Anime: Trigun

show review

by FullmetalCowboy on 2013-06-07 18:30

Critic's Log - Earthdate: December 28, 2012. Review #28: Trigun

Life is a journey, I think most people would agree on that. There are
endless possibilities on whatever path a person chooses to walk in. Some
paths may be filled with light, love, and happiness while some other
paths may be filled with darkness, hatred, and despair. I chose to walk
to a path where I live an extraordinary life. There will always be
challenges in life and we eventually have to overcome these challenges
and we have to confront our destiny whether we can control it or not. Some people try to find the meaning of life but I do believe that life has multiple meanings.

With that said, I shall set the philosophical stuff aside and do a
review like I always do. Let's stampede on this gun-toting classic and
gunslinging ride that which is Trigun!

Vash the Stampede is a outlaw gunslinger on the run with a $$60 billion
bounty on his head which has made it hard for him to go anywhere without
being chased and shot at. Every town he ever visits ends up being
destroyed because of his pursuers, but miraculously no one ever gets
killed. Meryl and Milly are agents for the Bernardelli Insurance Society
that have been sent to find Vash the Stampede and keep him under
surveillance so no more damage is caused. Meryl, who leads the pair,
refuses to believe that the man they have met can possibly be The
Humanoid Typhoon that they are looking for. This spiky haired, gangly,
young man is extremely friendly, a pacifist, hates blood and suicide,
absolutely loves donuts, he is also silly and a crybaby (far from a
notorious outlaw). But there is more to Vash and his past than meets the
eye.

To be technical, this is a Studio Madhouse production and Madhouse is
known for their great quality in animation. Trigun however does have
some nice cool looking animation from time to time, but most of the time
it's a bit hit and miss. Some of the earlier episodes didn't look
impressive on some parts. Luckily, the first episode didn't have much
problems with animation quality. Also, This anime came out in the same
year that Cowboy Bebop did and that anime had great quality in animation
for its time and Sunrise isn't a studio known for top-notch quality
animation like Studio Madhouse tends to get an acclaimed reception for.
Maybe Trigun didn't have the budget like Cowboy Bebop did, who knows.
Honestly, I have no problem with the animation. I know it's hit and miss
in some areas, but it's not too disappointing when it comes to the
action scenes which I do think that Trigun has some awesome gun fights.
All in all... The animation isn't terrible by any means, it's mostly
good but not as top-notch as you would expect from Madhouse, it's just
sometimes off in some areas.

What makes the show great are the characters, they are the heart of the
show and they are pretty unforgettable. Vash the Stampede is hands down
one of the most memorable heroes in anime because of his somewhat
bizarre appearance as well has his mysterious personality. He doesn't
carry the story alone. There's Nicholas D. Wolfwood, a priest that is
fascinating to watch with his reflection on Vash's nature and an intense
opposition of Vash's way of life. Meryl Strife and Milly Thompson are
also fun to watch, even though Meryl is short-tempered, she is
compassionate toward others. She's a nice character. Then there's her
co-worker Milly Thompson who happens to be very muscular which she
physically towers over Meryl. She's a character that looks up to Meryl
and she appears to be rather simple yet she shows genuine optimism as
well as a kind heart. I like her too. The minor characters as well as
some characters that only appear in one episode as well do handle the
greater part of this little deceptive bugger. I'll explain more of that
later. Who else is left? Oh! How can I forget about the sadist with the
malicious use of his psychic powers?. That's right, I'm referring to
Legato Bluesummers. He is by far one of the most memorable villians in
an anime and even though he's not the main villian, he was still
fascinating to watch from his first appearance to the last. Then there's
Knives Millions which has got to be the strangest name for a fictional
character. In fact, some of the names in this series are a bit weird.
I'll give some credit to Yasuhiro Nightow, it is a pretty unique and
original method for naming characters. Anyway, Knives Millions has a
immense hatred toward humanity and he doesn't really appear all too much
until the end. Knives was a bit interesting at times. The characters
really make the show memorable. Also, keep an eye out for a black cat in
any episode of the show because this black cat appears in a brief scene
in every episode of the show, maybe just for sight gags.

The music is done by Tsuneo Imahori and he happened to be the guitarist
for The Seatbelts (the band that was formed by Yoko Kanno for the
soundtrack of Cowboy Bebop). The soundtrack for Trigun is a bit
under-appreciated except for the awesome kickass opening, and the catchy
closing theme. The music does bring life to the world of Trigun (A
desert planet named Gunsmoke if I'm not mistaken) and the soundtrack is
nice to hear from time to time. Even Legato's theme is a little eerie.
The music is pretty good on its own.

