Ranked #242

Trigun: Badlands Rumble

*This is an archive from my Anime-Planet and I posted this the day after New Year's, so this is pretty outdated as of now*

Critic's Log - Earthdate: January 2, 2013. Review #29: Trigun: Badlands Rumble

The year 2012 is gone, and we are now in the year 2013. I have been reviewing anime for about 10 months now and I plan on reviewing much more into this brand new year. With that said, my first review of the year will be the movie... Trigun: Badlands Rumble!


20 years after meddling into the bank heist of a notorious robber named Gasback, Vash the Stampede is traveling towards Macca City. There are rumors that the legendary thief might appear there causing an enormous interest from bounty hunters in the area who want to collect the $$300,000,000 reward for his head.

That's pretty much the basic gist of the movie. To be technical, this is a Studio Madhouse production, which doesn't surprise me knowing that they worked on the TV series back in 1998. Twelve years later, this movie comes out and I must say that the animation has improved greatly compared to the TV series, even though anime films have higher budgets than anime shows do, the animation looks nice in this movie. The character designs are faithful to the TV series, which is a good thing to say the least. The action scenes are also a blast and probably just as good as the show. The animation is most likely the best feature of this movie because I do have some problems with the movie. I'll get to that soon.

Tsuneo Imahori comes back to compose the music for Trigun and to be honest, it does compliment what happens in the movie pretty well. It was nice to hear a slightly arranged riff of the Trigun opening around the last 30 minutes of the film. However, It may not be on the same level as the show but it's a decent effort. What I'm trying to say is that I feel the soundtrack isn't as memorable compared to the show, but the soundtrack in the movie is excused here.

When it comes to voice acting, The subbed version is pretty good and some casting members from the TV show reprise their roles in this movie. Masaya Onasaka is still great to listen to as Vash the Stampede, Sho Hayami still sounds cool the way he portrays Wolfwood. Hiromu Tsuru is still pretty good as Meryl, and Satsuki Yukino still has that adorable voice as Milly. As far as exclusive characters, Tsutomu Isobe plays Gasback and this guy doesn't really do a whole lot of anime roles. I know he voices Vincent Volaju in the Cowboy Bebop movie and he was great in that one. Amelia is another movie-exclusive character and she's voiced by one well-known seiyu Maaya Sakamoto and she plays Amelia quite well. So the subbed version is good for the most part. When it comes to the dub, Only one voice actor reprised his role in this movie and that would be Johnny Yong Bosh as Vash, he was great in the show and he's just as good in the movie. Brad Hawkins plays Wolfwood while Jeff Nimoy played him originally and Brad Hawkins did not play a bad Wolfwood, he does not sound like Jeff Nimoy but doesn't have to be and he played the role just fine. I do think Jeff Nimoy got the role just right though, but oh well. Luci Christian plays Meryl Strife and she wasn't bad as Meryl. Trina Nishimura plays Milly and I wouldn't think it was her playing the role but she turned out alright. John Swasey does the voice of Gasback and I guess he was pretty good in this movie. Even with the new voices playing the characters we remember from the show, their performances aren't too long compared to Vash, so there's not too much to worry about I guess. Funimation did a pretty good job with the dub. Zach Bolton did pretty good with the ADR direction in this show.

As far as characters go, that is one of the drawbacks with the movie. Vash the Stampede remains the same in this movie, which is great. Nicholas D. Wolfwood being cool, was great. Meryl and Milly are a bit downplayed in this movie except for parts of the movie. Amelia is an interesting character in the movie. Gasback on the other hand is not too interesting of a villian, that is until the movie's almost over when you find out something that you didn't know. Like the show, I guess this movie was a bit decieving on that particular scene. Some characters are a bit dumbed down in this movie.

If there is one thing that contributes to the characters being dumbed down, that is because of the quality of writing that went towards this movie. The writing is bad, it has a meagar plot and the story almost made me feel like it was going nowhere. The story is not really all that interesting and this movie feels like an feature-length episode as if it was made in Hollywood. The story is my biggest problem with the movie. Also, it's hard to tell where this movie takes place within the show. It's obvious that it would take place sometime before Wolfwood dies. The Cowboy Bebop movie was made after the show and it was claimed to take place somewhere. It is unclear where this movie takes place. I will admit that what does work with this movie is that it has some comedy, action, western-esque gun fights, chase scenes, and even a little drama that the TV show was known for. This movie really is meant for the fans of the TV show. The reason I mention this is because when this movie first came out, there was a screening that was located in Seattle at an anime convention called Sakura-con. I actually go to this convention when I can and my first year going there just so happened to be on that year when it was being screened, I didn't get the chance to see it and I'm a little glad I did because I found out after that when this movie was screened... It was in Japanese with no English dub and it wasn't subtitled either, yet fans of Trigun saw it anyway. That just shows you that this movie is really just for the fans. It's not absolutely necessary to watch the movie with the show, unless you are a fan of the TV show. I'm glad I gave this a try and I guess it was alright for the most part.


