#i think the vash redesign is good

[nikkibvb]

I can not fucking stand OG Trigun fans anymore. Shut the hell up. Who cares if there's redesigns. You have the old anime and manga still. Let the people who wanted a remake or enjoy watching the show, do so without having to listen to your constant bitching 😃... Also yall realize half of the 90's anime isn't canon...right? So, no shit the show they wanted to revamp is going to have rewrites.

Every argument I've seen about Stampede is so god damn stupid. Wanna bitch about the 3D when you know damn well it looks better than most anime being released? Please... The only thing I can agree on is no Milly. Also wasn't Wolfwood originally in his early 20's in the manga instead of nearly 30? If so, that makes his younger appearance make sense. Especially with his relationship with Milly who was like 19.

[kingdomoftyto]

Watched the first episode of Stampede and it's. REALLY extremely good. but I am also, as predicted, in spiritual pain from how different the tone is from the original.

hhhhhhh c o n f l i c t e d . . .

[catbountry]

It's been a year since the premiere of Trigun: Stampede. The series, despite the fears of the fans of the '98 anime, actually turned out really good; Yasuhiro Nightow is a big superhero comics nerd, and wanted to have this new anime adaption be an adaption similar to the adaptions of the MCU, back when those movies were consistently enjoyable, and I daresay a bunch of the people watched Trigun probably were either already anime fans, or they were nomad fans who may have been really into the MCU at one point.

I have a lot of thoughts on an American perspective on Vash the Stampede as a character, with a lot of comparisons to American comic book superheroes. And while Trigun wasn't my first anime, I was hooked on it, as someone who grew up around Batman and Spawn's 90's popularity. During my first Otakon in 2001, I must have seen a dozen Vash's and Wolfwoods. I remember the year there was a Wolfwood cosplayer whose Punisher gun was shaped like the Star of David instead of a cross, making him a rabbi. That shit was amazing. The larger point is that I've loved this character for more than half of my entire time being alive, and I haven't seen a lot of discussion of Trigun viewed from a more political lens, and why it resonates so much with Americans (or at least me, who is an American) in particular

Buckle up, kids, this is gonna be long and rambly.

There was a period of time where I watched nearly every single new MCU movie in the theater. It was exciting seeing adaptions of comic books that would have probably never gotten a movie before the success of The Avengers. And I don't think it's a mistake that the most comic book-y of the movies are usually the best; Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel remain as probably my favorite MCU movies. Nightow was working directly with the studio making a new Trigun anime and reportedly got the crew to watch a bunch of Marvel movies to set the tone for the anime as an adaption; it's why Vash got a completely new redesign that freaked all us old fans the fuck out. Though it appears that once again, Trigun tried and failed to get that massive Japanese audience that most successful anime have. But boy, oh boy, do us westerners fucking love Trigun, especially us Americans. Nightow's love of superhero comics bled into Trigun, and it just so happened that he was incredibly influenced by Spawn, Hellboy and Batman as much as he was influenced by Akira Toriyama and mechanical art. McFarlane Toys released a Vash figure that is McFarlane'd the fuck up. Nightow loves all superhero comics but especially the Blade trilogy.

Just look at this and imagine being 13 years old and seeing this on a screen for the first time with the instrumental hard rock opening.

Also, I wouldn't actually get around to reading Spawn until I was an adult, but you know what? It's pretty good. The writing is definitely weaker than the art, but holy shit, that art goes hard and I still think that shit's cool as fuck.

As stated before, around the early 2000's Trigun was considered peak anime, though it's been more overlooked in recent years in favor of Cowboy Bebop, an anime that has aged gracefully by comparison. But while Bebop has that sort of timeless cool and level of quality that drew the attention of filmmakers like the Wachoski sisters, Trigun has that very specific kind of adolescent sense of coolness that comic book fans get, especially back in the 90's before this sort of thing would be smothered to death by MCU's Joss Whedoning of superheroes. Spawn, Hellboy and Batman are still cool. And Trigun also has a shitton of guns, obviously, given that Vash being an incredibly OP gunslinger in a world where everybody has guns.

And America loves guns.

I think the contrast of Vash's pacifism while still wielding a gun is extremely interesting because it's not something you see very much (I bet if I watched more westerns, I'd have a better idea if this is a trope in them at all). Batman does not use guns and doesn't kill people, which is why there's still discourse around Tim Burton's Batman films to this day still; I don't think Kevin Smith has budged on this. Other more morally grey superheroes will use guns (by this definition I'm counting The Punisher even if he doesn't have any superpowers, unless you count severe PTSD as a superpower). And a lot of them had huge surges in popularity in the 90's around the time Nightow was making Trigun. Vash posed like Batman or Spider-Man looking brooding (like the gif above) happens a lot in the earlier issues even though that's not really his character.

Several years ago, there was an attempt by a conservative thinktank to discredit a bunch of Hollywood actors saying that gun violence in America is a serious issue and contrasted their statements scenes of them shooting guns in movies, but if we're being real here, gunplay in movies can be really fucking cool. Again I invoke The Matrix, or movies by Robert Rodriguez and John Woo. Look at video games, and compare the decline in violent crime that's been happening here since the 70's and 80's, as culture warriors bemoan movies and video games for becoming more violent. Remember when Wayne LaPierre, vice president of the NRA, brought up fucking Splatterhouse as a reason why Sandy Hook happened? Do you know what Splatterhouse looks like?

It looks like this.

You know how these guys constantly say the only way to counter a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun? Usually, the inference is that if the "good guy" with a gun shoots, he's shooting to kill. Deadpool and the Punisher would shoot to kill. But Vash is constantly trying to avoid it. And I remember as a teenager finding that really cool? And the manga and anime don't shy away from how impractical Vash's pacifism is. It's a bit more realistic than Steven Universe's ending, but also Steven Universe was made for children.

I know Avatar: The Last Airbender is often invoked when criticizing Steven Universe's philosophy, but I haven't really seen Vash's similar philosophy criticized in the same way, and I think a lot of that has to do with the presence of Wolfwood, who is the "I think we're gonna have to kill this guy" guy. I'm honestly surprised I haven't seen art of this yet. I may have to get on that. I already drew Vash horrified at the Trolley Problem.