When it comes to the voice performances. The Subbed version is pretty
good for the most part, but I do find Trigun rewarding while watching it
Dubbed. There are times where I do prefer the English voice over the
other. Some characters were performed well on both sides as well. Masaya
Onosaka is great as Vash but there are times where he overacts a little
bit, not too bad. Johnny Yong Bosch on the other hand was terrific as
Vash The Stampede and this was his debut anime role and he sure had more
than amateur's luck at the time. Sho Hayami is pretty good for the most
part as Nicholas D. Wolfwood, but Jeff Nimoy really gives Wolfwood a
voice of likability. Hiromi Tsuru was okay as Meryl while Dorothy
Elias-Fahn sounds just right as Meryl. Satsuki Yukino is great as Milly
as well as Lia Sargent. Aya Hisakawa is also great as Rem, same goes for
Bridget Hoffman. Tohru Furusawa and Bo Williams are both alright as
Knives. Toshihiko Seki and Richard Cansino are both terrific as Legato.
There are some worthy seiyus to mention that were pretty good in Trigun.
Unsho Ishizuka was great as Brilliant Dynamites Neon. Akio Ohtsuka
voiced one of the Gung-ho Guns, Rai-Dei the Blade. Atsuko Tanaka voices
Claire, and Norio Wakamoto voiced Gofsef. As far as worthy Voice actors
to mention, Joshua Seth was terrific as the younger Knives. Mona
Marshall voices Kaite, Kirk Thornton voices Rai-Dei The Blade, and Steve
Blum voices Professor Nebraska, Mr. Blum was a bit over the top on this
one compared to his other roles. I guess in a way you can't go wrong
with either version and even though the dub isn't really an all-star
dub, it still is a very likable dub and I really like the dub to Trigun.

I mentioned earlier that Trigun is a little deceptive bugger, well I
wasn't kidding when I said this because this show starts off as a wild
west comedy with some over the top action scenes and it gave Trigun the
popcorn entertainment treatment, or so we think. As the show gets right
to the middle, we delve into Vash's past which is pretty sad and
surprisingly thought-provoking as well. As the series nears its end, it
jumps from being a comedy and spirals downward to a drama. Episodes 23
and 24 are undeniably the most cruel episodes in the show. One
particular episode ends on a sad note while the next one has a
nerve-shattering moment that I guarantee will send chills down your
spine if you're emotionally invested in the characters. However, is the
transition from comedy to drama a bad thing for Trigun? Honestly, in
Trigun's case... No! When Trigun comes in full circle, it is saved by
the depth of humanity of the cast of characters. Remember Neon Genesis
Evangelion? 2/3 of the show was more on action while that last third was
all philosophical and psycologically complex and not many viewers
complained about the change of direction. Trigun does the same thing
except with comedy then drama. Vash's philosophy of non-violence is
charming to begin with and easy to cheer on about, but once it's put
into a cruel context, Vash has to wonder if it's killing more people
than it saves and struggles far more against himself than Legato which
makes for a surprisingly emotional moment as well as a deep one as well.
When it all comes down to story, Trigun is mainly episodic and there is
no line of blatant exposition at all, which makes a somewhat
interesting experience from the storytelling. However, there are some
questions that aren't answered in the anime and I've been told that
there are questions answered in the manga. To be honest, interpretation
is nice to think about because it makes a good conversation regarding a
certain topic in a show. There's really not much room for interpretation
if you decide to read the manga alongside the anime, but as the show on
its own, whatever questions that have not been answered is all up to
your imagination. What really works for the story of Trigun is the
believability of the characters, its originality in characters, settings
and even character designs even if some character designs do look a bit
bizarre. I also like the symbolism in Trigun. Vash's red coat is a
pretty significant symbol to the story. I thought it was there for show
Rem said something about red geraniums (a type of flower if you don't
know) in the flashback episode. A highly notable use of symbolism in
Trigun is references to Christianity. Religious or not, the usage of
this symbolism really doesn't throw it at your face and shove it down
your throat, it gives Trigun a nice touch. The reasoning behind the
Christian imagery in the show is because Yasuhiro Nightow (the creator
of Trigun) is a Christian (Roman Catholic from what I've looked up).
That's what works. What doesn't work in the show is the show's pacing
near the end as well as the ending. The pacing of the show was pretty
average for 20 some episodes until it starts getting pretty dark, that's
when the show starts wrapping up in a rushed pace. I do think there
were a couple of moments where the music does not fit in certain scenes
but that's a minor nitpick. However, the last episode could have had
better direction because I did like how they were showing Vash's past in
full circle, but the first half of the final episode mostly shows that
and then most of the second half shows the big showdown between Vash and
Knives and the fight itself was pretty cool and well... After that, the
show ends two minutes later. I felt the show's ending was a bit rushed.
It's not really a terrible ending to say the least. I just thought the
final episode could have had better direction. This shouldn't really
stop me or anyone else from enjoying Trigun because there are some
things to like about Trigun. It is an anime classic that still gets
mentioned today.

