Enter the sexy smooth and silky-legged hottie that is Faye Valentine. This would be her first appearance as we rendezvous with Cowboy Bebop, Session #3, Honky Tonk Women. We get a touch of the obligatory "fan service" shots as they refer to it in anime.
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After a brief firefight Faye [a.k.a. Poker Alice] is quickly apprehended and brought aboard a space station-styled gambling casino. For those of you who like to gamble this is the site for you. A remote, twirling space station completely dedicated to gambling and in the shape of a craps table. Beautiful. I'm not much of a gambler so I'd be sent out the airlock pretty quick. I'd lose my short in a heartbeat.
It just so happens Spike and Jet are on board the casino station to try their hand at lady luck for awhile. Faye has been enlisted to help con a score away from Spike. It's payback time and if she cooperates in cleaning up the Black Jack tables bu using Spike her debts will be erased as payment. Spike loses everything except for one chip and walks away.
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Nice kick!
While roaming he bumps into a fellow and their respective chips fall to the ground each grabbing the wrong one. Faye activates her space vessel on autopilot to pick her up and make her escape. She launches a few missiles to cause a little distraction. Now I thought that was a little crazy considering they were on a space station with loads of civilians. Wouldn't exploding missiles spell certain doom? Furthermore, Spike gets into a little fisticuffs action with some of the gangsters attempting to locate the chip for their boss. Following that nifty little outing we make yet another leap of logic when Spike and Jet cling to the windshield of Faye's craft as she heads into outer space. Now I know this is animation and good fun and all, but I do like a little science with my fiction or at least a little logic or some basic physics. Aww heck, who am I kidding, this is anime for gosh sake.
Anyway, back on the Be Bop, Faye is handcuffed [not like that unfortunately, but that would be nice] and kept on a tight watch. She contacts her gangster man Gordon about the fact that Spike has his control chip. Jet and Spike quickly discover via a popular intergalactic television program Big Shot For Bounty Hunters that Faye is a wanted woman. She's worth a little something and the boys have their plans to get that money until Gordon finds them first.
It turns out the chip is a kind of key to a decoder key that just about everyone is looking to get their hands on. While Faye is breaking free and in turn chased about the Beb Bop by Ein, Spike is making a space walk styled exchange for the chip. Spike and Jet will get their money, while Gordon gets the chip. Confused? I may have been too. Well, as you might well imagine, things don't go exactly as planned. A firefight ignites, Faye escapes with the loot, Spike keeps the chip and Gordon gets his comeuppance. Upon attempting to destroy Faye with his guided missiles they wind up turning around and blowing up Gordon's own vessel and it's good night Gordon.
Spike is outfoxed and beaten for a second time by the evasive Faye Valentine. It won't be the last we see of her. I sure hope not. It's easy to like what you see with Faye. All in all, Cowboy Bebop hasn't been as impressive as I had hoped based upon the first episode, but it is early still. Anime fans are pretty hip to liking Cowboy Bebop so my expectations were set a bit high. Perhaps it should have been called Honky Tonk Woman.
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Characters: Spike Spiegel/ Jet Black/ Faye Valentine/ Ein
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Honky Tonk Women: B
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