Spike Spiegel

Spike Spiegel
Cowboy Bebop character
Promotional image of Spike Spiegel
First appearance"Stray Dog Strut" (April 1998;
TV Tokyo broadcast)
"Asteroid Blues" (October 1998; chronological broadcast)
Created byHajime Yatate
Shinichirō Watanabe
Designed byToshihiro Kawamoto
Portrayed byJohn Cho
Voiced byJapanese
Kōichi Yamadera
English
Steve Blum

Spike Spiegel (Japanese: スパイク・スピーゲル, Hepburn: Supaiku Supīgeru) is a fictional character introduced as the protagonist of the 1998 anime series Cowboy Bebop. Spike is a former member of the criminal Red Dragon Syndicate, who left by faking his death after falling in love with a woman named Julia. He is first introduced as the partner of Jet Black, captain of the spaceship Bebop: the two are legalized bounty hunters pursuing criminals across the populated planets and moons of the Solar System. During his adventures on board the Bebop, he is drawn back into a bitter feud with Vicious, a rival from the Syndicate who seeks to kill him.

Spike was created by series director Shinichirō Watanabe and was designed by Toshihiro Kawamoto as part of the production entity Hajime Yatate. Created as a mirror image of Watanabe and based on Japanese actor Yūsaku Matsuda's portrayal of Shunsaku Kudō in Tantei Monogatari (Detective Story),[1][2] he was designed as someone who would expect others to follow his lead. Kawamoto deliberately designed him to appear "uncool" to create the opposite effect for viewers.[3] His final confrontation with Vicious was planned well in advance. His portrayal in the later movie adaptation displayed the character's softer side and inner thoughts. Spike is voiced in Japanese by Kōichi Yamadera. In the English dub, he is voiced by Steven Blum.

In addition to the series, Spike has been featured in two manga adaptations and has been the protagonist of two video game adaptations. His character was subject to much critical acclaim in Japan and the West, with multiple reviewers praising his portrayal. He has appeared on multiple reader and critic lists of the best anime characters. In addition to the series, many reviewers of the movie positively noted his expanded portrayal in Cowboy Bebop: The Movie. Both actors have been praised for their performances, with Blum commenting that it boosted his voice acting career.

  1. ^ "Spike: A Complex Soul". Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (DVD). Culver City, California: Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. 2003.
  2. ^ The Many Inspirations of Cowboy Bebop Director Shinichiro Watanabe - IGN, 24 November 2017, archived from the original on 2023-03-30, retrieved 2021-06-09
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference CowboyMag was invoked but never defined (see the help page).