Trigun was available from Geneon until they went under. It is available
from Funimation after they rescued it a few years back. The manga by
Yasuhiro Nightow is available from Dark Horse. The Trigun movie
"Badlands Rumble" is available from Funimation. A video game called
"Trigun: The Planet Gunsmoke" was in the works by Red Entertainment and
SEGA has not made any recent comments about it and is believed to be
cancelled.

With all that said, Trigun is a gun-toting anime classic that does have
hit-and miss animation but it has effective secretive storytelling since
the story is moving at times, the music compliments the show and its
settings, and the characters are believable in their own ways. I do
think the cool appeal is very high in this show. It isn't perfect, but
it still remains an anime classic to this day.

I give Trigun a 9 out of 10. It is EXCELLENT!

Feel free to leave a comment, and repeat after me...

THIS WORLD IS MADE OF... LOVE AND PEACE!

show review

by thesonicfan21 on 2011-09-22 00:28

Remember Johnny Bravo? That's an American cartoon that was pretty old too, but still had its charm to entertain viewers even though it wasn't an anime and it was aimed at a younger market. Both Trigun and Johnny Bravo started off a bit silly at first, but I came to like them once the series progressed (which happens to about all TV series). Yet, they may look old but are actually pretty good. Regardless of the fact that Johnny Bravo didn't really have such tense moments as Trigun did.

Trigun is a delight for teens and even adults; the prankish characters will entertain the teens and even the adults would find such adult humor inclined in this anime, funny yet entertaining. Yet, something entertaining for both of them is full of pranks, characters making up stories, depression and even more. It's a very great mixture blended together in one anime. As the story goes on, it gets more and more tense, serious and even depressing.

The real attraction of this anime is its protagonist because determinedly, he is one of the most funniest characters I have ever seen in an anime. In turns, he is also the most moral characters I have ever seen in an anime behind Nausicaa from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Although, the antagonists: good-hearted Milly and mysterious Meryl were pretty much average compared to the other great characters in the series. Wolfwood, a child-lover is also up there with one of the top best anime characters you'll ever see in an anime.

The characters are done outstandingly that you will fall in love with many of them in the series. The drawings were also done pretty well for its time, but doesn't live it up to its promise like anime such as Cowboy Bebop does. The English Dub, you know wasn't too bad, but I prefer the sub over the dub. The only disappointment I have is the music, which sounded kind of out-dated compared to Cowboy Bebop; pretty good, but could've been better. It's a great anime and also worth a buy for the whole family and even goof for Fall break as well.

I gave Trigun a seven out of ten.

show review

by ThatAnimeSnob on 2011-05-19 17:06

STORY: PART 1: 1/10, PART 2: 6/10, PART 3: 8/10, AVERAGE: 5/10

Most tend to judge a show from it early episodes and usually they are right because it is very rare to have a show which changes its initial mood too much. This anime is one of those rare cases that it does. One should not judge it partially but as a whole. The best way to properly analyze Trigun is to separate it into three parts. I wouldn’t call them arcs because it’s still the same story.
- The first part is episodes 1 to 11. These are mostly aimless comedy, where the lead character is goofing around and saves random people in random areas. It is very light and makes you think that the entire show is nothing but silly storyless adventure.
- The second part is episodes 12 to 16, where the story is now entering an on-going and more serious phase. You are given some insight to the hero’s past and he faces far more fearful and inhuman opponents. Now you think the show will be hereon an average to good action/comedy/drama.
- The third part is the rest of the show (17 to 26), where the comedy portion almost disappears, violence, death and tragedy are increased tenfold. This part reveals the hero’s tragic past and how he tries to make up for all the damage he and his brother caused to the world. The catch is, unlike in the beginning of the show where nothing seems hard to accomplish when he is fighting seriously, over here he hardly manages to achieve half of what he intends to do.

The mood of the show changes almost 180 degrees from beginning to end, turning from a silly comedy to some serious tragedy. That is perceived as a bold and well received element that makes the whole deal far more memorable and interesting. If it was tragic or comedy all the way, the effect on you would be halved.

That is still not enough for me to give a 10 to the story. As much as I liked the mood swings, I found many scenes where the storyboard was messy and chaotic. The plot seems to move any way the animators felt like it and the action scenes lack realism almost entirely, which in effect ruins a big part of its attempt to be serious. The major showdowns are also a major problem as they all seem to end fast and almost effortless or way too simplistic. The conclusion is like that as well so it may feel lukewarm in comparison to what was building up along the way so far. So if I am to give a score to the story, I will do so in parts and in overall to better help you see what I mean

CHARACTERS: 8/10

The meat of the show is the characters and their very weird mood swings. Just like the story, everybody begins as a shallow comical stereotype but along the way they are fleshed out and by the end of the show you feel they have become a lot more than they started as. This is not limited to the main characters only but to most secondary allies and adversaries as well. As the story moves on to darker regions, you see more sides to them and you do understand their motives. Many of them also get killed by the end of the show, something that could fool you to be impossible the way the story began. At first you see the hero being a pacifist who miraculously never kills or let anyone be killed, giving you the impression this will stand as such up to the end. Yet you see how numerous times he fails and how that affects his mentality.

