Note: This is a rewrite of a review that I posted back on the 31st of January 2016. I am writing this because I recently rewatched the series and decided to update the review.
Overview:
Ask any Western anime fan what anime you should watch. Chances are, one of the titles they'll mention is "Trigun". While practically unheard of in its native country of Japan, "Trigun" is ridiculously popular in America and other Western-speaking countries, and for good reason. It may not quite fit my idea of a masterpiece, and certain parts of it have definitely not aged all that well, but overall it more than earns ... its reputation as a 90s classic, and I can say that if you're looking for an action-packed space-western flick, "Trigun" will more than suffice.
Story (9/10):
"Trigun" is set over 1000 years in the future on the planet Gunsmoke, a desert world that humans populated over 100 years ago and is filled to the brim with mechanically-modified outlaws. The most dreaded of these outlaws is Vash the Stampede, who has a whopping $$60,000,000 bounty on his head. Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson, two agent from the Bernardelli Insurance Society are tracking Vash in order to bring an end to the destruction that surrounds him. The twist? Vash isn't really a heartless killer. In fact, he's the opposite. He’s kind, cheerful, often idiotic (or is he?) and absolutely hates death and destruction, to the point that he refuses to kill or even hurt anybody no matter how much they want to kill him. The reason he has such an abnormally large bounty on his head is because a lot of people are after him, and due to tragic accidents caused by things that were out of his control. As the series progresses, Vash, Meryl and Milly develop a close friendship with each other as Vash is forced to confront his past and he encounters various people who desire for him to suffer as much as possible. And in doing so, Vash will be forced to confront his philosophy of refusing to kill anyone no matter what.
The story is admittedly pretty slow to start, with Vash’s character not truly being revealed until the fifth episode. Up until then, we’ve been convinced that he’s some kind of buffoon who ends up causing serious damage wherever he goes. However, once the story starts to get going, it really gets interesting What makes the story so brilliant is that Vash's morality constantly comes into question. This is a world where it's prett.y much kill or be killed so Vash's pacifism is often questioned by allies and enemies alike, who believe he couldn't have survived what he has without at least killing someone. Nevertheless, most of the time, Vash is perfectly capable of defusing situations without having to kill anybody due to his superb marksmanship, showing that he’s fully capable of defending himself, though that proves to be less and less of the case as the series progresses and things get a lot darker. Ultimately, the main message of the story is that, while killing is wrong, it is unfortunately also necessary sometimes, something Vash learns the hard way over the course of the series, with the primary conflict of his character being learning where to draw the line.
Even beyond the themes, the story as a whole stays fun and entertaining throughout. While it can be somewhat rushed in places, it ultimately never stays in the same place for too long, and story arcs never last any longer than they need to. Even the recap episode is one I enjoyed watching, as it gives extra context to old scenes while also adding new ones. In other words, it’s how you SHOULD do a recap episode. We’re also given a decent amount of worldbuilding, with an episode-long backstory of how the human race ended up on Gunsmoke and how it ended up becoming the messed-up world it is in the present (or the future, but you know what I mean). Throw in a satisfying final conflict with a great ending, and you have yourself a truly fantastic story.
Art and Animation (6.5/10):
The series first aired in 1998, and boy does it show! While it may have looked good back in the day, the passage of time has not been kind. It does look pretty good for the most part but there are occasions when you really see just how badly its aged. There are times when people in the background are nothing more than walking outlines and some really stereotypical parts such as when Vash's finger gets hurt and swells and turns red. All in all, the low point of the series by miles.
Sound & Dialogue (9/10):
The soundtrack isn’t even there a lot of the time, though when it is there it sounds a lot like something you would find in a neo-noir film, which is surprisingly fitting for the series. However, it does eventually reach a point where it feels like the series is repeating the same few tracks over and over again. Nevertheless, a lot of scenes don't really need music as the sound effects do the job really well. The voice acting, on the other hand, is fantastic, with Johnny Yong Bosch stealing the show as Vash, and Dorothy Elias-Fahn, Lia Sargent and Jeff Nimoy doing respectable jobs as Meryl, Milly and Wolfwood, respectively. The dialogue is great as well, as it does a great job at getting the points of the various characters across without ever descending into melodrama. ”Simple, but effective” is the key here, though it’s best that I don’t go into any further detail, since I would risk spoiling something if I did.
