DESCRIPTION

CAST

ANIME ActionTRIGUN
MANGA ActionTrigun
Not Available ActionTRIGUN STARGAZE
MANGA ActionTrigun Maximum

REVIEWS

• 

  DrFlapJack

  45/100
  For a Few Double Dollars More: Stampede is a puzzle with far too many missing pieces.

  One thing that I've heard some people say about Trigun Stampede is that it's good if you accept the fact that it's trying something new rather than just being a regular adaptation, but I think that's kind of silly. That's like saying it's only enjoyable if you pretend that it's not supposed to be Trigun. It's perfectly reasonable for fans of an old anime to expect the reboot to have the same sort of appeal as the original. Maybe Stampede really is a good anime that's separate from the original Trigun identity. But if that's the case, then why bother using the Trigun name if you're not going to be faithful to what made it so memorable in the first place?

  But I'm getting ahead of myself. The creators made it very clear from the beginning that this wouldn't be a direct adaptation of the manga, and that's acceptable in theory. After all, the 90's anime and Trigun Maximum are vastly different takes on the same premise and themes, yet both are equally amazing in their own ways. Stampede will be fine as long as it is faithful to the spirit of Trigun, the fundamental elements that make it so special...

  ---

  The Animation and Visual Style

  I absolutely adore the way Stampede is animated. The high quality animation is undoubtedly the high point of the anime, and it allows the series' signature over the top action to reach its full potential. Unlike the fights in the 90's anime, which were mostly composed of both sides barraging each other with copious quantities of lead until one of them gets hit, there's a higher focus on hand to hand combat(though there's still plenty of bullet barrages). It makes the fights easier to follow, and the fluidity and bounciness of the CGI animation certainly helps a lot as well. However, it's not the action that impresses me the most, but the little details in the characters' mannerisms and facial expressions that make them seem so full of life. The animators put a lot of time and effort into making everything look as perfect as possible, and their hard work payed off big time.

  The most creative episode in terms of animation is episode 5, which is punctuated with a series of flashbacks of Wolfwood's past.

  

  The first flashback is animated in 2D, consisting of picture book-like frames painted with subdued, warm colors. These peaceful dreams of days long gone deftly illustrate the drastic disparity between that innocent child and the bitter, violent man he becomes. After that comes a sudden assault of psychedelic hallucinations induced by a drug trip from hell, slowly suffocating the audience until... we snap back to cold, 3D reality. A genuinely chilling sequence. None of the other episodes quite come close to being as visually interesting as this one, but the quality of the animation remains high to the very end.

  OG Trigun was a spaghetti western where the gunmen have access to futuristic technology, whereas Stampede is a sci-fi that takes place in the desert, if that makes any sense. The new art design has a sleeker, modern look to reflect this heavier focus on the sci fi elements. It has that generic cyberpunk quality to it, but it's consistent at least. As far as the character redesigns go, I'm pretty conflicted on them. I understand that the creators made them more conventionally attractive by modern standards to lure in a younger audience, so I can't blame them. But the fact that the original characters weren't flawlessly pretty was what made them so charming and distinctive to me. I liked how scruffy and old fashioned they looked, because that really conveyed the fact that they've lived their whole lives in a hostile desert full of outlaws. Whereas new Vash, Wolfwood, and Meryl don't look like they belong in the wild west, they look like hipster fashion models.

  

  You big, scary gunslingers let me know when you're ready to start your K-pop boy band.

  ---

  Like many viewers, the moment the reveal trailer for Stampede came out, I had one burning question on my mind. "Where's Milly?" And from the moment I learned that Roberto De Niro was her replacement, I was determined to hate his guts. Yet despite my preconceived resentment, Roberto ended being a pretty alright character, if not very memorable. Meryl is a rookie reporter in this continuity, and she takes on Milly's job as the inexperienced assistant while Roberto inherits the role of the responsible veteran. So even with Milly gone the duo's dynamic still works, more or less. I could even say that Roberto is a boon to Stampede, as its iterations of the old characters feel strangely immature and inexperienced. He has the world weariness that the new Vash and Wolfwood are lacking.

