/anime/151040/trigun-stampede #####"I don't want to lose anymore love". #####This line from the opening song, ironically describes the entire show.

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Before I start my review, here's something for people who haven't watched either the 90s or this one and conflicted about it, because most people in my feed haven't watched either. Trigun 90s version happens post-Julai (July) event, and Trigun Stampede happens pre-Julai event. What's the July event? It's when the humanoid typhoon "Vash the Stampede" destroys the entire 'July' city, killing multiple civilians, and earning 60 billion double dollars over his head. So, one can say Stampede is kind of a prequel to the OG but that's not the case because "spoilers". I urge you to watch both shows and find your answer, because imo both are watchable; it's just one has more problems than other. With that being said, let's start the review criticisms.

What's exactly wrong with Stampede?

Simple. It's because it's named "TRIGUN - stampede". When the announcement was made almost a year ago, my gut reaction was "I mean, they (Studio Orange) could've made a Land of the Lustrous sequel, but this is something to look forward to"; and then I watched the trailer I was like, "This is not what I'm expecting, but this is cool in its own way". So I watched the first episode and my immediate thought was "Ahhh... This is gonna get flamed". The change in art style, plot points, new characters & removing a beloved character, and so many changes happened at the same time that it's hard to accept that this is the Trigun I knew. Though, they undid some of those changes by the end, not sure if it was preplanned but better.

An Example

A criticism many make regarding the OG Trigun, is "the first 12 episodes are unnecessary since it's mostly episodic", and there's no better example to prove them wrong by showing Stampede. Vash is a bit complex, a walking contradiction, a pacifist who wields a gun, and this, the character exploration, is something the OG does excellently well, precisely because it has those first few episodes, or as some wrongly call it "unnecessary filler". Stampede doesn't do a great job at exploring the conflict & contradiction called "Vash the Stampede", and because of that, he simply comes off as a stubborn crybaby rather than a character with complexity. The same is the problem for the rest of the cast. Despite having their recognizable traits, most are just reduced to cringey catchphrases, like Wolfwood calling Vash "Needle Noggin", Meryl saying "SeNpAi!!", and De Niro saying "Shinjin" or "Yare Yare" & drinking his alcohol. Talking about De Niro for a second, the show really had so much hope for this new character but it couldn't get it right.

Spoiler, click to view

His death should've been an emotional push for Meryl, but all I felt was pity, that the show wasted so much space and time for this wasted character.

If there's one thing...

The opening song to this show Tombi does a better job at describing Vash than the entire show tried to do. I really loved the opening song, it's been in my most listened song for the past few months.
And as usual, Studio Orange did their best to make up for everything they changed. There's at least a single battle moment in every episode where they flex their technical skills and it still reminds me that this show is not a complete trash. Though I really would've appreciated it if they retained the soundtrack similar to the original. The new soundtrack has its moments, but I don't think it worked well.

Finally,
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Is it really bad?
No, it's just that they probably shouldn't have used the OG fame to garner viewers, which earned a lot of hate from the OG fans, but the new ones seem to be fine with it. The show picks some heat half way through, when it dwells a bit on Nai's & Vash's flashbacks. It still wasn't good enough but at least, it has some substance rather than being a simple cash grab.

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#Conclusion Trigun didn't have to lose this much love. I don't love this show, it couldn't get out of the shadow of its superior 90s version. But it got something of worth and I hope it proves itself in the upcoming installment.