Trigun

There are a small number of works in any body of art that are considered not only Classics, representing the best the art form has to offer, presented in such a way as to make it relevant to future generations, but also seminal works.  These pieces go on to define the way we think about art in some very fundamental ways.  You can all name the examples.  It doesn’t matter if you have no education whatsoever, these pieces have transcended into the cultural zeitgeist and are referenced as often by pop culture as they are by text books.  For anime, there is no doubt that Trigun is one of these profoundly affective works.

It’s difficult to review seminal works.  They are so recognizable by fans at every level of enthusiasm and each one of those people has a valid response to the work.  The task of the reviewer is complicated by acknowledging that all of these views are correct, regardless of how conflicting they may be.  Trigun is one of the most recognized anime to make the transition over to the US, and it did so because of its combination of intense gunfights and slapstick humor.  But the show is much more than just an action comedy, even if some people never see deeper than the surface.

Trigun follows the misadventures of the Legendary Gunman, Vash the Stampede.  A pacifist at heart, Vash nevertheless seems to get tangled up in the worst possible situations wherever he goes.  The wake of destruction he inadvertently leaves has earned him a massive bounty and the ire of the major insurance firms.  Enter Meryl and Milly, insurance agents and damage mitigation team, who have been tasked with tracking down the elusive Stampede and curtailing his trail of destruction and damage.  The first few episodes deal with Meryl and Milly’s unwillingness to recognized the somewhat contrary Vash for who he really is.

Then the show takes a dark turn and sets Vash up against the malignant and powerful Millions Knives and his superpowered henchmen.  The plot of these villains is a little dense and full of spoilers so I will leave it at that.  The comedic aspects of the story slowly drain out as the series approaches its conclusion, leaving the viewer with a dark but ultimately hopeful conclusion.

Trigun is unique among anime’s seminal works in that it did not perform well in Japan.  The series resonates very strongly with American viewers though, probably due to the strong influence of American Westerns in the story, combined with stylish gunplay and advanced technology.  In some ways, Trigun is the successor that the original Wild Wild West never got.  Even when the story gets down to its deepest, the central concern is strongly informed by a old west sense of justice and the chivalry of the untamed.

The animation holds up well, even to the slick look of today’s shows.  Without the aid of CGI, animating studio Madhouse creates a vibrant world of extremes and some excellent action sequences.  There are definitely places where the Trigun starts to show its age.  The most telling symptom is the general lack of stability, particularly in face animations.  Vash is the worst offender, if only because he is the most frequently drawn.  His face looks wildly different behind his trademark sunglasses and his profile varies depending on what he’s wearing and his hairstyle.  The superdeform segments actually alleviate this problem because he’s no longer under pressure to look like himself.

The voice acting is strong, but not outstanding.  Director Nishimura Satoshi  seems to have problems pulling the full emotional range out of the Japanese cast.  This has the interesting side effect of making the above average American dubbing appear even better.  It is an interesting fact that even die-hard subtitle purists will frequently name Trigun as their exception to the rule.  Unfortunately, it also set up Johnny Yong Bosch as a voice acting superstar, when he definitely didn’t deserve it.

The music, composed by Imahori Tsuneo, is fantastic.  It isn’t my kind of music by any stretch of the imagination but that doesn’t mean that the screechy electric guitar and mournful acoustic riffs aren’t perfect for the modern cowboy story.  The OP is particularly apt at catching the feel of the show, but many times the music is so subtle and appropriate as to be hard to pull out from the action.  The insert song “Sound Life-Rem” is a wonderful little example of the hybridization of western guitar and Japanese vocal style.  The insert is perhaps a little overused, and very poorly imitated in the dub, but it remains one of the most iconic pieces of music in the collective American anime memory.

There is no question of Trigun’s quality.  Even now, with more than a decade of aging, it still remains a competitive entry on animation alone.  The deeply moving story, interesting history and unique resonance with American audiences only serve to make it the exceptional sci-fi western that defines the US anime experience.

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