Vash is a character designed with maximum coolness in mind, but also an overpowered being who is capable of killing millions, and in the anime, he somehow destroys July City without killing anyone directly, but the destruction of the city led to a bunch of people dying. He's so deeply committed to not wanting to kill anyone that he's probably killed more people than he would have if he just shot Knives. The best Batman stories acknowledge that Batman's refusal to kill Joker has similarly results in the deaths of people Batman could have prevented if he killed one guy, and this could also apply to Vash's relationship with his brother Knives, who was kind of destined to be a mass murderer with a name like that, let's be real.

Online, we tend to joke about bringing out the guillotines, or justify not feeling an sympathy for billionaires who die in a sub trying to view the Titanic. But if you were given a gun and a real human person begging for their life, what would you actually do? Do you honestly think that you would be the ethical Death Note user?

Vash has guns but he chooses not to kill people; he prefers to not even use them unless he has to, instead opting to run away and look cool doing it somehow.

He really, really doesn't want to kill people. He doesn't become numb to people dying. It hurts him every single time he watches someone get killed. In reality, most of us that aren't sociopaths would be distressed at the thought of killing someone. The only reason armies in real life work is that they become inoculated to the idea of violence and dehumanize the enemy. Vash is no soldier. He is idealistic, he is empathetic, and he sees every human being as a person worthy of life. Batman refuses to use guns, as that's how his parents were killed in front of him. Vash has to use guns in order to protect people from getting killed. He has the ethics of Superman but the tools of a comic book antihero. He's the logical conclusion of an shonen anime protagonist in a world that chews up anyone with that kind of optimism and hope and spits them out. And yet... he still keeps going. He remains committed. He's still cheery, goofy, lovable Vash.

Batman used to kill people, in the earliest comics. With the Comics Code Authority, no superheroes could kill people. In the 80's, comics were getting darker and edgier, taken more seriously. While Alan Moore's Watchmen delved into the moral complexities in a world with superheroes that was similar to ours, Frank Miller was keeping Batman consistent, even as Gotham got darker and uglier.

Batman is a vigilante. The police can be helpful or they can fuck up everything, depending on what's needed for the story. In Batman Year One, there's a scene where Batman crashes a party attended by the elites of Gotham, politicians and mobsters mingling.

Seeing this during the Bush presidency blew my mind. I don't want to get into just how perfectly the members of his administration seemed to resemble a rogue's gallery of sorts with the shared goals of making a lot of money and bombing the shit out of Iraq and Afghanistan. I was extremely anti-war even before the 2000 election as a very opinionated 14 year-old watching, Jon Stewart on The Daily Show and feeling relieved that a grown-up was able to see through all the bullshit; it helps when the guy who's against the war and killing people is funny. I remember writing in my diary at 12 years old after Columbine happened that I wanted to take all of the guns and melt them down in a pot, similarly to that scene in Superman IV where he throws the entire world's nuclear arsenal into the sun. But also that same year I would fall in love with The Matrix... and not long after that, Trigun.

Again, we come back to the idea of someone using a gun, a weapon designed to kill people, and using it in pursuit of the exact opposite. That resonated with me. I myself was very idealistic, and the political climate of my teenage years seemed to do almost everything to stamp that out of me. Things feel just as fraught two decades later, but in slightly different ways. Pacifism is looked down upon, as indicated by the backlash to the ending of Steven Universe, and how one crazy lady called Rebecca Sugar, a Jewish person, a Nazi for writing it that way. But for Steven, things worked out. For Vash? Well, he still has hope somehow, despite everything. I think the fact that he strives to protect human life, even when someone is a complete monster, is admirable in that it cuts to the very basic desire to not see people hurt. But we're also selfish, and scared, and sometimes it's hard to conceive of a solution to a problem that doesn't involve violence. Seeing dead bodies on TV or the internet upsets us, but we're often paralyzed by feeling like we can't do anything, and even if we tried, we'd likely perish in the attempt. We desire revenge, punishment for those who transgress by inflicting violence, and we can rationalize using it against the right targets. Vash the Stampede would have a fucking breakdown dealing with the state-backed violence that's been a part of geopolitics pretty much as long as there have been states and geopolitics. Vash would try and solve the bombings of Gaza with an impassioned plea for both sides to stop fighting before he would somehow wind up making things worse and it would eat away at him inside, no matter how brave a face he puts on as he tries to find some kind of hope in a hopeless situation. And... you know what? I kind of wish more people would be like that. Maybe if there were enough people like that, these sorts of things wouldn't happen in the first place. I wish more people could look at human suffering and feel compelled to try and stop it, not discriminating against one side or the other, trying to understand why people are doing what they do. Seeing anti-war protestors in Tel Aviv brings back memories of protests against the start of the War on Terror, and how hated America was internationally during those years, even when most Americans approved of the war. Michael Moore was booed at the Oscars for condemning George W. Bush and the War on Terror. It's terrifying that those in power want us killing each other and have conditioned us to support it. I want so badly for human beings to come together to just stop the violence, but it feels impossible, like we're destined for failure, like we might somehow make things worse or become worse versions of ourselves full of hatred and ugliness. But we should want to try, even if it's hard or unprofitable or we have no idea how to even do it. Somebody actually dedicating themselves to trying to fight our violent impulses out of love is appealing, and if they're more powerful than use, and can do more... well, I want the biblically accurate angel with every mental illness willing to martyr himself over and over again. But it is more fun when he's Bugs Bunny about it.

[vixen525]

So, as a huge fan of the original Trigun my bestie @jewishdragon suggested we watch some Trigun Stampede together since I got them to watch OG Trigun.

We watched two episodes together.

Firstly, the most important thing:

If you like Trigun Stampede you will absolutely LOVE OG Trigun. I promise you this. It’s not as compressed and really draws you in.

My bestie compared it to Legend of Korra vs the original Avatar the Last Airbender where the original had much longer seasons so could stretch out the story and make it more in depth.