I am still not going to give a 10 here either. Many characters still behave too weird and unreasonable. Especially the villains, they are throwing their lives away. And many minor support characters appear to be wasted potencial since they appear only for a few episodes.

ART / ANIMATION: 7/10

The setting is a planet that resembles the Wild West and it’s filled with various sci-fi elements. I can’t say I was too amazed with it since it didn’t seem to go past the obvious and offer some sort of symbolism, an element I adore. Also, for a space western, there doesn’t seem to be any real connection between the old and the new; it’s just random anachronisms without uniformity.

Animated by the king of anime series, Studio Madhouse. Not one of their greatest works but you can easily see the dynamism and quality of the material they were given. Animation and artwork feel dated and almost average in budget, which lowers the enjoyment along the way. You clearly see jerky motions, proportion deformity and bad scene follow up, such as characters standing in completely different poses all of a sudden or appearing and disappearing out of nowhere, or just standing completely frozen for too long.

There is some very interesting choreography in most battles which will impress those who seek brainless entertainment. The main warriors are after all cool looking with those long coats and glasses of theirs, plus they have some really weird futuristic weaponry. I personally found it to be way too unrealistic to work on me. They dodge a million bullets and fire with six shooters dozens of times without reloading. Plus, those two girls are at one episode completely useless fighters and on the next they are elite sharpshooters. And what’s with the doomsday device they hide inside them? All that ruin the credibility of the action and even the drama but I do appreciate the vividness and inserted humour they have.

MUSIC: 7/10
Voice acting is fine for such a show and the main music themes are very strong rock pieces. Yet most of the duration lacks background music and the rest of it feels pretty uninteresting. That takes away from the enjoyment again.

VALUE: 5/10
So, is it an important anime historically-wise? Somewhat yes for its unorthodox turn around as well as the lively shoot outs. But it also came out at the same time as Cowboy Bebop, another space western that beats it on all accounts. Not only that, but there was also Outlaw Star the same year, a third space western, to take away even more of its special feeling. Furthermore, some years ago there was also Rurouni Kenshin, which was also about a somewhat similar protagonist with the same goals. Add to that how the first half of the show is aimless adventures with very little reason or interest to rewatch. Thus, it shares the same scores with the story sections in this regard.

ENJOYMENT: 5/10
Is it an enjoyable show? Yes but not all the way. The first half was very boring and I wasn’t thrilled with its comedy as some others were. It is the second half that becomes interesting and that is why enjoyment gets the base score.

OVERALL: 6/10
Unlike most of the fandom, I wasn’t fooled to give it 9s and 10s just because it becomes better as it goes on. As a whole it improves but it still has several mishaps that prevent it from being a real masterpiece. Most like it for its lively battles and darker side later on but after other shows like Black Lagoon or Hellsing came along, surpassed most of its appeal.

show review

by summoner on 2009-11-14 12:21

Note: This review is based on KAA fansubs. Recommended.



Originally written as manga by Naitou Yasuhiro (Gungrave) and directed by Nishimura Satoshi (Hajime no Ippo) is a western inspired show set in post-apocalyptic world and centered on the adventures of Vash the Stampede, unsurpassed shot and villain with a 60 billion $ bounty on his head. Vash might be a slightly different protagonist from what his description might lead you to expect, but, nonetheless, his charismatic presence and quest to end all the shit started by some of his acquaintances from the past never gets too boring to follow. This show offers many quality gunfights, well thought-out setting and a story slightly deeper than your usual shounen action-fest, definitely a piece worth watching if you are into the thing.

Trigun is one of the first anime I have ever watched and I must confess I was genuinely surprised to find this show even better than what my five-year-old memories been telling me. The strongest part of this anime is likely its carefully detailed and attractive setting which, unlike the usual hardly believable sieve-like holey settings of present anime, simply sucks you in with the first few episodes. At first I was worried with the episodic nature this show seemed to exhibit at its beginnings, but it didn't take me long to get captivated by the setting explaining details present in those seemingly incoherent episodes. The great amount of fun I had with this show is also attributable to the nice cast it presents, not only Vash is simply hilarious, his mysterious self-contradicting nature makes you simply zealous towards anything hinting at his cleverly concealed past. The best thing, however, is that just when all the mysteries and foreshadowing reach their pinnacle you are bestowed a final back-story which connects all the otherwise lose ends and incoherent episodes delivering a dramatic conclusion afterwards. Nowadays, when anime scene is riddled by moe fanservice, Haruhi cults and incomplete frustrating works, it sure feels nice to come back to the ten years old scene and observe a show that doesn't cut any corners.

