These marginal flaws are the reason why I gave it a low score in art (6/10). When I had first seen this anime, I assumed it to be in the 80s (any time before the Akira movie was release). But when I read that it was released in 1998, I felt disappointed. The art style could have been a little more smoother (especially when we must bear in mind that the late 90s gave us Ghost in the Shell (1998), as well as Princess Mononoke (1998), The Big O (1997/1998/1999), and prior to the 90s we had Akira (1988), Grave of the Fireflies (1989), as well as the Evangelion series. I will be frank that although it did not hinder me from enjoying this classic, it did disappoint me to realize that the art style was not given that much attention as it should be.
Which is why Trigun earned a perfect score in everything else. Lets just take into consideration the names alone: Vash the Stampede is the protagonist and Millions Knives (that's his manga name, although he is only known as Knives in the anime) is the antagonist. In between we have Monev the Gale, Rai-Dei the Blade, Gray the Ninelives, Caine the Longshot, Legato Bluesummers. I'm just putting in the names here, but lets be honest - Trigun has the best names I've found amongst the anime I've seen thus far. And their stories do match their personalities quite well.
At the same time, the environments are really immersive, and the subtle moments which do sink in, are worth their while. These subtle moments, combined with the humorous antics of the characters (Vash in particular) do help in making the ending less... distraught than it might have been when we compare the general tendencies of anime.
On the whole, its a classic. Its worth watching for its story, and its worth watching the gunmen (particularly Nicholas D. Wolfwood) in this series. You won't be disappointed - I know I wasn't.