Here’s my impressions:

Overall:

Its kinda between okay and good, not as amazing as the original but I like it well enough. I can see how folks who didn’t see the original got hooked. I do miss the whole insurance ladies thing, reporters is super common and that gave a unique aspect that was very fun. Also the new variety of creatures introduced is fantastic as is the redesign of the plants.

More detailed:

So the start surprised me because it removes a lot of the mystery and suspense in the original. One fun thing about the original is that you have to accept Vash as he is and just guess why he has this terrible reputation even though he is such a wholesome fella. I also miss how the prosthetic arm was a surprise in the original, and it’s reveal was used to make you wonder what else he is hiding.

I do like that his peace loving ways remained the same, as well as his insane skill he plays off as luck, but I think it’s made a little too obvious early on that this is definitely skill, where as again in the original while he is definitely skilled with a gun you don’t realize how good until he pulls off more shocking feats later on. I feel like they tried to compress too much story into a short time.

I do miss that Meryl no longer seems confident and competent, but instead is now a recent grad. I think I prefer her being a skilled badass in her own right. Not to say this version is bad, just that I prefer it the other way. Her personality still seems fairly similar… But where is Millie?

The fight at the town felt a bit rushed and didn’t have the same depth as the original, but was still really fun. They gave a new twist on the conflict that wasn’t bad. At least Vash mentioned a love of donuts, even if the original did more of a show, not tell regarding that.

Fun to watch. Will finish, then probably watch the original again.

[radiosummons]

One of the funniest things to me about Trigun Stampede and- subsuquently-Vash getting such a much larger fandom presence (especially here on the Tumblr's and AO3), is that Vash was always sort of already the quintessential Tumblr baby girl.

It's just that the 90s anime was so batshit insane and nearly incomprehensible (combine that with limited exposure of the show overall in "the west" other than Toonami) that barely anyone knew about it. Save for those who were able to catch episodes of 90s Trigun as well as the manga, I would say it's pretty fair to state that most people's impression of Vash would just be that of a bounty hunter/gunslinger anti-hero that's really good at shooting guns.

(Which is just fucking wild to think about in the first place because he's everything BUT that)

But now you have a massive audience (a good portion of which is queer-hi there!) just frothing at the mouth over any and all possible Vash content. Obviously, his redesign is a big factor in this, but character designs can really only go so far in terms of a feeding a fandom's fixation on a particular character.

It's been a lot of fun to watch people's reactions go from just going absolutely gaga over Vash's redesign (of which I have also taken part in haha) and his inherent dorky and idiotic cuteness, to being absolutely surprised/shocked that Vash is among one of the saddest characters to ever live.

I'm not gonna go into spoilers here, but I'll simply say this: Vash's life sucks ass. And it only keeps getting worse and worse and worse and worse and worse--

--AND YET he still keeps his baby girlness throughout all of Trigun (90s anime and manga).

I genuinely look forward to seeing the reactions of only anime fans the longer Trigun Stampede goes on. Y'all are in for a wild ride HA!

[eshtaresht]

holy. fuckin'. DAMN. I was pretty good at predicting the plot so far, but this episode proved that stampede is going in a whole new direction for real. spoilers for ep 9!!! (and manga a bit)

first of all, we still haven't got a full story of the great fall, but I think it's something they'll reveal in this season, probably during confrontation with knives. and still no scar reveal!! I'm angy but it's something that could be relevant to the standoff with knives, hope we'll get it

the piano scene... oh we're eating GOOD, it's just so wholesome but goes to confirm my theory that twins weren't completely fine on the ship. vash feeling useless because he can't do cool plant shit, knives envying vash for being good at human shit.... oh it's great

so glad knives is getting proper characterization and not just "he evil because he evil"! the fear, the hurt, the genuine care for vash, but then frustration with him – it's right there and I'm eating it up so yummy

the way they recontextualized vash's arm loss is GORGEOUS! I've seen ppl reading this scene differently, but to me it was an act of care from naï. he looks really scared for a reason: we see that the gate consumed all matter, including the hand. vash couldn't control it, so it would only grow bigger and destroy him. NAÏ REALIZED THIS AND SAVED VASH THE ONLY WAY HE COULD

he didn't want to fight him, this was not an act of anger, like in previous versions. all he cared about in that moment was saving his twin..... and what did he get in return? a gun pointed to his face. a gun he gave vash to kill human scum. oh, the DRAMA

ahem, now to the less intense stuff

homeboy has so much trauma, like, damn... how is he gonna fit any more from his impending epic brother fight...... I'm quite curious on how they're gonna characterize him in the next season. concidering that we're taking off earlier than previous versions, he might end up with the same unhinged vibe 98' vash had, as a coping mechanism (if depression didn't work, try dissociation and silliness). but then it would be even more interesting to see meryl's and wolfwood's reactions: they knew him before the accident and saw the big sad

vash has sense in the prosthetic arm, so it must've hurt when he damaged it... probably it hurts less than the real one, and it's clearly painless to take off. but the hand seems to be rather sensitive and fic writers are gonna go crazy for this

age reveal! also brad and luida being in cryosleep makes sense, I was racking my brain on how they're still alive. seems like they're using much more plant power tho... both for cryo and the vegetation, while in manga they tried to keep it as low as possible and send signals to earth

saw someone say that they're probably not doing that here because the earth is destroyed... could be that they decided to go the hard way. but in the manga the earth was still fucked, and it wasn't clear if they communicated with the ppl left on the planet or the fleet that was in some new place. what I'm saying is, there is a possibility that they are looking for help in stampede, we just don't know it yet

meryl was so cute! go off, comedy relief goofy girl, while you can, there is more trauma coming your way :3 yeah, enjoy roberto calling you by your first name... oh it would be such a shame if he gave you his derringer before his untimely death..........

