Triumph of Trigun - A Look at Both Series Original and New

Series Name/Year: Trigun (1998)
Series Name/Year: Trigun Stampede (2023-)
Streaming Service (Both): Crunchyroll
Genres (Both): Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi, Western
Average Episode Length - Trigun:  24 min (1 Season, 26 episodes)
Average Episode Length - Trigun Stampede:  24min (1 Season, 12 episodes)
Rating (Both): TV-14
Director - Trigun: Satoshi Nishimura
Directors - Trigun Stampede: Kenji Muto, Minoru Yamaoka, Naomichi Yamato, Hiroshi Nishikiori, Mie Ôishi
Writers - Trigun: Yôsuke Kuroda, Yasuhiro Nightow
Writers - Trigun Stampede: Tatsuro Inamoto, Yasuhiro Nightow, Shin Okashima, Takehiko Okishi, Yoshihisa Ueda
Actors - Trigun:
- Japanese Cast:
Masaya Onosaka, Satsuki Yukino, Hiromi Tsuru, Show Hayami, Tôru Furusawa, Masamichi Ota, Aya Hisakawa, Toshihiko Seki, Kôki Miyata
- English Cast:
Johnny Yong Bosch, Lia Sargent, Dorothy Elias-Fahn, Jeff Nimoy, Kirk Baily, Bridget Hoffman, Richard Cansino, Bryce Papenbrook, Joshua Seth
Actors - Trigun Stampede:
- Japanese Cast:
Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Sakura Ando, Kenji Matsuda, Yoshimasa Hosoya, Junya Ikeda, Yumiri Hanamori, Tomoyo Kurosawa, Tarako, Ryûsei Nakao, Maaya Sakamoto, Kimiko Saitô, Mirei Kumagai
- English Cast:
Johnny Yong Bosch, Sarah Roach, Ben Bryant, David Matranga, Austin Tindle, Kristen McGuire, Madeleine Morris, Megan Shipman, Larry Brantley, Emily Fajardo, Lydia Mackay
 
IMDb Blurb - Trigun: Vash the Stampede is the most infamous outlaw on the planet Gunsmoke and with a 60 billion double dollar price on his head the most sought after!
IMDb Blurb - Trigun Stampede: Follow gunman Vash the Stampede as he struggles to maintain his pacifist ways while avoiding the immense bounty on his head.

 
Cat’s Point of View:
Before we delve into the warm fuzzies of the Holiday Season – better yet, before we return to our more usual review fare with the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike; I thought I’d dive into one of my favorite Japanese manga adaptations: Trigun.

Of course, there’s more than 1 series to mention, considering the freshly released Trigun Stampede that premiered this year. Both series approach the same material (for the most part) from different perspectives, and I find both of them excellent in their own ways.

I have a bit of a soft spot for westerns. Couple that with my love of science fiction and adventure and Trigun just started checking a lot of boxes in the positive column as I caught the original series airing on Adult Swim years ago.

If I had to pick some well known titles to mash together to compare Trigun to, I’d have to say that it would be somewhat like a combination of the world of Mad Max (1979) and the sci-fi blend in Cowboy Bebop (1998-1999). (Of course, Trigun was one of Bebop’s contemporaries airing in the same year.) I adore the blend of action with drama and comedy. Some of the physical anime gags go a little over-the-top (especially facial features and expressions). Those really aren’t my favorite bits, but everything else about the series is a wonderful blend of chaos, futuristic steampunk, and the visuals of an alternate world “old West.”

Before I go any further, I feel I do need to warn that this review will inherently contain some mild SPOILERS regarding the Trigun storyline continuity. The 1998 series and the 2023 series approach Vash’s story from different points in the timeline and some bits of information revealed as a surprise or plot-twist late in the Trigun original series are front and center in the very first episodes of the Trigun Stampede series. Further, anyone who has watched the original series will generally know most of what will happen in Trigun Stampede, however not everything is shown in this first season. There’s room for the “missing characters” (to some extent) and other plot elements to be explored in season 2 and potentially beyond.

