Trigun

(spoilers ahead. thou hath been warn'd)......

The greatest pieces of art you experience sometimes come from where you least expect them to. As was especially the case with Trigun. A series that by all outward appearances, was another gritty, 90s angst-soaked ride that I vaguely heard of. Being considered one of the great anime classics of the late 90s alongside Evangelion and Cowboy Bebop (saving Berserk for next year. Time to say goodbye to my free time if I start the manga =).

Meet Vash the Stampede (get used to hearing his full name), a legendary outlaw with a stupidly huge bounty on his head, and a reputation for being a stone cold, merciless killer who leaves you dead before you realize it.

At least...that's what the rumors say. Vash himself is as funny, cute, and legitimately warm-hearted as you could ask for a guy in sick shades and an intimidating red trench coat to be. Calling the man a "villain" would be a flat-out insult. He's a master with a trigger, but always commits to never killing anyone. A rule he's absolutely dedicated to, which would only make all the more crushing should he ever break it....

It's a series that thrives off its pleasantly constructed characters, with Vash himself probably one of the most inspirational protagonists I've seen in anime so far. Time and time again, you grow a strong admiration for his skills and morality. It never bashes you over the head with its "don't judge a book by its cover" message, meaning whenever you see Meryl & Milly go to bat for him in the face of angry mobs, it never comes off as cheap. You see them (Meryl especially) grow to respect the guy in a very loving, familial way. Sure they may be only following him around because it's their job, but as time goes on, the anime excels at saying "yeah no, they'd still do it even without the pay."

And the show's morality can be best exemplified in the climactic episode 24, which has a scene showing its simple and good-hearted appreciation for life. Cutting to various random people in town simply chatting, running around, and living their lives. As Vash chows on his donuts on the bench seeing the whole scene: he breaks down and cries. For all the smashing action and violence this man goes through-the idealistic, but still very real peacefulness of life is what drives him. The man is the perfect blend of respectfully skilled and cunning, but at his core, is a very well-meaning person who wants to live by kindness and the ideals of his mother-figure Rem. "Love and peace" is a slogan that should've lasted longer by the time the final episodes came around.

Meanwhile, our insurance duo, Meryl & Milly, are equally charming. Milly being the good-hearted female himbo (a herbo?), and Meryl as the straightwoman who tries to keep things together (as well as serving a lot of the show's humor). And in yet another excellent scene, Meryl's care for Vash comes to a head when she manages to calm down an angry prejudiced man from killing him, reminding Vash of Rem. While Rem herself is a pretty idealized, one-note flashback character who only exists to motivate Vash, this scene works wonders for making Meryl feel complete. And the fact that we spent the entire series seeing her warm up to him, and appreciate him for the honest man he is, helps make this SO satisfying. Vash managed to find Rem's kindness in a new friend. Someone who we've known and followed throughout all these episodes, which again, adds to the impact. Idk, something about it managed to resonate so hard for me!

And then of course, there's the man of God himself Nick Wolfwood. Also well-meaning, but not some untouchable role model either. Ironic, considering he's a priest (though in all fairness, it's no secret plenty of real life religious men are pretty scummy). And what's especially interesting is how for all the killing he's willing to do throughout the show, even as Vash gives him crap for, his kill in ep. 22 rings weirdly different compared to every other time. It's the first big split between them, which does fortunately meet some resolve next episode. And in regards to Wolfwood's death prayer, as someone who's Christian myself (religion is the mother of all mixed bags in life), that ending managed to strike me hard. You approach your dying breath, accepting your fate, but at the last minute you admit you want to keep living. There's nothing you can do about it, but you can't help but cry out that you don't want to go down like this. A confession can sting, be unforgiving, and make your heart ache, but it's also a chance to feel liberated. And thanks to the reserved visuals, sobering audio, and perfect pacing, it manages to leave you with all the heavy emotions a death like this requires.

And in regards to its theme of Death, the moments where Vash comes dangerously close to breaking his rule, especially when he's tempted (not even when his angel arm is forcibly activated), remain absolutely chilling. And with Knives serving as the worst-possible outcome of him, it makes for a very compelling buildup to their finale duel. He wants nothing more than to see Vash suffer. To break him as revenge for being helplessly optimistic. And admittedly, I do feel that showdown could've used a few tweaks to being perfect. With Legato being Vash's only one true kill, it adds great tension to see how he'll handle his ultimate nemesis. The crispy mechanical animation and design is on full display as the two brothers shoot it out, but it does end scarily with Vash seemingly about to end Knives. And I'll admit, I found it a bit unclear as to whether Knives died at the hands of an emotionally charged Vash. For a show very adamant on its "no kill" philosophy regarding its main protagonist, it would be disheartening to see Vash give in as the big resolution. Impressively, for any other show, I wouldn't hold my breath the same way-a testament to how cleverly well-natured Trigun is despite appearances.

If wikis are to tell me anything, he fortunately didn't kill him, and it does still make for a very sweet credits scene of him walking up to meet Meryl & Milly again in town. He'll always revere Rem as a beacon of love, but that also means taking her advice to move forward on his own. He's finally at peace with himself, and is more than proud to admit that humanity is worth keeping.

On a technical level, the show does have its fair share of cheap-looking animation. You start to notice how you can cut back a lot of animating time by pooling your talents into well-drawn, meticulous still frames. By no means an "ugly" looking show, just that it's a byproduct of the animation practice of being cost-sensitive. Plus, some of the editing isn't as well executed, with a few action scenes here and there being unintelligible.

I was surprised at how tight the worldbuilding was as well. It's an easy to grasp "humans made Earth uninhabitable so off to space then" setup, and as the show progresses, you learn everything you need to know about how humanity slowly made peace with this new desert planet. And the SEEDS ship arc where we meet a whole community of humans who didn't leave and opted to hide was a nice venture to explore as well. Nothing is really left unaccounted for-it's a very neatly packed narrative.

Be it through the 1st half where we see Vash's fun plights to escape capture and help around towns, to the 2nd half which gives great payoffs and scenes for these characters, Trigun managed to be a very sweet surprise of an action series that actually inspires you to stay kind. Heck, I probably enjoyed it more than Cowboy Bebop (though not nearly as life-altering as the Evangelion experience).

It became a series that I would love to revisit someday, if at least for those final handful of episodes. I'll see if I catch Badlands Rumble and the new series another time.

Vash, Meryl, Milly, and cat: stay cool.

P.S.: Johnny Yong Bosch is always a win. It was neat hearing this was one of his first dub roles.

Songs of the day: "In a Future Age" by Wilco, and "Slip (live acoustic)" by Lucky Boys Confusion.