Review of Trigun: Vol. 6

Introduction

Don`t you just hate it when that happens? You`re happily enjoying an anime series, every couple of months a new volume is released to fill that aching need for Japanese animation (that is in no way a sign of an obsessive addiction), then all of a sudden, nothing! If MVM does have a problem it`s with the size of the market. While anime is enjoying a renaissance in the UK, with popular culture once again embracing the art form, there is that problem of a limited core audience, the people who start watching a series with every intention of seeing it through to the end. With the large number of high quality series available to distributors, and only so many people with pockets deep enough to buy, it means that as new series become available, the release schedule gets stretched to accommodate the new titles, and current series go on hiatus to make room. With Trigun, that has meant a six-month gap between volumes 5 and 6, all the more infuriating as volume 5 ended on a spectacular cliffhanger.

Vash the Stampede is perhaps the most infamous outlaw there is, with a $$60 billion bounty on his head. Deadly with a gun, he`s ruthless, fearless and the mere mention of his name can clear towns ahead of his arrival. He`s also a bit of a dork and a committed pacifist. Trigun is set on a distant future world that bakes under the glare of two suns. The human civilisation there has slipped back in technology, and society has taken on the aspect of the Wild West of old. Despite Vash`s reputation, there are plenty of bounty hunters willing to try for that reward. Two hard up insurance agents, Milly Thompson and Meryl Stryfe pursue Vash and try to limit the destruction that he leaves in his wake, and find it hard to believe that the goofy, comical character in the red coat is indeed the toughest gunfighter around. But Vash is a mysterious character beneath that attitude, his past is an enigma and he has abilities and knowledge that are lost to the rest of humanity.

Volume 6 of Trigun contains 3 further episodes. At the end of the last volume, the full destructive power that Vash contained, the reason why he was labelled the Humanoid Typhoon was revealed when he unleashed an immense burst of energy that left a giant scar in the moon. Where do you go after such a stunning revelation? Why a flashback episode of course.

17. Rem Saverem
In deep space, a SEED ship drifts, part of fleet that comprises humanity`s last hope. It`s a chance to build a new future out of the ashes of a dying world. Its crew occasionally wake from suspended animation to search for a new world to colonise. Yet the ship is playing host to two mysterious guests, alien children who rapidly matured from babies. The ship`s commander Joey, and Rem do their best to educate these wondrous children, but not everybody aboard ship trusts little Vash and Knives. Soon the seeds of discord are sown.

18. Goodbye For Now
Everyone is eager to leave Kasted City, a town under siege by ruthless bandits. Only Nicholas D. Wolfwood is trying to get in. When the leader of the bandits gets a little too friendly with 12 year old Lina, she objects with the sole of her boot, enraging the pig like bandit to the point of murder. Only her friend Eriks is willing to sacrifice his pride to rescue her, and only Nicholas recognises Eriks for who he truly is.

19. Hang Fire
Despite Vash the Stampede being declared an Act of God and outside the Insurance Business` purview, when he is sighted once more, Meryl and Milly are once again assigned to the case. Meanwhile, Vash and Nicholas are headed for trouble in New Oregon, getting caught up in the middle of two feuding families.

Video

The picture comes in a nice clear 4:3 regular transfer. The image is sharp and makes use of strong colours. This is an older anime, and the precision of CGI has yet to replace the freer feel of hand drawn animation. I love the design of the anime, Trigun takes place in a fallen civilisation, with vestiges of hi-tech still around, but mostly old and falling apart. There`s plenty of old fashioned technology, and the occasional synthesis of the two giving the story a nice steampunk feel. The animation is strong and fluid, and is generally of high quality. Watch out for the creator`s trademark, a black cat that manages to crop up in every episode.

Audio

You get the basic selection of DD 2.0 Japanese and English, with translated English subtitles to accompany. The dialogue is clear throughout and the music suits the story well. As usual I chose to listen to the Japanese dub, preferring to hear the characters as they were originally voiced. I did spot-check the English track, and while the main character voices were strong and distinctive, the same can`t be said of the guest characters. There were no technical problems in what I heard though.

Features

One trailer for Trigun, one trailer for Gunslinger Girl, one trailer for Burst Angel, animated menus, and jacket picture, all run of the mill accompaniment to your average anime release. In addition however, this time there are two galleries, one containing 7 images of Japanese DVD art, and one containing 16 pencil sketches for the Seeds Crew Designs.

Conclusion

Volume 5 felt like a step down in quality for me, with it quickly falling into a routine of Vash being assailed by the latest member of the Gung-ho Guns. Story seemed to take a back seat in favour of a succession of elaborate fight sequences, and the episodes on that disc, while tantalising, were ultimately unfulfilling. That is until the moment that Vash`s arm morphed into a cannon and blasted a hole in the moon. Having to wait six months for a follow up to that stunning development was certainly not easy. Fortunately Volume 6 of Trigun is back on top in terms of character development and story, and finally we get some revelations about Vash`s past.

Actually, given the awesome conclusion of the previous volume, there was no way that it could have been adequately followed up, and Rem Saverem makes no attempt, instead taking a look at Vash`s back story. It also paints in the background of why humanity is living on a desert planet, and some idea as to why it has regressed. Most importantly though, we learn of Vash`s upbringing, and why he is the way he is. When we return to the main story in Goodbye For Now, significant time has passed since the events of Fifth Moon. This episode follows the familiar Western motif of the fallen hero. After a traumatic event, the hero has hung up his guns and attempted to fade into obscurity, usually into the bottom of a bottle, but not in this case. Nicholas D. Wolfwood has heard of more depredations by the Gung-ho Guns, and is looking for the one man he knows can confront them. What he finds is a man afraid of his own power, who is so scared that those around him will end up hurt that he has relinquished violence altogether. This is a man similar to the Vash we met in the first volume, but with the important difference that he is burdened down by guilt. It takes all of Nicholas` persuasive abilities to convince Vash to engage with society once more, and although Hang Fire seems like an episode in the vein of many of the early ones, we can see that Vash is still traumatised, and when it comes to the crunch he can`t choose to sacrifice one life to save another.

I can`t overstate how pivotal Rem Saverem is in all this. Seeing the traumatic events that shaped Vash`s upbringing puts all subsequent and prior episodes in context, and goes a long way in explaining the contradictions in his character. Seeing the Knives character with Vash is educational, they both receive the same lessons, and grow up in the same environment on board ship, they appear to be cut from the same cloth, yet the conclusions they both draw from their upbringing are philosophically opposed. It`s immediately apparent that Vash and Knives will face each other again before the end of the series, and it`s a prospect that makes anticipating the next volume more difficult than the six-month wait for Volume 6.

Trigun gets back on track with a stunning volume that finally begins to draw the elements of the plot together. The history behind the human civilisation on that world is unveiled, and the background of the characters is finally starting to be filled in. The prospect of routine gunfight episodes hinted at in the previous volume hasn`t materialised, instead the strong writing and characterisations come to the fore. The light-hearted nature of the stories has diminished somewhat, and we are well into dark territory with the stories on this disc, but it doesn`t matter, as they are absolutely riveting. The final seven episodes of Trigun look set to be a treat. I just hope that the wait for them isn`t as protracted as last time.