First, let’s talk animation style. With the 20-plus years between Trigun and Trigun Stampede, it’s a given that animation production methods and styles will have changed over time. 1998’s series fits right in with the high quality of its contemporaries. The action was handled really well, and not all of the comedy digressed into “comicalization” or simplistically exaggerated facial expressions for the characters. Hey, I’m not knocking that stylistic choice – it’s just not my preferred cup of tea. Even so, plenty of my favorite series utilize that affectation as a common anime trope. It doesn’t generally impact my enjoyment.

The Trigun Stampede series is rather straight-shooting in a seamless animation style that remains uniform, even while still delivering the moments of emotion and comedy. The new style is clearly rendered in a digital format, though still retains much of the “old school” animation charm rather than the shiny plastic nature of most 3D animation. The action is fluid and well done, and Stampede also utilizes a more modern approach to cinematography. As an example, there’s one scene in an early episode of Stampede that comes to mind where Vash is using parkour as he dodges bullets, and as he flips onto another rooftop or similar surface the camera does a rotation with him. (This scene is actually shown in the music video that accompanies the opening theme music for Stampede.)

Now let’s get into the story a bit. Trigun Stampede might be hard for some fans of the original series to take in at first because of some changes and/or seeming omissions. Some characters aren’t seen that are in the 1998 series and even the world has a different name. Previously called Gunsmoke, it’s now called Nomans Land. Some of the villain-of-the-week characters don’t make an appearance, and even some of the Gung-Ho Guns don’t show. Some characters have different backgrounds… you get the picture.

Most of the differences are honestly splitting hairs, in my opinion. Stampede is not worse for wear for these changes. Honestly, it felt like the story was more cohesive and streamlined. It felt like the original series had more light-hearted moments sprinkled through the explosions, raining bullets, questionable pick-up lines, and camaraderie. Trigun Stampede has the comedy and action down, but also leans in a bit more to drama, ethics, discrimination, personal moral code, and existential questions. It’s a bit heavier in tone in some places, considering you know from the outset what the relationship is between Vash and Knives and get an inkling as to what the stakes are overall.

There’s one main thing to keep in mind, however. When the 1998 series ran, the manga was not finished by a long shot. Both series are made from a combination of Trigun and Trigun Maximum. The latter just wasn’t complete when the first series made its run. Maximum also wasn’t a reboot of the original Trigun manga, but a continuation. The name only changed due to legal red tape because the publisher changed, etc. Stampede now has the full manga run at its disposal to draw from, and has the opportunity to spin the entire story in a different way than presented in 1998.

Both versions of the series remain true to Vash’s core journey – both literal and figurative. He strives to put together what went wrong in the past and find some redemption in his life. Vash has profound sadness within him, and yet shows a great understanding and zest for life and laughter all the same. Throughout both series, in the face of daunting circumstances, he maintains his beliefs in finding alternate solutions to violence. Though, when violence cannot be avoided, he shows strength and stands up to defend even those that have tried to hurt him. In this way, the story of Trigun in both series reminds me of the way of life and perspective of the late Gandhi and makes this story that much more powerful. 

“My creed of nonviolence is an extremely active force. It has no room for cowardice or even weakness. There is hope for a violent man to be some day non-violent, but there is none for a coward. I have, therefore, said more than once....that, if we do not know how to defend ourselves, our women and our places of worship by the force of suffering, i.e., nonviolence, we must, if we are men, be at least able to defend all these by fighting.” - M.K. Gandhi

As usual, I feel I must disclose that, at this time, I haven’t read the manga to know specifically what differences exist between either Trigun’s original series or Stampede and the source material. There are many anime resource sites, forums, and databases you are welcome to peruse should you wish to look up the play-by-play yourself.

One of the things that brings me great joy about all of the Trigun series is that, at least for the English dubbed versions, Johnny Yong Bosch (Black Clover, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War) has remained the voice of Vash the Stampede throughout. He seems to be the only consistent cast member to return through both series and the 2010 stand-alone movie. He brings something great to all of the characters he brings to life on the screen, and seemingly effortlessly evokes both their strengths and vulnerabilities.

Yes, I did mention that there was a Trigun movie. Trigun: Badlands Rumble hit screens in 2010 as an independent story that could have taken place somewhere in the middle of the continuity of the 1998 series. It didn’t pick up from the end, as some might have hoped. In that way it shared even more in common with the Bebop series, as Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001) did the same thing (much to my dismay).

