Trigun Stampede - Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Trigun Stampede - Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Trigun Stampede is an action-adventure anime series following in the footsteps of the beloved manga and the original anime adaptation from 1998. Produced by Kiyotaka Waki (Godzilla Singular Point, HOME!), Trigun Stampede aired on TV Tokyo and other Japanese broadcasting stations. Created by Yasuhiro Nightow, Trigun Stampede features animation produced by Orange (Godzilla Singular Point, Land of the Lustrous). Based on the original story by Takehiko Oxi, Trigun Stampede has been released in North America by Crunchyroll and features theme song performances by Kvi Baba (opening), haruka nakamura (ending), and Salyu (ending).

Vash the Stampede (Yoshitsugu Matsuoka) is back in action and things are more dangerous than ever. The lone gunman has an enormous 60 billion double-dollar bounty placed on his head. The bounty is so huge it has made a legend out of gunslinger Vash the Stampede. Perhaps the most sought-after bounty of all time, Vash is always pursued by a myriad of officials and bounty-seekers.

Despite the swarm of individuals trying to catch Vash and claim the 60 billion double-dollar bounty, Vash the Stampede is constantly avoiding being caught and he has a penchant for love and peace. Despite all the commotion, Vash is actually a pacifist gunslinger and someone who doesn’t want to ever cause any harm for other people. Vash is a hero, a misunderstood renegade, and someone who is pursued despite being the best of us.

Vash loves donuts and has one of the most infectious grins of all time. Vash also can’t stand the sight of blood and it could make him faint. Vash isn’t an ordinary man by any means. Along the journey, Vash also encounters the headstrong Nicholas D. Wolfwood (Yoshimasa Hosoya) and the smart-and-tough Meryl Stryfe (Sakura Andō). Can Vash survive the bounty hunters?

Vash is one of my all-time favorite anime characters. I was instantly an adoring fan when the original anime series was released. The “love and peace!” mantra and the belief in pacifism was something important to me. The idea of being a hero and being a misunderstood gunslinger. The character was instantly iconic to me.

One would assume with a 60 billion double-dollar bounty that Vash must be a terrible human being – that couldn’t be father from the truth. Vash is one of the best characters in the history of anime. The character can’t even stand the sight of blood and only wants to make people smile and feel the joy of peace. Vash is kind to everyone he meets and one can’t help but fall in love with the character. As the original anime unfolded, one gets to see the tragic backstory and the pieces of the puzzle start to come together.

The original character designs by Kouji Tajima (Attack on Titan, Attack on Titan: End of the World) are reasonably good and do a decent job of staying mostly faithful to the original designs. One can still recognize the characters even if the modern designs are also significantly different. The original is incredible – iconic – legendary. The new renditions aren’t as good. However, still decent overall.

Trigun Stampede features decent animation. Trigun Stampede features art direction by Yūji Kaneko (Little Witch Academia, Ranking of Kings) and animation direction by Yūichi Yoshida (Yashahime: Princess Half- Demon, Lupin III vs. Detective Conan). The animation on the series is a far cry from anything from the original. The animation could have fared a lot better overall and isn’t close in comparison to the hand-drawn original. The new series has a lot of CG animation and the art style, while modern looking, is also cheap looking and often “choppy” with cheap facial movements and character movement. The characters ebb and flow doesn’t look natural nor does it look hand-drawn or hand made. The CG art is simply average-at-best in these respects and it looks to have been made on a significantly lower budget.

The cinematography by Ryūdai Koshida (Zoids Wild Zero, Triage X) and Takashi Aoki (The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Star Blazers 2199) is crisp and engaging. The cinematography is one of the nicest qualities of the series. The visuals are bright, engaging, and colorful. The cinematography looks quite impressive overall and certainly helps to showcase the animation.

The score composed by Tatsuya Katō (Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere, The Qwaser of Stigmata) is reasonably solid for background music. It is nothing incredible – and a massive far-cry from the groundbreaking original anime (which had one of the best anime soundtracks of all time). The comparison is mind-boggling as the new series simply cannot compare. It is not even remotely close in any capacity.

Written by Shin Okashima (Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san) and Tatsurō Inamoto (Lupin III: Part IV, One Punch Man), Trigun Stampede has some decent enough scripting but it’s not in the same league as the masterful original. The writing is nowhere near the same level and it is instantly recognizable as being less than the hand-drawn classic.

Directed by Kenji Mutō (Land of the Lustrous, Rage of Bahamut: Genesis), Trigun Stampede is inevitably going to be of interest to fans of the original. The question is: will audiences be capable of separating it from the original? Trigun Stampede isn’t as good. Why would someone want to watch Trigun Stampede when they could simply rewatch the original – or discover the original or the first time? For newcomers who haven’t seen either version, stick to the original – it’s an anime masterpiece and one of the greatest anime series ever made. Trigun Stampede just isn’t up-to-par even if it is decent enough entertainment for someone wanting to kill some time.

Trigun Stampede - Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Crunchyroll, Trigun Stampede is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The release features an impressive presentation. The high-definition visuals are crisp, colorful, and engaging. The animation is outstandingly reproduced with the encoding. The release does have some occasional banding issues. However, the transfer still looks detailed overall.

Trigun Stampede - Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Blu-ray release includes a selection of lossless audio selections: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (with English subtitles). Dialogue is crisp, clear, and easy to understand. The soundstage is well reproduced. The soundtrack is well integrated into the audio presentation, too.

Trigun Stampede - Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release arrives in a deluxe limited edition collectors' package. The release includes an individual case inside of the art-box. The case has unique cover art different from the key art on the artbox. Packaged with a Project Seeds patch, a set of Jeneora Rock drink coasters, a reproduction of the Bernardelli Times (12x18), and 3 unique art cards. The collectables are decent enough and some fans may consider them worthwhile. Even so, the bonuses could have been a bit better for the release. The drink coasters are, well, coasters – not much to write home about – and the other inclusions aren't as nice as an artbook or something more in-depth. The best inclusion is arguably the art-cards which are presented on nice quality stock.

On disc supplements include:

Behind the Scenes Production Cast Interviews:

Kenji Muto (HD, 24:40)

Yoshihiro Watanabe (HD, 32:31)

Kiyotaka Waki (HD, 25:03)

Akihiko Orikasa (HD, 29:36)

CG Making-of Video (HD, 8:02)

Promo Videos (HD, 7:16)

Commercials (HD, 1:08)

Teaser (HD, 1:11)

Textless Opening Song (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Song (HD, 1:32)

Trigun Stampede - Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Trigun Stampede is going to be of interest to some fans of the original but I suspect most of the audiences who will enjoy it the most are newcomers with no familiarity with the original cult classic masterpiece. There is simply no comparison. Nonetheless, Trigun Stampede fans get a nice collectable package with a deluxe art-box, a replica Bernardelli Times (12x18), 3 art cards, and drink coasters. The set features solid high-definition video and lossless audio. The release also comes with some interviews and other on-disc supplements (such as a behind-the-scenes CG making-of video).