Trigun Stampede

KANLen09★ 8

The 1998 OG Trigun is a cult following. And 25 years on, the 2023 alternative retelling will also be a cult following, just like its predecessor. To be frank, I've known mangaka Yasuhiro Nightow's famous OG series that has surfaced from time to time, both the manga and the anime adaptation that was prevalent from the mid to late 1990s. But the truth is that I've never gotten the time to read nor watch it, though its an experience for people who've watched and grown up with Trigun, will definitely say that it's something to behold at the time of its release. That's until 25 yearslater, we get the revival of Trigun, albeit under a new name: Stampede. This is obviously a new take on the old classic, so no matter how much you have a massive bias for the OG, please take everything about Stampede and wash away all the misconceptions about compaaring this with that, and see this from a new lens of perspective. To understand how Trigun: Stampede came to be, you have to really get in the minds of the production team. Toho Animation producer Katsuhiro Takei commented that for this new Trigun project, they wanted to "start a new Trigun", commenting that there's already the original manga and other anime adaptations, and each of them are really excellent pieces of work that are already completed. Furthermore, Takei stated that with Trigun: Stampede, they wanted to attract new viewers and not make them think that it is hard to get into the series "because it's an already known and existing series." When Takei approached Trigun's mangaka Yasuhiro Nightow to discuss on the project, Nightow mentioned that the 1998 anime adaptation was "really excellent", and that "anything beyond the original anime is more of a bonus time, so you could pretty much do whatever you want to with it." Nevertheless, Nightow stated that he was pretty much involved with the new project from the very start, and that in order to make something entirely new, he would come in and say something to the staff if they did something that really seems off. However, as time went on with the script development, Nightow did not find major issues with it, commenting that "It was an entirely new Trigun, and I felt that they were able to grasp that." This is pretty much anchored true in Stampede, as everyone knows about the Stampede himself, the Humanoid Typhoon with the 60 billion double dollar bounty on his head, along with reporters Meryl Stryfe and the new "replacement" to the much lovable Milly Thompson, Roberto De Niro. Sure, their interactions are more goofy-looking as compared to the illusive strikingness of the 1998 OG series, where everything was much industrial-looking for an era that focused much on industrialization anime, like director Akitarou Daichi's 1999 original show "Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku a.k.a Now and Then, Here and There". Takei stated that while in the original manga and the previous anime adaptations the story is always centered around Vash, in Trigun Stampede they "really want to focus on the depth of Vash", so they decided to focus on his origin, memories, and the time he spent with Rem and Knives. In a way, I felt that this was what Nightow's depiction of an alternate Trigun would be like if it came to fruition under people like Katsuhiro Takei who understood the magnitude of the original manga, and did something that's an alternate take, but something that could also still stand the test of time amongst the many adaptations of Trigun's unlimited potential, with the closest resemblance being that of the OG manga and Maximum together that makes for a cohesive story. Believe me, Trigun: Stampede is a more rigorous character-driven story, as opposed to the plot-driven ones that came before it, emphasizing a lot on the tormenting relationship of twin brothers Vash the Stampede, Million "Nai" Knives and their caretaker Rem Saverem. It's essentially the same as what you've read in the OG manga and Maximum, only I think that within the span of 12 episodes, Stampede came out to be its very own thing that albeit drives home the conflict of Vash and Nai that intercedes for much of the story that was shown at first glance, yet like RWBY: Ice Queendom, diverges into its own set and story structure that I feel, is dependent on us the audience, whether does it feel any semblance of the original while being different in its own regard. And that is something that's very difficult to do and balance, for we are seeing especially Vash in a whole new light, being the same cool character that he is, and what he fights for as he resists against the humanity-hating device that is his own brother Nai, together with the cross-wielding Nicholas D. Wolfwood the Punisher. The battle against Plants and Independents has never been this intense, and I'm all for it in this new, refreshed storyline. The production for Trigun: Stampede isn't anything to scoff at, either. Regarding the primary use of 3DCG for Stampede, Takei commented that the core of Trigun is "something that is very firm" that does not get affected by introducing