Trigun

Before anyone else has a chance to hawk my all-time favorite anime, I will step up and sing the praises of “Trigun.”

In a desolate post-future landscape, the hunt is on for Vash The Stampede. He is a humanoid typhoon with a $$60,000,000,000 price on his head. Is this man a ruthless criminal, a heartless mercenary, or just a moron?

Based on Yasuhiro Nightow’s manga, this comic adventure takes place in the distant future on a desert planet that looks like the American Old West. Vash wanders from town to town, unsuccessfully pursuing peace, doughnuts, and “the mayfly known as love.” Meryl and Millie follow him, trying to minimize the destruction, but Vash’s only real friend is the gun-totin’ preacher Nicholas Wolfwood. Despite their grudging affection, Wolfwood articulates the other characters’ thoughts when he tells Vash, “When you’re around, things always seem to get worse!”

The old west of the future is a hugely important setting, and this is a fine anime to fill it. I have watched this series three of four times now, and each time I appreciate it more.

I imagine most people have seen this, as it’s quite a popular series, but for those who haven’t, I highly recommend it. It isn’t the greatest animation in the world (for that see Samurai Champloo), but it is one of the best storylines I have ever seen, with interesting themes, and some very interesting characters.

Be forewarned: The ending recieves mixed reviews. I liked it, but one friend I watched it with attempted to throttle me when the last credits rolled.

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