Trigun, review by artimus

Guns, sci-fi, a preacher. In what other anime does this all come in the same package?

Trigun is a new type of western. It breaks away from the Grand ole’ Opry, and leans more toward the space mines. Trigun is a science fiction/western about a man named Vash, or as he is more famously known, Vash the Stampede. He is infamous for destroying an entire town called July, however, in reality he is a clumsy believer of love & peace, preaching it, and refusing to kill anyone, despite any dangers they pose to him.

Chased by bounty hunters for a Billion Double Dollar bounty, he has to escape them, and deal with his own demons. Along the way, he is followed by two agents from an insurance company named Milly and Meryl. After Meryl accepts this ditzy, peace-loving man before her truly is the “Humanoid Typhoon”, they venture across the planet Gunsmoke meeting many characters along the way. A violent preacher with his own secrets named Nicholas D. Wolfwood, or a brutal man with psychic powers named Legato Bluesummers.

He is stalked by a group of ace murderers hired by Legato called the Gung-ho Guns. The man who controls Legato is Knives, Vash’s own brother. Vash and Knives were both born as plants (don't ask, the anime doesn't make much sense here until you understand better what secret awesome powers Vash and Knives have), and raised by a group of space trekkers, and the woman most attached to them as a mother, Rem Saverem. Knives true nature is revealed as he kills everyone on the trekkers' ship, and attempts to destroy an entire group of spaceships, but fails thanks to Rem’s intervention. He tells Vash, he is going to kill all of the humans, and create a world where only plants like them live in. His own Eden.

After defeating the Gung-ho guns and Legato, Vash eventually finds Knives, and kills him, promising Rem he will continue to believe in her pacifistic ways, but find his own way of living. This anime is a excellent work, deserving an high rating.

The music is quite distinctive. It is a type of music similar to Western style music blended with traditional J-pop and rock. Even the main theme is metal. There is music appropriate to every scene, for scenes of distraught, joy, and uneasiness.

The writing is almost perfect, despite flaws. Scenes of action are choreographed perfectly, being clear on the action, never leaving the viewer wondering what just happened. Character dialogue is arranged well, too. When characters interact with one another, they don’t stray onto other subjects. Not only that, but when the players mention past events, the viewer can easily recall them. This is in contrast to other anime, which will leave the viewer scratching his head curiously while the players talk about things that either haven’t been shown to the audience, or have nothing to do with the situation at hand. However, when writing succeeds, it must fail somewhere. There is no real character development. Secrets about certain people are revealed, but they hardly ever change from they were in the beginning. A character changing from experiences can mark a great anime, but you will not find any of that.

The art style is very detailed. The backgrounds are perfect. However, the scenery usually is simply desert, so detailed background does not make much of an impact. However, character designs are done well. Sometimes, an outfit can be "simplified", leaving out a few distinctive marks in an action scene; however, such a thing is expected.

Between the writing, art, music, and plot, Trigun has the potential of a beautiful anime, and that potential is executed well. Through the flaws of such a work, it shines through as an anime on the level of .hack//SIGN. While not very complex in plot, that can be a good thing. A viewer tired of complex, and interpretive events like Evangelion, may enjoy a change of pace to cool down. In summation, Trigun is an excellent piece of art, worth spending the money to get the soundtracks and the complete box set.

8/10