Trigun is a Japanese anime television series based on the manga series of the same name, written and illustrated by Yasuhiro Nightow. It was directed by Satoshi Nishimura at Madhouse, with Yōsuke Kuroda handling series composition. It aired for 26 episodes on TV Tokyo between April and October 1998. Set on the fictional planet known as No Man's Land, the plot follows Vash the Stampede, a famous gunman constantly fighting bounty hunters seeking the immense bounty on his head. Despite being an adaptation of the manga, the narrative differs in the second half because Nightow was still writing the manga at that time.

The series was praised for its narrative and fight scenes, though some critics found the animation quality of some episodes lacking. Nevertheless, Vash gained widespread popularity as a hero because of his pacifist beliefs, and the themes addressed in the series have also been praised. Nightow expressed satisfaction with the adaptation.

Premise The series follows Vash the Stampede, the most feared outlaw on the planet, who has a $$60 billion ("double dollar") price on his head. He displays a kindhearted, goofy demeanor and goes out of his way not to hurt anyone if he can help it. Most of the destruction blamed on him is actually caused by the extreme measures people take to capture or kill him for the reward; as a result, he has been nicknamed "The Humanoid Typhoon." As he travels across the planet to meet a certain man, he also meets two women, Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson, tasked with investigating his actions and minimizing the damage associated with them. as Meryl realizes that Vash is the true feared man despite his cheerful personality, the episodes following them explore more the character's depth with the inclusion of the priest and gunner Nicholas D. Wolfwood as well as an inclusion of antagonists, the Gung-ho Guns, meant to torture Vash. The Gung-ho Guns are led by a man known as Knives whose identity is explored in Vash's backstory.

Production

The anime was directed by Satoshi Nishimura at Madhouse, with Yōsuke Kuroda handling series composition, Takahiro Yoshimatsu providing character designs, and music composed by Tsuneo Imahori. After assisting studio Madhouse with the first anime adaptation, Nightow considered the work faithful to the manga and credited it with helping him properly serialize the story. The concept for Maximum arose when animators from Madhouse contacted him about producing such an adaptation. This led Nightow to create several of Knives' allies that were never used in the manga. Character designer Yoshimatsu Takahiro described the series as steampunk and expressed appreciation for Vash's pacifist values. He found Nightow helpful, though he noted that original manga authors could sometimes be demanding when their works were adapted. Regarding the animation, Nightow believed that the Trigun adaptation was of higher quality than other anime series he had seen in Japan.

To build suspense, writer Yōsuke Kuroda proposed that Vash not fire a bullet until the fifth episode, at which point Meryl realized he was the renowned gunman. From there, Madhouse gradually reduced the initial comedic tone of the anime in favor of developing more dramatic storylines, portraying Vash as a more responsible gunman who openly fought to protect the weak. With episode nine, the series shifted again following the introduction of Nicholas D. Wolfwood, who was written as both Vash's ally and rival, allowing the anime to explore more significant themes. However, Kuroda wanted Trigun to avoid philosophical pretensions and instead embrace a cheesy tone.

Release The series was originally broadcast on TV Tokyo from April 2 to October 1, 1998. The opening theme is "H.T.", written and arranged by Tsuneo Imahori, while the ending is , written, composed, arranged, and performed by Akima & Neos. The episodes were collected in thirteen VHS cassettes, labeled as "Stages", from August 5, 1998, to August 4, 1999.

In North America, the series was first licensed by Pioneer Entertainment (later Geneon USA) in 1999. Eight DVDs were released from March 28, 2000, to May 29, 2001. A box set containing all the episodes was released on November 20, 2001. The series premiered on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block on March 31, 2003. The series also premiered in Canada on G4techTV's Anime Current programming block in 2007. In the same year, Geneon announced that they would cease their in-house distribution. In 2008, Funimation announced that they had signed a deal with Geneon to distribute "select" titles from the company; in 2010, they announced that they had licensed Trigun for a DVD and Blu-ray Disc home video release, and launched it on October 26, 2010. Following the announcement that Funimation would be unified under the Crunchyroll brand, the series began streaming on the platform in May 2022.