  The Characters Ain't Right

  Trigun's greatest strength is its colorful array of compelling characters. No one is ever as simple as they first appear, and a big part of the joy of experiencing Trigun is getting to know them little by little. In this adaptation, these same characters have been reduced to their most basic personality traits and behavioral patterns. Meryl still chases after Vash for her job, Vash still refuses to kill anyone, Wolfwood and Vash still squabble over their differing outlooks on life. The characters mostly act the way you'd expect them to, but it's all so hollow. Those surface interactions are all you really get, and this lack of depth means that much of their behavior comes across differently than intended. Vash's steadfast idealism seems closer to naivete; Wolfwood's pragmatic caution appears to be callousness; Meryl's dedication to her job looks more like childish stubbornness. Let me compare two similar scenes from both anime adaptations to show you what I mean.

  In episode 9 of the 90's anime, Wolfwood gives a pair of hungry children two of his few remaining energy bars, showing us that despite his cynicism and proclivity for violence, he's a compassionate person at heart. This ties into a core theme of Trigun, which is the idea that you can't judge a person as totally irredeemable because everyone has the capacity for good inside them. People are more complicated than just black and white. In episode 4 of Stampede, Wolfwood gives a piece of candy to a child, an action that mirrors his establishing character moment from the original show. Yet later on in the same episode, it's revealed that Wolfwood only performed this act of kindness to trick Vash into trusting him, which flips the meaning of the scene on its head. Instead of a display of his hidden depths, it instead further reinforces the idea that this version of Wolfwood really is exactly how he seems: cold and untrustworthy. This is just one of several times in Stampede where a scene plays out so differently from the original material that it changes its meaning, and no longer fits into Trigun's overarching themes as a result.

  ---

  Too Much Story to Tell, Too Little Time

  The most egregious fault of this adaptation is the fact that it's far too short and paced way too quickly. There's no time to contemplate the philosophy of pacifism, spend time with the characters, or do much of anything at all. It seems that the writers tried to follow the manga more closely than the 90's adaptation did, which was a mistake because of how much longer and denser the manga is than the anime. Stampede pulls plot points from all throughout the long run of Trigun Maximum, then haphazardly rearranges them with no regard as to when it would make sense for them to happen. To put it into perspective, this anime is only 12 episodes long, and it adapts elements from the 8th volume of the 14-volume long Maximum series. No matter how much you rewrite it, you cannot cram that much manga plot into 12 episodes without losing almost all of the important context and details. Consequently, many of the most significant moments of the series are out of place, lacking in emotional weight, and unceremoniously abrupt. As stated at the beginning of this review, diverging from the original plot is not always a bad move, and it can work extremely well if done right. But the way it's done in Stampede ends up making the story disjointed and less impactful.

  To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what audience this reboot was made for. Many of the potentially divisive changes made, such as the more fashionable character designs, seem to have been made in order to appeal to an entirely new audience. Yet the hurried, jumbled pacing of the plot indicates that it's meant for fans that are already familiar with the source material, which shouldn't be the case if it's intended to be accessible to new viewers. This confusion is pretty much inevitable when you attempt to modernize an old story. Modern anime has evolved to the point where molding an old anime to fit the new standards is like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

  ---

  If It Ain't Broke...

  

  Personally, I'm one of the fans that found Stampede to be a bit wanting, but there is more to my complaints than just, "It's different, so it sucks." Some of the changes are bad not because they're different, but because they result in flaws that compromise the ability to tell a cohesive story, build an interesting world, and establish believable characters. People are always quick to point out that just because it's different, doesn't mean that it's automatically worse. I agree wholeheartedly and counter with this: Just because something is new and fresh does not make it an upgrade. Sometimes it really ain't broke and you really don't need to fix it.

