What's it about, and what's so great about it?
Vash the Stampede - the legendary gunman, the "Humanoid Typhoon," wanted for $60,000,000,000, for the total destruction of the city of July (oddly enough, with no human casualties). The Bernardelli Insurance company dispatches two agents, Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson, to tail Vash and make sure he doesn't cause any more damage. That's the initial premise of Trigun, an anime where humanity has set foot on an arid planet, and regressed to a Wild West level of technology. Humanity scrapes through life by relying on the mysterious "plants" that dot the landscape.
It's easy to write off Trigun as "Kenshin with guns." Those who do, though, are missing out on a phenomenal experience. The series makes an unassuming start, but as one ploughs throw the 26 episodes that make it up, it becomes more and more engaging, and it becomes apparent that Trigun is not entirely what it is made out to be (a wild-west anime). The character designs are top-notch, my favourite being Vash himself and Nicholas D. Wolfwood, a mysterious preacher Vash meets during his travels. It's not all serious stuff, though. There is a good deal of humour (Vash is a really funny guy who has a weakness for doughnuts), and plenty of episodes that deal with the backgrounds of each main character in good depth. Add to all this a really neat soundtrack that sets the wild west mood very effectively. The opening theme, H.T., has really grown on me and is now one of my favourite anime openings.
I do take issue with the rather rushed ending in episode 26 - but that doesn't stop me from liking the series as a whole. Not at all.
|
