Review of Trigun

Spoiler-free should-you-watch review: I'm one of the (I assume many) people that watched Trigun on Adult Swim in 2003, and I was inspired. Recently re-watching it after what must be 10 years, I picked up on weaknesses I didn't want to acknowledge as a teen, and strengths I never thought to consider. Ultimately, Trigun is still an object of my inspiration, and based on other reviews it's still foundational to many people's interest in anime. This watch, Trigun's setting hit me like a ton of bricks. I was always so focused on the twists and turns that I never stood back and truly admired this sci-fi-fantasy-western-wasteland-mystery blend.It's not Mad Max, it's not Dune, it borrows some elements from a lot of things but what comes out really does feel distinct. It's hard to go into much detail without spoiling a bit of what I think the anime sacrifices its pacing to do well: slowly introducing you to what kind of world this is.

Which brings me to the major complaint most people have: the first half of the show can drag. It stays in this episodic limbo, not really progressing a major plot, but showing situation after situation that gives the viewer insight into the world and the characters. Most importantly, though, these episodes give you different perspectives and degrees of the moral dilemma at the core of the show. It can be a little redundant, and it can feel like it's not going anywhere, and that's a totally fair complaint. What I found on this watch is that it's a trade-off. The slow pacing gets you settled into the world and into your expectations of reality, so that when big things happen, the scope of them hits harder. That's not to say that people who complain about it "just don't get it"; it isn't the best. My recommendation is to sit back, enjoy the characters, and let the questions pile up. Trigun doesn't answer everything, but the insight it does give you is compelling.

The dub is really solid for the time, and the art is in classic 90s style, which hasn't aged the *best* but it works. The OP and ED are forgettable, but the score is underrated. The western slide guitar treatment is great, and there's this *incredible* creepy sting they use when things get serious that I absolutely love; it mirrors not only the shift in tone, but the shift in your understanding of the world. I know it's strange to bawk at 5 seconds of noise, but I think it's one of those few things in this world that are perfect.

If anything, what's aged the worst is the attitude towards women. Look, it's a western, there are tons of damsels in distress. There's womanizing, it's the western's easy button of "this is a scumbag". Sometimes characters will tell a woman that she should be cooking for her husband, not doing X, Y or Z. A show isn't sexist for having characters that are sexist, especially villains. But Trigun was written 25 years ago in Japan. When the main character toes the line of being a complete horndog, suggests he could grope his female adversaries, and is still expected to be viewed in a way that contradicts that attitude, it weakens the character development. I understand what Trigun is trying to convey with this behavior, but it uses other behaviors to serve the same purpose perfectly fine. Not to mention the two main female characters are shown to hold their own at first, but their usefulness tapers off after some point and they stop having much impact. It *makes sense*, sure, but someone wrote it to make sense that way.

I won't spoil the plot, but I will say that it satisfies. It's a little redundant getting there, but it works well. Trigun is also one of the few anime that makes reasonable use of what is often esoteric Christian symbolism, which is not only perfect for a western, but for the kinds of characters it develops. Plot-wise, the Manga and the Anime are strange companion pieces to one another. While the manga has a stronger plot, and I really enjoyed it, it's also completely incomprehensible at times. I absolutely recommend checking it out if you enjoyed the anime, but I also recommend just turning the page when you can't tell what's happening; sometimes you just have to chalk a page or three up to "things are blowing up".

So there it is. It's a classic, it isn't too long, and even when nothing's happening it's pretty fun.