Trigun Stargaze
Episodes 1-2
by Kevin Cormack,
How would you rate episode 1 of
Trigun Stargaze ?
Community score: 3.8
How would you rate episode 2 of
Trigun Stargaze ?
Community score: 3.7
2023's CG-animated Trigun Stampede was, for me, the absolute sweet spot that got me into the story. A combination of a prequel and a remix of earlier versions, it still maintained some goofy humor but got to the point much more quickly. It was also gorgeous to look at, with an incredible soundtrack. Much to the disgust of some of my '90s cel animation purist friends, I confidently stated that Trigun Stampede was far and above the best version of this story.
Therefore, I'm very excited that the second (concluding) half of the story is now upon us. Two and a half years have passed since Vash the Stampede's Angel Arm destroyed the city of JuLai, and intrepid reporter Meryl Stryfe is now finally partnered up with Millie Thompson. This Millie isn't quite the mountainous woman of the previous versions, though, which may upset some long-time fans. Her peppy, upbeat personality seems similar, at least. It's currently unclear to me whether an insurance company employs either of them, as they were in the '90s anime, though.
None of Meryl's stories implicating Millions Knives in the destruction of “Lost JuLai” have been published, which means Vash finally has that $$60 billion bounty on his head, “Wanted Dead or Alive”, as per the iconic poster that we now see. Most of the episode, we follow Meryl and Millie, as they meet up with bug-controlling Zazie the Beast, who takes them to a previously undiscovered crashed starship where all the people, and even all the Plants died. They find a single dead Plant in a vat, which disperses into dust when the fluid is drained. I'm unsure right now what any of this means.
At the conclusion of the previous season, we learned that a human colony fleet was on its way towards planet Noman's Land, and I suspect that will form the plot backbone for much of the upcoming season. I'm not necessarily convinced Millions Knives is dead, and I can't imagine he'll be pleased to hear that more humans are on the way to potentially rescue those trapped on the desert planet. At the episode's beginning, we see a massive ship crashing into a town and stealing its life-giving plant in a spectacular sequence. We learn this has happened multiple times, and I wonder if this is Knives' work.
We leave off this intriguing opener with a glimpse of a mute, blonde-haired character who seems strangely familiar, and a little pigtailed girl who crashes to the ground in search of Vash. What could it all mean? Although this is a relatively understated first episode, it does a good job of reestablishing the world and what has changed in the interim between seasons. I'm glad Trigun has returned, and hope the central cast are reunited so they can entertainingly bounce off one another again soon.
The second episode is more Vash, or should I say “Eriks”-centric. The last two and a half years haven't been great for Vash. His mind broken by the belief he was to blame for the destruction of “Lost JuLai”, he's become mute and unwilling to even care for himself. Hoppered is an odd chap with massively overgrown arms and little spindly legs, who pulls himself around on two wheels, who now cares for the skinny waif he calls “Eriks”. This recalls a similar plotline from episode 18 of the '90s anime, where, following the destruction of the city of Augusta, Vash temporarily changes his name to Eriks to break with his past. The city of July met a similar fate in the old anime, too.
In this version, Vash is so lacking in hope and drive that his new friend Hoppered has to feed him porridge, mouthful by mouthful. When young Jessica crash-lands nearby, she's heartbroken to find Vash in this state, especially as she'd placed all her hope in finding him and having him rescue her home from assailants unknown. I assume she's from the same ship where we saw Vash used to live, last season.
It's unclear to me if Hoppered already knew that “Eriks” was Vash or not, but Jessica's arrival seems to confirm this in his mind. He concocts a plan to shake Vash out of his stupor, and possibly also fulfil his obvious death wish. The woman Hoppered loved, whom he similarly also nursed back to health, was killed in the JuLai explosion, and at least part of him blames Vash for this. By threatening Jessica's life, he forces Vash's hand, and he fights to protect her. The outcome of the battle is tragic, with Vash once again used unwittingly as an agent of death. Never has a pacifist been implicated in so much death.
Outside of Vash and Jessica's immediate orbit, the rest of society is getting ready to welcome the new fleet, which should be in communication range within a couple of months. They've indicated they're willing to rescue anyone who wants to board their ships. I wonder if that also means all of the mutated weirdos with disturbing bodily modifications? I wonder if the fleet people might change their mind upon finding out what kind of society has subsisted on this dry, barren world over the past century and a half. I can't imagine their rescue attempt going smoothly, and will everyone who wants to be rescued get to a pickup point, and within what time window? Maybe I shouldn't be stressing too much about the intricacies.
Meryl and Millie don't get a lot to do this episode, other than running over a wandering Nicholas D. Wolfwood on their travels. Just as well this is a cartoon, otherwise that enormous arc he follows in the sky would be likely to smush him dead once he lands. All of the major players have finally appeared; now I really want to know what they get up to next.
Rating:
Trigun Stargaze is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
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