Trigun Stampede does have a 2^nd season announced, though details are scarce as to the timeline for production. The ending of Stampede’s first season did allude to the return of a familiar original series character that was conspicuously missing thus far. There’s always room for more villains and other supporting characters to pop up in the next installments, as well as new elements of the expanded story within the source material. I just hope they also find a way to fit Kuroneko back in for at least a cameo. The familiar silly black cat was a missed opportunity in Stampede, in my book at least.

If you are a fan of the original series, I implore you to give Trigun Stampede a chance. If you haven’t watched any of the series yet – old or new – I do not envy your decision between original and new series, but once you’ve watched one, I encourage you to watch the other. Stampede is definitely an easier binge with only 12 episodes compared to the original’s 26 + movie, but I’d have to say it’s well worth the time spent to view both perspectives. 

 
Trigun Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 100%
Trigun Stampede Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 100%
Trigun Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 88%
Ttrigun Stampede Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 78%
Metascore – None (both)
Metacritic User Score – None (both)
Trigun IMDB Score – 8.2/10
Trigun: Stampede IMDB Score – 7.3/10
 
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating:
Trigun – 4.5/5
Trigun: Stampede – 4.5/5

 
Trigun: Stampede Trailer:

Trigun (1998) Trailer:

Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998)

Number Rolled: 90

Movie Name/Year: Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998)

Genre: Children & Family

Length: 73 minutes

Rating: G

Director: Tom Ellery, Bradley Raymond

Writer: Allen Estrin, Cindy Marcus, Flip Kobler, Carl Binder, Mike Gabriel, Susannah Grant, Philip LaZabnik

Actors: Irene Bedard, Jim Cummings, Donal Gibson, Linda Hunt, Russell Means, David Ogden Stiers, Jean Stapleton, Billy Zane, Tim Weske, John Kassir, Colin McCabe, Michelle St. John, Frank Welker

Pocahontas is trying to get by after hearing rumors of John Smith’s death. Along the way she learns that England is planning to launch an attack against her people. When the opportunity arises to sail to London and speak directly to the king, Pocahontas boards a ship with her escort, John Rolfe, and heads to the land of the white man.

Before I begin, let me say that I am not going to judge this movie on historical accuracy. I think the people who do are ridiculous. It’s a child’s movie. It’s not meant to be accurate, it’s meant to be entertaining and to share a lesson with children. I’ve never met a single six year old who’s snubbed a movie because of historical inaccuracy. Besides, if you judge it by that, you might as well look for scientific accuracy as well, otherwise, just suspend disbelief and move on.

Despite my defending the “accuracy” issues of “Pocahontas II,” I have to admit the movie was almost unbearable. Where the first “Pocahontas” became one of Disney’s classics, exhibiting amazing music and moral undertone; “Pocahontas II” was very near the opposite, it kept the moral tone but exhibited complete mediocrity in everything else. The songs were lifeless; the script seemed forced and lacking creativity. There’s no doubt as to why this movie went straight to video.

The shining point of the entire movie was the animals, which were focused on a bit more than in the original. It’s those animals that would keep any child occupied while watching, but it leaves very little for their parents to become enthralled with. It’s cute, but not nearly enough.

Netflix’s Prediction for Me – 2.9/5

Overall Opinion – 2/5

Movie Trailer: 

Bride of Chucky (1998)

Number Rolled: 13

Movie Name/Year: Bride of Chucky (1998)

Genre: Horror

Length: 88 minutes

Rating: R

Director: Runny Yu

Writer: Don Mancini

Actors: Jennifer Tilly, Brad Dourif, Katherine Heigl, Nick Stabile, Alexis Arquette, Gordon Michael Woolvett, John Ritter, Lawrence Dane, Michael Louis Johnson, James Gallanders, Janet Kidder, Vince Corazza, Kathy Najimy, Ben Bass

A woman obsessed with Chucky goes to great lengths in order to bring him back to life. Of course, Chucky’s not always the most reasonable of sentient dolls and she winds up trapped in the same predicament he is. As dolls, they trick one of her neighbors into delivering them to New Jersey.