Animation: 7/10

Outdated in technicals, immortal in charms - is the line best describing Trigun's animation done by Madhouse. Brownish dim color palette is simply perfect for the post apocalyptic setting this show presents. Colors are also used to artistically imbue the atmosphere, for example there are moments when all screen is illuminated in blue, the sky becomes blood red, falling vessels appear as if rain of blood and so on. Background pictures sometimes appear to lack detail, especially evident when camera pans out to show cityscapes. Buildings and people silhouettes appear as if placed on a brown colored paper with a few black dots to indicate it is actually ground. At the same time, however, it adds to the desolate feeling this tries to present, and most of the time you'll be to busy observing the imaginative architecture (like giant light bulb-like structure) to notice the lack of detail in the backgrounds. While not particularly exceeding in technicals, Trigun's animation is one hell of an atmospheric creation and I confess, I prefer visuals which suck you in to the ones that simply look good. This show also offers some nice direction with many unorthodox angles and some really cool poses (like lighting a cigarette with a damn machine gun). There is also this cat which appears everywhere and frankly, it gets quite funny-like interesting to search where is it hiding this time around. You can see many moons or even other planetary bodies up in the sky; and during some scenes, particularly flashbacks, black and red color mishmashes are used to achieve a really eerie feeling. You can even find some nice symbolism in Trigun which might be spoiling if directly mentioned... just don't forget to keep your eyes on Wolfwood's cross.

Vash and everyone else from the main cast have distinctive and memorable designs. There are skulls on Legato's white mantle, Wolfwood carries a huge cross and Vash has rings on eight out of ten of his fingers; down to the little details cast of this show is drawn as cool as possible. Even the episodic villains have not as much but still quite memorable designs, be it either extravagant costumes or weird bodily proportions. Heck, even generic villagers are easily distinguishable from each other with peculiar facial hair and varying facial structures. When it comes to details, however, Trigun does not exceed; you can see characters changing shapes during scene transitions and when camera pans out it sometimes gets quite hard to identify their shapes much less faces. When up close faces also tend to be rough around the edges sometimes appearing awkwardly geometric. At the same time, however, mobile drawings blend with their brownish backgrounds perfectly. So while slightly inconsistent and rough on facial details the cast of the show still qualifies as one of the most attractive and memorable in the anime realm. Very well planned out facial expressions also help the show's humor tremendously, I lost the count on the amount of different hilarious facial super-deformations Vash goes through.

Given the show's age it's not surprising movement is choppy and comes off as slightly awkward if you actually pay attention. However, it's still one of the better examples of fluidity from the age it was made at and while fights are not breathtaking, choreography is well done and nicely animated destruction caused by bullets is firing up. Particularly the final gunfight is one of the most thrilling I have ever seen in any anime for that matter; aiming for ricochets, pulling and stealing bullets out of opponent's gun... heh not a feat for your everyday cowboy. Average production values apply to inbetweens as well; moving hair and rubble looks okay as long as you don't pay too much attention towards it. Anyway, while not a technical masterpiece, I must say that Trigun's fluidity never averted my attention from the simple fun this show presents and that's quite a feat considering the age this show has seen the light.

Sound: 7/10

Background music composed by Imahori Tsuneo (Gungrave) is not particularly memorable, but it's extremely stylish and nearly perfect when it comes down to setting the mood. I wont be getting the OST, but I did find many music imbued scenes pleasant. There is also one melancholic-like theme that simply gets under your skin and wraps around your heart, it's repeated on and on with slight alterations, and it gets better and clearer with every go... as if hinting that you are getting closer to Vash's past. Then again, that is about the only theme which isn't simply atmospheric. Vocal-free rocky OP H.T. is actually a brilliant choice for this anime; introducing and setting the mood for both serious and hilarious parts of it with utmost precision. ED, however, has vocals and though well fitted for the Trigun's mood, pales in comparison to the more simplistic but also more memorable OP. Oh yeah, and I'd recommend not skipping on "next episode" previews shown after the ED, in similar fashion to Berserk they deal not with the crude plot of the following ep, but with its philosophical essence. Frankly, they alone pack more substance than, let's say, One Piece.

While overall voice-acting in Trigun might be controversial, as not exactly everyone have distinct voices, it also offers what is likely the best performance ever by Onasaka Masaya. Frankly, Vash is this guy's natural role; he is the most brilliant seiyuu at the ability to jump between sounding idiotic geeky and deep serious I have ever heard. And that is exactly what most of Vash's charm is about. Another brilliant performance is offered by Seki Toshihiko as Legato, which also might prove to be his best role ever; heh, I still get the shivers from that completely deprived of positive emotions voice. Short of Hayami Shou's nice use of Kansai-ben other performances are hardly noticeable. Which is particularly unfortunate to female character side (though I must say I liked the fact that Meryl used ojiyou-sama dialect completely contrasting the barren wastes she was traveling around).