  A story is a bit like a puzzle. It has a lot of different pieces that all fit together to form a complete picture. If you remove some of the pieces, or replace the pieces with ones from a different puzzle, or put some of the pieces in places where they don't fit, then the picture won't be complete, and it won't be nearly as pretty to look at. Can it even be considered the same picture when such vital components of the whole are absent? Despite my gripes, I honestly don't think that Stampede is a truly bad anime... but I don't think it's a good adaptation of Trigun either.

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• 

  TheAnimeBingeWatcher

  40/100
  Feels like almost every change was for the worse.

  Serious question: do I dislike Trigun Stampede on its own merits, or do I just dislike it for not being Trigun?

  It’s a question I’ve been struggling with all throughout the past few months, watching studio Orange’s modern revamp of this 90s classic. I only watched Trigun a few years ago, so I’m far from a nostalgia-blinded fanboy griping about a show not living up to his childhood memories. On the other hand, I am a huge fan of Trigun. Its unique blend of Sat AM cartoon goofiness and hard-hitting sci-fi morality play resulted in a wonderful space western extravaganza that still holds a special place in my heart. I’d argue it’s even better then Cowboy Bebop, but that’s a discussion for another day. So its possible my lukewarm feelings on Trigun Stampede are because it’s so deliberately different from the version of the show I fell in love with. And that wouldn’t be fair to it; stories get re-imagined all the time, and Stampede doesn’t deserve to be unfairly criticized just because it’s not my preferred take on the material. But still... man, this show just did not click with me. Maybe I wouldn’t be as grumpy about Stampede if I wasn’t comparing it to OG Trigun every second, but even if I went into it blind, part of me feels I’d still come away thinking it was mediocre. So let’s untangle that big ball of conflicting feelings and see if we can figure out what's going on, and whether or not this show is actually as Not Good as I think it is.

  The broad strokes, at least, remain the same. It’s space, it’s a western. and Vash the Humanoid Typoon is the most wanted man in the galaxy. But when the intrepid Meryl Strife finally tracks the legendary criminal down, it turns out he’s just a lovable goofball, and the crimes attached to his name are the result of bad dudes leaving carnage in the wake of their attempts to catch him. And said bad dudes are being led by Vash’s sinister, mysterious brother Knives, who is determined to prove Vash’s pacifistic, cohabitational philosophy wrong whatever it takes. But inside those broad strokes, Trigun Stampede is steadfastly carving its own course through the series’ mythos. Characters are changed around, plot points are retooled, most of the designs are tweaked in some way, even certain character movitations and foundational lore details are altered. And, of course, instead of the nostalgic crunchiness of pre-digital cel animation, this show is brought to life with the most bombastic, slickly produced CG animation money can buy. The Stampede team wanted to create something entirely new out of this franchise, and whatever else might be said about this show, they clearly succeeded in that goal.

  But of course, it’s a bad idea to change things around just to change things around. There’s gotta be a point. And unfortunately, my ultimate feeling on Stampede is that basically every change it makes is a change for the worse.

  To start with the most obvious: yes, Milly Thompson’s absence is sorely felt. The goofy banter between her and Meryl was one of the most endearing parts of Trigun, and losing that chemistry is a serious detriment to the show’s charm. It doesn’t help that the guy they replaced her with, the amusingly named Roberto de Niro, is about as generic a grizzled older authority figure archetype as I’ve ever seen, and while his banter with Meryl isn’t awful, it’s definitely a huge step down. On the bright side, this season does end with confirmation that Milly’s gonna show up in season 2, so better late than never, I suppose. In a strange way, you could almost consider Stampede a re-imagined prequel that shifts around the timeline to have Meryl and Vash meet and have their first adventure before settling into their eventual status quo from the original story. And I may end up feeling kinder toward the show if season 2 is better able to capture that Trigun charm. But for now, we’ll have to wait and see on that front.