pretty weird that nobody knows why they fell on no man's land, but ppl probably were too ashamed of their past and 150 years later the new generation is oblivious. also so funny that luida has to explain what vegies are..... they have so many plants but haven't see any plants

tbh I wasn't expecting the zazie twist at all, but I'm excited! they are SO gender in stampede, might be the best redesign in the series, love me a genderless bug creature with bold fashion choices. really cool to see that storyline adapted, it was barely touched upon in the last volumes of trimax

btw the multiple bullets story about a plant, worm and human who went around figuring out if their species could coexist and just.... creating this foud family and then building a town there all were equal...... that's my favorite mb story for sure

wolfwood saying "I'm not your friend"... I know what you are. and we got a "you'll have to decide one day"... oh oh the misery, but the context was lacking. it just doesn't hit the same when he isn't daring vash to shoot him in the most homoerotic way possible. on and he looks so goofy trying to ride with his cross

in the last ep's rant I assumed that luida lied about rem saving everybody for some reason?? but no, she actually saved them, I just got a bit confused

so, as I predicted, the gang separated (tho not because of vash) and by the end of the next episode vash'll be in july and meet naï. the poster, man.... that gorgeous futuristic city is getting obliterated for sure

btw vash's gate being opposite to knives and sort of a black hole is nothing new. but there are new layers to this, like vash willingly giving away energy, but destroying things against his will, and knives with the opposite of this. ying yan twins go brrrr

[timetravelandcommunism]

Mostly stolen Vash concept art I roughed out to plan the cosplay-- slightly altered another artist's pose, other cosplayers' modifications, Stampede's moves to simplify the design, etc.

But I dunno, it's got a good vibe-- I like how silly and energetic it feels, and I do think the character redesign for phase 2 is probably gonna be a little like this

[cosmicjoke]

I see all these people hating on the new Trigun series because they dared to redesign Vash’s character and create an original story line.  These types of criticisms drive me crazy.  It has nothing to do with whether it’s actually any good or not, or whether they’ve done the character justice, it’s just bitching and moaning because it’s not an exact duplicate copy of the thing I grew up with.  Pff, whatever.  I think the animation looks beautiful, and I can’t wait to get into it.  I’m gonna’ be starting it later tonight hopefully.

[yokakaiju]

tristamp thoughts/live watch ramblings

preface: i already have a very bad impression of tristamp. i literally have been into trigun for maybe a week now and i have seen most of 1998, but im trying to go into tristamp with a clear head and view it objectively, but i genuinely looked at the character designs and legatos redesign made me resent it immediately tbh...

ANYWAY, im live watching as i write this, so apologies if its sporatic

okay so the good stuff so far

uhh... its very pretty!!! ill give it that. it really shows the evolution of 3d anime over time, and as someone who typically doesnt enjoy it i think tristamp is absolutely beautiful. first 3d anime i ever saw was knights of sidonia and i have a deep appreciation for where 3d anime is now compared to a decade ago

i kinda like meryls new design the best? i like her hat, its cute. everyone else is so... eh, tho. merylls redesign is chill with me tho

roberto is fine ig. i like old men characters sometimes and like, idk whenever im not sad abt milly not being here im okay enough with roberto existing

now on to my ever growing laundry list of complaints that ik will get worse if i keep watching (spoilers for trimax probably)

one, WHY IS VASH LIKE THAT?? LIKE WHY IS HE SUCH A WHINY CRYBABY?? LIKE SHUT UP DAWG!!! idk, ik vash is a silly emotionally explosive highly insecure funny little fella and i love him for it, i think vash is a great character, but why did they make him kinda a pathetic bitch in stamp? like, i usually dont watch dubs but i am for trigun cause my tv is kinda far from my bed and i dont wanna sit uncomfortably to read subs rn (BLEH!!!), so maaaaaaaybe sub vash is better, and no shade to the va i like his voice a lot for vash tbh, but bro pls stop crying every two seconds im gonna lose it. why is vash lowkey proslavery (THIS IS A JOKE), BUT FR!!! why is he more like... idk chill with plants being used ig ????? im sure hes not really, but like... dude, you arent the same

two, okay this made me actually mad, but why in the actual fuck was knives immediately introduced and why is he like some weird well known plant stealing cave hermit??? like??? no??? he wouldnt do that??? also why is he so present in this world LIKE DOES LOST JULY NOT EXIST IN THIS CANON??? WHAT IS THIS??????? i literally hate this rewrite. like... trimax is right there dawg... you did not have to rewrite literally everything. addition as i watch episode 3, why is he like that? why can he make purple? why does he have razors??? he doesnt talk like that ever??? why is he so??? i hate him actually??? this is not the knives ik and love??? who is this skinwalker????? HE DID NOT ACT LIKE THIS IN TRIMAX WHO IS THIS??? I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THEY REWROTE KNIVES THIS WAY OH MY GOD

three, why did everyone get an objectively bland redesign? like... i dont mind vashs hair. idgaf, but i literally hate his fucking totk link "lost power source" green ass arm. why cant it just be an ugly brown robot arm with a gun in it. whys it gotts be all "cool" and "green" and "mysterious", like IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE CYBERCORE TECHWEAR NEOFUTURISM ASS SHIT!!! i havent seeeeeeen wolfwoof in action yet, but i fucking hate his tristamp design. WHY IS HE A TWINK??? WHERE ARE HIS BOOBS??? WHY IS HE NOT A PRIEST??? LITERALLY TURNED A PERFECT CHARACTER INTO A BASIC BITCH FOR NO REASON. also like... knives. why is he... why is he like that. put shoes on plz the sand is hot babygirl. why are you wearing a tumour coat and ugly matrix ass bodysuit? where did your shoulderpadded objectively cooler dio-esque military outfit go? especially tho, i DESPISE legato and livios redesigns. i think they are SOOOOO butt ugly in tristamp and FOR WHY??? WHY DID THEY MAKE LEGATO SO FUCKING UGLY??? LIKE HE WAS SO HOT IN 98 AND ESPECIALLY IN TRIMAX OH MY GOD HES SO HOT LITERALLY DROOLING THINKING ABT HIM RN MY BABYWABY BOOBOO BEAR. THEY BUTCHERED HIM SO BAD AND IT PISSES ME OFF SO MUCH!!! AND LIVIO OH MY GOD WHY DID THEY DO THAT TO HIM??? HIS TRIMAX DESIGN IS OS FUCKING PEAK HE IS SO AMAZING AS AN EYE OF MICHAEL AND ESPECIALLY AFTER HE REFORMS AND BECOMES A COWBOY BABEYYY!!!! BUT NOOOO THEY MADE HIM AN UGLY ASS CYBERPUNK ASS BITCH!!! THEY MADE HIM SO FUCKING LAME AND BORING!!! PATOOEY I HATE HIS FUCKING DESIGN!!!! okay so wolfwood just showed up, can officially say hes the weakest version of wolfwood and that i do not like him. hes giving non sonic fan perception of shadow vibes. ALSO WHERE IS HIS MELANIN THEY TOOK IT AWAY!!! THE MELANIN VACCUM STRIKES AGAIN!!! tbf, he didnt have MUCH but he was a little brown, not literally just a white man

four, where. the. fuck. is. milly. i LOVE milly. she is one of my faves ever, im so sad she isnt here. genuinely...

