FIF#177-Trigun: Stampede

On the dusty planet of Gunsmoake, the descendants of a doomed colony expedition try to survive as best they can in the face of lawless outlaws roaming the lands and power plants shutting down.  Wandering this arid and dusty planet is Vash the Stampede.  He’s known as the “Humanoid Typhoon”, bringing chaos and destruction to every town he visits.  Two gung ho reporters venture out in search of this legend to see if the stories are true.  Not only are they true, they pail in comparison to the past Vash has been trying to outrun his entire life…a past that is about to violently catch up with him.

 
Easily one of the most anticipated Anime of 2023, Trigun sees the return of the iconic Vash the Stampede for a new telling of his original 90s adventures.  The lead up to this one has seen a mixed reception from the title being a fully CG Anime to the radical redesign of Vash himself, amongst other things.  Well, now that the Stampede is upon us, is there hope this new Trigun series can live up to the legacy of its popular 90s counterpart?  Well…it’s still too early to call from just one episode but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have fun watching the first episode.  Actually, many of my complaints come from stuff I just mentioned because, let’s face it, there’s gonna be a lot of comparing to the 90s series.  But aside from that, the first episode of Trigun: Stampede is actually kind of fun.
 
Let’s get the gripes out of the way: No, this show isn’t changing my opinion on CG Anime, I still don’t like that artstyle.  However, characters are able to express emotion a lot more than past titles like this I’ve seen so cudos there.  I’m not a fan of Vash’s new look.  His personality is intact (save for that one bit of him cackling like his similarly Red Coat sporting gunslinger Alucard from Hellsing), but I want his spikey hair back.  Why mess with that when it is one of the most iconic looks in all of Anime?  And why are there a few zeros missing from is bounty?  $$6,000,000 doesn’t feel like the largest bounty on any one man when looking at the $$60,000,000,000 he was worth in the 90s Anime.  And yeah the last bit: Meryl is back but has a different profession (Reporter, not Insurance Agent) AND a new partner.  Honestly, Roberto’s drunken, sullen look at the world around him is as depressing as it sounds and he’s a far cry as instantly likeable as the much missed Milley.  I do admit that Meryl’s new look is pretty cute though.
 
So yeah, that’s a bit of complaining and I’m not even the biggest Trigun fan ever.  So how is this first episode fun?  Well the action itself is very well handled and at times the CG really works.  The opening sequence where Vash and his brother, Knives, are ejected from their ship and fly their way through the crumbling Seed Fleet was a helluva way to kick start this new adaptation.  The big showdown between Vash and the soldiers from JuLai benefited from a lot of great camera use and Vash still being the dumb loveable oaf fans know him to be.  He may be a man determined to save everyone without violence…but he would be the guy who totally forgets to load his trusted handgun with ammo which leads to him hilariously crying out for ammo…don’t know why he didn’t just grab his opponents gun but eh, the end result is still pretty cool.  I’ll also say the story still has some of the same dramatic beats I remember such as the breakdown of the Plants holding society together, Vash trying in vain to keep the peace and the hints at what kind of a menace his brother will be down the line.  There’s good setup here, no lie.
 
Like I said, I’m not the biggest Trigun fan, though watching the first episode of Stampede might reinforce my decision to look at the original series later this year.  However, Trigun: Stampede isn’t the immediate trainwreck myself and other feared it would be.  Yeah there’s plenty that doesn’t sit right and it leaves one to wonder how it’ll handle the arrival of other fan favorites like Wolfwood.  On its own, though, the first episode is a lot of fun and even shows a bit of promise.  Not sure I’ll add this to my regular watch, I might just because Spy X Family and Gundam are off the air for now and I need something else weekly to watch outside of My Hero Academia.  Could Trigun: Stampede overcomes the odds against it and prove its naysayers wrong?  It’ll be curious to see if it can.  One would hardly ever wanna bet against Vash…even with that horrid haircut.