Trigun is about a lone gunman, Vash, who has a bounty on his head larger than some countries entire budgets. People don't know anything about this legend of the wasteland, but they know enough to fear him. The other two main characters, Meryl and Milly, are insurance saleswomen, who try their hardest to keep the payouts for Vash's collateral damage to a minimum. It's no easy task, as many outlaws and gunslingers want that bounty for themselves no matter the risks. What makes this situation unique is there is no grit in this story, Vash is entirely against violence and refuses to kill under any circumstance even though he is a crack shot. It's quite impressive he's lived as long as he has, but somehow understandable given his boyish charm.
The story is largely episodic, showing how in over his head Vash really is, how he struggles to bring the greater good to every settlement he passes through. This is a pretty old show, it came out in 1998, meaning you can expect some near Dragon Ball Z visuals when it comes to villains, and the character design can feel a little strange, but the characters themselves are very solid and their motivations well explained. There are many situations where killing is the quick fix to peace in the west, sometimes the only way, but Vash remains true to his beliefs. This goes from bounty hunters all the way up to a guild of assassins trying to get him, raising the stakes in a slow but steady way. The dialogue is the strongest part of this show, allowing for so much tongue in cheek humour but at times letting you know just how dark things can get. This show deals with escalation quite well, at the end switching to a finale arc where Vash must deal with a mysterious figure from his past with opposite ideas on violence as well as what happened to leave humanity living in squalor in large deserts.
Small sections where I felt the show went downhill were detailing some smaller world building elements, such as the power sources of the towns, but you won't really have too long to think about it as it does steer away from these minor loose ends quite well. Certain villain designs are pretty silly, which is to be expected given its age, but it can be hard enough to overlook that. This was my intro to less realistic villains, but I found them to be entertaining. Not quite my style, but done well here just for the different levels of threat they can dish out, really minimising repetitive story elements.
The show really hits it's sweet spot when it comes to it's writing and it's soundtrack. There are a lot of "just one bullet left" situations that are always difficult to predict and delightful to watch, reinforced by great sounds of rustic guitars and western vibes that build such a great mood throughout the series. Trigun is largely comedic, but it doesn't shy away from darker element like betrayal and zero win scenarios which really test the mettle of the main characters. And trust me, towards the end, the trials are intense.
All in all, I found this show a delight to watch, I keep it right below Bebop in my DVD shelf. Well worth a watch, a wonderful anime from 1998 (My favourite year for anime)