five and probably last for rn, why is the pacing so bad. like its not good in trigun or trimax really, and especially bad in 1998, but it SO ASS!!! like its so blink and you'll miss it, which kinda stands for every trigun... but expected this to be like at least a liiiiittle better i dunno

conclusions: im gonna keep watching it maybe? but like... i dont like it. its bad imo. literaly have been into trigun for one week and am in mourning that trimax will likely never have a proper adaptation. i just wanna see angel knives in his full glory, not whatever tf tristamp is trying to push here

[trigun-sims-shenanigans]

dinner party !

so wolfwood was feeling inspired, and he wanted to fulfill a whim and a personal goal, so we are planning a dinner party !

so......................... that means some redesigning :3

here is the before

very normal,,,, boring... normal home

and the revamp !

got some new flooring, some new paint, new rug and a good couch ! the boys got some better room decor and now they can host a good party !

bonus: this is wolfwood's dresser T-T

ALRIGHT

WOLFWOOD HAS SENT OUT THE INVITES AND EVERYONE IS ON THEIR WAY

Meryl gets here first and decides to chat with liv but.....

liv can't be in the sun anymore 1!!!!!! he's burning !

vash is here next and he.... is so angry. get this boy some anger management courses

he was literally punching this decor !!!

milly and wolfwood were obviously adorable, and i like to think milly was showing him memes

nai... went on the computer lol

he's gaming leave him alone

back in the living room.... milly said something a bit TOO honest and upset wolfwood

liv is just observing

but the party is going well ! there is a caterer ? despite the fact that wolfwood has decided to make all the food

meryl ofc is networking

an interesting and formal interaction between nai and livio was kind of cute

and its so important that everyone know that vash has not even stepped inside

HE'S JUST BEEN BROODING ON THE PORCH

okay FINALLY

gah look how cute this squad is. they are friends !!!

alright !!! dinner is on !

wolfwood and the caterer woman worked side by side, and Milly was the one who called everyone to meal !

did you not in that second picture that someone was missing ?

well...

meryl. eat dinner

we got some good shots !!!!!

Everyone is enjoying the mean and having a grand time (including vash, who embarrassed himself and made meryl laugh.... classic)

nai obviously bragged about his success in his career and the various environments he's saved in his time (on some extreme technicalities). Milly is impressed nonetheless. Wolfwood is not

and then.... in the middle of eating ? livio and knives started doing sit ups T-T

birds of a feather i guess

they took the time to chat !

alright ! wolfwood made dessert for everyone to enjoy.

theyre mint choccy chip cupcakes

and then... he kissed his girl. maybe as a sign of dominance ? maybe bc he wanted to? idk but vash was like... pls.. anywhere else

just kidding. he didn't care and told a joke LOL

party is over and now ! >:) wolfwood has something to ask milly

THEY ARE OFFICIALLY DATING

THEY ARE BOYFRIEND AND GIRLFRIEND

millywood real

[succ-my-coke]

Trigun Stampede ep 1

-THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR TRUGUN STAMPEDE!!!!-

I gotta say that the first episode of this remake is really living up to my hopes and dreams. While a shall forever be disappointed that it’s not a full redo I’ll be content with this I think. I’m gonna talk about my thoughts/feelings/observations about the new series and what’s different so far. THIS IS NOT A SUMMARY

Characters

1. Vash - I’m loving his characterization right off the bat, he’s goofy, kind, and has his serious moments, pretty true to his original character. I do like however that he doesn’t seem as jaded(so far) because they seem to be portraying him as younger than he was in the original. His introduction of a batshit evil laugh was amazing honestly. I had some initial issues with his redesign but I think it meshes well with the character. His arm being addressed and then instantly being used to make a joke was great honestly, very on brand. I think it’s really interesting that they are having him be more actively involved with the plants and their upkeep unlike the original where he only interfered occasionally.

2. Meryl - so far I feel like Meryl has been changed the most. She’s much younger in this, it’s called out specifically that she just graduated from a fancy school and seems to be very naive. Nothing at all like the original character. She does have her stubbornness and morals which is good and I think her over all character here will mesh well but may not be as bad ass and the original Meryl. Her design though is kickass and very reflective of how young she is

3. Roberto De Niro - A new character! One that I have nothing to compare against! I think he’s really ingesting so far. Obviously very jaded and aware of the how bad the world is but Al’s has some sense of morals. He doesn’t seem to be a reporter that cares about leads to much but he does know how to throw his status around and use it to help out.

4. Knives - we saw very little of him in this episode but what we did see was pretty cut and dry evil. He’s got and evil organ and some control over the wildlife of the planet, using it to spy on his brother. I did like the larger emphasis on him attempting to have Rem be saved as well as them. His design is extremely interesting when compared to Vash’s. Knives completely seems to embrace his inhuman tech side while Vash is trying very hard to look human.

Observations

1. I found the pacing interesting for the first episode. There’s already some man ikr things being addressed such as the plants and Knives and their connection to Vash. The new series obviously isn’t shying away from these things like the original material did and it makes me wonder about how the plot progression is going to go.

2. I am likening all things being used, the setting of Jenora rock and the references to the city of Julai (July I believe) and the direct reference to the Bad Lads gang. Speaking of which I am truly excited for the possibility or brilliant dynamites neon to be animated in this way I think it would be spectacular on all levels.

