Rate this anime day 19: Trigun

[LevelUp]

Oh I gotta check this out

 

[RennisDeynolds]

For about eleven episodes of Trigun you watch a goofy blonde make corny jokes, hit on every woman that walks past him and not take any villain seriously when he easily disarms them without killing them. There isn't any real tension, no established villain to press him and the animation looks mediocre. So it's hard to blame anyone for dropping it here.

but if you make it to episode 12....

then you learn what Vash is hiding behind that smile, that he's a 150 years old alien with the power of a monster, and it becomes a S tier sci fi thriller. He has to make a choice between being a pacifist (taught to him by a parental figure) or a killer (born within him) with no half measures and it is very compelling to watch him struggle between his ideals and what is necessary to save the lives of his friends. The villains pretty much work to systematically break him down until he snaps mentally, at which point is tragic to watch.

He is similar to Kenshin in this way. Vash also has to work to find his own resolution to dispatching of enemies without sacrificing his humanity. But not even Kenshin was forced into something like this

Spoiler

Vash is maybe the most layered shounen lead ever created, depending on how you feel about Kenshin. A literal walking contradiction who is always in conflict with himself until the very end.

Trigun has about four other well designed characters who you could go into a lot of detail about, Wolfwood probably the best. Chain smoking "priest" wearing shades, in a tux, carrying a cross "heavy because it's full of mercy" on his back that transforms into a mini gun. His entire arc from start to (especially) finish is great.

Spoiler

most anime deaths end in some sentimental note with the soon to be deceased talking about what great a life they've lived and how their spirit will live on in everyone else.

Wolfwood? fukk that, I want to live and it's not fair that I get to die at this point when things were just starting to begin. It's an incredibly gut wrenching death scenes i=because you know he wasn't at peace at all and he goes out like people in the real world do when they get killed and there's no dragon balls to bring them back to life. In anger and frustration.

The second half is an easy ten. The first half is closer to a 7/8, and when I rewatch the show knowing what is about to happen I think better of that stretch. The Trigun film Badlands Rumbles is also pretty great, so I'll give it a 10 overall.

nominating Casshern Sins, Fate/Zero

Damn this description made me want to finally watch it. I need to check out the Stampede remake that just dropped too