II. During gunfights, he often uses a Jericho 941. The guns on the show were chosen by the director, Watanabe, and in discussion with set designer, Isamu Imakake, and mechanical designer, Kimitoshi Yamane. Setting producer, Satoshi Toba said, "They talked about how they didn’t want common guns, because that wouldn’t be very interesting, and so they decided on these guns." In Spike's younger days before joining the Bebop, he was part of the Red Dragon Syndicate, a Chinese criminal organization. During his time there, he was impetuous and volatile, but after leaving, he adopted a calm and collected demeanor. However, he still retains his love for combat. Spike always holds true to his own values and fulfills his obligations. He also generally goes his own way rather than following orders, which often gets him into trouble. Watanabe thought of Spike as a Yakuza. He also said that Spike has a habit of being very indirect with his emotions; for example, he may behave antagonistically towards someone he actually likes. Watanabe said that Spike's relationship with Faye Valentine is a prime example of this tendency. In the third volume of the manga, Cowboy Bebop illustrated by Yutaka Nanten and story by Hajime Yatate, Spike is described as "oriental," an outdated term for Asian. At Otakon 1999, Watanabe stated at the anime panel that the name Spike Spiegel was chosen because he liked the sound only, not because of Jewish origins. Kawamoto based the Spike's hairstyle and appearance on the Japanese actor, Yusaku Matsuda. The concept of Spike was created before the idea of the anime and months before Kawamoto was hired and had input from Watanabe on designing the character. Appearances In Cowboy Bebop Years before the beginning of the series, Spike is a rising member of the Red Dragon crime syndicate. While there, he becomes a partner and friend of Vicious, another member of the Syndicate. After being wounded in a gun battle, Spike is nursed back to health by Vicious' girlfriend Julia, and the two fall in love. They plan to elope and escape the Syndicate, but Vicious finds out and presents Julia with an ultimatum: kill Spike or be executed. After Spike fakes his death to escape the Syndicate, Julia never arrives to rendezvous with him—instead she goes into hiding to avoid betraying him or being killed herself. Spike eventually met and teamed up with former Inter-Solar System