Trigun Stargaze

Episode 4

Compared to last week's no-holds-barred battle against Leonof's army of puppets, this time the pace slows down for a breather, as our characters take stock of events, eat together, goof around, and get haircuts. It's sweet and cute. Oh, and a cackling Legato telekinetically minces a bunch of people into crimson puree, while Knives' body slowly gets rebuilt via the sacrifice of multiple sentient beings, bringing a sinister new meaning to the concept of plant grafting. That tonal dissonance has always been part of Trigun's identity, dating right back to the original 1995 manga and first 1998 anime adaptation.

Even as all three versions of the Trigun story share common elements, including central plot points, Stargaze continues to remix and reinterpret them differently. As he's done in every version before, Wolfwood returns Vash's trusty firearm, following two years of separation, with the instructions to use it properly this time. Vash, of course, declines to use his weapon to end a life – even though he vows to “deal with” Knives, the architect of all humanity's misery, he still clings to his pacifist ideology.

New character (to this version), Midvalley the Hornfreak, is faced with the same conundrum. Despite being in Knives' thrall, he's tempted to destroy his terrifying master as he gradually regenerates in his vat. That he flinches in terror as Knives' eyeball swivels in his direction is enough for him to decide. Even incapacitated, Knives rules his acolytes with primal fear. Yet they're so devoted to Knives, they risk their lives to revive him, sacrificing so many of the plants he loves to rebuild his body, knowing he'll probably murder them all in retaliation.

This unsettling process leads us to witness Knives' dream – a flashback? Or something weirder? As the plants are fused to him, his identity seems to drift, to alter, as he experiences the memories of what seems to be an “independent” who preceded both him and Vash. If we recall from Stampede, Vash and Knives were themselves born from plants, but differentiated from them in that they held independent will. This “Tesla” – was she the first independent mentioned in Stampede? Why would Knives experience her memories now? I wonder what this will mean for the future?

I'm not sure if I'm misremembering, but is this the most we've seen so far of Legato in this reboot? His role as antagonist has been greatly reduced compared to the 1998 anime, where Knives kept himself in the background for most of the series' run, with Legato taking the place of the main foe. His redesign keeps most of his signature motifs intact (such as his spiky shoulder accoutrements), while making them less exaggerated. He's just as psychotically evil, though.

Vash and his interactions with Milly and Meryl are cute, but there's not the same sense of shared history between them as there was in the manga and anime. I do wonder why this version held back on introducing Milly until the second season? This Milly is easily as sweet and enthusiastic as the old one, even if her proportions aren't quite as titanic. I'm glad Wolfwood has Vash's back, much as he always has, even if that means he's heading for a difficult fight alone against Midvalley. The feeling of dread as Knives' goons realize that their next stop for harvesting plants should be the Home ship is overwhelming. Clearly, it's too pleasant a place to survive in this cruel world.

Vash's new (old) haircut is a nice touch, and with his pristine new red jacket and sunglasses, I expect him to be back to his original iconic look next week, perhaps silencing the complaints of some traditionalists who have disliked his appearance in this version of the story. What's up with his hair changing color, though? I only hope he's not too late to prevent Wolfwood from sacrificing himself.

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Trigun Stargaze is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.