Story:
My tip: ONLY READ THE SYNOPSIS HERE ON MAL. The synopses on the various sites, in my opinion, give a way a bit too much. In any case, the story is great because what it sets out to do is slowly build the world around the characters without telling you, the audience, anything about it. You're left to figure everything out about the universe on your own just by observing the situations our MCs get themselves into. It's not convoluted enough to the point where you'd need someone to explain it to you, but it's complex enough to be believable as its own living, breathing world. Trigun's subtlety in unraveling its world and revealing its lore is one of my favorite things about the show. Even if the show feels super light-hearted and it seems like you're just watching filler, pay attention. It all matters, and that's what's so great about Trigun.
Also, cool shit like relevant Biblical allusions, Christ imagery, Science vs. religion, morality vs. survival of the fittest, the show gets heavy with problems and it's pretty great.
Characters:
The same amount of detail is given to character development and even character design. For example, the entire point of Vash the Stampede's character as stated by the synopsis is that he's a supposedly extremely dangerous outlaw even though he's characterized as a pretty wonderful person in his own right. You start off with this two sided character and can't help to wonder what earned him his name and reputation. His development and its reveal to the audience is subtle and gradual, not to mention extremely satisfying.
Talking about two-sidedness, that even delves down to his design of the red coat and glasses, reminiscent of Hellsing and basically any demon character. If he is such a wonderful person, why does he, by design, look like a demon? It's this two-sidedness that is present in Vash as well as all the other MCs as well as the setting itself that makes Trigun so intriguing.
Except Meryl. She's typical tsundere for no reason and I don't like her. Someone please prove me wrong and tell me she has a reason for being tsundere because she's the only aspect of this show that I don't like.
Art:
Character design works in tandem with character development, and you'll see this in action as the show progresses.
Setting design is minimal yet meaningful. It plays a huge role in characterizing the setting, alluding to something bigger than itself without giving everything away.
While the animation may not be so smooth and the art style a bit dated, everything still works to convey what it wants to, from superficial actions to visual metaphors and other *beneath the surface* things the show tries to convey.
Sound:
I can say the same thing for the sound as I did with the art. Even the OST plays its part in world building. Sound effects are meh, but again, 90s.
Finally, watch the English dub. It's really good and contextually, makes a lot more sense because there is a scene where Vash needs to read Japanese and can't read it. And also the majority of characters are white. So do that.
Enjoyment and overall:
Generally, I loved how all the parts of Trigun worked so well with each other to build this world and these characters and convey its themes and all that good stuff. If anything, it took me a while to get into. Get past the first 3 episodes and maybe you'll get hooked. That's the amount of time that it took me and once you get hooked, it only keeps pulling you in closer.
As for the ending which apparently people didn't like, I thought it was fine. It was a spectacle to watch with top notch Bebop level animation, as well as some of the highest tension you'll find in anime as you witness a pure fight between men that evolves into something much greater, all with no music behind it. I personally love the ending, but people may tell you otherwise.
I give it a 9 because of Meryl T_T
I highly recommend it though. It does deserve its title as one of the must-watch anime. ^_^
-MSYN
