Trigun

reviewed by Magus Darkstar

Episodes reviewed: 1-26

What: On a desert planet, a single man leaves destruction in his path. He is the Humanoid Typhoon. Vash the Stampede. However, could this wanted man with a $$60,000,000,000 bounty on his head actually be a nice guy? A guy with a philosophy of non-killing? What is his true goal? What, or who, could he be after all this time...

The Good: The story becomes very rich and involving about halfway through the series, where the light-heartedness of the first half of the series takes a back seat. The first half, though, is extremely hilarious at times. What truly shines about this series is the fleshed out characters that you really start to feel and care for, and the ones that make you really start to hate, not because they are badly written, but because they are written so well. This series can really make one think about things in his or her own life and possibly look upon them differently. The action sequences are wonderfully done as well. A few battles (or lack thereof) with a few Gung-Ho Guns are extraordinary.

The Bad: The change from humor to seriousness may turn one off of the series, either by becoming something different when they wanted a comedy series, or by someone looking for a good serious series, and ignoring the title because of the comedy. The music is also an aquired taste. When I first showed the series to my friend, she insisted that the openings and endings be skipped. To each their own, I suppose. A few episodes can seem like tiresome filler and have a very "villain-of-the-week" feel.

The Bottom-Line: "Trigun" is the first series I've ever shed a tear for. That reason alone makes it special to me. The episodic feel may be there, but the character development that occurs is more than enough to keep the series going. The series episodes have an element that all great anime, TV shows, and even movies must have. It has a common theme. A theme that makes everything come together by the end. The fights. The humor. The drama. The philosophy. It all makes for serious "Deep Space Planet Future Gun Action" fun.

Dub: Fair at the beginning, and it gets progressively better. I've yet to see the dub for 17-26, but so far, Johnny Yong Bosch, former Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger, really makes magic with Vash's character. If you get the DVD, the dub's worth a listen, maybe after you hear the sub first.