Trigun Stampede dares to be different
I make no secret that the original Trigun anime remains one of my all-time favourite shows, so I’ve wanted to take my time before forming an opinion about its sequel series, Trigun Stampede. Comparing the shows is difficult because they immediately set out to do vastly different things, and holding one to the standard of the other does both a disservice.
With the final episode of the first season on the horizon and the dub quickly catching up, I’m finally ready to admit that I really like Trigun Stampede.
Trigun Stampede doesn’t want to be like the original
It would have almost been too easy for Trigun Stampede to have been a rehash of the first anime adaptation of Yasuhiro Nightow’s manga. It served as an introduction to anime for many fans and became iconic as a result. It also would have been easy for the new version to stick closer to the original manga, which didn’t finish its run until several years after the first anime finished airing.
Instead, the team at Studio Orange decided to do something entirely different. While the base elements of Trigun are still there, the comedic moments are scaled back. Vash the Stampede is a much more serious and pained character than we’ve seen before. This is a young man who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders and, unlike in the original series, struggles visibly with the burden.
Trigun Stampede is not interested in rehashing the original show’s mysteries. Wolfwood’s true intentions are clear from the start. Vash’s identity is confirmed within the first few scenes. We get a much more robust explanation of the Plants that power the towns around humanity’s new home and Vash’s connection to them. Everything is on the table quickly so that new questions can be asked.
As I mentioned in my review of the first episode, this takes some getting used to for fans of the original. There is a sharper focus on the relationship between Vash and Knives, who gets a brutal and terrifying introduction early in the series. It was honestly one of the most visceral scenes I can remember in an anime. Unlike the original, which had Knives fighting with kid gloves on, this is a dangerous and deranged man who can and will tear people apart to get what he wants.
Trigun Stampede benefits from coming out after the manga finished its run in 2007. While the plot is still entirely different from what we’ve seen before, it takes notes from the rapid escalation of power and scale that the final arcs of the manga introduced. It is a delicate balancing act, allowing for grander battles and more elaborate powers while still having a more human focus, and there are points where the pacing goes too far in either direction. However, for the most part, this is a great, new story to dive into.
CG animation might not be to everyone’s taste and there are certainly examples of it being used poorly in other shows, but Orange is probably the best in the world at making the technique work for them. The action scenes are beautiful and fluid without an overreliance on panning camera shots to simulate movement, and the characters’ faces are expressive during Trigun Stampede’s many emotional moments.
If you’re on the fence about Trigun Stampede because you’re a big fan of the original, I get it. It took several episodes before I was able to let go of my expectations and embrace what I was actually being offered. This is different from what you expect, but the world and the characters you love are all here. It just takes advantage of the years since the manga ended to give us a more holistic view of the world it created.
You can catch every episode of Trigun Stampede on Crunchyroll.
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