Note: At the time of this review, I did not realize that most of the pictures featured in this review refer to the 2010 movie Trigun: Badlands Rumble, rather than the 1998 show. Either way, I recommend that you watch that movie because it is pure Trigun fun. Enjoy the rest of the review.
Special thanks go to star6wars1 for recommending this anime. I appreciate it!
Before Trigun, with the exception of a few Pokémon movies, I have never watched an anime from the 1990s. Now you’re all probably going to yell at me to watch Cowboy Bebop because IT IZ TEH GR8TEST ANIME EVAR, and to that I’ll say, “Be patient, young grasshopper. Sensei will watch and review that eventually.” Anyway, back to Trigun. The oldest anime that I had watched prior to Trigun was the original Fullmetal Alchemist, with that anime being from circa 2003. Considering how that anime was a masterpiece and is still remembered over 10 years after its original release, I went into Trigun expecting something amazing, because that anime has been around for over 15 years and something in it had to be done correctly in order for it to survive that long. So, does Trigun hold up after all these years? Sit back, relax, and read on as I review Trigun.
The Setup:
I know that it’s not a good idea to start a review out with the negatives first, but the setting is actually my biggest problem with the show. I had no idea when or where the anime took place. I mean, sure, in later episodes they make it clear that this takes place on another planet in the distant future, but that’s not established in the beginning of the anime. I was really confused as to why all of these science-fiction elements were being thrown into an anime that seemed to be imitating the Old West. Though, to be perfectly fair, the setting of Trigun isn’t really all that important in the long run, but still…it would be nice to get an idea of where the anime takes place. Anyway, the anime begins at a bar that almost immediately gets blown up. You see a man with spikey blonde hair, yellow-orange sunglasses, and a long red trench coat. How he survives in the desert, I don’t know. You see the man pull out his revolver, and then the anime switches focus to two women named Meryl and Millie. They work for an insurance company who’s sending the two of them out to find the $$60,000,000,000 outlaw Vash The Stampede, so they can cover any damage that the man causes that will affect their company’s well being. Apparently, Vash was so powerful that he destroyed an entire city named July, and has been on the run ever since. Try and guess who Vash The Stampede is. From there, they encounter a gang who has captured the man with the red trench coat, claiming the man to be Vash The Stampede. However, it is revealed that the man is a complete idiot, and due to the ambiguity as to who Vash really is, through a series of mistaken identities Meryl, Millie, and the man escape. The man claims that he is, in fact, the outlaw Vash The Stampede, and while Millie believes him, Meryl can’t get her mind around how such a moron could be the $$60 billion outlaw. Thus, their adventure begins.
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| Apparently Vash The Stampede, the dangerous outlaw, is an idiot...but you really shouldn't go by first impressions. |
The Characters:
As I’ve mentioned in many a review, it is always the characters and their developments throughout the series that is of the utmost importance in my book. With that said, Trigun has one of the most likable and memorable character casts I’ve ever seen, with each character getting enough development throughout the story. Vash is one of my new favorite anime characters, because he’s a perfect combination of likability, naïvety, wisdom, intelligence, goofiness, determination, stubbornness, and awesomeness. Another aspect about Vash that was incredibly well done was his resistance in taking anyone’s life under any circumstances, because of reasons in his past. This includes not letting other people kill others. Normally I would criticize a character for being so naïve, especially in the situations that Vash gets himself into, but the lengths that he goes to in order to preserve the lives of everyone around him and seeing him succeed in his efforts made me believe otherwise. You can really tell that he truly believes in his ideals, and that’s what’s so great about him. To compare him to the unfortunately similar character Sakura from Code-Breaker, all she ever did was yell at Ogami to stop killing people because of his belief that evil people should all be killed (the Light Yagami wannabe) and throw herself into danger. To be fair, I don’t agree with either of their ideals; I believe in the right of a fair trial, and then having the proper punishment doled out to the criminal. In Code-Breaker, Sakura flat-out doesn’t believe in punishment because people will “learn from their mistakes”. In Trigun, Vash doesn’t believe in taking a life, but he does believe in punishment. That’s the main difference between the two, and it’s why two characters that share the same main ideal are so different, with Sakura being insufferable and Vash being the pinnacle of awesome. As for the other characters, Meryl and Millie were very likable. Meryl is a very no-nonsense person who is incredibly stubborn, but as she gets to know Vash more she starts to lighten up. Millie is a woman who is a strange mixture of being incredibly concrete and not very observant, but she’s nowhere near stupid. Finally, the last main character to talk about is Nicolas D. Wolfwood, a traveling priest who comes across Vash on multiple occasions and they eventually form a strong partnership. What’s especially prominent about Wolfwood are his ideals, which, while his personality is pretty much the same as Vash’s, their ideals are completely different. Wolfwood has no problems with taking lives in order to accomplish his goals or save others, which causes them to argue a lot as their ideals clash, eventually leading to full-out fights between the two. Despite this, though, you still feel camaraderie between the two as they influence the other, and the arguments actually seemed to strengthen their relationship rather than break it. As for the side characters, they do their jobs well enough, and the show allows for them to grow on you enough to care about them, so props for that.