I think this is my favorite of the series so far. I have to be honest, though, I’ve only just seen the first three installments of “Child’s Play,” this month. There are a lot of ‘classic’ and ‘cult’ movies that I didn’t see when I was younger and I’ve been trying to catch up. So far, I’ve found that I like each sequel of “Child’s Play” better than the movie the before it. “Bride of Chucky” is no exception.

This movie has a bit more comedic value to it. I’ve mentioned in past reviews that what I think makes a cult movie popular is the balance between comedy and whatever the main genre is. The “Child’s Play” series is a gold mine for that kind of balance. A doll killing people is just the right mix of creepy and hilarious. Add to that a wife-like character that does basically the same stuff and what you get is a decent cult horror flick.

I feel like the kills made more sense in this film, got less repetitive, the picture was also kind of advanced for a 90’s movie. I would have placed it at 2001 the earliest if I hadn’t researched it.

One of the things I wondered about when it was over, though, dealt with an actress in the film. I want to know how Katherine Heigl was in a horror movie and still managed to play almost the same exact character that’s in all the rest of her films. It was kind of weird, actually.

Netflix’s Prediction for Me – 3.3/5

Overall Opinion – 3.5/5

Movie Trailer: 

The Faculty (1998)

Number Rolled: 44

Movie Name/Year: The Faculty (1998)

Genre: Horror

Length: 104 minutes

Rating: R

Director: Robert Rodriguez

Writer: David Wechter, Bruce Kimmel, Kevin Williamson

Actors: Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris, Josh Hartnett, Shawn Hatosy, Salma Hayek, Famke Janssen, Piper Laurie, Christopher McDonald, Bebe Neuwirth, Robert Patrick, Usher Raymond, Jon Stewart, Daniel von Bargen, Elijah Wood, Jon Abrahams, Summer Phoenix, Susan Willis, Pete Janssen

High school movies, in the 90’s, all pretty much followed the same recipe. You had your obligatory stereotypes that all hated each other: jocks, nerds, goths, valedictorians, rebels, and (occasionally) the new kid. It was a moving caricature of actual high school, all the cliques with an extra dose of heightened violence (this coming from someone who spent most of her childhood in Brooklyn public schools). “The Faculty” was only different in that they spent less time fighting each other and more time fighting the pod people that made up their school.

I know that might sound like I hated the movie, but I really didn’t.  

By today’s standards the graphics were crap, but you have to take into account when it was made. This is a 90’s movie, you’re obviously not going to get 2013 graphics. Even in something like this where the upgraded graphics would have made a significant impact, I will always work to digest it without taking the subject into account. It’s all about story line, acting and overall enjoyment.

The actors were outstanding, all of them. DuVall was the quintessential outcast actor of the 90’s; perpetually type-cast even now, but great at what she does. Then you’ve got the rest of the cast that are mostly celebrated. I’ll admit to squeeing when I saw Jon Stewart and I added it to my queue because of Hartnett – neither of whom disappointed.

On top of the acting, the storyline was adorable. Ok, maybe a sci-fi-horror flick isn’t supposed to be adorable, but it was to me.

An old co-worker suggested I add this to my instant queue because I would love it, and she was right. I’ll likely watch it again.

Overall Opinion – 4/5

I Love You, Don’t Touch Me (1998)

Number Rolled: 61

Movie Name/Year: I Love You, Don’t Touch Me (1998)

Genre: Independent Movie

Length: 86 minutes

Rating: R

Director: Julie Davis

Writer: Julie Davis

Actors: Marla Schaffel, Mitchell Whitfield, Michael Harris, Meredith Scott Lynn, Jack McGee, Darryl Theirse

Ugh. Just… ugh. It’s like…. I don’t even know… maybe Sex and the City if it were about corrupting the idea of sex and love. The main actress wasn’t bad at what she did, in fact, the majority of the actors weren’t bad with what they had to do. Still, a bad script with good actors doesn’t make things any better.

It starts off with a gratuitous and highly unnecessary sex scene which leads into characters who aren’t having “enough” sex. That leads into characters not having sex with the “right” people which leads into the same bullshit the majority of romantic comedies these days try to feed us. Worse than that, the main moral of the story is that humans shouldn’t have to control themselves and if you catch your spouse cheating on you – just suck it up and acknowledge that no one is ever faithful. Bullshit. My problems with the general idea of this movie are limitless.

