Trigun follows the story of Vash the Stampede, an expert gunman with a bounty of 60 billion double dollars, and his adventures on a seemingly desert planet as he roams from town to town. He is known as the humanoid typhoon, as wherever he goes, a mess is generally left behind. With all the disasters that follow him, two girls working for an insurance company, Meryl and Milly, have been assigned specifically to report on incidents involving Vash. Though he turns out to be a very different character to what they had expected of the "dangerous" outlaw.
If this series does one thing brilliantly, I feel
...
it would be the characterisation. The main four protagonists (Vash, Meryl, Milly and Wolfwood) all have intricate personalities, generally with two or more sides which they'll switch between, carrying different methods of doing things and have varying takes on similar values. This leads to some very interesting relationships between each of the characters, especially that between Vash and Wolfwood, and is done with such subtlety that makes it seem so natural and it becomes quite engaging to watch, especially when put in comparison to a large portion of other anime, a medium which generally lacks subtlety. The multiple sides to each of these characters also keeps them interesting throughout the series, and there may still be doubt on what actions they will take, despite having watched them closely for several episodes. For example, Vash is an expert gunman, who at times can become deadly serious, though at other times he is a complete goofball doing some of the stupidest things and being bested by children, and throughout the series it is hard to tell which side of him is the real Vash (something which drives Meryl crazy). This is also similar in the case of the other main characters generally showing two sides, and made the show a very interesting watch.
Another thing which this anime does great is the clash of ideals and its overall theme. Vash holds a very strong belief that no one has the right to take another person's life, under any circumstances. This is very unusual given his particular set of skills that he possesses. On the other hand, the setting is filled with mercenaries, outlaws and others who would not think twice about killing a person for whatever reasons that they may have. Wolfwood, like Vash, doesn't believe in taking another's life, unless it is absolutely necessary, and although the pair can be the best of friends, this leads to some rather interesting conflicts. I really did enjoy the way the series played around this philosophy though. When is it right to kill another person? Is there a way to save everyone? Does someone always have to die early? It definitely had me thinking a bit as I was watching, and the characters do a great job of personifying some of the different positions. Though at the same time a more passive audience member just looking for a bit more mindless fun would still be able to enjoy the series.
You should be warned though that the series does start off rather slow. For the first half it seems to be majority filler, with not much linking between episodes at all, and almost each one could be watched by itself. It was still entertaining to a degree, but I didn't feel like any of it was all too special, and with no real main story being followed, it was at times hard to tell why I was watching it. In the end I just kept watching because I wanted to see where this was going, and there were still a few mysteries around a couple of things that I wanted answers to. This all changed though at episode 12 (and what a great episode that was), which is where things start to pick up and a main story is introduced, so if you do feel that you aren't enjoying the first half so much, I do encourage you to get to that episode and then judge whether you feel its worth finishing the series. It was at this point onwards I realised that the first half was used to establish the characters and setting, which it did well and I began to like it a bit more for its role in the series, but at the same time it did take a while, so it was like half forgiven. Though from episode 12 onwards I have to admit I was rather drawn into the series, where I wanted to know what was going to happen in the next episode. By the end of the show, everything was all tied up quite nicely, without feeling like there were any major plot turns that I found unbelievable or that wasn't well thought out.
I also have to commend the series on how it keeps a great deal of mystery around the main characters. I mean, there isn't a single episode where Vash doesn't make an appearance, and yet he is shrouded with mystery about his past and who he really is for the majority of it. The setting is also a fair bit of a mystery as to when and where this takes place, in Sci-Fi, western world.
Now onto animation. Ok, there isn't really any use in hiding the fact that the animation quality is rather outdated. That being said though the action is still enjoyable, although nothing too great, and its definitely not something you would watch for the way it looks (I hope, unless it's some kind of nostalgia thing). I feel like what made up for this though (watching an anime made in 1998 in 2015) was some of the unique weapon designs and fighting in the series, some of which were pretty cool and original, especially when you think about how long ago this was made (I mean c'mon, bloody Wolfwood's weapon is sick), though at the same time some were a little retarded (*cough* those giant people *cough*). This kept the action interesting for me at least, as otherwise it isn't too flash in comparison to modern animation.
It should also be noted that I watched the whole series in the english dub, which I felt was done rather well, and had no major issues with any of it. Don't know about the sub.
So in summary, Trigun is an anime with great characterisation of its main characters and some of the other minor characters. It has a slow start but overall does a good job of establishing setting and characters, whilst still having plenty of mystery and a rather engaging main storyline in the second half. The theme of whether someone has the right to take another's life adds an interesting philosophical side to it, leaving enough for you to be actively thinking about it, but isn't too much for those who want to watch a show just for fun. The animation is a bit outdated for its day and age, but this should NOT deter you from watching this series, as overall I felt it was pretty good especially considering when it was made.
I give Trigun a 7/10 based on how much I enjoyed it, as I don't feel like it is the greatest series, but definitely did some things incredibly well. Though despite me only rating it a 7, I highly recommend you to watch it as something to say that you have watched, as for its time this series is pretty bloody amazing and is definitely a good anime to have under your belt to tell others that you have seen it. And I'm pretty sure you will enjoy it as well :)
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Jun 19, 2015
Trigun follows the story of Vash the Stampede, an expert gunman with a bounty of 60 billion double dollars, and his adventures on a seemingly desert planet as he roams from town to town. He is known as the humanoid typhoon, as wherever he goes, a mess is generally left behind. With all the disasters that follow him, two girls working for an insurance company, Meryl and Milly, have been assigned specifically to report on incidents involving Vash. Though he turns out to be a very different character to what they had expected of the "dangerous" outlaw.
If this series does one thing brilliantly, I feel ... |