Story: 8/10

The first half of the show might give you the impression the show is episodic, that, however, is not the case. While it's true that it takes Trigun more than ten episodes to finally start moving in one direction, all the minor episodes before it do wonders at foreshadowing its path. Frankly, both the setting and characters of this show are much more complex than you'd dare to expect at the beginning; and the relaxed half funny half lightly lecturing episodes work very well to introduce viewers to the desolate world of Trigun and its demented society. Characters also get introduced and fleshed-out just enough to achieve the needed amount of drama later. And, frankly, even though I usually can't stand episodic series I really had much fun with Trigun even during the time I thought it was episodic... When the plot kicks in during the second half, it kicks in with a bang; all the stuff suddenly becomes serious, moral messages fly here and there, the originally fun setting suddenly gets enough depth to provoke your thoughts and the action comedy-driven shounen suddenly becomes a dark suspense thriller telling a tale about the sinful nature of humanity. Add the conclusive ending and you'll get yourself a brilliant show.

Characters: 8/10

Vash is certainly one of the most interesting protagonists to grace anime realm. I mean, seriously, it seems as if his every second action contradicts his personality. He is introduced as one of the most wicked villains in the world having razed a million people housing city to ashes overnight. At the same time all you see is him acting like an idiot: getting beaten up by kids, trying to peep on ladies, forgetting to load his gun, not to mention his uber geeky laughter. Then there are moments when his facial expression completely changes, his action of trying to peep on lady somehow leads down to him completely pwning the criminals without even drawing a gun and then he goes on stands all cool and... shouts LOVE&PEACE and laughs like an idiot again. It's as if the guy has a multiple personality disorder or something. The question of what the hell is going on in his head is probably second on entertainment only to the pure fun Vash's idiotic actions achieve. Frankly, the lad is so unorthodox there are no other leads even reminiscent to him anywhere else... But if I had to point a finger I'd say he does share some personality traits with Kenshin... That's also a hint to a deep backstory with philosophical flavor, if you didn't catch. Unlike Kenshin, however, Vash is not completely past his developmental stage yet, so you will indeed be able to see him go through some touchy internal struggles. Anyway, entertaining lead for an entertaining show, LOVE&PEACE!

Female characters certainly take a backseat when it comes to charismatic personalities, nonetheless, both Meryl and Milly are nice characters. Their nicest feat, probably, is the sheer freshness they provide wearing manly clothes and wielding massive weapons. Ok, it seems I am starting to talk about Milly alone *cough*. Anyway, though at first it seems that the main function for female leads is narrating the story giving some common sense to otherwise complete insanity Vash seeds, they also get some light near the end. I was particularly surprised when Milly, whom I only thought childish and naive, provides some of the needed femininity near the show's conclusion. Meryl, on the other hand, works as the voice of common sense from the beginning to the end; having a hopeless crush on Vash (similar to that of Kaoru's on Kenshin). So, in the end, while not particularly exceptional or memorable, female leads do their job, and do it well.

A great number generic characters come and go being simple tools either to advance the plot or give even more depth to the Trigun's carefully crafted setting. The only guy from the side cast who actually has some real significance to the story is Kansai-Ben using gunman priest Nicholas D.Wolfwood. He comes off as a similar goody guy as Vash at the beginning, but the more you observe the two the clearer it becomes that, even as priest, Wolfwood can't keep up with Vash's pathological altruism. Some of the best and most important clashes of beliefs between two guys who are all but completely good are here only thanks to Wolfwood's presence in the show. And he is a funny guy anyway, witty enough to throw a good joke even in the shittiest of situations, sure makes the show lively.

Trigun might have the widest array of villains out of any twenty-six episodes long show ever made. Naturally, only a fraction of them are full-fledged characters. However, I stress that every single one of them is quirky in one way or another (there is a guy who fights with a damned trumpet), so even the episodic guys usually have more memorability than your average 100 episodes spanning villain in Bleach. Anyway, the only villains who are worthy of the name character are Legato and Knives... and I must say they are damn cool. With more foreshadowing than actual appearances and super nihilistic nature Legato is probably only second to Johan when it comes down to causing you shivers with motivations you simply can't comprehend. A stunt he pulled in the end left me in shocking awe for straight five years, damn, that's certainly a fresh way to be evil. Knives might not be as fresh as Legato, but he certainly is as demented. Thinking himself as a being superior to humanity he simply wants to annihilate everyone and everything... in the most painful way possible. And you bet, the guy has enough intelligence and power to fully compensate his insanity.

