Trigun Stargaze

Episode 8

Overall fan reaction to this season of Trigun has been… mixed, to say the least. For those who consider the 1998 anime an inviolable sacred text, well, they'll never be happy with the reboot series anyway. For those who enjoyed 2023's Trigun Stampede, Stargaze has been something of a step down in quality. Overall, it isn't quite as propulsive or focused. For those who love Trigun Maximum, the manga from which Stargaze takes the vast majority of its influences, they're frustrated that it's not a direct adaptation, choosing to cram plot points from disparate story sections together in remixed order, as the show tries to cram fourteen volumes into a relatively short runtime. I get it, I really do.

Yet when it comes to this episode, and the new character it introduces, and the sick sense of dread that rose in my heart regarding what his presence in the narrative means, I can't help but cry out, “Well played, you magnificent bastards, well played.” We've been bashed over the head repeatedly with blatant death flags for fan-favorite character Nicholas D. Wolfwood for a while now. Spoilers for an almost 30-year-old anime and 20-year-old manga, but Wolfwood doesn't survive through to the end of either previous iteration of Trigun's events. His tragic, self-sacrificial deaths are there to twist the knife into Vash's soft, squishy heart yet further, all in service of his brother's plan to make him suffer. So why would I expect Trigun Stargaze to be any different?

From the outset, as this tight-leather-clad, bondage-metal-coded version of Livio's alter ego “Razlo the Tri-Punisher of Death” introduces himself in hilariously campy Engrish, it's clear the viewer is in for a wild ride, one that will probably end in tragedy. The road to get there is paved with madness and shiny laser beams. This is, by far, the most relentlessly entertaining episode of Trigun Stargaze so far, a pedal to the metal extravaganza of deranged fantasy violence between two nigh-unkillable titans wielding enormous crucifix-shaped particle cannon bazookas. As they blow chunks out of one another's bodies, the freaky drugs they're both hopped up on almost instantly heal their grievous wounds.

In a previous episode, Wolfwood refused the doctor's offer of more of those little blue vials, hoisting the first of those aforementioned death flags. “Oh, he'll probably run out of those at the worst possible moment,” we're primed to think. And then we learn that the medicine, although it heals all injuries, also accelerates ageing, so maybe Wolfwood was right to cut down on his use. Doesn't stop him from chomping at one of those glass ampoules with his teeth in this episode, though. (Do not emulate this at home, kiddies. Broken glass in the mouth isn't much fun.)

Their whole fight is epic in a way that transcends the muddled manga original, with its poorly-panelled action sequences that are almost impossible to follow. Here, it's always clear who is shooting what, and at whom, and it's so hyperactively stylized and neon-colored, almost seizure-inducing in intensity. This isn't merely a fight. Wolfwood is desperately protecting his friend Vash and the children he grew up with in the orphanage of his youth. That he's able to finally admit to himself that Vash is indeed his friend, and not just some idiot he happens to follow around, is a major piece of character development. Vash would have called Wolfwood his friend from the moment they met, but Wolfwood's kind of an old-school tsundere in that way. Regardless, this pair is one of the most iconic double-acts in all of anime, and it's gratifying that Wolfwood recognizes that Vash gives him a reason to live and to fight.

In the manga version, this fight stretches on for almost two volumes, and also features the involvement of Chapel, the Order of Michael assassin who trained both Livio and Nicholas. In this continuity, he's already dead, which simplifies the narrative and allows for the fight to conclude concisely, within a single episode, for which I am eternally grateful. For as much as I enjoy flashy fight scenes as much as the next guy, sometimes brevity is the most important consideration when it comes to a story trying to wrap up its numerous threads within the space of a handful of episodes.

So that brings us to that final scene. Surrounded by the people he loves: the children and their “auntie”; a reformed Livio, freed from the control of Knives; and his best friend Vash, Wolfwood is laid to rest. The music swells, his hair grays, the light fades from his eyes as colorful confetti falls from the sky. My eyes tear up, ready to say goodbye to a beloved character for the final time… and it turns out he's not dead, the guy just wants to sleep. My tears of sadness turn instantly to tears of bemused laughter. I have no idea what to think. Studio Orange has pulled the rug out from under us all, and I have no idea what to expect next. If they can change Wolfwood's fate, what other shenanigans have they planned for the final four episodes?

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Trigun Stargaze is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.