Session#3 – Honky Tonk Women

One of the most incredible female anime characters of all time, Faye Valentine is brought into the adventures of the Bebop and this is one episode that shouldn’t be missed–  as it is an absolute favorite of mine, due to its dynamic between action and comedy that has a wonderfully written script by screenplay writer of Tokyo Godfathers and numerous Space Dandy episodes Keiko Nobumoto.  This was awesome to watch on the big screen!

Casino settings, sometimes these are thrown into series without any real reason [Rave Master] and used as filler and other times they are used as a backdrop for the main themes of series, one more recent being 2011’s Rio~Rainbow Gate.  Then there are shows that have a really strong individual plot set around this aspect of life only to establish its characters even further–  Cowboy Bebop used this amazingly well by putting Faye at the very center of it.  A fugitive stuck with a ton of debt ends up being caught in the middle of a bad situation that gets even worse as the story jumps further along as people wind up getting killed, being manipulated and having Faye working for the head of the casino, Gordon!

This truly gives off a very engrossing story here that re-introduces a lot of space themes we’ve seen before–  deception between Faye and the casino, Spike’s luck with danger and of course a very cool scene with Faye’s Hammer Head ship!  She’s a strong, smart and sexy woman that uses her appeal to get what she wants.  Also she is able to do something this show hasn’t done before yet–  a really good level of sarcasm between Spike and Jet that overturns every single person in this entire episode!

She captures Spike’s curiosity by cheating at blackjack, her attempts at escaping both the casino and the Bebop illustrates how she wants to run away from the debt she has acquired and the life she leads.  I won’t spoil anything here about future episodes but I find it very intriguing towards the beginning with Gordon that Faye known as the Lady Luck/Queen of Hearts in the solar system mentions if the legend of Hearts were still alive she would be over 200 years old–  an unusually small detail that after having seen this series becomes a poignant part in the development of Faye’s past.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 10/10

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