Superhero Media: Trigun

So, like many angry young men, I went through the Anime phase in my teens, and though I got started with Pokemon and Dragonball Z, it was Trigun that had me badgering people to start watching Anime. Time went on, I grew up, did a Undergraduate Major in Film and Television, and  stepped my Anime intake down to things that appealed to my sensibilities rather than everything I could get my hands on. More than a decade since I last watched it, Trigun pops up on Netflix and I decide to give it a go again. In the distant future, the last survivors of humanity populate a beak, dry world, having regressed to a turn-of-the-century level of technology and lawlessness reminiscent of the Old West. The most notorious man in the world is Vash the Stampede, aka, The Humanoid Typhoon and the $$60Billion Man. Insurance agents, Meryl and Millie, are sent to find the elusive outlaw and follow him, keeping damage to a minimum. 

The main drive of the series revolves around the true nature of Vash and the gradual reveal of his history. Once all is revealed in a couple of flashback episodes, the slapstick backs off and the action ramps up as Vash battles his way to his nemesis, Knives. I'm torn between not wanting to spoil the twists for those who haven't seen them and discussing the more philosophical elements of the programme. So, spoiler warning, I guess? Vash the Stampede is a pacifist, he'll hurt people to stop them, but will never kill, because he carries the guilt of being forced to kill previously. So heavy is the weight of this guilt that Vash's body is covered in scars and he doesn't even fire his gun for the first six episodes. Seeing Vash outsmart and outplay his opponents is half the fun of the big fights and makes a nice change from typical anime fare. The villain team for the series, the Gung-ho Guns, are a nice mix of characters, featuring robots, samurai, snipers and assassins, and would make great antagonists for any superhero game or campaign. 

As Trigun is something of an "entry-level" anime for people of my generation, it tends to have fans so dedicated that to voice dissent is to invite online attacks in comments sections and on forums. However, Trigun is not perfect; the drastic change in tone between the first and second halves of the series can be jarring, the flashbacks come out of nowhere, and, not to be that guy but, Vash's English dub voice is terrible. Some of the transliteration versus translation of the dub is so poor as to seem almost random, I'd recommend the Japanese audio if you can handle the subtitles. The soundtrack is brilliant, especially "Perfect Night", I've used a lot of it to evoke moods in roleplaying, but I'm sorry, you'll have to pirate it, because it's impossible to buy outside of Japan. I don't love Trigun as much as I did, but it is still really good, and I'd love to get my hands on a 28mm Vash to join my other space heroes.