fill the role of Spike Spiegel except Yamadera". Meanwhile, IGN's Ramsey Isler stated that "Steve Blum launched his career into new heights when he gave the performance of a lifetime in the English dub of the series, giving Spike a sense of smooth, effortless cool that many argue surpassed the original Japanese version." Commending the principal American cast's work as one of the best English dubs, Serdar Yegulalp of About.com highlighted Blum as Spike as the standout performance of the series, stating that "Cynicism never sounded this suave or self-assured". However, AnimeNation's John Oppliger felt Spike's character was mishandled in the English dub, where he was depicted as a "carefree playboy" whose ambivalent taunts "come across as casual off-the-cuff bluffs, unlike his weighty, solemn statements in the Japanese version". Blum himself has called Spike a "gigantic benchmark" in his career and life, saying that "Spike changed everything" for him. He stated that his role as Spike opened up new opportunities for voicing characters, including T.O.M. on Toonami and Jamie on Megas XLR. In 2009 and 2014, IGN ranked Spike among the best anime characters of all time. In 2009, Chris Mackenzie ranked Spike as the fourth greatest anime character behind Goku, Astro Boy, and Speed Racer. In 2014, Ramsey Isler ranked him as second greatest behind Shinji Ikari of Neon Genesis Evangelion. At the 2005 Anime Awards from About.com, Spike was nominated in the category "Best Lead Male Character", though he lost to Goku. In 2010, Wired included Spike on its list of the "6 Genre-Tripping Gunfighters Jonah Hex Must Duel FTW!", with writer Scott Thill complimenting his abilities, while also commenting on his presence of heart compared to other equivalent protagonists. In 2013, Complex ranked Spike the fourth most stylish anime character ever, with writer Jian DeLeon commenting that "The Mars-born bounty hunter knows the benefit of a good uniform". According to the director of Yakuza 4, the playable character Shun Akiyama was inspired by Spike in order to bring an aloof personality to contrast lead Kazuma Kiryu. See also List of Cowboy Bebop characters Further reading References External links Cowboy Bebop characters Fictional aviators Fictional contract killers Fictional characters with heterochromia Fictional gangsters Fictional Jeet Kune Do practitioners Fictional male martial artists Fictional marksmen and snipers Fictional Martians Fictional space pilots Male characters in anime and manga Martial artist characters in anime and manga Science fiction television characters