additional elements, expressing that the strong core could be adapted into various things, and so the thought was that Trigun should go full-on 3DCG. This brings Takei and his team towards studio Orange, which animation producer Kiyotaka Waki, commented that the project started with concept art, followed by the development of a world for the adaptation, which wasn't just drawings but was also filled with ideas of how we could respect that old nostalgia factor and also add in the new designs. Kouji Tajima, who did the concept art and character concept art, he read the Trigun manga to interpret it in his way to capture much of the nostalgia factor, as well as something that's brand new towards the audience. We all know today about studio Orange's magnificent prowess in 3DCG, barring the ONLY studio to execute 3DCG right, but did you know that Trigun: Stampede was the VERY FIRST show in the studio's lineup that was in development took around five years that started in 2017? Yes, that was the EXACT same year where studio Orange would debut with their first non-co-produced series, Houseki no Kuni a.k.a Land of the Lustrous, to high fanfare of the proper, gold standard use of 3DCG in anime production going forward. It's been 5 years since that Trigun: Stampede was the OG starting point for the 3DCG studio, that now we're seeing this in live form, and it's been a project in the making for perfection right out of the gate. Even better, is the music. For such an acclaimed series, while the OG was done by Tsuneo Imahori of Gungrave and Hajime no Ippo fame, the new series's OST was composed by Tatsuya Kato of Mirai Nikki and Shokugeki so Soma fame among many others. Regarding the music, Takei expressed that while developing the series, he considered the choice to use new music as they were developing the script and concept art, and that Imahori's soundtrack would not suit the world they would be building. That being said, the new music provides an atmosphere that definitely blends well to the new series, that far from discrediting what Tsuneo Imahori had before with the 1998 OG series, Tatsuya Kaho's take is a refresh for a new style. The OP song "Tombi" by Kvi Baba, now that's one hell of a banger of a song that expresses Vash's emotions to an insane degree, putting characterization on the front as opposed to the plot. The ED song by singer Salyu and composer Haruka Nakamura, it felt different of a world as light and sci-fi as it is, more than just another great song, it's telling of the constellations of fate between Vash, Nai, and the rest of the characters, like stars illuminating across the sky for a hope that's not long gone. Overall, I really don't mind if Trigun: Stampede is meant to be different than the 1998 OG series. Think of this as the equivalence of the comparison between Ashita no Joe and Megalo Box, but in a different sense that if the new series doesn't move you, then I don't know what to say. It's been an experience trying to see what Trigun would be like if Yasuhiro Nightow got a chance to modernize his cult-status of a hit, developed with other people to create something that's just as enjoyable as the series he first created. What can I say? It's Trigun in a new skin, that is something I wish to look back at over and over again. And this new work...it's not over yet.

literaturenerd★ 6

Studio Orange director: “Man, I was watching this piece of trash Boomer anime the other day and all my buddies around me were laughing at it. Then it suddenly struck me. This is an absolute tragedy! This old piece of trash actually has all the elements there to be a masterpiece and it’s simply being handcuffed by all this hackneyed anime bullshit! Imagine if it cut out the stupid comedy, extra characters, pointless romance sub-plot, pointless fanservice, and just really doubled down on the psychological drama and grimdark elements. Those Zoomers who laugh at this shit right now and dismiss it will have their mindsabsolutely blown! They don’t even know! We’re gonna break this series free from its chains that have been holding it back and by God it’s gonna COOK!” Me: “Say no more! I know exactly what anime you guys are talking about. You don’t even need to say it! God, it’s hard to be an Elfen Lied fan in 2023. People just don’t get it, but you’re clearly seeing what I’m seeing! Studio Orange: “Elfen what? Bruh, I was talking about Trigun! Me: “….are y’all serious?!” Welcome to Studio Orange’s well intentioned albeit often baffling attempt to “fix” Trigun by giving it a darker, grittier reboot that completely does its own thing and often flat out gives the finger to the original manga and anime. We all know Trigun is a Boomer anime with a cult following, but what is Trigun exactly? Trigun is a Space Western that at its core is a love letter to old cowboy movies. It takes place in a bizarre, steampunk setting on this desert covered alien planet that a colony of human pioneers have been stranded on. So, you have a mixture of crazy science fiction stuff and aliens with 1860s technology and old west gun duels. This is admittedly a silly