Review of Trigun

Trigun is what I would call, and I say this affectionately, a western gone anime. And, it does not shy away from it. On the surface, one look at Trigun and people might assume that it's the quintessential western we've all been waiting for. It has guns! Sand! And gun-slinging action! And it has a decent amount of that in its runtime. But, what we didn't expect is for those same things we see in Western to be the show's antithesis, especially for our main protagonist, Vash, who does not want anything to do with a gun ever. Period. It's done in such a comedic fashiontoo that we never truly anticipate for the show's tonal shift halfway through. Like Meryl Stryfe, perhaps most of us didn't really get it till it was hammered into us later on. And, it's quite anime. It's anime in the sense that I don't think anyone like Vash could be that much of a pacifist. Like seriously, he puts Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender to shame. Vash takes on bullets and asks questions later. This man was built like an armored tank. But, he refuses to ever take a life.

Coupled with the stark contrasts of cool and funny, with some drama, and Trigun manages to deliver its message straight home. Albeit, a bit too far from home run at times. It does not once shy away from its medium of anime to deliver that sheer level of exaggeration to all aspects of its show. It bleeds style! But, it also knows when to slow done, to go in circles, and when we need to let it all out.

I personally never got over some of the biggest moments in this show. Whether it was hilarious, or outright gut-wrenching, the anime manages to deliver a story worth investing on.

That is Trigun.

Because, at the heart of this series, Trigun is, unapologetically, a human drama. A drama taken out of human proportions, yes, but explored sentimentally nonetheless. It's as if Vash was one of us, even though canonically, he isn't. Vash embodies an ideal so absurd, one could almost envision him to Jesus Christ, if we really stretch it to that degree. But it's true. Think about it. Both are treated as if they're god-like and embodiments of humanity (At different levels though lol). Both are pacifists to an extreme degree. And none of them ever spared their ideals in the face of reality.

But anyway, enough of the religious stuff. Because that's not really what Trigun is.

What Trigun is, is a subversion of the western genre. It is also one of the only two Sci-Fi Western anime shows in existence. The other one being Cowboy Bebop, which coincidentally, if one were to look this up, also aired around the same time as Trigun in Japan.

Both being aired at 1998. And much more in the month of April! THAT VERY SAME WEEK! It's insane that we missed out on that, but regardless. It must've been the peak of western-genre anime back in the day. Because, apart from that, I'm not aware anymore of any other western-genre anime from that time. I know of some from recent times, but they tend to be far removed from being "pure Western". And let's be fair, both Bebop and Trigun are also sci-fi. But that could've been the byproduct of the 90s anime era, still somewhat railing in from the success and explosion of sci-fi anime (apart from the mecha genra, because they've been around way longer). Both series needed that sci-fi appeal to hook in its otaku audience, before Bebop and Trigun reveled in its Western decadence.

Both Trigun and Bebop are good Westerns, should a fan ever want to know Japan's take on the genre. And they both give different perspectives on it, with vastly different styles. And I mean it once you've seen both.
Trigun manages to take that "Rule of Cool" approach and deliver the nuance and depth which makes Trigun have its substance. Worth the watch, if you're ever itching for an old anime.

However, that's all from me about Trigun.

I watched Trigun this year but only got to review it now so let's see how this holds up to memory. I honestly thought Trigun was a cool show with very very cool characters. Some of them I think were revolutionary for its time. I'm referring to Meryl and Milly. They were so cool! Both are such a fresh air for anime female characters. Wish we could've gotten more of them. There's already enough Vash-es and Nicholas-es in anime. And no, don't say any of the "Ghibli Princesses", we already know. Well, I do. But, anyway, might watch Trigun: Stampede soon. If I get the time.