3. The people of jenora rock are used in two ways I think. 1. To show that Vash is a good guy and not what he seems to be despite his bounty. And he’s known for things despite his crimes. 2. That while the legend of the humanoid typhoon is widespread the bounty is not common knowledge.

4. The design for the plants are completely new as far as we’ve seen. I’m looking forward to seeing how they are going to address the design of the plants themselves, the original anime made them seem a little more monstrous than angelic and the manga was more angelic that human so I wonder agent they will look like. I also can’t wait to see what the red plant means.

5. The entire scene where Vash is begging for a bullet from anyone already shows so many things. The first being that Vash is a complete goof. The second being that Meryl has a strong sense of involvement with things, unlike her mentor. The third being that people are willing to help him even with his bounty, this being shown by Rosa giving a bullet to him. Also the scene is a great call back to the first episode of the original anime where something similar happens with Vash in a tight spot with no bullets however he has no one to help him out there.

Overall I’m really pleased with the start of the new adaptation and I’ll see you all on the 14th for episode 2!

[pompoison]

Read a kotaku review yesterday that mentioned some of the misguided skepticism over Vash’s redesign. Paraphrasing here because I’d like to add some thoughts of my own. Some Trigun original series fans have been apprehensive about Vash’s redesign, particularly his floofy undercut hairstyle, but given Stampede’s character animation, it appears to have been a purposeful choice to have Vash’s hair move with him to match his larger than life movements in the series’ CGI animation. As an artist, I think that makes a lot of sense. Orange’s Tristamp animation is beautiful and engrossing, and I’m not one who usually even gives CGI anime a chance so it’s even overcome my biases. Lots of times in order to do something groundbreaking in art you have to weigh the nostalgia of an iconic design against its usefulness in the present iteration. Stampede is good for making that call, even if it was hard. It’s extremely clear there’s a lot of love in it. :D I hope that trigun OG lovers who aren’t sure about Tristamp will give it a shot for an episode or two. If you really hate it after that don’t keep going, but if you’re standing by and refusing it on principle I think you’re only doing yourself a disservice.

[chibivesicle]

Trigun Stampede - Episode 2 review.

Another Saturday has come and gone and thus, episode 2 of Trigun Stampede.  After watching this episode, my brain has accepted that this will be a different spin on these characters and their world.  This episode picks up exactly where the last one left off.  Vash has just saved Jeneora Rock and it starts out with him alone in a room doing maintenance on his gun.  He’s got a small radio where the dj is lamenting about the general state of things on the planet.  At the same time a mechanical looking phage seems to be watching him?

The dj makes it clear that plants are essential to life on the planet and notes they would have gone straight heaven.

We see Vash’s coat and bag next to a chair or couch.

This is an interesting take to show that he has all the tools for basic stuff for his gun and that he’s carrying that photo of them with Rem.  It then feeds into the OP.

What I noticed on this watch is that it shows plants glowing red (likely Knives influence).

and as Vash is in free fall, he falls in front of this out first shot of a plant.  The style makes me think of a cross between an Egyptian sarcophagus and that one species of alien from Star Wars.  Don’t come for me Star Wars fans, but you know what I mean.

This is a clear full redesign of the plants and how they were depicted in the manga and even the anime.  The anime design was low budget but clearly angelic and in the manga, they are angels.  Full stop.  This is likely a direct allusion to Knives goal to fuse with all the plants and will turn red in color when working for him.  I think it is clear that the Christian imagery is going to be greatly reduced in this version.  The anime was pretty high in it and the manga was even more so. 

After the OP, the story starts with the breaking news that the Nebraska family have broken out of jail from May on the radio while Meryl interviews Vash to help him clear his name.  We learn that Vash already knows that Knives is stealing plants and it has been attributed to him.  We don’t know if this is because they are twin brothers or if Knives said he was Vash while doing it.

Of course they aren’t going to believe him since he lacks evidence (what about that photo you have Vash?).  We also learn that Tonis is Rosa’s son and likes to collect insects that creep people out.

We’ve named a kid so we know he’ll have to be rescued of course!  As they wrap up the interview, the townsfolk try to arrest Vash for his six million $$ bounty.  This is similar to how the town of Inepril in the anime/April in the manga tried to catch Vash and then the Nebraska family broke out of jail.  In the manga they just broke out, in the anime, the mayor allowed them to break out and in Stampede they broke out from May and went to Jeneora Rock.  Oh goodness the shift in cities for plot points is going to make things hard to keep track of.

Anyhoo, back to the main action.  The entire town is after Vash and he does a similar chase scene but more serious and less humorous with the clotheslines and such.  I do think this show of the cityscape looks very nice with him in the middle but the others are barely visible, blended into the background.

However, this looks steampunk and not wild west.  Can we tell we are in a desert landscape city?  No, not from this view.  However, Vash is not as trapped as we’d expect, Meryl and Roberto save him.  There is a sign in the background which says ‘we have to carefully use the limited [resources] we have’ to really remind everyone not to waste things.

But it is a sort of blink and you’d miss it sign.   I think it would have helped their storytelling to linger on it a bit longer.   The point is that Meryl and Roberto are going to great lengths to help Vash - all for their ‘scoop’?  Not sure if this is for the story.

We also learn that the Nebraskas are heading to their location b/c they broke out of jail - so that they could get the bounty on Vash.  This is a plot point which confuses me - wouldn’t they be arrested once they handed Vash over to the authorities?  The MP could just not pay them either. 

I will say, I like the smaller Gosef model. The bow tie is a nice touch.  I mean the original was a bit on the over the top shounen bad grunt side of things. . . so - less over the top bad son is a design plus.  He still has his weird hard punching extender hand.

While they are attempting to escape, our reporters give Vash a hard time about being prepared (which is very much a Meryl trait) and he notes that ammo is expensive using a pizza example.

This same exchange happened at the beginning of episode 5 - Hard Puncher, when he beats bounty hunters.  Yet, in that one he shoves a stack of four pancakes into his mouth in one go. 

Ah, the pancakes make sense since he is in a diner.  I’d argue that Rosa’s diner is more like a saloon, since it seems she only serves drinks and not food.

This time Vash gets caught my the women with the same rationale that they are mothers but there is less verbal stories of why they need the money, more that ‘we are mothers read between the lines.’