premise. The original series and the manga are fully aware of this. The manga started out as a screwball action comedy that was published in a shonen magazine, but it went on hiatus and returned in a seinen magazine with a much darker and more serious tone. This gradual shift is emulated by the 1998 anime adaptation that starts out very funny and wildly entertaining before taking a more somber turn. The 2023 anime by contrast is a much more serious affair throughout. The first episode at least tries to capture some of the zaniness of the early manga and the 1998 anime, but if those were cranked up to 10, Trigun Stampede turns it down to maybe a 4 or 5. Then there are children being killed in just the second episode of Stampede and the comedy never returns. Trigun Stampede very clearly feels like the fun element and comedy was an impediment to the franchise’s quality. I feel like this is a deeply misguided take on the franchise. The comedy and fun elements of Trigun actually compliment the ridiculous setting and whole “Space Western” thing, which would be a mistake to simply make dead serious. The gradual shift from lighthearted to serious also works in the series’ favor by making the serious moments really stand out and giving them an added punch. To be fair to Studio Orange, there are series that have comedy that feels completely tacked on and the inclusion of these scenes does nothing but hurt the series. That’s a common problem in old anime. I joked in the opening paragraph about Elfen Lied in particular suffering from this, but Ashita no Joe part 1 suffers from this! Even some really good anime have this problem. It’s just that Trigun is NOT one of those series! Another massive departure from the source material and original anime is that Trigun Stampede never once feels like a Western. The original anime has over a dozen shots directly ripped from old Western movies. In one of the very first episodes, you have this longshot of a creaky windmill which is taken directly from 1968’s Once Upon a Time in the West. There’s another shot from an early episode taken directly from the 1964 film Fistful of Dollars. The original anime is shot and framed like a Western. The soundtrack feels like a Western. Vash and Knives end up settling their differences in an old-time gun duel that feels straight out of a Western. The 1998 anime is proud to be a Western. Trigun Stampede has Knives hook Vash up to a supercomputer and hack into him using his weird tentacles in order to ascend to the “higher dimension” and make contact with the “Wave Existence”, Capital G God in order to give his fellow artificial life forms souls so that they can have freewill. I’m sorry, but what the FUCK is this?! The team behind Trigun Stampede has clearly played Xenogears before and watched Evangelion but I don’t think anyone on this production team has watched a Sergio Leone film, let alone loves those types of movies. There’s a weird scene in Trigun Stampede where a young Vash draws a parallel between Humanity settling space and the American pioneers of the old west, but this idea of a space western is brought up in Stampede only to be immediately ridiculed and dismissed. This is a thing that reboots do when they’re trying to be more “mature” and “gritty” than the original. It’s that trailer scene in X-Men 2000 when Wolverine snarks “What did you expect? Yellow spandex?” Trigun Stampede is a pure science fiction with weird JRPG pseudo-religious stuff that has zero interest in being a Western. Yet another massive difference can be found in the main protagonist Vash, who in the manga and original anime acts like a complete and utter goofball. He starts out as this Looney Toons character, but then you find out that it’s simply a persona that he shows to the public to hide his pain and loneliness. The real Vash underneath the goofy mask is a suffering, Messianic figure who doesn’t want others to have to share his burden. He essentially treats Humanity like a parent would treat their small child. This makes perfect sense given that he’s a 120+ year old alien with Godlike powers. Vash in Trigun 2023 is a much weaker and more vulnerable character. He’s not super OP in combat and emotionally he’s kind a mopey emo boy for almost the entirety of the series. Trigun 2023 believed they were making him more human and relatable, but I don’t feel like it worked exactly in the way that they wanted. If anything, it just made him much more forgettable. Most of the cast got shafted in Trigun 2023, but Meryl Strife easily got it the worst. Meryl in the original is a short tempered, no-nonsense girl boss who can hold her own in a gun fight, has hilarious chemistry with Vash as the straight man to Vash’s shenanigans and is also a romantic interest for Vash. Meryl in the 2023 reboot is basically April O’Neil from Ninja Turtles. She’s this naïve reporter lady who is simply looking for her big scoop but ends up largely being a spectator with no real agency and doesn’t really contribute much. Milly was entirely replaced by a grizzled old reporter named Robert DeNiro who is only 3 weeks away