Trigun Forum

 Never trust precocious kids.     

Out of all the influences going into TRIGUN, I never would’ve expected Frank Herbert’s DUNE to be one of them. It is the most successful sci-fi novel of all time, of course, so it probably shouldn’t be that shocking. This isn’t even the first time I’ve seen sandworms make a “guest appearance” in an anime, either. Way, way back when I first started this column, they showed up in the pilot episode of COYOTE RAGTIME and, after doing a little searching online, it looks like they’ve appeared in a lot of shows, from NEGIMA to EXCEL SAGA and even to DRAGONBALL GT.

Huh. Interesting. I guess it’s a bit like how orcs have been co-opted by every sword & sorcery writer as if they were “public domain” creatures from folk lore when they were actually created Tolkien specifically for LORD OF THE RINGS.

To throw out another pop culture parallel, the show gets a lot more MAD MAX in this one, with the orphan community reminding me a whole hell of a lot of the lost kids in BEYOND THUNDERDOME. Funnily enough, it’d actually be a lot more fitting (either by irony or actual appropriateness) to call Vash or Wolfwood “Mr. Death.” Their kill-or-don’t-kill seesaw swings to a different side in this one and, yeah, I can say I got behind how Wolfwood handles Zazie the beast. Maybe it was excessive, maybe it was hasty, but I got a lot of (perhaps sick) enjoyment of how he put the kibosh on the kid so quickly while Vash is just standing there, blinking stupidly.

Watch this episode, “Alternate,” 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

" I always assumed the title refers to the fact that Vash has 3 guns.  His revolver, his hidden gun-arm, and the Angel Arm. "

" If you are looking for logic in the titles of some anime/manga series. I think you'd have better luck trying to chew off your own leg. Just look at the series BLEACH. I've yet to understand why it has that title. Still, it doesn't really matter what the title is. It's the story inside that matters.

If you are looking for logic in the titles of some anime/manga series. I think you'd have better luck trying to chew off your own leg. Just look at the series BLEACH. I've yet to understand why it has that title. 

" @rubberluffy said:

"I always assumed the title refers to the fact that Vash has 3 guns.  His revolver, his hidden gun-arm, and the Angel Arm. "

Yeah, this is my rationale for the title as well. We can also include the fact that Wolfwood has the machine gun in his cross, a rocket launcher, and several guns inside. It might be a stretch to consider the multiple hand guns in there as one gun, but it helps me sleep at night. 

 
 Some say Tite Kubo is a big Nirvana fan and named it after the album. lol. But he said it was because when he wanted to originally call it "Black" or "White" they were too nondescript, so he went with "Bleach" with conveys the idea of whiteness while sounding different.

" keep watching, they explain what it is around the last 3 episodes I believe.  "

" Why worry about what the name means? Trigun sounds cool! END OF STORY! What the hell is a Cowboy Bebop anyways?   

Also, is it wrong that I cheered when Wolfwood shot the kid? 

"

 
 Some say Tite Kubo is a big Nirvana fan and named it after the album. lol. But he said it was because when he wanted to originally call it "Black" or "White" they were too nondescript, so he went with "Bleach" with conveys the idea of whiteness while sounding different.

And now we've arrived to the real reason. Because it sounded cool. "