  Circling back to old Roberto, though, his inclusion is actually part of a much more serious issue than simply replacing a beloved character. Part of what made Milly and Meryl’s dynamic so entertaining is how fresh it felt. They were two put-upon insurance agents grinding through low-level grunt work, facing the mundane stupidity of the world as equals. Even as they get embroiled in Vash’s increasingly cosmic affairs, they never lose that sense of down-to-earth naturalism. You don’t see that kind of energy too often, especially with a pair of female characters. Meryl and Milly were women in charge of their own destiny with their own parts to play. But with the addition of Roberto and Meryl’s job changed from insurance agent to Roberto’s junior reporter colleague, that refreshingly forward-thinking dynamic becomes just another example of the tired “experienced, world-weary dude and his naive female subordinate who still has her moral compass intact.” I have seen this dynamic everywhere; it’s in at least two other shows this season! Why mess with one of Trigun’s most entertaining dynamics if you’re just gonna replace it with what everyone else is doing?

  And sadly, that’s a bit of a theme all throughout Stampede. Almost every change or addition it makes to the story and mythos results in something far less interesting and original than what it took away. Vash’s backstory, the motivation for his pacifism, Knives’ plan... so many of the specific details that make Trigun, Trigun have been watered down and made more generic than they were ever supposed to be. And because of how cramped the pacing is, the delicate tonal balance is lost as well. The original Trigun was so good at balancing the goofy, Bebopian space western antics of Vash and his pals with the heavy, dramatic space opera stuff that eventually took over the story. It gave you enough time to soak in the grit and tactility of the slummy desert planets so it felt significant when Knives and his machinations dragged Vash into darker territory. But in Stampede, Knives shows up in episode three. We only get two episodes to appreciate Trigun at its cartoony best before it’s washed away in a tidal wave of bombastic melodrama. As such, Vash, Meryl, Wolfwood and Roberto never get a chance to develop the camaraderie the old versions of them did. They’re pushed into Serious Dramatic mode before you even get a chance to appreciate them at their most human. There’s a moment in the first episode where Vash is cackling like an idiot while hanging upside-down from a scavenger’s trap, and it has more of the original’s heart and soul than anything past episode 2. That’s the Trigun I wanted to see. Not this overly dramatic slog through overblown action setpieces and overthought lore that rushes through plot points too fast for them to sink in.

  On the bright side, I can at least appreciate how fantastic those setpieces look. Studio Orange has always been pushing the boundaries on what CG anime is capable of, but their work on Stampede really is incredible. The scale and complexity of this action would not be possible without the tools CG makes available, and they take full advantage of that fact. Dizzying camera tricks, dynamic use of environment, countless spectacular spins and flourishes as things grow increasingly superhuman... on a pure spectacle level, I doubt few shows will even come close throughout the year. And even outside the action, the character animation and cinematic visual language ensure that Stampede is never anything less than impressive to look at. It’s also, pretty significantly, the first time that Orange has proven they can animate human characters well. Sentient rocks and furries are one thing, but the way Vash and Meryl and all the rest move and emote never once feels like a cheap approximation of hand-drawn animation. They feel human, even when the writing helping them out. And i love how it isn’t afraid to still experiment with stuff like Wolfwood’s backstory being done entirely in painterly 2D. It’s almost a cliche to say now, but Orange really is proving once again that CG anime can be as artistically brilliant as its 2D counterpart.

