Review of Trigun
When you think of red geranium flowers, does the word "determined" come to mind, no? Me neither. But this is one of the many quotes from Trigun that can lead you to ask yourself thought provoking questions such as "can murder ever be justified?" or "why does a black cat keep popping up on screen?" Trigun is a late 90's Western styled anime documenting the life of the fugitive, anti hero/hero humanoid typhoon Vash the stampede. It follows his life story as well as those caught up in his life, Milly Thompson and Maryl Strife from an insurance society and Wolfword a"so-called" priest who travel aroundalways meeting Vash one way or another.
When it comes to Triguns story, we see a multitude of noticeable traits of more predictable shows. It starts off as a mere character focused (in this case Vash) episodic plot line, with a slow and almost care-free sort of pacing. A few jokes, sometimes cheesy is thrown in and all stirred together with a splash of action. But when it hits the end of the first cour, the plot really does start to thicken. Many themes such as passivism, the right to kill and religion all start to blend together nicely to create a more though provoking anime. It does make you question motives of those who kill, and if in any way killing can be justified. Furthermore, it shows how important friends can be to those who are facing troubles. With this perfect blend of comedy, action, suspense and real life questions, it truly does become a well written spectacle to watch. Lastly, the ending provided a satisfying answer to the characters many problems, and in all was thoroughly enjoyable.
The back story is filled in with cut away scenes towards the middle of the second cour. It can be seen that Vash's true identity wasn't explained well enough, and could be seen as very puzzling. Furthermore, the slow pacing at the start could be misconstrued as bad writing. However, the slow start further adds to the drama and surprise as how the story develops.
When it comes to the animation, it unfortunately lags behind many anime's of today. It was made in 98, but even other anime's in the late 90's showed more quality than Trigun. Furthermore, the character models are very easy to remember as they aren't particularly unique. This is because they are recycled from anime's made around the same time. Therefore, the animation is definitely not rememberable.
The characters however are another kettle of fish. Vash himself is what makes this anime so good. His laughable antics, amazing skills in combat and boyish charm can make him easily likeable. But the character development digs deeper and beyond that. It shows a more sensitive, pacifist side, contradictory to his fugitive title and living in a western styled environment. His relationship with Wolfword created a "ying and yang" complex, which further demonstrated the great writing of two different characters.
However, Milly Thompson and Maryl Strife, although occurred very frequently, were those whom didn't gain much character development. In spite of this, both managed to add some humor and undertones of romance to the series, as well as defending Vash in spite of his tarnished name.
Musically, the score in itself has ups and downs. The opening and ending both are easily forgettable, as both add nothing musically that will take anyone a gasp with joy. Both the opening and ending songs are mainly to fulfill Vash's true persona. However, the OST is something to be proud of. The music can sometimes help amplify action, as well as some tunes weaved into character development.
To conclude, I still don't believe red geraniums signify determined. It does for Vash however. In all, this anime is a real hidden gem from the late 90's which can be enjoyable for anyone. I do recommend this as being a brilliantly thought out show.