#InaThinks | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bezea-time · 6 months

Text

Trigun

So... Hi.

This is my first ever post I make about Trigun. And it's me just generally ranting about my thoughts on all of the Trigun versions and on the fandom as a new Trigun fan that came to be one with Trigun Stampede.*some spoilers for all versions of Trigun in my ranting*

I first found anything Trigun related in August of this year when I randomly saw a Youtube short of Vash from Trigun Stampede, and I just clicked on it because I found it intriguing as the title of the short was something like "this anime has beautiful CGI" and that the comment section of that short seemed too devided between people praising the show and people writing "not CGI again, it looks awful", which is a reaction that I can understand as anime doesn't have a good track record with using the CGI style. But from the short alone, that had some scenes of the first Trigun Stampede episode, I thought it just looked fine.

And then I watched the show and I absolutetly loved it (and still do, lol). The animation is amazing, even if at first it was kinda weird before getting used to the characters' design and movements with the CGI.

When it comes to the characters, I think that Meryl and Roberto were a fun pair and a good point of view for the viewer to the weird and suspicious things going on with Vash, Vash was such a fun and sweet but also misterious and cool character and Wolfwood was amazing, especially his introduction (best one 10/10). His backstory episode had me in tears. And they even dared to make the animation on that backstory different from the rest of the show, being so beautiful and warm with baby Nico and Livio at the orphanage and then so trippy and strange when he gets experimented on... ahhh, that episode was just so goddamn good!!! (Sorry, got a little carried away....) And I love Meryl as the female protagonist and her progression throughout the episodes.

The only thing that I remember bothering me after watching it the first 2 times (I think?) was the aftermath of the reveal that Vash is a Plant on the sandsteamer, as I thought that after that the plot just speeded up too quickly and the audience (especially first time Trigun watchers like me) and the characters didn't get the proper time needed to compute and reflect on the fact that Vash is a Plant. Like ya, we got the flashback episode after the steamer one, but I feel like it would have worked better if that was shown later, because at that point I cared more about the characters of Meryl, Wolfwood and Roberto and their reaction to Vash being a Plant, and also how tf they found ship 3 and got there, than the tragic flashback between Knives and Vash.

But overall I still think that Stampede is pretty solid standing on it's own as a sci-fi space western story about 2 brothers and their complicated relationship and differing morals and goals. (I mean, it's still not finished but the point it's that I think that season 1 was pretty good despite obviously having it's flaws, and I can't wait for season 2, aaaa!!)

Plus, the CGI animation really grew on me as I watched the show. It looks amazing! Especially the fights. Best use of CGI on character design and animation in anime, imo.

Then I watched the Trigun 1998 anime adaptation. And I had so much fun. I loved the more day to day laid back adventures with the people of No Man's Land, and that then things with Vash started getting more misterious and complex. Also, I cried when Wolfwood died. (This man and his story sure knows how to make you cry... goddamnit I wanna give him a hug...)

But the problem with the 98 anime is that Knives is too much in the background for me to care that deeply about the conflict between the twins. The Gung-Ho-Guns, especially Legato, were more interesting and fleshed out antagonists than Knives, that can be described as cartoonishly evil in this version (like, it's not a bad thing, but he could have been portrayed as more sympathetic like his other versions).

Plus, the Plants part of the Trigun deal is really left out in this version. Like, the Dependent Plants don't even get personalized as they are shown and treated all the time as objects - they are never shown to unfurl. Though, I think this was because of sensoring issues from back then, but still, they could have put some body suit on them or something, idk. It's such an important part of Trigun and it was completely left out in this version. Though, they certainly didn't have a problem making Vash sometimes chase women kinda excessively. I mean ya, it was way worse in 2010 with Amelia in Badlands Rumble. But really, what was the need... though, compared to other anime it is very tame when it comes to this (and thank everything for that!), plus the headcanon that Vash just exaggerated these behaviours so he can make himself appear like any fool Human man helps with ignoring these scenes. So, ya... I still don't like it but it's not that bad as it could have been in this aspect.

But that aside, watching this anime really hit me with the nostalgia train of the 90s/early 2000s anime (yes, I was born in 2001 but reruns on TV exist, so ya... sorry if this is random but there are always some smartasses on the Internet that like doing the "how can you even know about it you weren't even born or you were just a baby when these shows came out", plus there are piracy sites to watch older shows on, lol).

