So, this is my overall second proposal on this Wiki. I originally proposed this guy before the Whitelist system was implemented and it ended up with an undecided veredict. So, having been recently whitelisted, I decided to bring him back in the form of a discussion post, as I feel like it's more apt to him as there is a bit to unpack.
What is the Work?
Cowboy Bebop is a critically-acclaimed 1998 science fiction anime series. It follows the misadventures of a rag-tag team of space bounty hunters in a distant future where humanity has conquered every corner of the known galaxy. The series focuses on their episodic adventures as they deal with their own past traumas and meet all kinds of different people around the galaxy.
Who is the Character?
Roco Bonnaro is a one-shot character who appears in the eighth episode of the series, "Waltz for Venus". He's a man who initially meets the series' protagonist, Spike Spiegel in an airport, where he asks him to train him on martial arts after seeing him taking down a group of terrorists that were hijacking their shuttle. It's later on revealed that Roco is a bounty head who worked for the crime boss Piccaro Calvino and was smuggling a rare plant known as Grey Ash in hopes of using it to cure his sister's blindness, caused by her exposure to toxic spores in their home planet of Venus.
His Good Ranking
What Makes Him Close to Being Pure Good?
For starters, compared to the other characters in the series who are motivated by either money and revenge, Roco is one of the few ones we see whose actions are motivated by the desire to genuinely help someone, in this case being his sister, Stella. Even though his sister has said that she's grown accostumed to her own blindness, Roco still wanted to heal her at all costs, being willing to put his life on the line and even associate with shady people if he needs be. Although he was an associate of Piccaro Calvino as a smuggler, his relationship with him was purely pragmatic as he betrayed him in order to take the Grey Ash flower for himself.
Roco first meets Spike in a commercial space shuttle headed to Venus, in which he and Faye Valentine both infiltrate in order to catch the trio of terrorists known as "Huey, Dewey and Louie". While witnessing the takedown, Roco is extremely impressed with Spike's combat prowess. Later in the airport, he tries to attack him with a knife, although he didn't actually mean to hurt him and only did it to test Spike reflexes, knowing full well that he would dodge it. After this, he tells Spike how impressed he was with his combat skills and asks him to be his master and teach him his ways. While Spike initially is dimissive of him and ignores his advances, he eventually budges and decides to give him a quick lesson, where he tells him the secret behind his technique was the fluidity of his motions. Their fighting lessons don't last long, however, as Roco is caught by a pair of Piccaro Calvino's thugs, whom Roco sees from the distance. Afraid that he'd get caught, Roco hands Spike his bag and tells him to meet him next day to get it back.
Afterwards, Roco eventually gets caught by Piccaro Calvino's thugs, who ambush him while in a public bathroom. They threaten him and even lightly torture him by beating him up and burning him with cigarettes, but Roco refuses to reveal the location of the plant, up until Piccaro threatens to harm his sister. The following day, Roco meets Spike in their previously stated meeting spot, and although he's initially happy to see him, he draws a gun at him upon he finds out he was a bounty hunter (seeing as earlier in the episode, Spike found out he had a bounty put on his head due to his association with Piccaro Calvino), which was justified in the context of the scene as he thinks he's gonna turn him in. Seeing that Roco was an otherwise decent guy who only wanted to help his sister, Spike decides to give him back the Grey Ash plant. Knowing that Piccaro and his gang were nearby, Roco immediately drops his gun and tells Spike to get out of there before the two get ambushed by them. When Piccaro arrives at the scene, Roco begs him to spare Spike's life, at which he bravely jumps in front of one of his thugs before he can shoot Spike. This eventually results in one massive shootout between Piccaro's gang and the Bebop Crew, who showed up in their ships to aid Spike. During the fight, Roco manages to immobilize one of the guards, utilizing Spike's technique, but that moment of happiness is then cut short after he's fatally shot from behind. In his final moments, he tries to grasp into the remnants of the Grey Ash, which withers on the ground. Before succumbing to his gunshot, he seems grateful to Spike for having impressed him with his moves, and he tries to tell him about the spare Grey Ash seeds he hid inside a music box back in Venus (which Spike was already aware of, having previously talked to his sister in person when he went to Venus) and he ponders whether if he and Spike would have been friends they had met in different circumstances.
After Spike does as Roco said, he goes back to Venus to talk with Stella (who's on the hospital ward getting prepared for the surgery he appointed using the seeds) in order to deliver her the news of her borther's passing, in which he tells her before leaving that he was "a terrific guy" and "exactly the person [she] thought he was", showcasing that he had earned his respect, due to his selfless actions.
What Prevents Him From Being Pure Good?
Despite being arguably one of the most good-hearted characters in the series, Roco is shown to sometimes lose his cool whenever things don't go his way. After arriving at the airport, we see him trying to haggle the price of the delivery of the package with the postal worker and when he doesn't comply, he grabs the guy by the collar and threatens him by force, only stopping because he saw Spike from afar and wanted to talk to him. Although one could argue this was done out of desperation given what's later revealed about him in the episode, he showcases no remorse for acting this way towards this random guy who was just doing his job at any point in the episode.
He also can be a little mischievous as he pulls a prank on Spike by giving him a throat drop instead of a pill that would fix his high-pitched voice caused from the planet's helium atmosphere, but I would argue this isn't even really a prevention as the scene is played for laughs and he only did this in good fun to lighten the mood between him and Spike, though I thought it was something worth mentioning.
Admirable Standard
Now, when I originally proposed him on the Wiki, the final veredict was undecided as people mentioned he doesn't pass the admirable standards of the series.
Now, I'll admit that Roco does have some HIGH competition in this department, especially since the members of the main cast are all Bounty Hunters who frequently stop criminals to receive their rewards, with them even helping defeat a terrorist group that wanted to turn an entire planet into monkey men. The main character, Spike, is shown in the series finale taking down an entire criminal syndicate almost completely on his own and putting a stop to his arch-nemesis', Vicious, various crimes after the latter took over the syndicate.
What I think makes Roco stand out from admirable standards is his lack of resources as he's simply a normal guy with, as we're shown, no combat training whatsoever, completely on his own who just wants to help out his sister at any costs, which may not be as luxurious as defeating one of the galaxy's most ruthless criminals, but the simplicity and the personal aspect of it, as well as the fact that Roco is going on great lenghts to acquire it, even if it means associating with dangerous people, makes him quite remarkable, especially in a series in which the characters are, usually, morally-grey at best. A lot of the episode, in fact, is centered around Roco's goodness, especially in the scene in which Spike talks to Stella in Venus. She makes many mentions to him having a good heart and a strong will, which is only exarcebated and further shown in the episode through his actions. The last line in the episode was Spike reassuring her that he had a heart of gold, just like she thought she had, meaning that, even in his comparable simpler actions, he managed to earn Spike's respect. Speaking of it, Spike in this episode also makes the conscious decision to not turn him in, despite the bounty on his head, even if the reward was very high, showing that he genuinely saw that he was just a good person who associated with a bad crowd, and wanted to help him achieve his goal.
I should also point out that he saved Spike by jumping and trying to disarm the gunman who was going to shoot Spike, which, once again I should remind he possessed no training or strategy. He just went for it in order to save the life of a guy he'd met a day prior.
Veredict
I believe this guy can get a solid yes, even with the series' admirable standards into account, but what do you guys think?