Trigun: Badlands Rumble is available from Funimation.

With all that said, Trigun: Badlands Rumble is a gun-toting fun movie with really good looking animation, terrific action scenes, music that compliments the movie with effort, a cast that reprises their roles from the show (Subtitled Version only), and a dub that did a pretty good job with what talent they had. However, it does have poor writing which is why the characters do feel a little dumbed down in this movie. But with what this movie had, it did not disappoint those that loved the TV show.

I give Trigun: Badlands Rumble a 6.8 out of 10, it is DECENT!

Feel free to leave a comment, and have a Happy New Year! read more

When you hear the name "Vash the Stampede" mentioned in an anime conversation, what is the first thing you think of? If it happens to be Trigun in the first 5 seconds, I can safely guarantee without you even reading this review that you will like this movie....

...and if I asked if you heard the name "Valentinez Alkalinella Xifax Sicidabohertz Gombigobilla Blue Stradivari Talentrent Pierre Andri Charton-Haymoss Ivanovici Baldeus George Doitzel Kaiser III", and you answered with a smile that it's from the same anime, I can personally guarantee that this movie may even become a personal favorite.

So your probably wondering where I'm getting at by asking you these questions. Simple. If you haven't heard of Trigun in this day and age and you call yourself an anime fan, I suggest you stop what you're doing and go buy this anime classic quicksmart as the movie is tribute to this once great series.

Trigun, like many other classics I can mention, was pretty much entry level for anyone new to anime back in the day. When people use to ask why I watch "cartoons", I just had to sit them in front of a TV with this series playing and they were pretty much hooked line and sinker.(unless they were girls. period.)

Now before I start I'm going to be honest and admit that this review is going to be biased. Yes I'm a big fan of Trigun and yes Vash & Wolfwood happens to be 2 of my favorite anime characters of all time, but that's not what I'm going to be biased about. Let's just say that my favoritism stems from nostalgia.

When I had first watched the TV series, I was in my first year of college and the anime club of 6 people I belonged to were still watching anime via VHS.

"Ah yes....those were the days when hitting rewind actually meant you wait a few minutes"

So when I heard that Trigun had its movie premiere in early 2010, I was pretty much waiting in anticipation for it to hit our shores, and was also disappointed that the wait was going to be a while due to the producers not coming to my backwater country.

But as the saying goes: "all good things come to those who wait", and boy was it good!

Trigun: Badlands Rumble was created for fans of the TV series. There was never a dull moment while watching the film and if anything, it had made me fall in love with the series all over again.

Without giving too much of a spoiler, Badlands Rumble is about Vash's encounter with a bank robber named Gasback prior to the TV series. Due to Vash's "love and peace" nature, he lets Gasback go after foiling his botched robbery knowing full well that the man may become a threat to society later on.

Fast-forward 20 years later and the location is Makka City which most of the events take place for the movie. We are shown Gasback, now as a legendary bank robber with a very high bounty to his name(still paling in comparison to Vash's) and a horde of bounty hunters after his head in that city.

Now I'm not 100% sure if the film is in the same timeline as the TV series or an alternate(since Wolfwood makes an appearance) and if it is, where in the series it would have most likely taken place, but one thing I can say is that the movie had retained that 'certain feel' which most fans had come to love about Trigun.

The original cast of Vash, Wolfwood, Meryl and Milly was a welcome sight after 10 long years, and seeing their antics and personalities in a cinematic film was a treat for any fan of the series.

We are also provided with 2 new characters who play pivotal roles in the film. The first being Gasback(a cheap knock-off of Brilliant Dynamite Neon from episode 7 of the TV series) and the other named Amelia: a female bounty hunter with a dark past which slowly unveils through the course of the movie(and whose character design is equivalent to a female version of Ruth the bounty hunter in episode 1)

Now after rattling on about the glory days that is Trigun, you'll probably be thinking that animation is old school as well, but let me stop you there. If there's one thing age has helped with this movie, it would have to be its art and animation. Whilst Badlands Rumble had captured the essence of the original series, you'll find that Madhouse Studio had really put a lot of effort to this movie giving you eye-candy that is both rich in texture and detail, and at best could even give series made in 2010 a run for their money.

From story to character design, art and animation, soundtrack and even original voice actors, I found Badlands Rumble to be very well balanced and even accommodating for those new to the franchise. The pacing never felt "off", and everything had been executed so well that you could have even viewed this as a standalone.

In conclusion I found Trigun:Badlands Rumble to have the right elements to which the original series was well known for - a space western comedy packed with action and stunning gunplay that pays homage to the fans who loved the TV series whilst also a great introduction for those new to it. read more