TRIGUN is Back! – First Impression on TRIGUN Stampede

Nearly 20 years later, Trigun is back as a complete reboot with new character designs and a new animation method. The English dub came out recently, starring Johnny Yong Bosch, the original voice actor of Vash, who is the only returning cast so far. Not sure if they’ll bring Wolfwood’s original English VA back as of writing this, which is probably not happening since a different actor took place in the Badland Rumble movie. Nevertheless, it’s great to see this classic anime getting renewed with lots of interesting things to talk about it.

Since this is a reboot, it’s friendly toward the newcomer to this anime, especially to those who haven’t watched the original. It starts with character introductions, their motivations, the main adversary and, a little world-building. It also shows what the infamous Vash the Stampede is capable of. Though his bounty is only $$6 million, guess we’ll see him reach $$60 billion this time just like in the original.

The Animation

The visual is pretty interesting. The CG looks pretty great. While the rest are still having CG-phobia, it’s best to adapt to this new animation. The layering effects, VFX, expressive character animation, everything is done right. The animators at studio Orange know what they are doing. This way, they managed to capture Vash’s goofiness very well. The chase scene with dynamic camera movement looked crazy good. The CG looked a bit janky in some scenes, but I hope they come around to that.

The Opening and Ending look amazing. The layering effect with abstract art visually conveys the passage of time and Vash’s feelings in the OP. The ED visualizes the consolations in the sky with dot composition, it shows an ethereal vibe. The animators are just making the best use of the CG mechanic.

Closing Thoughts

Got nothing else to say about it other than that it’s a must-watch. If anyone is skeptical about the CG look, I recommend watching this video. Other media, especially video games use CG most effectively. Game developers such as Arc System Works and CyberConnect2 deliver killer anime cinematics and you can hardly tell if that’s 2D or 3D. Land of the Lustrous reached new heights with CG. Aku no Hana, Ajin, Dorohedoro, and Beastars have done CG right. The new Dragon Ball Super movie looks insanely good. So, I hope that CG is no longer the problem.

Anyway, thank you for reading and take care ♡.