Trigun Stargaze

Episode 5

It's gun-toting assassin priest Nicholas D. Wolfwood's turn in the spotlight this week, as he battles music-themed enemy Midvalley the Hornfreak while Vash is busy getting his hair done (and updated cybernetic arm tuned too, I suppose). Wolfwood has always been one of Trigun's breakout characters, from his ultra-cool design and formidable crucifix-shaped, monstrously-sized “Punisher” gun, to the permanently exhausted air that follows him around like the smoke from his cigarettes. The 1998 anime wisely chose to introduce him much earlier than his appearance in the manga, though his characterisation never received the same depth as it has in Stampede/Stargaze, primarily because author Yasuhiro Nightow hadn't got around to writing his backstory when the first anime was being made. Trigun's manga never finished serialization until nine years after its anime aired, so the modern remake has a vast array of material available to adapt that its predecessor did not.

This extra context doesn't only benefit Wolfwood, but also some of the other antagonists in modern Trigun that either didn't exist at all in the 1998 anime, like Elendira the Crimsonnail (though her tiny appearance is vastly at odds with her towering manga incarnation), or those characters who were previously grossly underwritten, like Midvalley. This time, instead of being a fanatical Knives worshipper, Midvalley, like Wolfwood, was brought up in the Eyes of Michael organisation, trained as an assassin. Via an extremely disturbing, bloody flashback, we witness Knives' first meeting with Midvalley and his band of musical assassins after they had slaughtered an entire venue's worth of patrons. Midvalley's bandmates unwisely attempt to fight Knives, succeeding only in their blood and viscera splattering over a horrified Midvalley. So this time, he's hardly a willing acolyte, more a terrified slave. He's only interested in retrieving – not killing – Vash, and he bears no malice towards Wolfwood at all. Yet Wolfwood now aligns himself with Vash, regardless of his assassin origins, so of course they have to battle it out, Punisher to… saxophone?

Only an action sci-fi as nutty as Trigun can equip one of its most dangerous antagonists with a murder-saxophone, and somehow make it work. Wolfwood and Midvalley's fight takes up half the episode, yet doesn't outstay its welcome. It's more a battle of wits than anything else, as Midvalley uses sound in several creative ways to disable his opponent, while Wolfwood tries to think on his feet against an enemy who seems to be a very poor match-up for him. It's only with Vash and the Home ship crew's intervention that Midvalley is beaten, Vash destroying his beloved instrument of death, and of course, sparing his life. I can't imagine Knives will let Midvalley survive much longer, though.

Speaking of surviving enemies, I'm not convinced that allowing puppet master Leonof/Emilio to remove his handcuffs is a good idea, and I imagine that will come back to bite everyone in the ass later down the line. Meanwhile, Legato is acting super creepy and snuggling up to Knives' glass medical chamber. I… don't think Knives is into you that way, my dude, not in this or any continuity.

What I am into very much, however, is the return of Vash's spiky hair, round sunglasses, and red jacket combo. I think this is about as close as this version has got so far to his iconic look from the 90s anime and manga. Shame it's only taken us seventeen episodes to get there… Also, Milly seems quite attentive to Wolfwood here. I wonder if there will be any hints towards the romantic relationship they shared in the original anime (but not manga)? This would be a bit weird, though, because this version of Wolfwood is a rapidly aged-up child, lest we forget.

Anyway, if you couldn't tell, I've recently been on a Trigun binge through the entirety of the 90s anime and all seventeen volumes of the manga, so that I'm better able to comment on the updates and differences in this new version. Even though many plot beats here are lifted wholesale from later volumes of Trigun Maximum, there are enough differences to mean I have little idea what's coming next. Though with Knives' Ark unleashing a barrage of missiles towards Home, I can't imagine any of our heroes will be having a good time next week. I suspect much pain and sorrow are ahead.

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Trigun Stargaze is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.