Trigun

OK OK OK… early guesses. Vash was actually an evil bastard some time back and he did many terrible things. At some point, he lost all his memories and every shred of his personality, but still retained his remarkable skills. That’s why there’s this awful reputation and these big bounty numbers attached to the “Human Tornado” and that’s why he’s this peace-loving holy fool who still possess all these absurd combat skills.

Am I on to something here?

The random appearances of the freighter and its enormous light bulb have got me thinking -  - this show’s going to have “window dressing," isn't it? What do I mean by that? Well, by my reckoning, there are some fantasy and sci-fi shows that have fully-developed worlds. You know, they’ve got filled-out histories and cultures and customs and all of that. It all makes fits in a grand latticework. Then, there are stories where the world is just there to look good and be lightly evocative of a greater universe.  EVANGELION was fully-developed; COWBOY BEBOP had window dressing. Some people were asking me to comment on the latter’s world when I was watching it.  I thought that was a little pointless since it was really just a general space opera setting that was probably just made up by the creators as they went along. This isn't a bad thing. Not at all. But I'm not going to act like TRIGUN has this elaborate mythology when the only nailed-down part so far is the double-dollars currency.

Anyway, enough comparative textual commentary. This episode was a pretty cool mix of LOONY TOONS-style lapstick and some close-to-moving pathos. I’m getting such a kick out of how much of a Pollyanna  Vash is when it comes to the ladies. He’s so smooth and so hopeless at the same time.

Watch this episode, “Lost July,” below and decide for yourself, then read my comments on the previous episode here.     

  

Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of  HYBRID BASTARDS!  &  UNIMAGINABLE . Order them on Amazon   here  &   here .  Follow him on Twitter:  @tompinchuk

The Plants (the light bulb structures) are a much bigger plot point in the manga than they are in the anime.

Never heard him called the "Human Tornado", only "The Humanoid Typhoon". I know I'm being too picky here.

Vash has never committed murder, and he has no alternate personalities or amnesia, though he wishes he did.
 
Vash is a massively complex character, but he is NOTHING like Spike, even though they both fake their smiles.

@rubberluffy said:

" The Plants (the light bulb structures) are a much bigger plot point in the manga than they are in the anime. "

Which do you prefer?

@ninjadude853 said:

" I finished it last night. It was good.   You will be surprised. "

Ha! You couldn't resist, could you? A lot of people have been spurred to watch this whole show after this column...

@lurkero said:

" I don't want to spoil too much, but I will tell you that Trigun avoids many of the typical character cliches. Although, I dislike that Vash doesn't like using his gun to kill even when his life and other lives are in danger. Sometimes villains just need to die (looking at YOU, Batman). I really dislike that pure hero cliche. "

I don't know if it's a cliche considering that there are just as many heroes with no qualms about shredding through the bad guys...

@gla55jAw said:

" Never heard him called the "Human Tornado", only "The Humanoid Typhoon". I know I'm being too picky here. "

Ha! Mea culpa. But c'mon, you know Human Tornado sounds cooler than Humanoid Typhoon. Nobody ever says Humanoid. That sounds like a mistranslation.

@SamJaz said:

" Vash has never committed murder, and he has no alternate personalities or amnesia, though he wishes he did.  Vash is a massively complex character, but he is NOTHING like Spike, even though they both fake their smiles. "

Are you... are you... are you saying Vash is a big phony?

@buhssuht said:

" Still confused about the definition of window dressing. So would you say Ghost in the shell had window dressing? "

Man.... it's been a long time since I've seen that. I actually never liked GHOST IN THE SHELL. How deeply did they get into the world?

@Tom_Pinchuk: Nothing like Spike Emotionally.
Spike is a killer. Vash is more docile than Ghandi, but he is THE Vash the Stampede who destroyed July.
 
He hasn't murdered anyone. But he has a lot of blood on his hands.

@Tom_Pinchuk said:

" @gla55jAw said:

" Never heard him called the "Human Tornado", only "The Humanoid Typhoon". I know I'm being too picky here. "

Ha! Mea culpa. But c'mon, you know Human Tornado sounds cooler than Humanoid Typhoon. Nobody ever says Humanoid. That sounds like a mistranslation. "

Agreed. Humanoid Typhoon sounds kinda awkward. 
 
I can't keep up to your pace either haha. I'm on episode 15 (although I've seen the series a bunch of times).

@Tom_Pinchuk said:

" @buhssuht said:

" Still confused about the definition of window dressing. So would you say Ghost in the shell had window dressing? "

Man.... it's been a long time since I've seen that. I actually never liked GHOST IN THE SHELL. How deeply did they get into the world? "

WAHT!!!!!!!  YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT???  HOW IN THE HECK CAN YOU NOT LIKE GHOST IN THE SHELL???  THAT MOVIE WAS BEYOND AWESOME.  Great action, interesting characters and great statements on the human condition I mean lord it was like shakespere.  SOOOO much better than bebop GAHHHH!!!  As for trigun yes you will be suprized the lightbulbs actually do have a huge part of the plot and I would say the world is fully developled much more than bebop at least.

I watched the whole show after you picked it for Watch and Learn. Overall I think it was great, although I had a few qualms with it.

@Tom_Pinchuk said:

" @rubberluffy said:

" The Plants (the light bulb structures) are a much bigger plot point in the manga than they are in the anime. "

Which do you prefer? "

The manga, definitely.  I still like the anime, but I have a some problems with it, which I might talk about when we get to the relevant episodes.

@zaldar said:

" @Tom_Pinchuk said:

" @buhssuht said:

" Still confused about the definition of window dressing. So would you say Ghost in the shell had window dressing? "

Man.... it's been a long time since I've seen that. I actually never liked GHOST IN THE SHELL. How deeply did they get into the world? "

WAHT!!!!!!!  YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT???  HOW IN THE HECK CAN YOU NOT LIKE GHOST IN THE SHELL???  THAT MOVIE WAS BEYOND AWESOME.  Great action, interesting characters and great statements on the human condition I mean lord it was like shakespere.  SOOOO much better than bebop GAHHHH!!!  As for trigun yes you will be suprized the lightbulbs actually do have a huge part of the plot and I would say the world is fully developled much more than bebop at least. "

I have yet to see any of the movies. Although The 2 seasons are some of my favorites.

@rubberluffy said:

" @Tom_Pinchuk said:

" @rubberluffy said:

" The Plants (the light bulb structures) are a much bigger plot point in the manga than they are in the anime. "

Which do you prefer? "

The manga, definitely.  I still like the anime, but I have a some problems with it, which I might talk about when we get to the relevant episodes. "

It's not so binary for me. The mythos of Trigun is more important in manga, but for what the anime is, it didn't need the extra info that gets delivered in the manga. In the anime there are simple answers for certain mysteries and from there they focus on the character drama. In the manga they follow the threads further. Like the giant light bulb thingies, they quickly explain what it is and what their role is but they're not going to focus too much on the ramifications these things have on society and scientific morality.
 
So the manga is definitely deeper but it sometimes get alittle convoluted(it goes on for far longer). Also, sometimes the anatomy of characters would be fucked up in the manga. I generally love the art style but everyonce in a while you'll get a few weird panels in which you have to crane your neck to even figure out what's going on.
 
Still love them both and sorry for the essay.