Episodes

Home media Original release Trigun - The $$60,000,000,000 Man (DVD 1; episodes 1–4) 2000-03-28 Trigun - The $$60,000,000,000 Man [Geneon Signature Series] (DVD 1) 2004-01-06 Trigun - The $$60,000,000,000 Man [Essential Anime] (DVD 1) 2004-12-28 Trigun - Lost Past (DVD 2; episodes 5–7) 2000-05-23 Trigun - Lost Past [Geneon Signature Series] (DVD 2) 2004-03-09 Trigun - Lost Past [Essential Anime] (DVD 2) 2004-12-28 Trigun - Wolfwood (DVD 3; episodes 8–10) 2000-07-25 Trigun - Wolfwood [Geneon Signature Series] (DVD 3) 2004-04-13 Trigun - Gung-Ho Guns (DVD 4; episodes 11–13) 2000-09-26 Trigun - Gung-Ho Guns [Geneon Signature Series] (DVD 4) 2004-05-11 Trigun - Angel Arms (DVD 5; episodes 14–16) 2000-11-21 Trigun - Angel Arms [Geneon Signature Series] (DVD 5) 2004-06-08 Trigun - Project Seeds (DVD 6; episodes 17–19) 2001-01-23 Trigun - Project Seeds [Geneon Signature Series] (DVD 6) 2004-07-13 Trigun - Puppet Master (DVD 7; episodes 20–22) 2001-03-27 Trigun - Puppet Master [Geneon Signature Series] (DVD 7) 2004-08-10 Trigun - High Noon (DVD 8; episodes 23–26) 2001-05-29 Trigun - High Noon [Geneon Signature Series] (DVD 8) 2004-09-14 Collections Trigun - The Complete Series (DVD 1–4) 2010-10-26 Trigun - The Complete Series [Anime Classics] (DVD 1–4) 2013-03-12 Trigun - Limited Collector's Edition I (DVD 1–3) 2005-11-22 Trigun - Limited Collector's Edition II (DVD 4–6) 2006-01-17 Trigun - The Complete Box Set (DVD 1–8) 2001-11-20 Remix DVD 1 2006-08-01 DVD 2 2006-09-05 DVD 3 2006-10-03 DVD 4 2006-11-07 DVD 5 2006-12-05 DVD 6 2007-01-02

Reception The anime series is frequently listed as one of the best anime series of all time; in 2001, Wizard's Anime Magazine listed Trigun as the 38th-best series on their "Top 50 Anime released in North America" list, and The Los Angeles Times journalist Charles Solomon named the series' complete box set as the seventh-best anime release of 2010. The success of the animated series increased the popularity of the original manga source material, with the US release's first volume run of 35,000 selling out shortly after release. Theron Martin of Anime News Network gave the anime adaptation a B+, praising the series' writing and opining that it avoided clichés inherent to this format. However, Martin was more critical of the anime's visuals, writing that sometimes characters are off-modeled. Comic Book Bin agreed but praised how Funimation was able to remaster the production values Mike Toole of Anime News Network named Trigun as one of the most important anime of the 1990s.

Escapist Magazine columnist H.D. Russell reviewed the anime adaptation of the series in early 2016, as part of a "Good Old Anime Review" column focusing on popular anime from the 1990s to early 2000s. Russell felt that the series' animation and English voice acting quality had aged poorly, but also argued that the depth of the characters and moral themes of the series more than compensate for its faults. He concluded that despite being overshadowed by Cowboy Bebop, the production values are at least average and the series is funny and thoughtful due to its direction and narrative. Trigun failed to garner a large audience in Japan during its original showing in 1998, but gained a substantial fan base following its United States premiere, making it one of the rare examples of an anime that was more successful in the West than in its country of origin. Suggested causes of this disparity include the "old west" setting, European-style character names, and a lack of Japanese cultural elements.

AnimeOnDVD enjoyed the storytelling as well as characterizations for "running a gamut of emotions and attitudes" while displaying multiple fight scenes that helps to show off how Vash is often described as the strongest fighter in the planet. The reviewer also said the change in Vash's character makes him more interesting to watch in the darker scenarios. Vash's backstory and its effect on him were described as "really interesting" because it would prompt questions from the audience. T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews called Vash "the poster-child for the misunderstood hero". Similarly, Anime News Network praised Vash's characterization for avoiding cliches often seen in Western stories. In the book Anime Impact: The Movies and Shows that Changed the World of Japanese Animation, Chris Stuckmann compares Vash with John McClane from the Die Hard action films because of the similar misunderstandings the two go through while facing enemies.

Notes

References

General: Shōnen Gahōsha episode list TV anime resource center page on Trigun Specific:

External links