Proguary may have started yesterday, but even in such a strange festival such as this, it doesn’t hurt to take a break. Today happens to be my friend Alex’s birthday: last year, I did an overview on Nu Metal icons Korn as a gift, but this year I’m shaking things up. This time around, I think maybe an anime is in order. Since it’s a rather funky month with the theme of Prog, it’s only appropriate that I review a series that certainly has it’s fair share of oddities about it. So put on your sunscreen, grab your trusty sidearm, and get a look at my take on the action-packed Trigun. Let the review begin!
Story/Setup
Taken from the Funimation package:
“Vash the Stampede is a wanted man with a habit of turning entire frontier towns into rubble. The price on his head is a fortune, and his path of destruction reaches across the arid wastelands of a desert planet. Unfortunately, most encounters with the spiky-haired gunslinger don’t end well for the bounty hunters who catch up with him; someone almost always gets hurt – and it’s never Vash. Oddly enough, for such an infamous fugitive, there’s no proof that he’s ever taken a life. In fact, he’s a pacifist with a doughnut obsession who’s more doofus than desperado. There’s a whole lot more to him than his reputation lets on – Vash the Stampede definitely ain’t your typical outlaw.”
Before I continue further, I should point out that the show was getting made right along side the manga, and as such didn’t fully match up to the anime’s story. So for the rest of this review I’ll strictly be talking about the show’s story exclusively.
As far as a story goes.....its good. It’s got a beginning, middle, end, everything seems to make sense (For the most part), etc. Characters show up, characters die, and things move on. Each episode is a chapter in the series, and they’re all connected in a fair manner. You’re probably asking yourself as you’re reading this: if I’m complementing the story so much, why am I not calling it great? Well....it’s because of what it does halfway through.
For about the first half of Trigun, we’re given a comedic action-packed spectacle almost on par with the original Die Hard. Characters (Apart from villains, and even then it’s not all of them) come across as lighthearted and far more optimistic. Then in the second half, it does the trope that I flat-out hate. The “You Don’t Need This Happiness Anymore” trope, and morphs into this morally-grey, almost bleak story. I’ve never really been a fan of morally-grey storytelling, as I always found it to be confusing & insulting to my intelligence. Very rarely are there morally-grey stories in anime I like, but even then there’s always something that irks me. In Trigun, at least for me, the shift in tone came almost out of nowhere, and in a way my enjoyment for the show decreased (But wasn’t removed).
Animation
You can tell right away that Trigun comes from the golden age of animation, despite the fact that it was a late 90s series. Everything is hand drawn from top to bottom, and a surprising amount of detail was put in every single scene & character in terms of looks & atmosphere. Computers were probably used to shape up some things, and maybe a hint of CGI was used somewhere, but Trigun came from a time where drawing & artistry are king. It’s aged shockingly good since it’s release in 1998, although at the same time you can tell when this show came out. Considering it’ll be 2 decades when it came out next year, time will tell if fans still like how Trigun looks.
Voice Acting
Trigun’s voice acting, much like the animation, has aged rather well. It’s aged well over the years, enough so that it’s never really been brought into question. Johnny Yong Bosch is perfect as Vash: he encapsulates all the humor, sincerity, kindness, and serious/grim that the character’s personality embodies. Dorothy Elias-Fahn is great as the level-headed Meryl Strife, and Lia Sargent is perfect as the more innocent-minded Milly Thompson. Then there’s Nicholas D. Wolfwood: voiced by Jeff Nimoy, he brings a weight to the character, blending a tough & grim past with a devoted/loving heart. The rest of the main cast does a damn fine job as well, but if I had one complain, it would be that 1-use characters don’t quite have the effort put into their roles. Give that they’re 1-use characters, it’s a little understandable.
Characters
Much like it’s story, Trigun’s cast of characters start out one way, and halfway through the series become something else. As with the story, it’s almost like it’s going “Yeah, you don’t need this anymore. You need something soul-crushing!” In a weird way, I’m not quite as frustrated, as enough of the character’s older personalities remain, and thus their character aren’t completely altered. They are, however, somewhat separated from their former selves, and I’ve never been that big a fan of that kind of storytelling.
Availability & Pricing
Ironically, the version I reviewed was the Geneon (Pioneer) edition, and it was my friend’s copy as well. Finding a copy of the complete series from Geneon, new or used, is something of a challenge. You might find it used at an FYE, or at some mom-and-pop store, maybe even at a swap meet at a con, but even then there’s a chance you won’t find it. Luckily, Funimation re-released the whole series a few years back: pricing for a new copy start at a little over 20 dollars on Amazon, which is pretty fantastic. Over at FYE, new copies of the Funimation edition are a bit more expensive, starting at nearly 40 dollars (Store members only pay just over 30). Best Buy is a little cheaper than FYE, staying at around 35 dollars. Amazon is definitely your best bet if you want to cut costs, but if you got money to spare, they FYE & Best Buy aren’t bad choices.
Overall Impression & Rating
Trigun, Trigun, you are a curious creature in my eyes. You have so much I enjoy, but you’ve got things I hate a problem. You are one of the most bipolar anime I’ve ever watched, and because of that I don’t know how to look at. Are you trying to be funny to make a buffer for the serious stuff, or are you a serious show that’s using the bright first-half as a way to pull people in & trick them? I’m completely baffled, and I’m not sure I have a solid answer because of this.
Trigun gets a 7.5 to 8 out of 10.
So that was my look at the iconic Trigun. I got an issue or two with the series, but none the less I can definitely see why it’s fans like it, and I found myself enjoying it as well. Perhaps I’ll buy a copy myself sometime this year? In any case, Proguary continues next week, when we look at a Prog Metal icon’s most modern offering. See you then!
***
Alex, I hope this suits your review taste. I know this isn’t an overview like you wanted, but I think you’ll like this all the same. Happy Birthday.....you deserve it!
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