  Honestly, it’s kind of funny. Going into this show, the thing I was most worried about was how well Trigun would work outside the specific visual language of tactile 90s hand-drawn animation. But the translation to slick, high-budget CG is far and away the most successful change Stampede makes. It’s nothing like the original, but it’s doing its own thing superbly and charting its own path inside the franchise. That’s what I wanted from Stampede; not the same thing, but something just as good on its own merits, remixing the familiar into something new and spectacular. And had the rest of the show been as good as the animation at justifying its new take on the material, I would have very little to complain about. Sadly, it feels like every other change was a change for the worst, not for the better. Instead of creating something unique from the tools the original left behind, it stripped away what made the original unique in the first place and left something far less special in its place. I hope the second season manages to course correct and deliver on that promise. But for now, I can only lament that Stampede is a much less interesting take on a story that deserved so much better

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• 

  R2R

  60/100
  "I don't want to lose anymore love".

  https://anilist.co/anime/151040/TRIGUN-STAMPEDE/ #####"I don't want to lose anymore love". #####This line from the opening song, ironically describes the entire show.

  ---

  Before I start my review, here's something for people who haven't watched either the 90s or this one and conflicted about it, because most people in my feed haven't watched either.
  Trigun 90s version happens post-Julai (July) event, and Trigun Stampede happens pre-Julai event. What's the July event? It's when the humanoid typhoon "Vash the Stampede" destroys the entire 'July' city, killing multiple civilians, and earning 60 billion double dollars over his head. So, one can say Stampede is kind of a prequel to the OG but that's not the case because "spoilers". I urge you to watch both shows and find your answer, because imo both are watchable; it's just one has more problems than other.
  With that being said, let's start the review criticisms.

  What's exactly wrong with Stampede?

  Simple. It's because it's named "TRIGUN - stampede". When the announcement was made almost a year ago, my gut reaction was "I mean, they (Studio Orange) could've made a Land of the Lustrous sequel, but this is something to look forward to"; and then I watched the trailer I was like, "This is not what I'm expecting, but this is cool in its own way". So I watched the first episode and my immediate thought was "Ahhh... This is gonna get flamed". The change in art style, plot points, new characters & removing a beloved character, and so many changes happened at the same time that it's hard to accept that this is the Trigun I knew. Though, they undid some of those changes by the end, not sure if it was preplanned but better.

  An Example

  A criticism many make regarding the OG Trigun, is "the first 12 episodes are unnecessary since it's mostly episodic", and there's no better example to prove them wrong by showing Stampede. Vash is a bit complex, a walking contradiction, a pacifist who wields a gun, and this, the character exploration, is something the OG does excellently well, precisely because it has those first few episodes, or as some wrongly call it "unnecessary filler". Stampede doesn't do a great job at exploring the conflict & contradiction called "Vash the Stampede", and because of that, he simply comes off as a stubborn crybaby rather than a character with complexity. The same is the problem for the rest of the cast. Despite having their recognizable traits, most are just reduced to cringey catchphrases, like Wolfwood calling Vash "Needle Noggin", Meryl saying "SeNpAi!!", and De Niro saying "Shinjin" or "Yare Yare" & drinking his alcohol. Talking about De Niro for a second, the show really had so much hope for this new character but it couldn't get it right.
  His death should've been an emotional push for Meryl, but all I felt was pity, that the show wasted so much space and time for this wasted character.

  If there's one thing...

  The opening song to this show Tombi does a better job at describing Vash than the entire show tried to do. I really loved the opening song, it's been in my most listened song for the past few months.
  And as usual, Studio Orange did their best to make up for everything they changed. There's at least a single battle moment in every episode where they flex their technical skills and it still reminds me that this show is not a complete trash. Though I really would've appreciated it if they retained the soundtrack similar to the original. The new soundtrack has its moments, but I don't think it worked well.

  Finally,

  Is it really bad?

  No, it's just that they probably shouldn't have used the OG fame to garner viewers, which earned a lot of hate from the OG fans, but the new ones seem to be fine with it. The show picks some heat half way through, when it dwells a bit on Nai's & Vash's flashbacks. It still wasn't good enough but at least, it has some substance rather than being a simple cash grab.

  ---

  Conclusion

  Trigun didn't have to lose this much love. I don't love this show, it couldn't get out of the shadow of its superior 90s version. But it got something of worth and I hope it proves itself in the upcoming installment.

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