Characters (8.5/10):
Even by today’s standards, Vash is a very complex and multi-layered character. In the first four episodes, and much of the fifth, he doesn’t fire his gun even once, making it seem like he defuses the various situations he finds himself in through sheer dumb luck. Then he finally draws and fires his gun, and we see that he absolutely lives up to his fearsome reputation. While he’s absolutely against killing someone for any reason, he’s such a master marksman that he more often than not doesn’t have to kill, usually shooting to disarm his enemies and blowing their guns out of their hands. All of this makes it clear that he is neither the monstrous outlaw the bounty on his head suggests he is nor the oblivious moron he presents himself to be. It’s generally very hard to get pacifistic characters right, but Vash absolutely nails it, and it certainly helps that he’s just a very likeable character in general, being very kind, cheerful and funny. Overtime, however, we see that he’s actually nowhere near as cheerful as he initially seems, especially when we delve into his past and learn exactly how he became the man he currently is. Top this all off with the conflicts he faces over the story, and it’s no exaggeration to say that Vash absolutely makes the series what it is.
Of course, Vash isn’t the only notable character in this series, with the show having four main protagonists in total. Two of them are the aforementioned Meryl and Milly, who are pretty normal but still more than capable of holding their own. Meryl, in particular, never once waits around for Vash to save her and at one point frees herself with both hands tied behind her back. No, literally. She also has dozens of pistols hidden under her coat and is an excellent shot, though she rarely gets a chance to use them and doesn't really cause any damage. Not that she tries to, as like Vash, she doesn’t believe that anyone has the right to take someone’s life. For her actual personality, Meryl is somewhat cynical and abrasive, and initially doesn’t like Vash due to the idiotic persona he presents to her at first, and understandably can’t believe he’s the legendary outlaw, though she does warm up to him after getting to know him better. Milly, on the other hand, has a ditzy, cheerful personality that contrasts heavily with her tall, imposing figure. She carries around a minigun that fires non-lethal rounds, and shows a dislike for killing just like Vash and Meryl. The two women make for a very understated duo, and prove themselves to both be great character in their own right even if neither of them are anywhere near as good as Vash.
A while into the series, we meet the final main character, Nicholas D. Wolfwood, a priest and gunman who carries around a massive cross-shaped gun and acts as Vash's foil throughout the series. Like Vash, he is a superb gunman, and the two hit it off right away and become very close friends. Unlike him (and Meryl and Milly, for that matter), he is very quick to kill, having raised to be an assassin as well as a priest. He hardly ever feels any remorse for killing, especially when it's to protect the innocent, even justifying his killings by calling his enemies “demons”. Naturally, this brings him into conflict with Vash despite the friendship the two share, with Wolfwood being the main person to disagree with Vash’s no-kill philosophy. Unfortunately, his screen-time is quite limited compared to the other main characters, appearing in less than half the episodes overall. As for the villains, well, they could use a little work, with even the most visible villain having no backstory or explanation for his actions- he’s simply a sadistic nihilist who thinks living is painful and wants to torment Vash for reasons that are never explained. Similarly, the main villain team are generally just thugs who hate Vash for whatever reason. They’re not bad villains, as they prove to be credible threats and have their own distinct designs, but it still stands that their actual personalities leave something to be desired.
Enjoyment (8.5/10):
"Trigun" is absolutely in no short supply of thrills. While it does take a few episodes to get to the truly good parts, almost every episode features at least one great action scene, and the series only gets better the more it goes on. There’s some great comedy to be found as well, with most of it coming from Vash, Milly and, to a lesser extent, Wolfwood. While it can get rather heavy in places, especially in the second half of the series where we delve into Vash's dark past, it never overdoes it, which just makes the powerful moments hit all the harder when they happen.
Overall:
"Trigun" is easily one of the best '90s anime out there, and one of the ones that still manages to hold up even to this day, with an incredible story about morality, fantastic voice acting and more action than a Bruce Willis film. There are a few things that keep it from sheer brilliance, the biggest ones being the extremely dated visuals and lack of truly memorable characters besides Vash, but Vash and his story will do nothing if not entertain you.
Score:
9+6.5+9+8.5+8.5=41.5/50=8.3/10
Alternative Titles Japanese: トライガン Information Type: TV Episodes: 26 Status: Finished Airing Aired: Apr 1, 1998 to Sep 30, 1998 Premiered: Spring 1998 Broadcast: Thursdays at 01:15 (JST) Producers: Victor Entertainment Licensors: Funimation Studios: Madhouse Source: Manga Theme: Adult Cast Demographic: Shounen Duration: 24 min. per ep. Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older Statistics Score: 8.221 (scored by 373,501 users) 1 indicates a . Ranked: #3522 2 based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #252 Members: 763,870 Favorites: 16,027 Available AtResources |
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