Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to return to the sand-blasted wastes of Trigun Stampede, as our reluctant hero and his companions suffer the fallout of Knives’ calamitous appearance. The two brothers are opposing reflections; Vash sees himself as no more than a rootless drifter, but cannot help cherish and protect the lives of those he meets, while Knives sees himself as a new god, and the humans of this planet as no more than supplicants and sacrifices. Even while falling from heaven, we can always make a choice; while Vash has become a reluctant savior, Knives has clearly decided it’s better to rule in hell than serve in heaven.

I’m intrigued to see both how this metaphor is carried forward, and also simply how the main cast interact in the wake of these revelations regarding Vash’s nature. Additionally, having munched through the entire original Trigun adaptation in the time between Stampede viewings, I’m all the more curious to explore this rendition’s twists on the original formula. The two shows are so different that they basically fall into distinct subgenres; the original Trigun was far more episodic, and actually revealed even less of Vash and Knives’ history in its entire run than this version has in the first three episodes. That means whatever’s coming down the line will still be new to me, and given how generous this production’s been so far, I can’t wait to greet it. Let’s get back planetside!

Episode 4

We open on what appears to be a trio of bandits enjoying some freshly cooked sandworm meat, almost certain to be interrupted by a ravenous Vash. I wonder where the trope of a preposterously hungry shonen protagonist originated? Goku is the earliest I know of, but “exaggerated training session leading to exaggerated post-training feast” is a pretty obvious idea. Of course, Goku himself was presumably drawing on the Monkey King’s unruly appetite from Journey to the West

Nope, we’re introducing our presumed final co-lead, a man in a full suit carrying a large bundled cross on his back

One interesting thing I noted that separates the original Trigun adaptation from Stampede is that in the first version, the nature of the plants is never made particularly clear – they’re never framed as being actually alive, and we never see a core design similar to the feminine figure that is inescapable in Stampede. A clear demonstration of how Stampede is leaning further into religious metaphor than its predecessor, intentionally framing the plants as Eve-like seeds of humanity

It’s no surprise this version is more directly engaging with Vash’s backstory; Trigun’s worldbuilding is fascinating, a far more evocative template than the “good guys with powers fight bad guys with powers” shonen standard. Humanity was never meant for this hostile world, but does that mean it is wrong for us to cling to existence, to tend to our plants and beat back the desert’s inevitable victory? The idea of this being a “fallen world” doesn’t have to be constrained to religious metaphor, it’s clear in the fundamental hostility of this desert prison

We cut back to our main trio driving across the desert, and learning that our two reporters have now been labeled Vash’s accomplices

Very nice to be back with this production’s ridiculously expressive Meryl. Orange have been a top studio for a while now, and it’s wonderful to see them reaching greater and greater heights in CG expressiveness

“Only god really knows what goes on inside someone.” This lofty religious metaphor drawn down to its most individual level, our attempts to understand one another

Ahead of them they see a great green cloud of floating “worms,” apparently a key source of protein in this region

And then they run over the suit guy

They arrive at a diner whose proprietors have been killed, leaving only a kid who hid in a locker. Our suited man reveals he actually is something of a priest, performing last rites after they bury the two owners. Being a priest seems like a hard deal in a place like this; there is no sense or end to the tragedy, echoing Roberto’s statement that only god can make sense of this reality. And at the same time, our alleged savior Vash has no faith in his own purpose, and merely wants to avoid hurting more people

“I’m no priest. Just an undertaker.” Little wonder he can barely remember the rituals; there’s no place for a hopeful faith here, just a man to bury the bodies

Vash interrupts Meryl and our new guy’s bickering, drawing their attention to the orphaned survivor. His curse is that he actually can feel the pain of others, and thus cannot distract himself with his own petty concerns

Sympathizing with this orphan and then asking for a check – our new guy embodies both poles of the wasteland, seeing beauty in human life but also making sure he gets his

Then the entire party is consumed by a Grand Worm, truck and all. Their trip down its gullet offers a chance for one of Studio Orange’s favorite tricks: swooping camerawork following characters through a visual slide, a favored flourish of Land of the Lustrous’ most ambitious episode directors. CG obviously has its distinct strengths, and the more Orange polish their character modeling, the more CG’s weaknesses start to dissipate

