Originally, I was going to review this under the Madhouse saga, but immediately decided against it due to college work and time. Also, this is first time I watched the entire series (AND REMEMBER, I review anime series and/or anime OVA/movies that I either heard but not seen and some not heard of nor seen, that’s in case I didn’t say this earlier) and the fact it’s been on Adult Swim around 2003, I had gone 9 years (or 14 years if you count when it was released in Japan) without seeing the series as a whole. From what I know from the show, it is a Space Western Adventure series (kind of like the vein of another anime series with that theme and presence) and yet, it didn’t garnered much of an audience in Japan but it did accomplish that goal in America, considering the themes and surroundings of the show have something that is more related to western society.

Anyway, the plot is centered on a very lighthearted, expert marksman named Vash the Stampede or “The Humanoid Typhoon” (because I really don’t believe that this is his real name: Valentinez Alkalinella Xifax Sicidabohertz Gumbigobilla Blue Stradivari Talentrent Pierre Andres Charton-Haymoss Ivanovicci Baldeus George Doitzel Kaiser III - try saying that three times in a row), who is a very known outlaw for causing damage whenever he appears and because of that, bounty hunters are hunting and chasing him for the pursuit of “60,000,000,000 $$” (sixty-billion double dollars)”. Yeah, if you had a bounty like that on your head, you’ll be dead within a heartbeat and to think what will you do with money like that, I could either rule the world with an iron fist, having legions of armies surrounding me, have harems all day every day and…….wait, what was I talking about again? Oh yeah, Trigun.

Then there are the two insurance employees from the Bernardelli Insurance Society named Meryl Strife & Milly Thompson. Meryl is the strong-willed yet hotheaded one of the duo and finds Vash to be more of a nuisance than what most people already preceded as him. She soon begins to have some romantic feelings toward him but it was never determined in the series. Milly is the kind-hearted and genuinely optimistic one in the duo. She always looks up to Meryl and that’s despite her physically towering over her. Did I mention that Meryl hides her many derringer-style pistols under her coat and Milly carries and hides a heavy concussion gun under her coat?

There’s also Nicholas D. Wolfwood aka Nicolas the Punisher, taken in by a Chapel and modifies him with as an successor and also carries a special large cross-shaped gun called The Punisher, containing two machine guns and a rocket launcher. The main antagonist in the series is Millions Knives (what the hell kind of name is that? It sounds worse than Jacuzzi Splot.) And he is Vash’s twin brother and he has a superiority complex of how humans are inferior creatures, has no value of life for others and only believes in survival of the fittest and always seeks to dissuade Vash basing his life around the idealistic way taught by Rem Saverem, a SEEDS ship crew member who instills the philosophy of how every being deserves life.

Now on the serious tip, that philosophy that I just mentioned does have good tensions surrounding around it but it have some shaky flaws towards it. Vash doesn’t want to end an being life but most of the times, the being that he let go ends up hurting and killing innocent ones that never deserves it and the ones that have no remorse, no regrets toward anyone but themselves does not deserve a second chance, especially some of the villains in the show, including Knives and yes, even though Knives is a villain and I’m supposed to hate him, I immediately want that guy to be killed off and wanted him to have an bullet enter his cranial. Vash does have good intentions and a little more humanistic but the ideals he was brought up are not always up to perfection and very flawed.

Now as for the animation and since it was made in 1998, it looks really dated as for now but Madhouse did made some good animation at that time period and I think it does get either better or slightly worse into the show. The opening music and the ending theme music are a fantastic feat done by Tsuneo Imahori and of course, Akima & Neos. So, in short, I really love the music in the series.

FINAL VERDICT: Despite that flawed philosophy ramble I made, this is an enjoyable series that I would consider to be a favorite. The characters are mostly humanistic (well, the main characters are) and likable; it doesn’t skimp on the character development that much and spread it on some of the characters, although there is little development on the girls but it wasn’t much of a problem. Would I recommend this to anyone? Yes, I would.

It’s been over 12 years since the series had first aired and it is also a series reboot of the franchise (well, that or a stand-alone movie) and usually when that happens, a good anime series could end up doing a fantastic movie (Cowboy Bebop: The Movie) or it could end up being the most idiotic attempt of making their characters we know and love into complete insane unlikable and irritating thankless morons (Eureka Seven: Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers). But, hey, I could be wrong about this one seeing how I did like the series, I wonder if the movie would do the same.

20 years after meddling into the bank heist of a notorious robber named Gasback, Vash the Stampede is heading towards Macca City. The rumors say that the legendary thief might appear there causing an enormous influx of bounty hunters in the area who want to collect the $$300,000,000 prize (which is chump change compared to the bounty on you-know-who) for his head. There is also a female bounty hunter named Amelia, who seems to know of the past life of Vash and Gasback. That and apparently, she have an allergic reaction to males and from what I know, can fight while drunk.

As you may noticed or not, all of your favorite characters from the series are back from Vash the Stampede to Meryl Strife to Milly Thompson to Nicholas D. Wolfwood………wait a minute? Didn’t Wolfwood die in the series run? Does the series take place between episodes like what Cowboy Bebop kind of did? Or is it just a bit of nit-picking? It could be as far as I know and of course if you watch the English dub of this, there is a few voice actor changes from the series (with the exception of Johnny Yong Bosch returning to his role as Vash), mostly due to the fact FUNimation took over distribution of the movie as well as the series after Pioneer/Geneon went under.

As for the animation, it is very fresh and crisp compared to the series, not that the series’ animation wasn’t bad, it was decent but then again this is animation for a 90-minute feature-length movie, not a 26-episode anime series. The music on the other hand is very score-based and I do kind of miss the theme song a little bit and they did play some resemblance of that and mostly, I didn’t pay much attention to the score at all.

FINAL VERDICT: Despite what very little and I mean, little nit-picks I gotten in the movie, I really enjoyed this movie, possibly a bit more than the series since the movie didn’t do a rough mood shift like it was in the series. There were some dramatic moments in there but not in the enormous amount of tear-jerking and depressing elements, just only a few. It is still a fun movie for many fans of the series to enjoy.

But you know what, I am going to give Trigun an 9.5/10 and I would give Badlands Rumble an 10/10 and here’s an surprise for you……my Planet Tyro rating is going to be….

HALL OF FAME.

Yes, this is the second review I ever did to get this rating and it’s also the third anime that I watch this year to get that rating. (Code Geass R1 has one of those I watch, but not review, and give it that exact rating).

And until then, this is MAK2.0 aka HybridMedia, bringing love and peace to one world.

TRIGUN & TRIGUN: BADLANDS RUMBLE – animation by Madhouse / distributed by FUNIMATION (the series formerly distributed by PIONEER/GENEON ENTERTAINMENT)