So for the past couple weeks, I’ve been watching all of Trigun. I’m not sure why I didn’t get into it when it was playing on the Cartoon Network, I think I was bitter about Cowboy Bebop being taken off the Adult Swim line-up. The earlier episodes of Trigun also just seemed a little too goofy for me.
Once I started watching it again, I was glad I gave it another try. Trigun is the story of an outlaw with a billowing red coat and yellow sunglasses named Vash the Stampede who has a $$60 Billion bounty on his head. Vash wanders around a decaying desert planet colonized by humans who now lack an understanding of the technology their ancestors used. So the show is very much a sci-fi western. Trigun is very uneven in tone, the show has three distinct stages:
Slapstick - In the early episodes insurance ladies Meryl Stryfe and Millie Thompson try to locate the source of billions of dollars of property damage. A goofy blond guy in a red coat keeps appearing and eating all of their donuts. I’ve always liked fictional people who like donuts.
Buddy-Buddy Western - With the introduction of gun toting, giant cross carrying priest Nicholas D. Wolfwood, the relationship between the characters starts to shift a little bit. The action sequences get more intense. I get a kick out of seeing characters with unconventional weapons, as often happens in Robert Rodriguez movies where people have dangerous guitar cases. So Wolfwood’s cross is very cool. He and Vash have a sometimes contentious relationship, but even though they shoot at each other, they get along well. It’s so sweet!
Who am I and what is the meaning of life? - Is Vash human? The last half of the series gets much more serious, as Vash attempts to come to turns with his past and with the meaning of being an outlaw.
Darkhorse put out the first volume of the manga, which sold out fast and was quickly reprinted. The manga has more background information about the planet of Gunsmoke, and the way the people interact with the decaying technology that keeps them alive is more fully explored.