Also a fine chance to show off their improved effects animation, as the worm also swallows a bellyful of dust and sand

God, Meryl is such a treasure trove of ridiculous faces. A glowing dragonfly startles her into a fine procession of new ones

Apparently the worms are actually connected to each other, and directed by the Grand Worms

“It’s the tool of my trade. How would I make a living if I got rid of it?” He is quite literally bearing a heavy cross

The group split up to investigate individual tunnels within the worm. Strong Alien vibes from this adventure – the interior of this creature looks very much like the interior of the crashed ship discovered by the Nostromo, and this tunnel crawl is basically the ventilation duct hunt

And yep, right on cue, something ominous sneaks up behind Meryl in the tunnel

“You only get one life. You have to fight for it, no matter who you hurt in the process.” Our newcomer has embraced a pragmatic outlook, though he’s truthfully no different from the villagers who demanded Vash leave last episode. Whether you phrase it kindly or bluntly, we all do what we have to do to survive

Roberto believes the priest is an assassin, and asks to see his cross

But Vash disagrees. As always, he can see the good in people, the value his brother denies

He gets a chance to prove his convictions when he’s rocketed out of the worm’s apparent blowhole, yet turns back to save his friends

Ultimately, it turns out it was actually the alleged orphan controlling these worms. Just as an ominous appearance is no guarantee of villainy, so is a facade of innocence no guarantee of virtue

“Humans simply assume it’s a family when they see adults and children.” We are as predisposed to kindly assumptions as we are to accusatory ones, but neither preconception can be trusted

And at last, the priest reveals that his cross is indeed a Big Goddamn Gun. Trigun’s got a compelling world and a robust moral philosophy, but it also fully understands the appeal of cool names and big guns

His gun is so big, in fact, that it has no trouble essentially beheading the Grand Wurm in one blast

“You’re not going to survive like that!” His philosophy is as simple as he described it previously: you have to fight for your life, no matter the cost. But that doesn’t mean he is indifferent to the lives of others – and in fact, him demanding Meryl eat the fresh worm meat emphasizes how he’s also willing to take a metaphorical cross on his back, to at least in part carry the sins of violence necessary to ensure the innocent survive

“The cross is actually a machine gun. No wonder it’s heavy.” Carrying that violence is not an easy task

“You’d thank a villain for his vagaries? That’s a little too generous.” “I get that a lot.” And Vash carries the weight of always believing in others, even when it causes him pain

This perspective, more than anything else, is what makes Trigun special. While most action anime settle for exploring the difficulty of becoming strong, Trigun’s leads begin with strength, and must instead grapple with the difficulty of becoming kind

“I still deserve to eat and laugh, right?” Vash actually finds comfort in the priest’s philosophy

And thank god, he finally introduces himself as Nicholas D. Wolfwood, I can stop referring to him as variations on “that guy”

Our stinger reveals Wolfwood is in cahoots with the worm-caller, “Zazie the Beast.” But Wolfwood’s true position is asserted by the juxtaposition of Zazie’s words and Vash’s – Zazie claims that he can “see it in his eyes” that Wolfwood doesn’t care about people, but Vash saw the exact opposite, and Wolfwood was clearly shocked to be so recognized

And Done

Thus our team acquires their newest member, the dirtbag priest Nicholas D. Wolfwood. An excellent episode on the whole – a little Dune, a little Alien, and a whole lot of grappling with Trigun’s fatigued philosophy, its insistence that trust and kindness must still be championed even in the most dire, seemingly pragmatism-demanding circumstances. I was impressed by how clearly this episode immediately contrasted the philosophies of Vash and Wolfwood, and also appreciate how, like with Vash’s relationship with Knives, Wolfwood’s connection with the villains is revealed immediately. Where the original Trigun leaned heavily on shocking reveals, Stampede always puts its cards face-up on the table, trusting in the inherent moral complexity of its drama and characters to provide a sense of urgency and momentum. The gambit is absolutely working; Trigun possesses a compelling philosophy, and seeing its characters actually challenge each other on their values is a real treat.

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