Anime Review: Trigun

 

Wild Guns.  Gunsmoke.  Sunset Riders.  Cowboy Bebop.  These are just a few names of either video games or anime that capture that "Wild West" motif that Japan has showcased over these many years.  These names stood out for their popularity, their underrated nature, and their general appeal to the general population.  I see them pop up in videos, top lists, fan sites, etc.  They are pretty awesome in their approach of the "Wild West" be it staying with the original iterations or taking an interesting turn to the future.   Then...Trigun came along....and the game changed, albeit for 26 episodes.



So, one day I encounter an ad for a new anime during my latter years in high school and going into college.  I see a blond-haired fellow (spiky as it seems), wearing a red trench coat, sporting glasses, and brandishing a gun.  I wasn't quite sure what to make of it.  I just knew that this guy wasn't your average gunman.  I've already had a taste of Outlaw Star, which was "The Bee Knees" to me.  And, Cowboy Bebop was mentioned a bunch of times, but I never got around to watching it around then.  So, I figured, this could be good.  Me without money, I couldn't quite see it, until Adult Swim placed it into its schedule.  I was treated to something special to be sure. 




Now, to be honest, after digesting it for the first time, and sharing my thoughts with others, I initially didn't take to the show on the whole.  One friend hated it because the protagonist, Vash the Stampede (our spiky-haired friend) was not as much a "bad ass" as others were.  He wasn't the cool guy.  He was the "warm guy".  He wasn't Spike Spiegel or Alucard, even if he had the skills to back it up.  See, Vash is an astute marksman, he can count how many bullets are spent, and he can even sense when someone has a weapon by the smell, among other skills.  But, he's warm-hearted and a bit goofy.  A little of Goku, with a bit of Lupin III and Tenchi.  Now, me being the young lad who wanted to live vicariously through some of the fantasy figures in my life (i.e. Spider-Man).  I could see where he was coming from.  Another friend went out of his way to say how much the Trigun Manga was better.  Primarily, the manga had a lot of content that could be seen as "nightmare fuel" for anyone willing to read.  Yes, it's much darker, and much, much more fierce.  So, knowing this, I didn't buy the DVDs and haven't bothered to watch the series again.  I figured the DVDs had this nightmare fuel since cable television can only let so much be seen.  Also, Vash wasn't cool by hero standards.  Oh well.  Guess I won't be catching this again...until now.




So, I took it upon myself to buy some anime for myself after going to my new favorite haunt for used and new stuff, Book Off.  I had come across Outlaw Star's complete collection.  Now, I contemplated getting this a number of times.  I never brought myself to doing so.  I guess I felt I could live without it.  This time, though, I had to get it.  So, upon trying to purchase it, I was told I couldn't.  The reason: multiple disks were missing. Wow.  Not wanting to go home empty handed, and very perturbed, I decided to return a day later for a decent consolation prize.  That prize was every episode of Trigun on DVD.  So, here I was, watching this series again, for the first time since it first showed up on Adult Swim, and with more mature eyes. 



So, the story goes like this, without spoiling so much.  It's the future and the planet is a barren wasteland.  Word around every town is about a mysterious outlaw known as "The Humanoid Typhoon", Vash the Stampede.  There is a 60 billion double dollar bounty on his head (the value of money is in double dollars, and the miles are measured in "iles" because...the future!) and anyone who can capture or kill him will claim it.  This not only arouses the fear of every civilian and the eye of every bounty hunter, but also two intrepid travelers.  They are Meryl Strife and Millie Thompson of the Benardelli Insurance company.  Their job is to find him, and keep track of him, hopefully to prevent any more damages.  As the series progresses, we get to meet Vash and what he's really all about, why he's really being hunted and what it will take to stop this.  Along the way, we meet new friends and enemies (ex. Nicholas Wolfwood, The Gung-Ho Guns), we learn of Vash's past (ex. Project Seeds, Angel Arms), and we see what he is willing to endure carrying this bounty and burden.  The series, albeit 26 episodes, actually continued in the manga and anime.  Seek out Trigun: Maximum and Trigun: Badlands Rumble if you choose.



So, what are my thoughts?  In the past, I saw the series once and didn't want to again.  Now, upon seeing it again, I'm not only glad I did, but I'm more than happy to watch it again and again.  There's  a massive tonal shift at the midway point of the story; however, that's to be expected.  Think of it as a second half of the story.  They do this many times in anime and shows that are contained to a nice solid number of episodes.  I'm glad I could watch this again with new and more mature eyes.  I see exactly what Vash has been trying to do, and why it is important.  The ideology isn't so much naive as it is a difficult thing to attain.  But, again, I don't want to get too deep into it.  No spoilers here!

Trigun brings a whole range of emotions with it as it is presented to viewers.  It brings humor, drama, suspense, happiness, sadness, action, deep philosophy, and the like, episode by episode.  It's a change from what we may be used to in anime, giving us more of a warm hero and not a cool one.  It gives us a way to look at the human condition even, when faced with a dire situation, or a pre-existing condition.  Maybe I'm looking to deep into it, or not.  I just want you to have a watch and look for yourself.  It is more than worth the watch.  And maybe, you'll understand why I always say "Love and Peace"  It's what the world is made of, you know?  That and igneous rock, sedimentary rock, sand, grass...