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In this [MAL
discussion](http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=41342&show=0#msg3935177)
about episode 24 of Cowboy Bebop, the user
[merle_noir](http://myanimelist.net/profile/merle_noir) posts that they have
been to the Merlion seen in Faye's video:

> Faye must be Singaporean... Wouldn't think the Merlion would be anywhere but
> there (in Singapore), and I even know/have been to the first Merlion she saw
> - the one in the video.

Is this a real, visitable place? If so, what is the location?


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2016-02-23T19:19:26.130
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question
cowboy-bebop tourism
Is the Merlion in Faye's childhood video a real location?


**The[Merlion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlion) is often associated with
Singapore, so the extrapolation that Faye is Singaporean is reasonable.**
However, the exact location of the Merlion in _Cowboy Bebop_ is less
immediately clear to a contemporary viewer not from Singapore. In the ep. 24
video where it appears, there is a waterfront, and a merlion at the end of a
boardwalk. (Click images for bigger size.)

[![Cowboy Bebop
merlion](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Bnn1mm.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Bnn1m.png)

According to Wikipedia, there are five "official" Merlion statues in
Singapore; it seems reasonable to restrict my attention to these. **The only
one that could fit the merlion in _Cowboy Bebop_ is the one in [Merlion
Park](http://www.yoursingapore.com/see-do-singapore/recreation-
leisure/viewpoints/merlion-park.html) which stands at the mouth of the
Singapore River.** (The others do not have waterfront views.) The Merlion Park
statue is also the oldest merlion statue in Singapore, and possibly the most
famous one, so it's likely that this statue would have been chosen for
reference.

[![Recent photograph of
Merlion](https://i.stack.imgur.com/c0UER.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/c0UER.jpg)

One might notice that the location doesn't entirely match up. In Faye's video,
there is nothing to the right of the boardwalk the Merlion is on, whereas in
current images, there is a set of steps and no boardwalk. However, the
position in Faye's video matches up with the _original_ position of the
Merlion. ([
_Reference_](https://web.archive.org/web/20150813031942/http://www.davidandfamily.com/English/114sg15-river002.htm))
(The Merlion Park statue was moved in 2002 after construction affected the
seafront views and the positioning relative to the Singapore River. Seeing
that _Cowboy Bebop_ was produced in 1999, there is no reason for Faye's video
to show the merlion in anything but its former location.)

[![Merlion in former
position.](https://i.stack.imgur.com/EExKcm.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/EExKc.jpg)


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