I think Stampede is going to have a lot of blink and you miss it points for motivations along with rationale.  I think the other formats might have given a bit more time to things which makes it fit a bit better.  You don’t need that much more - just a touch, but do let the establishing shots breathe a bit more so our eyes can linger over them a bit more. 

The Nebraskas want that bounty on Vash so they almost crash into the group.

Of course Tonis randomly shows up with his bugs, so Vash has to rescue him and Rosa.  I like the attempt to show the dirt and dust but it should be hazier, it all seems very contained.  I think it is throwing me off b/c the sky is lacking in that desert haze that never really goes away.  I’m wondering if the creative team were fans of Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul?  The creative teams behind both those shows purposely really emphasized the desert landscape of the blue, taupe, brown, brown and more shades of brown.  Breaking Bad worked really hard on highlighting the contrast in their shots.

The images above can be deceptive since many days aren’t the clear and pristine and instead you are being pelted with dirt and sand which gets in your face, up your nose and even in between your teeth.

I just keep wondering where the high clouds are and why the windmills aren’t spinning in all the background shots.  The terrain is mainly flat, there will be wind.

Back to the plot - Vash is able to escape drawing the Nebraskas away from the town and Meryl lays into him that he’s running away.

Not only that, she tells him outright that he’s running away from pain.  This sort of dialogue is too ‘early’ in the narrative.  Wolfood is the character who is the first one to really call this out in the anime and manga.  But everyone now has an amazing EQ and can all see that Vash is running from pain and is a sad boi.  Meh. 

Of course, the Nebraskas quickly abandon their quest for Vash and decide to steal the one working plant.  Which really leads me to question the plant security here.  In episode one the MP strolled right in.  In this episode they strolled right in.  Not only that, plants aren’t that heavy so it is very easy to steal the key part of it over the large tower reactor bit.  Can I have a word with you Jeneora plant security people?  Maybe make it a bit more secure.  Or at least harder to reach like the bulb version.

The fight scene is okay, not great.  Vash saves Rosa again, dodges a lot and looks cool breakdancing and then stops a bullet with his single shot showing that he’s an excellent marksman.  The structure collapses and Gosef saves the plant but then the rest of them need to pull him up.  Daddy loves his darling son and the mothers relent to help him.  In the original, he’s just as protective, instead upset when he trips over a parked car and yells at the people to not hurt his son (in giant steam powered form).  Afterwards, drinks are on the house and everyone has made up.

Is this an episode of Fairy Tail?  Did I change series? 

I get that Vash is all about resolving issues with no conflict but he still made sure they were arrested again in the anime and manga.  Hell, he gave them to the town to claim the bounty to fix the broken plant.

What I missed was the showdown between the Nebraskas and Vash.  The build up in the anime was perfect.  The lone figure in the clearing dust.  Dust that looks more accurate than in Stampede.  I know that is weird to say; it just is way more desert with that overall haze of all the sand that was kicked up in the collapse due to the giant punch.

I loved the little bit with the marker and the finger wave to come at him.

And then, saving all the women one by one before getting serious.  The ratcheting up on the tension is great here.  We also have all the townsfolk around watching and commenting giving it more of that emotional drama.

And then, when Vash puts on his glasses.  That shift in tone from I’m just a carefree guy to this means business is instantaneous.  This was when it struck me.  Something had seemed off in episode one and two.  It was this!  The build up to him putting the glasses on for the first time.

Studio Orange why did you skip this small bit of character establishment?  If you did it, all the older fans would get chills up their spines.  New fans would get chills up their spines!

I also miss the touch where he pops out the empty casings from the five shots he took to deflect the punch.  The moment to declare his last bullet is special.  How he spins the barrel before cocking it back and firing to disable the punching mechanism.

God, this was such gold.  And then it goes to Vash making his first declaration of “Love & Peace!”

Since the Nebraskas don’t get arrested again, they are treated to beers and Vash tries to slip away.  We’ve got classic framing here but I keep expecting that to be Wolfwood giving him shit for not saying goodbye.

I really want to know - Roberto and Meryl are remarkably friendly with Vash in a way that seems almost forced.  You literally met him 24 hours ago.  And you already feel the need to look like a smart ass by 1.) rushing out the door to look cool when Vash does come out and 2.) why is such a cynical man being understanding towards Vash? 

I don’t get it, doesn’t seem quite natural.  The relationship between Vash and the Bernardelli Insurance Society reps of Meryl and Milly developed more naturally.  At first they were a nuisance, but over time grew to know one another.  However, if someone is an investigative reporter you are NOT going to befriend them since you have no idea what their angle is.

Of course the drama isn’t over and a scream brings them back in b/c the giant mechanical phages are attacking Gosef!  They lock onto him and he dashes out the door with Vash holding Daddy back from chasing after his son.

Who blows up out of line of sight and the episode ends.

Roberto declares again “Lost technology?” in case we don’t realize that glowing mechanical things are lost tech (again writers, you don’t need to spoon feed us this info). 

Therefore, these weird mechanical oversized phages are the tool of one of the Gung-Ho Gungs is my guess.  I’m leaning towards either Zazie due to the virus inspiration or Elendira since nails are her tool.  But maybe I’m wrong and it is E.G. Mine since he did blow up.  Argh.  Gung-Ho Gun likely though.

The episode then has its first ED and based on the imagery we are focusing on the brothers and Rem.  While watching this, it was when I realized that more than the main parts of the narrative are changed but the entire dynamic.  In the anime and manga, Knives is the big bad at the end.  The manga gives him more motivation but he keeps a hands off approach and Vash slowly gets pulled in by the increasing stakes.

For the anime and manga the major themes that stood out to me were the following:

1.) Holding your ideals and beliefs in the face of impossible situations. aka - faith in something larger than you.  Or in this case a mainstream Protestant/Roman Catholic inspired God.  Vash has an almost childlike or characterized as childlike dedication to his motivation to never kill.  However, as much he tries to prevent collateral damage, he can’t.  Yet, he earns Wolfwood’s respect due to his dedication, especially in the manga at the end of volume 9.  Who is bowed down before a ‘metaphorical’ cross . . .

