES

Spike goes to see Doohan, the ace mechanic who built his trademark Swordfish speedster. Meanwhile, the rest of the Bebop crew go in search of the Space Pirates, a group of cosmic truckers who have been robbing from the rich and giving to… themselves. But the truckers’ powerful anti-MONO computer virus is more than a match, even for computer-whizz Ed. It’s up to Spike to save the day, and up to his old friends to save him from a fiery death, with the aid of a 100-year-old spaceship. (Not shown on the original broadcast run).

Session #20

PIERROT LE FOU

After a night on the town, Spike stumbles into the middle of a firefight. The assassin known only as “Mad Pierrot” has just claimed his seventh high-ranking victim in the Inter-Solar System Police, but when Spike intervenes, he barely escapes with his life. A psychopath with superhuman abilities and a child’s mind, Pierrot hunts down anyone who sees his face, and that means Spike must fight for his life in a fairground – dodging bullets, ducking ice-skating penguins, and running from giant collapsing pigs. (Not shown on the original broadcast run).

Session #21

BOOGIE WOOGIE FENG SHUI

Jet gets a cryptic message from a former associate, Pao the feng shui master. The mystery deepens when he finds Pao’s gravestone – how can someone send mail from beyond the grave? Teaming up with Pao’s daughter Meifa, he searches for the legendary Sun Stone, hoping this ancient rock can help him solve the puzzle, before hoodlums from the Blue Snake gang get to him, too. (Not shown on the original broadcast run).

Session #22

COWBOY FUNK

The Teddy Bomber, a terrorist with a fluffy-toy fetish, has been planting explosives in tall buildings all over town. Just as Spike catches up with him, the two are interrupted by Andy the cowboy. A rich kid with nothing to do but play at bounty hunting, Andy causes trouble for Spike and the gang, be they undercover at a fancy dress party, or pursuing a giant teddy bear through the streets of Tharsis. (Not shown on the original broadcast run).

Session #23

BRAIN SCRATCH

After days without a word, Faye suddenly turns up on a chat show, singing the praises of Brain Scratch, a religious cult that promises its followers digital immortality. But word on the street is that Brain Scratch is a sham, and its leader Dr. Londo is wanted by the police after several members rush into “paradise” by committing suicide. The Bebop crew must find the elusive Londo before it’s too late – both for him and his new acolyte Faye Valentine. (Not shown on the original broadcast run).

Session #24

HARD LUCK WOMAN

Still haunted by her missing past, Faye searches for more clues to her identity. But it’s Ed who turns up the crucial pieces of the puzzle. The crew reluctantly return to the crater-strewn Earth, where Faye finally comes face-to-face with a figure from her past. Meanwhile Ed gets a surprise of her own when she drops in on her former home – she is reunited with her father, but there’s the annoying little problem of a bounty that needs to be settled. Of course, the identity of this strange man is suspect, but if he really is Ed’s father, what will she do? (Not shown on the original broadcast run).

Session #25

THE REAL FOLKBLUES (PART ONE)

Not even the cops can control the violence erupting on the streets of the Martian capital Tharsis. The Red Dragon crime syndicate is in the middle of a succession war, and many old scores are being settled. Vicious is sentenced to death for disobeying the elders, while his former rival, one Spike Spiegel, finds there’s a price on his own head. Reunited at long last with his true love Julia, he is forced to confront more ghosts from his own past, while Jet tries to talk him out of it by quoting Ernest Hemingway – always a sign of trouble on the horizon. (Not shown on the original broadcast run).

Session #26

THE REAL FOLKBLUES (PART TWO)

When Vicious seizes control of the Red Dragon syndicate, Spike gets his chance to disappear with Julia. But the desire for revenge still burns inside him – and he plots a one-man mission into the heart of Vicious’ gangland headquarters. Remembering his own words to her, Faye muses that it is better to have faith in a better future than cling to a tragic past, but will her warning be enough…? (Not shown on the original broadcast run).