Trigun

Trigun is one of an ever-shorter list of classic anime that I always felt I should have watched ages ago. Some on that list prove disappointing (like Lain), while others are classic because, really, they’re damn awesome. And Trigun is one of these.

Trigun is made up of familiar elements – a protagonist from the Himura Kenshin clown-with-a-scarily-powerful-side mould. Vash is a very silly man who is nevertheless amongst the best gunfighters in his world: the familiar sci-fi setting of a desert planet on which mankind is marooned after a fleet of spaceships conveying them to a new homeworld crash-landed. Known as ‘Vash the Stampede’ because of his reputation for causing huge destruction wherever he goes, our adventure begins with our likeable clown being tracked down by two women from an insurance firm who have been told to try to mitigate the damage he’s causing.

It’s a comedic premise, and the tone mostly matches it. The anime closest to Trigun in spirit and humour (in my experience) would have to be One Piece, where another happy-go-lucky character with powers that easily level buildings does battle with other hyper-powered foes and gets a vast bounty put on his head. Like One Piece, it starts by establishing itself as a very funny and rather silly comedy show, and then becomes something much better when it layers on the angsty backstories of its characters. Trigun does this in a more finite way (though I believe the manga has yet to conclude properly) and with an interesting if simplistic moralistic theme, but both elements are done well enough, and with such a great amount of charm and genuinely entertaining situations that I don’t hesitate to call the show a classic. It’s episodic to begin with, but each episode is light, funny and enjoyable, and then once we really know the major characters well, the main plot begins. It’s a format that Cowboy Bebop really could have learned valuable lessons from.

The characters in the show are great. While the art and animation have dated a fair bit (eyes wobbling on static faces really put me off in the final episodes), and the show doesn’t look nearly as crisp, fluid and spectacular as many of today’s shows (Madhouse’s current work can be seen in the Death Note anime), the character designs are still absolutely top-tier, and Vash’s distinctive coat remains one of the most oft-adopted cosplay garments. The characters are immensely likeable, especially Vash’s foil, the deadpan cross-bearing churchman Nicholas Wolfwood, the two insurance girls (straight-laced Meryl and simple saint Milly) and of course, Vash himself, in all his goofiness, rambunctiousness and eventual soul-searching. Every seiyuu is perfect for the role, instantly recognisable and yet still natural.

While the setting of the story and Vash’s past are well-crafted, the plot isn’t great, and much of this is to do with badly-conceived villains. Too many of them are either just that bit too goofy, even for a goofy anime like this, or they’re just over-powered and their motives too problematic or stretched to be believed. The Gung-Ho Guns never seemed to me to have sufficient motives; they acted neither like people who wanted to do what they were doing, nor like people who were being forced to behave the way they were. They just did it.

But that flaw aside, the series was one of the most enjoyable shounen shows I’ve ever seen. Highly recommended.

(originally written 31.10.06. Badlands Rumble here.)