What the character says "isn't there" is always there--The Scenario Technique of "Cowboy Bebop: Heaven's Door" [Nostalgic Anime Retrospective No. 85

Several media outlets, including Deadline and Variety, reported that the live-action drama "Cowboy Bebop" on Netflix will end after season 1. Fans will also miss the passing of screenwriter Keiko Nobumoto, who showed exceptional skill in the series composition and screenplay of the anime on which it was based.
In this issue, we take a look at "Cowboy Bebop: Heaven's Door," an animated feature film for which Ms. Nobumoto wrote the screenplay, and examine her scenario techniques.

Let me give you a brief synopsis of the film.
A tanker truck overturns and bursts into flames on a Martian highway where many people have settled. Upon hearing that an unknown virus has been spread at the scene of the accident, Spike, a bounty hunter, begins to investigate on his own. Spike happens to acquire a mysterious capsule, which contains a nanomachine that can enter the human body and cause death.
Spike learns that an ex-soldier named Vincent is planning a large-scale terrorist attack using nanomachines, and confronts him. At the same time, Elektra, a woman who was a member of the same special forces unit as Vincent, also pursues him and tries to stop the attack.

The case is large in scale, involving the pharmaceutical company that developed the nanomachines, the police, and the military. Aside from Elektra, who is pursuing Vincent due to both past ties and his mission, there seems to be no room for Spike, a third party, to get involved. Therefore, a character appears as a rabble-rouser who draws Spike into the case. It is Rashid, played by Mickey Curtis.

The mysterious character who gives Spike "questions" in his first appearance and "answers" in his second appearance.

Rashid's first appearance.
On an Arabic street called Moroccan Street, Spike searches for clues to the virus (at that point, it is not revealed to be a nanomachine) using the cloak of a "bean-counter. When he finds nothing, he is at a loss. That is Rashid.

Rashid: "You're the one looking for the bean counters?"
Spike: "Do you have more beans than meets the eye?"
Rashid: "Of course. There's everything on Moroccan Street. That's why you're here, isn't it?"

With that, Rashid beckons Spike and leads him to a bean store that sells a lot of beans. When Spike asked, "Do you have the virus?" Rashid assures him, "It's not a virus. But for some reason, Rashid makes Spike buy a large jar. Inside the jar was a blue spherical capsule containing nanomachines.

[Claire] What happened after that?

Spike, who has been exploring the pharmaceutical company, intercepts Elektra's communication and hunts down Vincent before she does. However, Spike is beaten back by Vincent and is badly injured, half-dead.
Upon recovery, Spike learns that the pharmaceutical company has been transporting nanomachines disguised as macadamia nuts, or "beans," and heads back to Moroccan Street.

Rashid makes his second appearance.
Spike visits the alley Rashid led him to, the bean shop, and the store where he bought the jar, but for some reason, Rashid is nowhere to be found. Spike sits on the stairs at a loss, and then Rashid appears.

Rashid: "Did you find what you wanted?"
Spike: "No, just stuff I don't want."

Spike asks Rashid why he gave him the nanomachine. Rashid tells Spike that the developer of the nanomachine ran away from the military, and also the relationship between Vincent and the nanomachine. When Spike finishes listening to him, he punches Rashid and tries to leave, but is surrounded by the army and captured.

In other words, Rashid suddenly appears in front of Spike and asks him the "question" of giving him the nanomachine, and gives him the "answer" when he is defeated by Vincent and visits him again.
The film is 114 minutes long. Spike is seriously wounded by Vincent at about 59 minutes into the film, or roughly in the middle. Rashid's first appearance is about 22 minutes into the film; his second is about 70 minutes in. His second appearance is timed around the time Spike's life is in danger.
The main plot of the film is not "will Spike die or live?" It is the fate of the tragic character Vincent. However, by placing the suspense of "Spike is about to be killed by Vincent" right in the middle of the film, and by providing "questions" and "answers" for Spike before and after the suspense, the film is designed to keep Spike out of the story.

What did Spike have in his right hand when he hit Rashid?　What was he trying to give him?

It is worth noting here that this is Rashid's second appearance. In its role in the story, this scene merely explains who Vincent is. The reason why Rashid knows so much about the situation is that he himself is none other than the developer of nanomachines. Even if so, that is just a setup for the scenario. Let's take a closer look.

This scene takes place on a long staircase that covers the screen from top to bottom, with only Spike and Rashid as characters. Since it is dusk, the screen is subdued in amber, giving the impression of a stage play.
Spike walks up to Rashid after a long explanation and offers his right hand, saying, "Give it to the doctor. As Rashid peers in, Spike grabs his right hand and drives it into Rashid's gut. Rashid falls to the ground and Spike smiles wryly, "If I see you again...so be it.
This cut is a bust shot of Spike over the fallen Rashid. Look behind him. The building by the stairs is lit by a blue sphere that looks just like the capsule that contained the nanomachine.

Spike's right hand is probably empty, as he offers to give it to the doctor. The doctor's purpose was to hit him, so it was natural that he would do so. However, the beaten Rashid responds, "Let's do that (give it to the doctor)," as if he had received something.
In this scene, the capsule containing the nanomachine is not present. However, the round electric light behind Spike is definitely there. The capsule continues to be in the minds of Spike, Rashid, and the audience. The little metaphorical elements on the screen connect the characters to the characters, and the characters to us.
Rashid says, "The man [the nanomachine developer] is no longer here. He doesn't exist. There is no one who can stop Vincent," he sighs. But the developer of the nanomachines is probably Rashid himself, and Spike and Elektra are desperate to stop Vincent. The audience intuits "there is" what the dialogue says "there isn't." The audience expects "there must be. The audience expects that there must be something. The audience becomes a bit preoccupied. ...... interesting films make the audience active.

(Text by Keisuke Hirota)