:

Meryl Strife - ESTJ (D)
Rem Saverem - ENFJ (D)
Millions Knives - ENTJ (C)
Milly Thompson - ENFP (D)
Vash the Stampede - ENFJ (B)
Legato Bluesummers - INTP (B)
Nicholas D. Wolfwood - ISTP (C)

Value: 8/10

It has a backbone, it's hilarious, its action boils the blood, it has more brains than your average shounen... and it's damn good. I'd keep on to this show if only for its sentimental value, showing that shounens actually used to be intelligent in the past. Nonetheless, I have already watched Trigun twice, and I'm sure I'll watch it many more times in the future. It's not really a type of show you'd watch twice in a row, but I can assure you, it's heck of a pleasant ride when your memories become cloudy.

1. :[/b] Trigun, labeled as a gun-wielding action shounen, is a much better show than you would originally expect it to be. Made with enough foreshadowing and depth to put Naruto and other money-milking franchises to shame, Trigun is an immortal gem offering enough passion, substance and most importantly pure fun to entertain anyone interested in either gunfights or post-apocalyptic settings. So, if it's your thing then what are you waiting for? Get it, and watch it, now; gun-wielding action rarely gets better in anime realm. If you've liked Trigun you might be interested in Gungrave, which is even better plot-wise, or you might want to check the stylish gun-wielding vampire action in Hellsing out. I personally didn't like the two much, but you might also find some nice gunfights in Black Lagoon and Cowboy Bebop. Otherwise, if you were enthralled by the show's post-apocalyptic setting you might want to play Fallout 2 (not 3, no no no).

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show review

by angelgz on 2007-10-02 04:40

I see many people think that this anime is great and all that. I do agree that it is packed with action, twist and turns. However, there is a BIG problem with this anime -- it has absolutely no logic whatsoever. I mean, a (half-god?) man named Vash who sworn not to kill even if his enemy is after his life? This is totally ridiculous. I am almost done with this series and all that happened so far is good people are DEAD because of the main character's big idealist believes. Furthermore, I don't understand what the story is getting at. So, two half gods, good vs evil thats all cool, but the good guy wouldn't do much good if he's DEAD would it? I felt the creator of this anime just make it so that every time the bad guy turns good for absolutely no reason and so that the main character survives again. And so the story can go on and everything repeats itself again. Oh yeah, the story never answered the riddle in episode 10 or 11. That is, "If I want to save both the butterfly and the spider, what should I do?" Well as the story goes, it kinda slapped itself in the face --- because you can't. There are many more logical inconsistencies if you have good memory. I feel cheated because I think the creator is expecting us to forget what happened earlier so that he can slip some crap in their without having me noticing it.

Well, I maybe biased because I rate an anime mainly based on its storyline and development. So if you are a big action sci-fi guru, you may like it. However, if you are in for the story, I suggest you ignore this piece of crap and watch something that makes more sense.

show review

by sandip on 2007-08-18 15:23

SIMILAR TO: Cowboy Bebop; Samurai Champloo

Slick, stylish, unique, fun, fantastic. This is the second in what I've dubbed "The Holy Trilogy" of anime series. (The other members being Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo.) These three anime series' have a distinctly similar feel to them, and share many positive qualities. (Yes, this opening statement is featured in my reviews for those two anime series too.)

This is a series that has the word "Cool" written all over it. You can't help but admire the characters, the irony in the storylines, and the laid-back, yet intensely controlled and focused overall feel to the series.

I'll try to defend my ludicrously high ratings as best I can.

Visuals:
The one and only below-superb aspect of Trigun is in its visuals. This comes in the form of its production budget, which appears not too great, considering the way the series has been animated. There are abundant scenes where there are simply not enough frames of animation, or crowd scenes where the crowd is a still picture with a "crowd" sound on top to make it appear busy, even though nothing is actually moving. A bit like there wasn't enough manpower to animate everything that really needed it. However, to be honest, most series from back in the late 90s like this one, are of similar animation quality. When compared to the majority of those, this doesn't fair particularly badly. However, Cowboy Bebop was also developed the same year, and Neon Genesis Evangelion a few years before it - both having noticeably better animation.

But the rest of the visuals in Trigun are great. The style is the most noteworthy part - the design of the character-looks, together with the way the action unfolds is, for lack of a better word, cool. The world in which Trigun is set, whilst quite barren, is actually well designed with a good old-west feel. Some of the action sequences can seem a bit too short-lived, but what little they involve is very engrossing to watch.

Sound:
Every sound aspect in Trigun is very, very good. Beginning with the voices, every character appears to be spot on. Those with cute voices go well with their characters' personalities, bad guys sound suitably bad, and most important of all, the voice of the lead character has an appropriate tone to convey his humorous and serious side.

