It has always difficult to take a classic and try to give it a different spin, even more so in anime. This approach thrived on occasion and for various reasons: think for instance of Hellsing Ultimate (which to be fair, the OAV was just a better visual overhaul) or for the innovative style in JoJo that eventually got a cult following. Furthermore, if you add to the mix the use of 3D CGI, then making a quality product becomes even harder; very few original CGI’s had a positive impact (thinking of RWBY or Ajin) and others were utter dumpster fires (looking at you Berserk). That said, here are my thoughts as a Trigun aficionado (I mean, I even made a video on it) on the latest Trigun Stampede.
The animation
First off, let’s discuss the big CGI elephant in the room. Studio Orange completely changed the style from its original counterpart, an anime that came at the very end of the nineties and, as such, had its particular type of animation. I must admit however that instead of a 3D CGI that completely disrupts one’s immersion for its poor quality, with Trigun Stampede we see a certain care and attention given to the scenes; I won’t say necessarily that it is breath-taking, but it is well planned and the action sequencing, while dynamic, has a perfect fluidity to it. Studio Orange had already worked on other 3D animation and their knowledge and proficiency with it shows.
As in regards to aesthetics, some of the characters also partially change their appearance. Vash still has his red trench coat, but the way he looks and moves make him more like a K-Pop idol rather than our beloved old protagonist. So let’s check out some of the main divergent points with the new series.
Changes that were not necessarily for the better
Given that they had only 12 episodes to work with, they had less time to set everything up; the characters are given less space, but to be fair the construction of the plot does not suffer from it. Vash as a character however fells weaker given that his non-killing policy is rendered poorly; while in the original he still fled any type of fighting and was acted like an air-head, he still kept any situation in check. The Vash from Stampede is much wimpier; even the scenes where the scars he suffered by not fighting feels underwhelming. In the original, it was not something he even meant to show, but when he did, he just brushed it off as nothing. There is probably also less time to grow with him and appreciate the smaller details: Vash’s prosthetic arm for instance is seen right from the get-go and the dynamic between him and his brother is never a mystery.
And speaking about Knives, he is the ultimate edgelord, I mean quite literally so. But here’s the main difference: while in the original Knives was always the evil antagonist, in Stampede the lines become blurry. Knives’ hate for humanity stems from the cruelty of men and not from his own god complex. As such, he feels more authentic, which is obviously a big plus; I still feel however that some stories just need an antagonist that is simply evil (as opposed to the current trend of blurring the lines).
Another thing that is important to note is the overall tone of the series: Stampede has a grimmer feeling to it, a sensation that is highlighted not only by the themes it explores (as seen with Knives), but by its writing and darker colour palette as well.
Other changes were made to the side characters as well. Meryl Stryfe was degraded to a shallow character, a wimpy reporter whose final scene does not redeem her overall character when compared with the original. Wolfwood was also changed; I do however give props to how they gave him a different vibe starting from his backstory, but that is quite a radical change in my opinion and one that many fans might not appreciate.
One last remark concerns the title: Vash had three guns, his main one, the one in his prosthetic arm and the one that his power created, so that to me explained the name of the series (might also be wrong on that one). This is not a thing in Stampede; don’t know how to feel about it.
Definitely a positive in my book
As you might have noticed, there are several differences or even radical changes with the original and some of them are quite radical. The tone is darker, the mood is different, but the writing and world building is still quite good and the room for more mature themes is always appreciated.
Stampede creates a beautiful dichotomy between the ‘plants’ as the flora that has almost gone entirely extinct on Earth and the ‘plants’ as the alien life forms that are used for energy (think also of energy plants) and survival purposes. These entities also open up like flowers which is a nice symbolic touch. Their story and the dynamic created because of them for the two brothers creates the true strong point of the series. It gives a motive behind Knives hate loathing for humanity, him being one of these entities that has further evolved and his. As a side note, adding the scenes where Knives plays the piano just add an ominous feel and build up a character with a detail that might seem meaningless, but in a way contributes to the depth. Big plus for me there.
In the brief twelve episodes more emphasis is given not only on the love-hate dynamic between the brothers, but on Vash’s relation with Rem as well, his love for humanity, and there is even an unexpected moment that gives a very good moral that I will merely quote here out of context.
“Comparison is the thief of joy. You are exactly how you are meant to be.”
In conclusion I would argue that in a vacuum Stampede would be a good story on its own with a compelling narrative and some really well sequenced action scenes. The brotherly love, the pain of losing others, the motives behind their action, everything is well constructed. If not compared with Trigun, it makes for a good story with pretty decent visuals. It deserves more praise and I am sorry that such a spin sets itself up to fill the shoes of a classic. The decision to make it act almost as a prequel is debatable because of some plot holes, but I appreciate the effort of giving a somewhat sense of continuity. I’m not saying that it remains in the shadow of its predecessor, but fans might choose not to watch it because they still remember the original. I am glad I had the curiosity to explore this series and safe to say that I was not disappointed.