Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson of the Bernadelli Insurance Company have a problem. They are to contain the problem of Vash "The Stampede", also known as "The Humanoid Typhoon". Every city that he stops in finds itself utterly destroyed. The problem is, once they find Vash, they also find that he's never killed a person and appears to be a bumbling idealistic fool which a penchant for dodging bullets and eating donuts. At least that's what he appears to be.
In a strange twist on anime protagonists, Vash is not a dark brooder or a naive boy with skill. Although he has elements of a dark past and such, he's an idealist committed to "love and peace" and he never shoots to kill, but rather uses his gun and his impossible marksmanship as a tool. While the series begins with a strong comic tone, serious elements are placed in the undercurrent and as the series progresses, the tone becomes increasingly serious with the comedy becoming more like breaks between the intense story. Towards the end of the series, it becomes increasingly potent, resonating both with emotions and intellect.
I really like the way the series really grapples with questions of idealism, pragmatism, questions of morality regarding the ends and means and other philosophical concepts, each having some embodiment in the various characters of the show. All the same, the characters are not allegories, but just strongly aligned to certain kinds of thinking. I do wish that some of the other characters were fleshed out more, but I also realize that it's hard to devote so much time to characters in a 24-episode arc.
Trigun is a surprisingly superb piece of storytelling thrown in a fantastic animated world and while the earlier comic episodes might be a little loose, they set the ground for the more serious second half and no episode seems utterly unnecessary. An excellent series and highly recommended to those who love science fiction, strong serial storytelling or those who love animation. 9/10
