Forum - View topicREVIEW: Trigun Maximum Manga Review
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tintor2
 Posts: 2708 |
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It's a shame Dark Horse chose that format to release the manga cos the tankobon uses an artstyle was not only cool to see but even hilarious through Nightow's selfparody. I remember researching about the series and Nightow claims a big difference between his Vash and Madhouse's Vash is that the latter flirts a lot while the former tends to avoid romantic interests. His relationship with humans make him look more like a messiah figure in the manga rather than a tortured soul who is saved by Sheryl whom he sees as the second coming of Rem in the anime and possible love interest. The art sure is weird as the characters can get ridiculously looking when being involved in comical scenes in a similar way to the Hellsing manga. Vash and Knives are obviously a nod to Cain and Abel but the manga finally gave the latter more screentime than in the anime but for some reason the main plot reminded me of the mecha series Gun x Sword
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Iritscen
 Subscriber Posts: 910 |
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As an owner of all the original English tankobon, I had to read this review and see if the author had the same problem that we all seem to-- yep, he couldn't understand a lot of the panels either
When I first read this manga, I thought there must be something wrong with my visual cortex because I just could not understand some panels, even when I turned the manga upside-down. I eventually found out that this is an issue for most people. I lent my collection to a friend by putting the entire collection in a giant bag and handing it to him. He had really enjoyed the 1998 anime so he was curious to see the manga version of the story. He returned the bag of books a couple weeks later. Puzzled, I asked what he thought of it and he said, "I just couldn't read it. I couldn't tell what I was looking at." I appreciate that Nightow wanted to take his posing to the Extreme Edge, but maybe he actually went over the edge at times. I wonder if this is something that Japanese readers complained about/had trouble with too. |
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Top Gun
 Posts: 5295 |
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I watched and loved the original anime adaptation over 20 years ago, but in all that time I've never been entirely clear about how it relates to the manga, especially the Maximum part. It's interesting to finally get things pieced together.
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Iritscen
Subscriber Posts: 910 |
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Yeah, and this is a very accurate review. To build on my previous comment: yes, the art is sometimes so inscrutable that it feels like you're failing a Magic Eye™ test and you have to just shrug and turn the page. And there are fights that drag on way too long, especially in the final volumes. But the manga has some really interesting ideas, some unique and memorable characters (like Elendira, the 13th Gung Ho Gun) and also some great art that you actually can understand and appreciate
 Just as importantly, the manga doesn't waste time on silly and illogical filler stories like the early part of the 1998 anime. The manga also does more world building, and has much better development of Knives' character. And over time I've come to the conclusion that I like the ending better.
This reminds me, I need to start watching the new series, and I mean Trigun Stampede. I was reluctant to watch it because I was worried it would trample on my fond memories of the original anime. But I'm not hearing bad things about it so now I've decided I want to catch up on Stampede and move on to Stargaze. |
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hawaiky
 Posts: 5 |
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tried to read the manga for a while now but most of the times i'm like "huh? whos talking to who?" or "what is goin on here?". i just can't get into it, i find it kinda confusing
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JadeDahlia
 Posts: 79 Location: New York, NY |
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Honestly I think calling the manga "80% fights" and saying the ideologies "aren't there" does it a huge disservice. That may be kind of true of Stargaze, but the ideologies are very much present in the manga, they're just a bit more complex.
Overall, I think the story is about whether humanity is worth saving, with Vash believing they are and Knives believing they aren't. One thing that I think is foundational to understanding Vash and Knives is the Tesla incident, and the aftermath of that. Both of them were understandably traumatized, but Vash had Rem's support and came away from it still able to believe in humanity despite his understandable doubts, while Knives had to process things alone. |
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Iritscen
Subscriber Posts: 910 |
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Absolutely. I think the ending of the manga is going to leave readers with the feeling that it's 80% fights, because that's what it turns into. A single battle is like an entire volume towards the end of the story. Nightow could have wrapped things up much faster. But the pacing was good before the last few volumes.
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Exodus007
 Posts: 137 |
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Love Trigun and the original anime. Recently finished the reboot and I never owned the original manga only Maximum which I never read. So I bought all the new hardcovers and read Trigun and Vol 1/5 of Maximum (I know the story enough that the review don't spoil much and I will read the other 4 this year).
I highly agree that some panels are confusing and some speech bubbles I have trouble discerning who said what. The art is amazing though as well as the story and characters as always. |
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