2.) The right to life is sacred/Do not willingly prevent another person’s future.

All living things are sacred and thus should be respected as such.  This ties in with Rem’s dream of having a train ticket with no destination meaning each person makes their own choices where to go.  It is a pity Knives never learned this when he manipulated the rest of the plants into joining him.  Vash takes this to the most literal extreme while Wolfwood splits the middle of what is the ‘least damaging for the group as opposed to the individual’.

3.) Humans commit sin and deal with great suffering.  Yet, they still seek redemption and forgiveness in light of this inherent nature.

Wolfwood is the easy example of this conflict that plays out through his entire character arc but this also applies to Vash.  Vash’s somewhat misplaced desire to not kill resulted in many deaths or destruction.  Plus, in the manga, when he destroyed July, he killed many people in the process, that is how Hopper the Gauntlet was able to be recruited and modified - for revenge of the woman he loved and cared for.  This also plays into how Vash is able to break Knives control of the other plants.  We see, what they saw, watching humans from their bulbs which is a mix of both the best and worst of human behavior.

Stampede with its ED showing the two twins as well as the immediate introduction of both and their past childhood events is going for a conflict/contrast between two brothers.  Therefore, based on the first two episodes this version looks to examine

1.) How to be a pacifist and cause no harm to others.

2.) How are two brothers raised in the exact same environment polar opposites?

I’ll adjust and add to these as we go.  Last bit, with the new night sky based ED, it is leaning into the sci fi/we came from space angle for the series and not the western. 

For example the first still panel of Vash in the ‘98 ending has him shaving with a straight razor and a kerchief around his neck.  This is a full reference to westerns.

Studio Orange is making it clear.  This is not a western.  This is sci fi/steam punk in a desert more than a western.

That is all for now and I’ll be back next week with my episode 3 review!

[caedogeist-rights]

actually im not done tristamp did alllll the villains so incredibly weirdly. like at the very least vash's redesign fits his character. also im including wolfwood in this for JUST A MOMENT bc hes white!! why!! but. genuinely like. knives? where are his jodhpurs and backstory. kiddo knives is such a good part of the manga where is the Blood Typing i just have a lot of feelings abt Happy Days (volume 7, trimax, 2002). legato is TINY. and like. not pathetic enough but also not big enough??? he's one of three major antagonists he is the reason why plot happens and now hes just.... here???? being basic???? like have we even see him murder yet. elendira,,,, my beloved they made you cis why are you a child. livio is Also Tiny why are all the gung-ho-guns tiny now and his fashion bores me but i do like his hair. livio is genuinely my favorite and i do like him in stamp but i think they are underselling how incredibly deadly this man is. but maybe thats the point! <3 xoxo also fascinating to me that conrad is this important i dont actually hate it but its interesting that the antagonizing is a conrad thing not a legato thing. its technically more realistic to the actual dynamic esp knives's pov but also like.... legato where are you.... why are you so tame..... where is your creature and your coffin and your incredibly horny bloodlust for knives........

the only good ones are monev (its fun ig?), the nebraskas (so long as big mother is in s2) and ZAZIE WHO WAS DONE BETTER. IMO. like obviously different but they/them zazie in dub i cannot get more. bugs cool.

and. of course. the fact that we have not seen arguably the MOST important character is such a loss. midvalley hornfreak where Are you. play us a song music man i want to see you kill

[smilervamp4]

The Trigun reboot has already gotten a lot of hate... which i think is undeserved :P 1. I think the cgi looks good lol we're not looking at berserk cgi anymore, the anime looks beautiful! 2. I actually love Vash's redesign, which is fine if I'm one of the only ones XD 3. People are upset that they 'spoiled' so much in the first episode, this is a NEW anime! it's going to go in a different direction and I imagine they expected a bunch of the old watchers to watch the new one! the og has been out forever, so are they really spoilers if the reboot is going to tell a completely new story? idk, i am giving the anime a chance; i loved the first, and i loved what I saw so far in the first episode of Trigun Stampede and I'm excited to see where the rest of the season goes :P *and yes if i had a complaint it's yes, where the heck is Milly? **and I do miss the og soundtrack

[tickfleato]

ok ive watched approximately half of stampede now and i am gonna say my thoughts so far. Firstly. BUGS!!! BUGS BUGS BUGS BUGS WORMS !! ZAZIE!!!!! YES!!!!!! they fixed so many of the things that bugged me about the sandworm and general creature design (we dont talk about the tomas) literally perfect the life cycle is so cool ZAZIE!!!!!!

Also the animation is good i guess.

i feel about how i expected to which is that i like it on its own terms but i find it really annoying as an adaptation. for something supposed to be more faithful to the manga it REALLY isn’t and the pacing is awful, it just frontloads all the lore on you and has none of the breathing room that the manga gives for characters to have meaningful emotions, and none of the long intro of 98 that gets you used to the people and world and introduces the important story beats over a longer period of time.

also it MASSACRED MY BOY(s). here is my rating of design changes so far:

Meryl: i don’t particularly dislike her design on its own but i think it’s a moderate downgrade. i don’t know why they made her look so young in such a specific kind of doll looking way!! why does she have makeup stop that!! 4/10

Vash: again i dont hate his design on its own but COME ON MAN!! i keep saying they twinkified him, i will be clear, vash was already a twink, but now he’s evne more of one. he is also just way less charming and goofy looking. legs not long enough. no belts. no assless chaps. 2/10

Wolfwood: UGH. boring design on its own, terrible redesign. no tits so why’s his shirt open. why is he white. where’d his nose go. i hate his pants and shoes why are his ankles so defenseless. fucking twinkified him i HATE him no wonder every fanartist just subs in regular wolfwood. 0/10

Livio: WAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH ok but again inoffensive design on his own, nothing special but i dont like, hate it. however. just kind of looks like an entirely different guy. hopefully they will bulk him up later but he still just. Looks off you know? dont like him. 1/10.

Legato: of course you have blue hair and pronouns 4/10

rem: WHY!! WHERES HER JEANS!!! 0/10

ok im too lazy to write any more. bye