TRIGUN is based on the manga by the same name by artist Yasuhiro Nightow. The series was aired on TV Tokyo in a late-night slot (Midnight) airing once a week. 26 TV episodes were made and the show actually grew a strong cult following, allowing Nightow to continue the manga and even write a second series “TRIGUN MAXIMUM”.

“Trigun” is set on a desert like planet with 2 suns, sometime in the future. The technology is a nice blend of super sci-fi and steampunk making for a weird but cool blend of genres. This is at heart a sci-fi story with some heavy Wild West flavor. The initial story revolves around two insurance agents, Meryl Stryfe (the short one in thw white cloak) and Millie Thompson (the big one with innocent eyes), working for the Bernadelli Insurance Society trying to locate an outlaw by the name of Vash The Stampede. Vash has earned the nickname “The Humanoid Typhoon” and has a reward on his head for $$60,000,000,000 (no typo there, that is 60 Billion Double Dollars). It seems that whenever Vash shows up in a town or city the place ends up being demolished. The thing is no one is ever killed by Vash, trouble follows him and he tries his best to avoid it. The problem for Milly and Meryl seems to be actually locating Vash. It seems that no one knows what he looks like as several outlaws now go around claiming to be Vash simply to have people cower before them.
In their early attempts to track down Vash, Meryl and Millie have one constant, they continually run into a tall lanky dork with spiky blonde hair in a red leather trench coat. Every time they get a lead on where Vash might be, the dork in red is always there. Even worse, the dork in red is always in trouble, either being chased down by bounty hunters or getting just plain dumb luck situations. All this being said, can anyone not figure out who Vash The Stampede is?
I mean the basic set-up for episodes 1-7 seem to be Millie and Meryl ride into town looking for Vash, find the dork in red acting like… well a dork in red, all three get into some trouble resulting in some minor gunplay. It all falls into place for Millie and Meryl around episode 7 when Meryl finally realizes that the dork in red and Vash are the same person. It is also plain to see that Vash doesn’t go looking for trouble; he is just too much of a dope to do that. No, trouble just seems to fall in his lap. Unfortunately Meryl and Millie always get dragged into these little spats but it is through them they realize that Vash actually is a pacifist at heart. Sure he carries 2 guns on him (actually 3, a hidden gun that if I tell you where it is hidden gives away a big spoiler so… NO DICE!) But he only uses them in self-defense and never to kill. In fact all Vash seems to want to be is left alone so he can enjoy the scenery and hit on girls.

[James Take On TRIGUN]
I really started hating this show. For 7 episodes it just seems to meander and go nowhere. I mean it was pretty much the same set-up every episode. Things take a turn around episode 8 when they introduce the gun-slinging priest Nicholas D. Wolfwood. But one character cannot save a show that seems to be lacking in a main story. Thankfully a main story is introduced in episode 14 with the introduction of Legato and episode 15 with the full roster of the Gung-Ho Guns. As the series goes on more secrets and hints are dropped about Vash and his past and just what the hell he is supposed to be. Aren’t you lucky? You have to sit through 7 episodes before the show actually gets interesting? That’s my only complaint about TRIGUN; it takes way too long for something to develop. I like the characters, the animation is decent is unspectacular, but it takes too long for a story to develop. This being said, I can recommend TRIGUN if you like sci-fi and westerns, it’s like “West World” meets “I Love Lucy”. However it does not come a high recommendation because of the story problem. Yes, there is a story damn when they get to it, it’s good, but the road to get to the story is painfully long. TRIGUN is domestically available from Pioneer on dual language DVD. Volume 1 has 4 episodes with each volume after having only 3. 5 volumes of a planned 8 are available (Volume 8 will have 4 episodes).

James