So ya, I literally fell in love with Trigun 1998, and pretty fast. It really has a charm to it, not just because it has that nostalgic feeling for me, but also because Trigun 1998 (and the manga) is really quite unique with the way it does story telling, the jokes, the characters and their dynamics (at least imo) and it also felt like a breath of fresh air for me, considering that I was kinda tired of fast paced Netflix like shows and current action anime don't appeal to me that much. (Also, huh, pointing at my pretty big disappointments with MHA that made me reach the point where I actually ended up making 4 huge ass posts with my issues with the anime/manga on my other Tumblr blog. Hahaha, trust me when I say that all versions of Trigun are a gold mine of a story, despite having differences between each other and each one their own (pretty small, imo) issues. And when I say that Trigun saved me by giving me a very good mood in some of my free time, as I really reached a point where everything seemed too boring or annoying to me, until I found Trigun, lol)

And then I got to the manga... and holy shit, did it get me hooked to the point I ended up staying up until 4 a.m. for 3 days straight to finish reading all of it... and yes, from the Trigun manga's first chapter to the end of Trigun Maximum... I needed a lot of coffee to function in those mornings as I woke up 2 hours later everyday, haha, fuck sleep I need my dose of Trigun so I can know what happens next and then laugh and cry because of it!!

Okay, my hyperfixation aside, the manga is amazing and it's obviously my favourite version of Trigun, no question.

This opinion also seems to be true in most of the fandom. Which makes sense as it is the original material and the longest, and thus the most complete version of Trigun (lol).

But this is where I found something that kinda annoys me in the fandom. Like, don't get me wrong for the most part the Trigun fandom is pretty great (at least in the circles I found myself in), but there were some people that kinda really annoyed me (tho, this is more a me problem than necessarely a others problem, as I can just ignore these things and move on to my business, lol - but I'm a dumbass that sometimes complains too much, so here I am). And that is people that don't seem to shut up about how bad Trigun Stampede is because of the CGI and the fact that the story was changed and it isn't the same as Trigun 1998 or that it is not a continuation of it. And you know what, these people are valid in having these opinions, okay? I'm not here to police anyone's tastes, lol, despite writing this in this post in my blog.

But I'm also of the opinion that people that think this are being a little bit unfair to Trigun Stampede as it was obvious from the start that the show was gonna be it's own thing.

Plus, I kinda like the idea that Trigun 1998 along with the Badlands Rumble movie, Trigun Manga along with Trigun Maximum and Trigun Stampede are their own Universes parallel to each other, considering all the differences they have between each other. And also, I'm not really a fan of the opinion that some people in fandoms have that "the adaptations need to follow the source material/original perfectly". I mean, it's an adaptation, somethings are bound to be changed to fit a certain style or era. Also, I'm a fan of Doctor Who and superhero (DC and Marvel) comic books, so big changes are a part of the course in my favourite media, lol. The important thing it's keeping the core of the story and characters. Plus, certain things, like books and video games, need more changes to their stories and characters in order to be adapted to screen, so ya.

But anyway, the point that I'm trying to make is that I don't like how quick some people are/were to dismiss Trigun Stampede and how they critique it without even having watched it. Like, if some people watched it and didn't like it that is totally valid, but it really annoyed me how quick some people were to just shove it down without even giving it one chance, when I think that Stampede is one of the best things to come out in recent years.

Maybe I'm being a little biased because it was my first Trigun version. But I also think that too many people are being biased themselves based on the "It's absolute garbage because it's not like the original" mentality (and the original that they usually refer to is the Trigun 1998 anime, that is, ironically, pretty different from the actual source material too, lol. Okay, I understand that the 98 anime has the excuse of airing when the manga wasn't finished yet but still...). Also, this annoys me because it is a problem that exists with all the series and their fandoms nowadays, which is not giving the chance for a series to explore itself before they talk negativelly about it.

I mean, come on, Trigun Stampede has so much potential, let it flourish on its own without always being compared to it's predecessors.

Though, I also feel like that some part of these opinions/criticisms come from the fact that people nowadays are also kinda tired of remakes, which ya valid, but not all remakes are "cash grab garbage", and Stampede is really great and trying to do it's own thing. So, I think that it really deserves the praise and popularity it is getting.

But ya, despite these nitpicks of mine, I'm having a great and fun time with Trigun and it's fandom.

Never thought I would obsess over a character that is a Humanoid Plant Energy Reactor, lmao. Also, it really got me with all it's symbolism with flowers and religion. There is nothing more that I love than a misterious alien protagonist in a story with religious imagery and dealing with complex moral questions while also having the most bizarre and silly base premise and characters.

Also, Vash deserves all the love and hugs in the Universe!! This Plant-man gives me so many feelings. And he is so hurt. And doesn't allow himself to get too close to people, but he still helps them the best way he can, despite pretty much everyone being against him. Until, Wolfwood, Meryl and Milly come along. Aaaa!! The feels...

I love Trigun so much!!!

All versions of it.

So, anyways, thanks for reading my rant.

Love & Peace🤞🏻

#trigun #trigun stampede #trigun 1998 #trigun badlands rumble #trigun manga #trigun maximum #InaThinks

19 notes · View notes