I don’t know what else I could possibly say about it. It’s a ridiculous caricature of the way life actually is, without actually stirring up any emotions of romance or even comedy. If there was a genre named “Crap” I wouldn’t hesitate to assume this movie was a part of it.

Save yourself some time. Read the Netflix review and you’ll be able to figure out the ending long before you even start watching it. Not only that, but if it’s different, whatever you imagine will be better than what I just sat through anyway.

Overall Opinion – 1/5

Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998)

Number Rolled: 50

Movie Name/Year: Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998)

Genre: Romantic Drama

Length: 121 minutes

Rating: PG-13

Director: Andy Tennant

Writer: Susannah Grant, Andy Tennant, Rick Parks, Charles Perrault

Actors: Drew Barrymore, Anjelica Huston, Dougray Scott, Patrick Godfrey, Megan Dodds, Melanie Lynskey, Timothy West, Judy Parfitt, Jeroen Krabbe, Lee Ingleby

Ever After is by far my favorite telling of the Cinderella story. I imagine that if it were a true story, this is what it would be like. It’s almost an adult version of the story. Not adult as in sex; adult as in mature.

If one were to create a list of all the Cinderella-based movies out there, I can imagine the list would be in the high triple digits. It’s a famous story that is a big deal in many childhoods. However, most of the movies on that list would be geared toward children. Hell, the Disney channel makes a new one every year or so.

Not only are most of the renditions geared toward children, but there really aren’t all that many different ways to tell the same story. Girl and father are close. Father remarries. Father dies. Stepmother treats girl badly. Girl grows up as servant. Girl falls in love with Prince. Prince returns love but doesn’t realize she’s a servant. Stepmother learns of love and locks up girl. Prince frees girl. Girl and Prince live happily ever. Oh, and there are always a ball/dance and some fancy shoes involved. It’s a classic and doesn’t need changing really.

Although “Ever After” does follow most of the rules in the outline for Cinderella, it offers it in a fresh new way. Introducing Gypsies and Leonardo da Vinci into the mix and coming up with what – in my point of view – is a much better ending than the cookie-cutter version.

Overall Opinion – 4/5

Last Night (1998)

Number Rolled: 97

Movie Name/Year: Last Night (1998)
Tagline: It's your last night on Earth. Go out in style.

Genre: Drama, Comedy, Romance

Length: 95 minutes

Rating: R
Production Company: Rhombus Media, Telefilm Canada, La Sept-Arte, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Haut et Court, Canada Television and Cable Production Fund, Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, Cineplex
Producer: Caroline Benjo, Joseph Boccia, Niv Fichman, Daniel Iron, Jennifer Jonas, Sheena Macdonald, Carole Scotta, Barbara Willis Sweete, Larry Weinstein, Nathan Lafionatis

Director: Don McKellar

Writer: Don McKellar

Actors: Don McKellar, Sandra Oh, Roberta Maxwell, Robin Gammell, Sarah Polley, Trent McMullen, Charmion King, Jessica Booker, David Cronenberg, Tracy Wright, Genevieve Bujold, Callum Keith Rennie, Karen Glave

Blurb from Netflix: A group of very different individuals with different ideas of how to face the end come together as the world is expected to end in six hours at the turn of the century.

I found this movie very difficult to get into. It felt like the first half hour of the movie was just people talking about nothing.

Last Night is an apocalypse movie… but you don’t actually really get exposed to that until the middle.

Since the movie came out in 1998 I can only imagine that it was inspired by the supposed looming 'apocalypse' in 2000 – though the movie never really said WHAT was bringing the world to the end. (My guess would be the sun exploding, but that’s just me.)

You get to see – through this movie – what a group of different people have decided to do with their last six hours on earth. The rules have changed and there’s no right or wrong anymore.

As you can guess, there is a lot of sex (shown and implied), a lot of pillaging, and pretty much everything else an apocalypse might trigger in humanity.

It’s… ok. Not much more or less just… ok. Just on the border of imaginative.

Languages
Speech Available: English
Subtitles Available: English

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 84%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 85%

Metascore - 65/100

Metacritic User Score – 8.4/10

IMDB Score – 7.3/10

Trust the Dice: Selina's Rating – 2.5/5

Movie Trailer: