Trigun

From Free net encyclopedia

Template:Infobox animanga/Header Template:Infobox animanga/Manga Template:Infobox animanga/Manga Template:Infobox animanga/Anime Template:Infobox animanga/Other Template:Infobox animanga/Other Template:Infobox animanga/Footer Trigun (トライガン) is a sci-fi manga series with a steampunk Wild West theme created by Yasuhiro Nightow in 1995, and adapted into a 26 episode anime series in 1998 by Madhouse. It is the story of Vash the Stampede, a.k.a. The Humanoid Typhoon, a person with a $$60,000,000,000 bounty on his head, and the two Bernardelli Insurance Society employees, Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson, who were ordered to follow him and minimize the damage that seems to follow Vash everywhere he goes. Like Himura Kenshin from the manga/anime series Rurouni Kenshin, Vash can almost appear to have two personalities -- that of a harmless idiot and that of an unstoppable warrior -- but is always staunchly pacifist.

UK anime, manga, and J-Culture magazine, NEO has revealed that during an interview with Masao Maruyama (the founder of Madhouse) he said that he was currently working on a new Trigun movie. Apparently the project will be released "in a couple of years".

Contents

[edit]

Storyline

Much of the damage attributed to "Vash" is caused by the activities of the bounty hunters who are after the $$60,000,000,000 reward on Vash's head for the destruction of a city called July. Vash does not clearly remember the destruction of July, and only wants "love and peace", as he puts it; though he is a gunfighter of near god-like skill, he uses his weapons only to save lives wherever he can.

As the series progresses, more is gradually learned about Vash's mysterious history and the history of human civilization on Gunsmoke, the alien desert planet the series is set on. The series is often humorous in tone, but at the same time it involves very serious character development and especially in later episodes it becomes quite emotionally intense. Vash is occasionally joined by the preacher Nicholas D. Wolfwood, who is almost as good a gunfighter as Vash himself. Vash is later targeted by a band of assassins known as the Gung-Ho Guns for reasons which are mysterious at first.

Trigun evolves into a very serious discussion of the nature of morality, posing questions such as: What is the nature of morality? Can we judge different moral codes? If a person is forced to betray his moral code, does that betrayal invalidate that moral code, and can the person still try to live up to that moral code? Can the person find redemption from his wrongs, and if so, how?

[edit]

Manga

After leaving college, Yasuhiro Nightow had gone to work selling apartments for the housing corporation Sekisui House, but struggled to keep up with his manga drawing hobby. Reassured by some successes, including a one-shot Samurai Spirits manga based on the popular video game franchise, he quit his job to draw full time. With the help of a publisher friend, he submitted a Trigun story for the February 1995 issue of the Tokuma Shoten magazine Shōnen Captain, and began regular serialisation two months later in April.

However, Shōnen Captain was cancelled early in 1997, and when Nightow was approached by the magazine Young King Ours, published by Shōnen Gahōsha, they were interested in him beginning a new work. He was however troubledTemplate:Ref by the idea of leaving Trigun incomplete, and requested to be allowed to finish the series. The publishers were sympathetic, and the manga resumed in 1998, under the new name Trigun Maximum (トライガンマキシマム). The story jumps forward two years with the start of Maximum, and takes on a slightly more serious tone, perhaps due to the switch from a shōnen to a seinen magazine. Despite this, Nightow has statedTemplate:Ref that the new title was purely down to the change of publishers, and rather than being a sequel it should be seen as a continuation of the same series. The 11th tankōbon was published at the end of 2004.

The T.V. series TRIGUN closely follows the first two enlarged manga, but at the start of the Trigun Maximum books the two go in different directions. For example, there is actually another Gung-ho Gun and Nicholas Wolfwood's instructor or mentor from the anime never appears in Trigun Maximum. Also in the manga Vash and Knives aren't immortal as depicted in the anime. There are several sections talking about the color of their hair and how it is relevant to their powers and life dwindling away.

Shōnen Gahōsha later bought the rights to the original three volume manga series and reissued it as two enlarged volumes. In October 2003 the US publisher Dark Horse Comics released the expanded first volume translated into English, keeping the original right-to-left format rather than mirroring the pages. With the anime version already well known in the US, the first print run of 30,000 sold outTemplate:Ref shortly after release. The second volume concluded the original series early the next year, and went on to be the top earningTemplate:Ref graphic novel of 2004. On the heels of this success, Trigun Maximum followed quickly, and as of February 2006 eight volumes have been released. Translations into German, French, and Italian have also been released.

As with other popular series, a wide variety of dōjinshi has been created by fans, and partially because of the high profile anime and wealth of bishōnen characters, this includes some yaoi work. Nightow has saidTemplate:Ref he's not been daunted by this idea, and even implies he might have read a few of them! However he did at one point take the unusual step of requestingTemplate:Ref that a publisher cease distribution of a dōjinshi manga based on Trigun - not because of any risqué content, but rather that it was being sold alongside his own manga in bookshops, rather than being restricted to the condoned, specialist, comic fairs.

On a side note, in the manga, Count Vasquez bears a striking resemblance to Patrick Stewart.

See also Trigun manga releases information

[edit]

Anime

Trigun was created by the animation studio Madhouse in 1998 and directed by Satoshi Nishimura. It is licensed in the United States by Pioneer USA (now Geneon). In 2003, Trigun began broadcast as part of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block. Despite the hopes of many fans, Nightow has statedTemplate:Ref that due to the finality of the anime ending, it is unlikely any continuation will be made, though a film was recently announced by Madhouse.

[edit]

Episodes

Template:Main

[edit]

Characters

Main article: Trigun characters

[edit]

Differences Between the Manga and the Anime

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
[edit]

Story, Events, and Details

  • The manga begins at episode 5 of the series.
  • In the anime the bounty on Vash the Stampede is called off because he is designated a human disaster, and a bounty can't be collected on something like an earthquake, tornado, etc. The bounty is actually called off before the start of the manga, which the townsfolk in Trigun #1 don't know until Millie and Meryl announce it.
  • In the manga, Vash and Knives had an older sister named Tessla. She was found by scientists, who experimented on and tortured her until she finally contracted cancer and died. The boys saw her ghost on the ship often. The sight of Tessla's dissected, preserved corpse nearly drives Vash insane. When he discovered the humans had killed her he tries to commit suicide with a knife, but Rem stops him, wounding herself in the process. Seeing Rem bleed returns Vash to his senses.
  • In the manga, Grimreaper Bostalk is killed in his duel with the bearded fella.
  • In the manga when the sheriff is going to kill Vash and the hostages, Vash reveals his hidden gun and shoots up the police officers in what sounds like one shot. After dodging the sheriff's shot at point blank range he then shoots the sheriff on his badge, which blocked the bullet and fell off. In the anime, Vash tackles the bearded man and Meryl shoots the guns out of the police's hands, then the sheriff surrenders. During this incident in the manga, Meryl and Millie weren't present.
  • The events of episode 14: Little Arcadia happened at the end of Trigun #1, before Vash's first confrontation with Legato; during the anime, that would have been before episode 12 and after episode 11.
  • Unlike the anime, in the manga Legato makes it clear that he works for Knives during his first confrontation with Vash, and Vash reveals that Knives killed Rem.
  • In the manga, Dominique committed suicide after losing to Vash.
  • In the manga during the Lost July incident, Vash's angel arm blast killed everyone in the city, whereas nobody died from the blast in the anime; they were killed from exposure when the plant blew, and they were left alone to wander the wastes. Not all of them died, but many did.
  • In the manga, the Gung-Ho Guns are often shown collaborating and/or talking amongst themselves, showing "slices of life" which are almost completely absent in the anime.
  • Vash loses his mechanical arm during the fight with Monev the Gale and doesn't get it back until after he puts a hole in the moon.
  • The result of using the Angel Arm for a second time used so much of Vash's energy that part of his hair turned black. We later find out that if a plant's hair turns 100% black he/she will die.
  • Vash defeats Rai-Dei the Blade in the Manga.
  • In the manga, during his fight with Leonoff, Vash shoots a girl, thinking that she was a puppet.
  • In the manga, Hoppered the Gauntlet wasn't present during the battles in Vash's "home".
  • Millie and Meryl have a few more active parts in the manga, even joining Vash and Wolfwood in a few battles.
[edit]

Character differences

  • In the manga, Millie's hair is blonde; in the anime, it's brunette.
  • In the manga Legato is shown exhibiting emotions like anger, frustration, confusion; it's after being confined in his chamber for so long that turns him into the Legato we know from the anime, as implied by Hoppered when Midvalley tries to kill him.
  • Unlike the anime, in the manga Midvalley strongly dislikes Legato, and in fact tries to kill him. He also expresses his confliction with what it is that he has to do as a Gung-Ho Gun (in the manga).
[edit]

The Fifth moon incident

  • The Fifth moon incident occurs shortly after Vash's fight with Dominique in the manga; in the anime it occurs during his fight with Rai-Dei.
  • Knives emerges from the plant in which he was healing his body and he, not Legato, personally causes Vash to activate his Angel Arm.
  • Knives crushes (Or rather, cuts in half...) Legato for attempting to kill Vash without Knives' permission. Legato is punished for this but it's unclear if he's punishing himself or if it's actually Knives.
[edit]

The Gung-ho Guns

Format Gung-Ho Gun # Battled
Manga Monev the Gale 1 First
Anime ? First
Manga E. G. Mine 2 Second
Anime 5 Third
Manga Dominique the Cyclops 3 Third
Anime 2 Second
Manga Rai-Dei the Blade 9 Fourth
Anime 9 Fourth
Manga Leonof the Puppetmaster 4 5th/6th
Anime ? 5th/6th/7th
Manga Gray the Ninelives ? 5th/6th
Anime ? 5th/6th/7th
Manga Hoppered the Gauntlet 6 7th/8th
Anime 3 5th/6th/7th
Manga Chapel the Evergreen ? Never! He is Wolfwood.
Anime ? 9th/10th
Anime Caine the Longshot ? 9th/10th
Manga Zazie the Beast 12
Anime 4 Eighth
Manga Midvalley the Hornfreak ? 7th/8th
Anime 11 Eleventh
Manga Elendira the Crimsonnail 13
Manga Livio the Double Fang ?
Manga Razlo the Trip of Death ?
  • Composition of the Gung-ho Guns differs slightly between the manga and the anime (see table).
  • It's made clear fairly early on in the manga that Wolfwood is a Gung-ho Gun when he goes up to a chapel and joins the remaining group. His title is "Chapel the Evergreen." Later chapters reveal that Wolfwood tried to kill the real Chapel and took his name.
  • In the english translation of the manga, the Gung ho Guns introduce themselves as, "Gung ho Guns, number _"; in the English translation of the anime, they introduce themselves as "the _st/nd/rd/th Gung ho Gun." The literal translation from Japanese is most accurate as "Number _ of the Gung ho Guns" as they introduce themselves as "Gun ho guns no _"
  • In the anime Grey the Ninelives is a robot; in the manga, Grey is a being made of flesh but contains 9 little people inside of it, which control "him."
  • There is a Gung-ho Gun exclusively in the Anime called "Caine the Longshot."
  • There is a Gung-ho Gun exclusively in the Anime called "Chapel the Evergreen" who is Wolfwood's mentor; in the manga, Wolfwood is called Chapel, though his name as a Gung-ho Gun is disputed, with the most common assumption that Chapel is his title ("...the Chapel"). It's later revealed that the leader of the "Eye of Michael" is the real Chapel. He was the one that trained both Wolfwood and Livio and lost both his legs in the past because of Wolfwood.
  • There is a Gung-ho Gun exclusively in the Manga called "Elendira the Crimsonnail," who is a transvestite.
  • There is a backstory of Leonoff in the manga, which explains that Vash once knew him as a child named "Emilio" who was in love with a girl named Isabell, who later became one of Leonoff's puppets.
  • There is another Gung-Ho Gun exclusively in the Manga called Livio the Double Fang, who has a second personality Razlo the Trip of Death. The personalities count as separate Gung-Ho Guns. Wolfwood is killed as a result of taking a double dose of his Super-Soldier Formula that all members of the "Eye of Michael" carry, while in battle with Razlo and the real Chapel. Livio overcomes his evil half (Razlo) and is then Vash's new partner. Vash completely trusts him with his life and they have a similar relationship to that of Wolfwood and Vash in the past. Brad is amazed that Vash can trust him even though he essentially killed Wolfwood.
  • In the manga, Zazie the Beast is a hive mind of sandworms that can insert small worms to control bodies as "terminals." The small boy first seen is one terminal, though Zazie gains other terminals as they are destroyed one by one.
[edit]

"Mixed" Differences

  • The "boss" in the first episode of the anime makes his first (and only) appearance in the beginning of Trigun Maximum 2 when the police took him from prison to kill Midvalley and Gray the Ninelives; he nails Gray with a boomerang, but Gray ends up impaling him with it while it's still through his own chest.
  • In the manga there is a part where Midvalley pulls out a pistol and tries to kill Legato, to which Legato responds by forcing Midvalley's body to bend backwards into a painful position -- this closely resembles the scene in episode 24 of the Anime when Chapel the Evergreen tried to kill Legato, though, Midvalley never tried to kill Legato in the anime.
  • When Monev first attacks Vash in the anime, Millie shoots at him, which results in running off; In the manga, Vash reveals his hidden gun and shoots Monevs arm, rendering it useless, then it's Monev who runs off.
  • Vash's "Home" (the ship in the sky in the anime) is not in the sky in the manga. It's in a "sea of sand" (probably quicksand) that is only able to stay afloat because of the 'gravity plant' that is inside the ship. Also, "Doc" and Brad visit Vash in town and deliver his new coat (which looks quite different from the anime version) and new gun arm.
  • In the manga, after being defeated by Vash the Stampede, Rai-Dei the Blade aims his gunblade at Vash's back, but is shot to death by Wolfwood. Vash punches Wolfwood, and the two argue briefly about whether Rai-Dei would have shot (the safety was still on his weapon) and whether Wolfwood should have killed him or not. This account is somewhat synonymous to the scene in the anime when Wolfwood kills Zazie the Beast.
  • In the anime there is a scene in episode 16 where Vash shouts, "My name is... Vash the Stampeeeeeede!" to scare away the townspeople, which took place shortly before his fight with Rai-Dei the Blade. In the manga, Vash does the same thing, but in what would have taken place on episode 19 of the anime when Vash is going into the sandsteamer that was hijacked. Unlike the anime, this takes place after 5th moon incident.
  • In chapter 80 of the manga we find out that 80 years after the "Big fall" Knives chopped Vash's arm off after Vash shot him in the back of the arm. Knives had just slaughtered an entire town because the townsfolk had left Vash chained in the sun to die.
  • in chapter 84 we learn that Legato serves Knives because he's in love with him. Legato had just obtained his "Powers" but was captured by the townspeople who then disabled him and raped him. While Legato is being raped, Knives stumbles upon the situation and slices the bad guys to pieces. Knives had intended to kill everyone but once the chains that held Legato were cut he could use his "Technique" to stop the blades and save himself. Knives realizes that Legato is controlling his body and goes to cut his head off but Legato stops him. Legato then freely offers his life to Knives and begs Knives to kill him, if he deems him unworthy. Legato explained the story to Vash when he was being held prisoner in the Arc and he flashes back to it during the final confrontation between Vash and Knives.
  • In the Manga, after using his power to block an attack from the Arc; Vash's hair turns almost completely black with just a small stripe of white left. Vash then turns his remaining power into bullets that he can use in his pistol to negate Knives' attacks. His hair is even closer to being all black in the final confrontation with Knives.
[edit]

Media Info

Main article: Trigun media

[edit]

References

  1. Template:Note "When Young King Ours invited me to do some work for them, they were hoping for a new piece, but I was troubled by leaving Trigun unfinished. I told them I wouldn't feel like I had done my work unless I finished it, plus I was attached to it, and I asked them if they'd let me finish it." from interview with Nightow in the September 2000 Manga no Mori newsletter, translated by sumire.
  2. Template:Note "Nightow stated that there is no difference in the story between the two titles, and the only reason for the change is because of the switch of publishing house." from summary of discussion panel with Nightow at Anime Expo 2000, in Anaheim, California.
  3. Template:Note "The first volume of the Trigun manga, from Digital Manga Publishing and Dark Horse Comics has sold all 30,000 copies of its first printing." from ANN news article posted on 2003-10-28.
  4. Template:Note "The top earning manga release of 2004 was Dark Horse's Trigun #2, which sold less copies that Fruits Basket or Rurouni Kenshin, but sold at a higher, $14.95 price point." from ANN news article posted on 2005-01-04.
  5. Template:Note "Well, I draw my comics, and what readers imagine from them is their own business. So if they want to express that, no one can tell them to stop... But there is a certain shock reading them - how come these two guys just naturally progress to a bed scene?" from interview with Nightow in March 1999 issue of Puff magazine (pages 14-31), translated by sumire.
  6. Template:Note "Once, I protested against a publishing company that had put out an anthology (of Trigun parody manga) without my permission. I didn't know about it until it had been published, and bookstores had it lined up alongside my own works. Doujinshi are distributed only to like-minded individuals at special events, so I think they manage to just barely stay within an acceptable line, plus I know how much fun it is to exchange ideas and opinions like that, so I don't want to interfere. But when you're talking about a book with a commercial basis, being sold in ordinary bookstores, it's a totally different story, so I was like, "Be reasonable!"" from interview with Nightow in Manga no Mori newsletter, as above.
  7. Template:Note "When asked as to whether or not Trigun could spawn a sequel, he said that it would be unlikely given the story brings itself to a natural close." from discussion panel at AnimeExpo, as above.
[edit]

External links

Template:Wikiquote

es:Trigun fr:Trigun it:Trigun he:טריגאן ja:トライガン pl:Toraigan pt:Trigun sv:Trigun

Retrieved from "http://www.netipedia.com/index.php/Trigun"