from retirement and is getting too old for this shit. Why is he named DeNiro? He should clearly be Danny Glover! Fucking Stampede can’t even make the right actor jokes. Although it is mentioned in the last episode that Milly exists in this universe and may appear if a sequel ever happens. Wolfwood is given a lot less time to shine here and just feels like a very watered down, shittier version of the original character. His motivations in Stampede are also a lot dumber. Wolfwood in the original series was raised in an abusive household and murdered his own father, thus becoming an orphan. He was then raised by one of Knives’ super soldiers as a possible successor and uses the skills he acquired as a gun for hire to finance an orphanage. Wolfwood is basically a sleeper agent since he’s in contact with someone who works for the main villain, but he doesn’t directly work for the main baddie or know his plans. He ends up refusing to go along with the main villain’s plans and to the end stays loyal to his orphanage and his friends despite his wrongdoings. Wolfwood in 2023 exists solely as a delivery boy to bring Vash to his brother Knives, which honestly makes the rest of the Gungho Guns and Legato completely pointless in the 2023 anime. Knives in 2023 didn’t intend for any of his super soldiers to kill Vash or force Vash to suffer by having to kill one of them, thus preparing him for their final duel. They are literally there for no reason. Wolfwood works directly for Knives and clearly knows that Knives will use Vash’s energy to do something absolutely apocalyptic and almost certainly wipe out Mankind, but he’s delivering Vash to Knives all for the sake of the orphans…whom Knives will kill the second he makes the delivery. Did they even think about this? Insert Biff Tannen and/or Omni Man clip. Now it’s FINALLY time to say something nice about Trigun 2023. They actually tried to make Knives a more complex character whose love for his brother Vash is just as strong as his hatred for Mankind. Knives’ motivation for hating Humanity is much more fleshed out in 2023 and he’s given a level sympathy that he never got in the original. In the last 20 years of movies and TV media, we’ve come to expect for villains to have more relatable motivations. Everyone wants to write MCU Thanos or Toguro from Yu Yu Hakusho and not the cackling madman who is just an asshole for the Hell of it. Knives in the original anime is an artificial life form who was created to serve Humanity, but from the beginning looked down on Humanity as his inferiors and wants to wipe us out. He’s a very solitary figure with a God complex and not a lot of love in his heart for anyone. OG Knives is basically just Sephiroth from the original FF7. That type of villain works best when you don’t see a lot of them. They’re this shadowy figure with unknowable motivations whom you are never asked to empathize with. All you know is that they’re going to be hard to stop. This is the Lovecraft approach to writing antagonists, and it’s widely considered antiquated. Trigun 2023 had an interesting take on Knives and I appreciate that they made the effort. The animation is..fine if you like Studio Orange’s approach to CG. This series had a budget. They put effort into it. It has some scenes that are very visually impressive. It also has some scenes I think looked like dog shit, but I digress. The music is fine. It’s definitely not iconic like the original anime’s OST, but it serves its purpose adequately. I also appreciate that while Orange’s vision of Trigun was radically, fundamentally different, they did keep it consistent. It wasn’t grimdark one moment only to be goofy the next. They didn’t go full science fiction one episode only to backtrack. They fully committed to their own interpretation of what Trigun should be. When you consider Trigun 2023 to be its own series that’s loosely inspired by Trigun, it begins to look a lot better. Instead of a replacement or a reboot, we can see this series as a sort of “spiritual successor” that takes some concepts from the original while comfortably being its own thing. That’s the takeaway point at the end of the day. I think it’s a horrible adaptation of Trigun that fundamentally misunderstands what made Trigun so beloved in the first place and why it worked. However, it’s also not a bad anime when you examine it in a vacuum and stop thinking about the original. If it didn’t have the Trigun name, I would say this is an above average anime that I could comfortably recommend to friends. It’s fine. It’s perfectly serviceable as a seasonal anime in 2023. That’s why I’m still giving it a 6 out of 10. It doesn’t deserve to be crucified simply because it’s not the original. The original already exists. It’s not going anywhere or being replaced on every streaming site and store shelf. If you’ve never seen either version of Trigun, I would definitely check out the original first, but you can also give this one a watch. If you hate old school animation and you’re only interested in new stuff, you can watch Trigun 2023 and just not worry about the original.