2. Spike Spiegel

Anime: Cowboy Bebop

How can this man not be one of the best gunmen in anime history when “Bang!” is his most iconic line?

Look, when I think about my favorite gunslingers, it’s not always about sheer power.

But to be fair, Spike is undoubtedly skilled in marksmanship because of his time with the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate. Combined with his tall and lean appearance, he’s amazingly perceptive, sharp-witted, and even knows martial arts and hand-to-hand combat.

But I love his overall character and how Shinichiro Watanabe (and the rest of his team) presented him with each passing episode, slowly but surely telling viewers he’s one of the best-designed characters in all of anime.

Spike is a bounty hunter that seemingly prefers sleeping and being a lazy bum than looking for the next target — and he’s fairly impatient.

Yet he’s a good man.

He says he dislikes dogs, kids, and certain women. But the Bebop welcomes Ein, Edward, and Faye. And Spike eventually learns that they aren’t so bad after all.

He also says that people shouldn’t get stuck in the past — even though he has trouble letting go of his own. And I love that dilemma about Spike.

He doesn’t have to continue living a life of chasing and shooting. But the seemingly inconsequential events throughout his life have led to where he is and the way he is now:

He’s someone who must face his past for one last time, with guns blazing, ready to conquer not just Vicious, but perhaps Death as well.

In doing so, perhaps he’ll feel alive again. Fully in the present for once.