A big mystery arose when Netflix first announced its live-action version of the 1998 sci-fi noir anime series Cowboy Bebop. Queer fans of the anime immediately wondered whether the Netflix series would include Ed, a quirky and androgynous hacker who joins the series’ bounty-hunting team and is often mistaken for a boy.
Ed didn’t appear in the Netflix show’s pre-release marketing, and though she stars in a majority of the anime’s episodes, she only pops up briefly at the end of the Netflix series. But people fixated on Ed overlooked another of the series’ character who is infinitely queerer — a queer military veteran turned musician named Gren.
In Netflix’s adaptation, Gren is a draggy master of ceremonies at a hot Martian jazz bar that serves mafia capos. Unlike the cartoon—where Gren identifies as a man and first presents largely as masculine, though with noticeable breasts later on—the new Gren has a much more ambiguous gender presentation. They are a rough-voiced, short-haired blond who first appears in fishnets, a padded skirt and a golden neckpiece.