Let the review begin.
Story 9/10
The story of Trigun seems straight-forward: a space gunslinger who wanders around gets a bounty on his head and now must run for his life, helping people along the way. However, the story goes much deeper than that. The first half of the series is a day-to-day life approach Vash the Stampede, the protagonist, as well as the antics of his two lady...um, followers, Milly Thompson and Meryl Strife. Along they way they also come across a priest named Nicholas D. Wolfwood. What starts off as a relatively light-heart action comedy takes a turn for the dark around the time Wolfwood enters the picture. The audience begins to see that there is a secret to Vash. His motto for "no killing" plays a very important role in the story and all is not as it seems. The show begins to pick the pace shortly after Wolfwood's premier and by the time the conclusion rolls around, the despair within both Vash and the audience is powerful. There are some very powerful scenes in this anime and its not really because of the violence. In fact, for a sci-fi gun-fighting action adventure, there is not as much shooting as one would think. Violence serves more as a vehicle for Vash's ideological struggles rather than just for audience entertainment. Does this make the anime boring to watch? No, just know that firefights are not the center. As far as the ending goes, its mixed. It certainly deserved more action, but it also explains alot about Vash's past, which is great. However, it would have been better if they could have made two episodes rather than cram a final fight AND a flashback in the same 23 minutes.
Art 7/10
Easily the weakest part of the series. The character designs are great. Each character has their own unique look and feel, with some designs being better than others. That being said, the animation is sub-par. It has not aged well at all and its a real shame because some of the talking scenes are better animated than the action ones. In addition, there are quality dips and overall, there are times where its simply not nice to look at. That being said, the art direction is good. I would have never anticipated such a unique world on a desolate wasteland. The scifi and the western elements blend beautifully, allowing the world to come alive. However, the poor, aged animations counterbalance it...
Sound 9/10
With music, the mood is set rather nicely. While I can't name too many BGMs off the top of my head, they certainly capture the appropriate feelings for each scene. The opening is a nice guitar instrumental and the ending is decent as well. Other notable tracks include Rakuen Paradise, Scattered Rain and Sound Life.The voice acting as whole was also good too. It takes a while to get used to some of them, like Wolfwoods, but others, like Vash and the Bernardelli Insurance girls, fit perfectly.
Characters 8/10
Much of this story has to do with character development, so I won't go in too deep. I'll say that:
1. Vash and his motto to not kill are fully explained and his own character differentiates him from similar "no kill" protagonists like, say, Himura Kenshin from Rurouni Kenshin.
2. The Insurance girls, Meryl and Milly, are more than just sidekicks. While their pasts aren't explored too much, their current relationships with each other, Vash and the world certainly changes throughout the story, making them contributing characters to feel of the anime.
3. In a nutshell, Wolfwood is a priest who kills. Like Vash, his story is tied to the plot but I will say that he is certainly on par with Vash in the development department or one could actually argue he changes more than Vash.
4. The Gung-ho guns and others characters: The cast of Trigun is full of guest stars. They show up for one episode and then disappear into the sunset. This is not a bad way of telling a story but they begin to seem less like characters and more like ways to show how Vash evolves. The Gung-ho guns, the main antagonists in the series, have one mission: make Vash's life hell. Most of these members are nothing more than one trick ponies, but the few that are good are very well written.
Overall, the main cast is strong, as are a few Villains, but most of the other characters aren't up to snuff.
Enjoyment 10/10
While I had my issues with it, I never dreaded watching Trigun. The only reason why it took so long to finish was because I got caught up the the newest series. However, Trigun does not punish you for leaving it. It eases you back in without a hiccup and with a great cast, insightful observations on the ideas of humanity vs society, the worth of life and the power of the past, and finally a nice score, Trigun is certainly a series to remember.
Overall, Trigun is a great anime that, while a bit dated graphically, tells a story unlike any other and has a cast that is worth all the tears you might shed, wheter they are from laughter or despair.
A must see for classical junkies, especially!