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| From left to right: Wolfwood, Vash, Meryl, and Millie...and a cat. |
The Story:
The main aspect about the story that needs to be talked about is its structure. For the first eleven or so episodes, the story is told in a rather episodic manner, while the rest of the show has a darker tone and has an overarching story. While the episodic manner of the first half might turn some people away, there are two reasons why you should stick through it in my opinion:
1. The best aspect about the first half is that you get to know the four main characters really well, so that when the story actually appears, you genuinely care about what happens to them
2. Episode 12. Seriously, this episode is one of my new favorite anime episodes of all time. If you like the first eleven episodes of Trigun, episode 12 will completely blow you away and make you even more invested into the overarching story.
One of the other aspects about the story that needs mentioning is its ability to transition tones. The general tone of Trigun is pretty lax and carefree, but its ability to transition into telling a darker story doesn’t feel rushed or out of place, which is a pretty miraculous feat considering the circumstances. Everything in this anime just seems to work, and nothing really made me question the logic or reasoning to the point of me feeling frustrated with it. The anime knows what to tell you and what not to tell you, leaving enough room for mystery surrounding who Vash really is and tying everything together into a nice little bow in a pretty satisfying conclusion.
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| The story is originally episodic, but it allows for enough character development for you to really care about them when the plot sets in. |
The Animation/Sound:
Animated by Madhouse, this anime looks pretty great for an anime of its time. While some of the character designs look a little funky at times and there are some still frames, when the anime needs to look good, it looks pretty amazing, with some of the greatest action scenes I’ve seen in a very long time. It’s also an anime that focuses a lot more on the substance of the action, but nice visuals do nothing but help that. As for sound, the opening is an awesome cake that is only one layer in an awesome twelve-layer cake that has $$60,000,000,000 worth of awesome frosting and decorations on top of it served with a drink of pure awesomeness. In case you didn’t catch it before, the opening is awesome, and listening to it has really improved my air-guitar skills (link will be included). The ending is also a nice listen, but I skipped it every time to watch the next episode. The OST has become one of my new favorite anime OSTs, with standouts being Vash’s Theme, Legato’s Theme, and Rem’s Song (links to be included). Finally, Japanese or English? Hm…go with the English dub. It’s a little bit dated, but Johnny Young Bosh’s performance as Vash is enough to make watching it in English worth it. You can judge for yourself, but I really liked this English dub.
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| Despite its sometimes-lacking animation, Trigun has a great soundtrack, exciting opening, and a well acted English dub. |
Final Judgment:
It’s pretty easy to see why this anime has remained loved and recommended by many an anime fan over 15 years since its original release. It’s funny, heartfelt, filled with great action, fantastic characters, a well written story, some decent animation, an incredible soundtrack and opening, and a great English dub. I give Trigun a 4.5 out of 5 and a recommendation to watch it. Like always, however, it’s up to you to judge the anime yourself.
ScoreCard:
ScoreCard:
Watch Trigun: http://www.hulu.com/trigun
If you live in America, you can watch it on Netflix too!
Vash’s Theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjLGqBlIY7Q
Legato’s Theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6l64TVOLds
Rem’s Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfyjJpeKDzU
Further Recommendations:
Cowboy Bebop
Though I haven’t seen the anime myself (you may now proceed to rage), I know enough about it to recognize that Bebop and Trigun have a lot of similarities, in terms of episodic nature, prioritizing characters over story, the setting, and it’s from the 1990s. I will get around to watching and reviewing this anime, so my full opinion on it will appear somewhere in the near future.
Fullmetal Alchemist: The 2003 Version
The main reason I’m recommending this version over Brotherhood in this case is because I believe the original to be a little more character based than story based, and its atmosphere was very similar to Trigun’s. It’s also more in the “anime classics” vein than Brotherhood is, which makes it share another parallel with Trigun.
Book review next week! Here’s the hint: Who are the carriers, and what do they want to do with us?
See you then!
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