The sound effects seem nicely meaty and sharp depending on the situation - most foreground sounds are of gunfire; the background ambiance usually involves blowing wind or crowd banter, which also does an adequate job. The music is extremely well suited to the series - giving it a great western feel, whilst occasionally being very moving at parts and showing heart. The opening and closing music is also very cool in my opinion, and I personally play these tunes from the soundtrack often.

Story:
The story follows the adventures of Vash the Stampede - a man who has been classed as the "Humanoid Typhoon" due to the destructive effect he has on his surroundings. It appears that action and chaos chase him wherever he goes, and often, whole towns can end up in rubble. This has become so bad, that there is now a reward on his head for $60 billion. We the viewer, join Vash at a time where one of the planet's major insurance companies has despatched 2 women to keep an eye on him, and to review whether or not the insurance company should indeed pay for all the damage involved in his actions. But they soon find that Vash isn't exactly the kind of person they thought he would be...

Trigun's greatest strength lies in its protagonist. Vash, is a misunderstood man who is genuinely trying to do the right thing, but who ultimately has to suffer through many hardships due to a handful of other "bad" people. The plot takes place on a desert planet, where for some reason humanity now lives, and towns are spread far and wide. What we see is Vash going from town to town, and in essence helping those he meets. Along the way however, many people try to capture him for the bounty, or hurt others for their own reasons, causing Vash to step in and use some immense physical skill to put things right. The action, whilst not animated as good as it could have been (as mentioned before), is extremely engaging and clever, with some truly epic set pieces and even humour. The greatness is hidden in the subtleties - Vash only occasionally shows how super amazing he really is, and when this happens it does indeed make you excited.

The series definitely covers a lot of its bases. There's bucket-loads of action and humour, and some truly emotional parts of love and loss. Whilst it seemingly starts off being a "challenge-of-the-week" type of series, you soon realise that actually, this was all done so that the viewer could get a decent grasp of Vash as a character, so that when about a third of the series has gone by, the deeper base story which starts up can be put into better context. In fact, even in the first third of the series, the main base plot is being played out, but just not so obviously. The series has been cleverly structured so that we the viewer actually learn about Vash at the same pace that the 2 women from the insurance company do. It almost provides an excuse for the series to exist - if the 2 women hadn't set out on their task of observing Vash, we wouldn't have witnessed the adventure.

Not that it's gory, but there are some violent scenes in Trigun where the "bad guys" are being... "bad". This has a suitable negative impact on the viewers' mood, sometimes seeming quite horrific. Even though it's never actually scary, from Vash's perspective it IS, and since it's hard to not get so wrapped up in Vash's ideals, it does come across as a bit frightening when a handful of people are hurting the majority. It's this type of emotional substance that I found myself getting very absorbed in. And I give Trigun great praise for it - I don't find it particularly easy to invest feelings into many anime any more.

Characters:
Vash is probably my favourite anime character of all time. He's funny, skilled, and compassionate. But these qualities are SO plentiful in him that he borders on actually BEING the "ideal" rather than trying to work towards it. I think that most of the positive qualities featured in the series are due to Vash being the lead; and his development and back story - which the plot centres around - are extremely engaging. Vash's relationship with all the people he meets and those from his past, are layered carefully and considerately. His selfless personality is almost one of a kind, and the lengths he goes through to for the sake of others is beyond human, though very plausible once you understand his mindset.

Meryl and Milly, the two women from the insurance agency sent to observe Vash, have funny and diverse personalities and thankfully keep from being irritating (as most secondary characters in their position usually would). Their characters are developed very convincingly too, and show a varied emotional range over their comical base. Another secondary character, Wolfwood, introduced about a quarter way through the series, also has a pleasant atmosphere about him, and is instantly likeable. His development, whilst not as deep as the others due to his only occasional visits throughout the series, is handled nicely.

Other than the supporting "forgettable" characters (characters that Vash encounters randomly in one episode and then never again), the super-villains are very noteworthy. Vash's story leads him to fight against some very above average people, each with a unique ability. These encounters, whilst often quite short, are very mesmerising. Seeing each one present Vash with a bigger challenge than before is exciting to watch. Each villain has a sinister attitude, and at once makes the viewer despise them.

Value:
I've given this series a perfect value score. I have the series on dvd; I watch it as often as I do the most-watched of my 26-episode series; and I still think that 9 years after the series originally aired (at the time of writing the review), it's worth watching through again and I do so.

Enjoyment:
Obviously the first time I watched Trigun many many years ago, it had the best impact on me. I think it was around the year 2000, when I had just finished watching Cowboy Bebop. Back then, it was the cool action and style of the series that had me gripped and in awe; these days, upon replaying it, I'm actually more impressed with it's heart and ideals. This is a thoroughly good series, that on the surface has aged (compared to modern-day anime and their technological advances), but underneath is still far beyond most of the series today in what makes something truly memorable.