'Trigun: Badlands Rumble' is just like old times

05.05.2010 by Patrick W. Galbraith

There is almost no need to review "Trigun: Badlands Rumble," was released in Japanese theaters on April 24. Fans of the original TV show will love the movie, and everyone else won't care. Opening night in Shinjuku wasn't nearly as crowded as you'd expect, even with the usual live panel of creators and seiyuu. It was more like a reunion for aging "Trigun" fans, with everyone taking their photos with a cardboard cutout of Vash the Stampede. That said, the anime is a wild-west sci-fi hybrid that delvers on all levels, and it is worth mentioning the movie does not disappoint.

It might even be a good entry into the franchise for newcomers. It is basically a film-length episode, following the same pattern as most of the stories in the series (before the Gung-Ho Guns show up and things get serious). It is sort of like "Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door," in that it is a movie that fits somewhere in between episodes of the anime cannon. All the characters - Wolfwood, Milly and Meryl - show up and do characteristic things. The animation is by Madhouse, who wowed us in 1998 with the high production values of the TV series, at a time when TV anime was struggling. The animation in the film is top notch, and it is stunning to see the giant light bulb "plants" towering over desolate towns, a giant sand freighter crossing the barren landscape with a caravan of cars in its wake and Vash striking his "devil in a red coat" pose in front of the moons. All in all, newcomers get a good introduction to all the good stuff from the series, and fans get to revisit favorite themes.



****SPOILERS****

The story is unremarkable, and won't be explicated in detail here. The short and dirty is Vash is in a bank when a nasty sidewinder named Gasback and his gang are robbing it. Gasback likes to dream big, make big gambles and score big, and his gang is fed up with it. They decide to double-cross and dispose of the boss and make off with the score. Vash, acting like a bumbling coward, steps in and makes sure no one dies. The gang gets away with the loot, and Gasback is pretty pissed. He unleashes a flurry of missiles, destroying the bank, much of the city and damaging the plant. He goes on to become a ruthless criminal. Vash feels responsible for it. Years later, the members of Gasback's former gang are well positioned in society. One grease ball is now the mayor of the city where he betrayed Gasback. He used his ill-gotten gains to fix the local power plant and erect a statue in his own honor. It's rumored that Gasback is coming to town looking for revenge, and a hoard of bounty hunters come to stop him. Among them are Vash and a mysterious girl named Amelia. Gasback arrives – with Wolfwood in tow – and all hell breaks loose.

The story is a foredawn conclusion. We know that Vash isn't going to die, though his mantra of not letting anyone die certainly brings him close to death. We also know that Vash is the strongest man (or humanoid) on this planet, and no one could possibly match him is he was serious. Indeed, when he finally decides to put Gasback down in a one on one duel, it takes about 15 seconds to finish him. That isn't really the point. The point is to see how our beloved cast of characters makes it to the conclusion. Wolfwood gets the choice scenes. In one vignette he is alone in the desert dying of dehydration; he is right in front of a wonderfully rendered retro vending machine, but has no change. Gasback drives by and saves him, thus his having to face off against Vash. When Vash supposedly dies, Wolfwood is chain smoking, drinking liquor and shooting up refrigerators (BL lights are flashing, fujoshi rejoice). Then he puts on Vash's glasses and goes to take revenge on Gasback. With a veteran voice actor like Hayami Sho at the reigns, be assured there are some moving moments. Sakamoto Maya also puts in a good performance as Amelia, with her deadpan, hard-ass chick routine. There are some side-busting scenes with Vash hitting on her.

****END****

"Trigun" is a great Western. It has the desert setting. It has the soundtrack. It has saloons and whores. It has six-shooters and (creatures that function like) horses. It has men of true grit who are tough as nails. Heck, it’s even got people speaking Kansai-ben – the dialect of Western Japan. OK, strictly speaking that last one has nothing to do with “Westerns,” but it’s got rough and tumble written all over it. Yes, "Trigun" is a great Western, but not a great American Western. No sir, this is not the lone wolf riding into town and gunning baddies down. It’s a story about the bonds between us, about friends, family and enemies. But most of all it is about LOVE & PEACE! It’s about a pacifist hero who literally kills no one in the film, spends most of his time on screen playing stupid, eating doughnuts and standing in the way of stray bullets. He runs away and cries for the suffering of humanity. This is a guy so nice it is at times sickening and maddening to watch him. "Trigun" is about style, about good-looking men strutting around in the blazing sun wearing leather trench coats and full suits, getting business done and never breaking a sweat. That's really all there is to it, but still worth checking out. I for one enjoyed myself thoroughly (even though bossy little Meryl wasn't on screen much...).