While it was fun to see Vash and the gang again I was really disappointed by this. My major problem was the story-line. It was predictable.
1 - Vash rolls into town, destruction (best part)
2 - Introduce the sex appeal (she's useless throughout the movie, but she can beat up a couple nameless thugs pretty good)
3 - Introduce the Bad Guy, he has a strange philosophy where destruction and robbery fuel his massive ego
4 - Re-introduce the old mains, who rally to save everyone
5 - Vash rolls in to save everyone at the last second, because only he can.
6 - Sun glances off Vash's super cool glasses and he wakes away into the desert without water
My problem with this story line is that it has been done over a million and a half times. There are no surprises in the entire movie (except for the part where Vash got shot, but we all knew he hadn't really died BECAUSE HE'S THE MAIN CHARACTER). I fail to see any creativity in this old re-used excuse to bring back fan-favourites.
Here is what I wanted:
1 - If you're going to introduce sex-appeal, then let there be sex. Otherwise, give them a use. Give them a personality. Give them something to make me feel like they are a real person and have something to contribute to the story. (Amelie was, admittedly the daughter of the bad guy, but whatever. That's not enough for me :/ )
2 - Everyone has flaws, except the characters I see in anime/movies/books. Fictional characters seem to have fallen into a cookie-cut staple where they are basic and boring. When was the last time you saw someone seriously fuck up, or kill the bad guy out of rage, or shoot a bullet that missed and ended up killing an innocent, or something I can't foresee.
3 - It seems to me that anime's choose to be realistic whenever it serves to aid the plot. Example, Vash never misses a shot, except when its the final bad guy of the movie. A weak example, but I feel if you're going to introduce realism to an anime, you need to keep it consistent throughout the entire thing. You can't use it as a plot device, because it cheats the entire story(side note: I hate plot devices, they are boring).
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I wanted more from this. I LOVED the original Trigun series, (I especially loved looking for that blasted black cat who was always hiding somewhere in the background of every episode, one of my favorite flavor-pieces of any anime ever). But I found nothing new or interesting in this story. It was nice to see Vash again, but I would have preferred that his memory was preserved in memory rather than tarnished by something new, and dull.
