Trigun

Original Story written and illustrated by Yasuhrio Nightow. Animation by the Madhouse studio.

Vash the Stampede is the The Humanoid Typhoon and has a bounty of $$60,000,000,000 on his head. Not because he's a vicious murderer or some kind of criminal, but because his actions are costing the Bernardelli Insurance Society a to pay for every claim that he caused. Which is usually the destruction of whole cities.

And that's where we start off. We follow Meryl and Milly, two insurance claim investigator, trying to find out who this Vash character is, and to follow him around, and keep him from causing so much destruction. Vash isn't really causing any damage, but people trying to kill him are. Everyone wants that Sixty Billion Double Dollars, and are trying anything to finish him off. Vash is conflicted though. He is an amazing shot and seems to dodge bullet's at will, but he has a strong dislike of death. So he's the classic character that, while he's could be and probably once was a killer, respects life too much to ever take it. So the hijinks ensue.

For the first half of the 26 episode series, it follows the plot formula like this: Meryl and Milly are looking for Vash the Stampede, and while they are looking for him, this blonde man in a red coat will bump into them and inadvertently cause some trouble. The girls won't believe that this clumsy oaf is Vash, but everyone else will, so suddenly he's running around, while people shoot, bomb and try to score the extreme fortune on his head. The second half of the series focuses on the past of Vash, this mysterious peaceful man who seems to attract trouble where ever he goes.

The whole story takes place on a desert planet that humans have colonized 200 years previously, so anime is also put into the Space Western, something Stan saw back in Firefly. The Space Western really is just a Western that has small bits of ancient technology or uses advanced weaponry that mimics old timey western revolvers. Trigun has much more Science Fiction aspect from it, especially when it starts describing the colonization and Vash's past, even so devoting whole episodes as flashbacks.

Trigun is an anime's anime. It is filled with clichés that make anime great and annoying. Most American anime fans love Trigun, because it was exposed to Americans before anime really moved over to the Western shores. Animated in 1998, it has rich painted backgrounds, and a strong contrast between scenery and cell. I remember my only real brush of Trigun was as a freshman in highschool. I had to stay up late because I had to call in my potato baby at 3am, so I just stayed up experiencing the Adult Swim programming block. Apparently I watch the final episode of Trigun six years ago. Not really understanding the plot, I enjoyed it for gritty and pretty style of drawing and action. This isn't an anime for everyone, but it is for the fan of animes.