MovieChat Forums > Kaubôi bibappu: Cowboy Bebop (2001) Discussion > Your OPINION: Did Spike die or not??

Your OPINION: Did Spike die or not??

posted 10 years ago by sawfan1414
25 replies | jump to latest

One of the most infamous debates when it comes to anime, is whether or not the always cool Spike Spiegel met his end at the end of the final episode or not. I seen that this board doesn't have one of these threads, and I'm not here to argue it, unless you want to, I mainly just want to hear other opinions and the reasons you believe he died or not.

My opinion: He died. Yes I would LOVE nothing more than he be alive and with Jet and Faye on the Bebop, but I personally feel the story doesn't work if he survives. The series had been building from episode 1, with the conversation with Bull that Spike's star would burn out. Throughout we got similar foreshadowing's.

His only purpose to keep living was to see Julia again, and when she died he lost everything, he had nothing left to live for and only then he decided to confront his past, something he's been avoiding knowing it would be the end of his life.

The evidence never becomes more sound than the final scene, right after he falls you see the same flock of doves that flew over when Julia was killed, the song singing over the credits is about ascending into heaven, while the camera pans up into the skies. The star that has been so heavily talked about, burns out followed by a single image of Spike, dead.

I'd love to hear other opinions!

Ron *beep* Swanson is the greatest thing that ever happened to television.

[–] MisterKorman 9 years ago

Of course he's dead!
To anyone who watches Doctor Who, remember in the Series Nine finale when they brought Clara back? Remember how much of a cheat that felt like? Like, tonally, in the episode she died, it just "felt" right for her to die and it felt ridiculous to totally ruin that feeling. That's what it would feel like if Spike were alive.
He collapsed, that beautiful song played and we saw a star (presumably his) go out. If, in the end, it turned out he was still alive, it would feel like we, as an audience were cheated. I'd love for him to be back, but not at the expense that beautiful ending.

[–] Final_Hitokiri 9 years ago

Like others have said, only 1 star fell. It's quite possible that he's alive.

Also, they have the technology to rebuild him. Faye was in a horrible accident and came out just fine!

Of course that also means that Vicious could potentially be reborn, I'd like to think no though.