Yasuhiro NightowCritiques

I still don't like the art style and find it difficult to understand. I know there are people who love it, and there's a lot of skill on display. It just looks ugly, and the character designs are still bad. The story in this one is quite bad, and the second star is mostly because the fight scenes are well-drawn, even if I can't stand the style of them.

I still don't like the art style and find it difficult to understand. I know there are people who will love it, and there's a lot of skill on display. It just looks ugly, and the character designs are still bad. It gets that third star for part of Vash and Wolfwood's relationship, which can be cute. The story is still rather uninteresting and badly paced. Other shounen do this stuff better. "Black Cat" definitely did gun fights and tragic antagonist backstories better.

I wish I liked this volume, because it's got some of the better art in the series and Wolfwood is in it, and his relationship with Vash is rather cute. There's also just a lot of panels made to admire Vash's body, which is fun. And Knives' introduce is pretty decent. But unfortunately the volume compensates by upping Vash's sexism, which, while typical of 90s shounen, is still just as bad now as it was back then.

I'm still not a general fan of the character designs or ridiculous Very 90s costuming, but I do respect the artistry in the fight scenes and posing. The story also isn't very good. The sense of place and time isn't clear, and a good chunk of the story is "Meanwhile, Legato is up to no good", and the climax was... unfulfilling.

Milly is still my favorite character, but Wolfwood is up there, now. Legato and Vash are fun, and Knives is interesting.

All in all, if you want a classic shonen from the 90s... well I can't say I exactly recommend this, but if you really like "s-CRY-ed", "Cowboy Bebop", "Outlaw Star", "Marchen Awakens Romance", "Flame of Recca", or that kind of thing, this might be for you. If you like "Trigun: Stampede", there will be a number of elements here that you can see I the anime, but a lot was changed.

For a shonen from the 90s, it's quite typical, and if that's something you're looking for, particularly something that mixes science fiction and westerns, this is probably the thing for you. Personally, while I respect the talent and detail in the artwork, I cannot stand the art style, and actually find it quite difficult to follow a lot of the time because too much is happening. I also find the story in this volume at best funny in the more comedic moments, or just kind of boring, though the world-building is... at least interestingly designed? Though also a lot of it is very typical for stories of this type, and this doesn't exactly stand out to me other than it's still popular today, and I'm up to speed with "Trigun: Stampede", and giving the manga another chance while I wait for episode 12.

I actually started this back in 2011 and dropped it because of the art and story. My impression hasn't changed. I still love Milly best of the cast, and it's nice to see her again. Vash's physical flexibility is also quite neat, and his ability to wear 10,000 belts and constantly show off his stretchy arms and legs is quite... fascinating. I'm not complaining.

All in all, if you want a classic shonen from the 90s... well I can't say I exactly recommend this, but if you really like "s-CRY-ed", "Cowboy Bebop", "Outlaw Star", "Marchen Awakens Romance", "Flame of Recca", or that kind of thing, this might be for you. If you like "Trigun: Stampede", there will be a number of elements here that you can see I the anime, but a lot was changed.

I still don't like the art style and find it difficult to understand. I know there are people who will love it, and there's a lot of skill on display. It just looks ugly, and the character designs are still bad. The insight into Knives and Vash's relationship is fun. The plot itself is pretty bad otherwise.

Like volume 1, for a shonen from the 90s, it's quite typical, and if that's something you're looking for, particularly something that mixes science fiction and westerns, this is probably the thing for you. While I still respect the talent and detail in the artwork, I still cannot stand the art style, and still find it quite difficult to follow a lot of the time because too much is happening. The character designs continue to be pretty terrible (and are actually somewhat worse in this volume). I also think the story is worse in this volume than in volume 1.

Milly is still my favorite character. I like Meryl, but her characterization feels kind of random. I also find it hard to sympathize with insurance regulators/inspectors or whatever they are. I'm sure there's a deep joke here I'm just missing, but it just feels like a very silly conceit. I suppose it's meant to be funny that we might want Milly and Meryl to fail because insurance companies suck? Or something? It's funny they're so bad at stopping disasters? I don't know.

All in all, if you want a classic shonen from the 90s... well I can't say I exactly recommend this, but if you really like "s-CRY-ed", "Cowboy Bebop", "Outlaw Star", "Marchen Awakens Romance", "Flame of Recca", or that kind of thing, this might be for you. If you like "Trigun: Stampede", there will be a number of elements here that you can see I the anime, but a lot was changed.

While the art on an ability level is still respectable, it's still often hard to figure out what is going on in certain panels, because the details are so overly complex, style-wise. I also still just don't like the art style (e.g., I didn't think Vash's costume could get worse, and Yet). I still think the character designs are ugly, and visually it's an ugly mess. There are a number of good Wolfwood panels I enjoy, and his parts are often the better ones: his relationship with Vash is quite fun.

Overall the plot's kind of boring, though I do like the general theme of trying your best to help those in need, with the hope of doing better in your future, for yourself and those around you. There are also just stories that aren't this visually ugly that also tackle that... It came out at a different time, so obviously I benefit from just having more options in the future, but for example, "Mo Dao Zu Shi" the novel by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu handles a number of similar story themes here much better, and the manhua adaptation is far better looking than this. "Fullmetal Alchemist" and "Spy x Family" do fight scenes better (FMA in particular is gorgeously drawn, as is "InuYasha"), and "Spy x Family" also handles similar themes quite well. But I mean if you're into classic shounen manga that are westerns... this is here.

While the art on an ability level is respectable, it's still often hard to figure out what is going on in certain panels, because the details are so overly complex, style-wise. I also still just don't like the art style. I still think the character designs are ugly, and visually it's an ugly mess. Still giving points to the mangaka constantly emphasizing how good-looking Vash is as a lithe character through weird acrobatics, though I wish Vash had stuck with his hair long and down.

Despite the fact that most of the story is shoot-outs, it's actually quite boring. Most of this volume is set-up, so it's going to be reasonably slow. If you loved the series before this, I'm sure you'll love this, too. If you don't like the series, this is a terrible place to start.

My favorite Manga series of all time.

The sixty million double-dollar man is back for more future gun action!

Vash has his hands full with Emilio The Puppet Master and Wolfwood is up to his ass with Nine Lives, the Immortal Monster. Will Millie and Meryl arrive in time? What sort of claims are the Bernardelli Insurance Agency going to have to pay now? Will Vash get out of this without killing anyone yet again? Will Wolfwood ever get to preach again, or will he have to instead continue to use his cross as a machine gun and rocket launcher?

Listening to Mods, Skins, Punks by The Professionals

The man in the red duster is back and we're in for more deep space planet future gun action. The whole gang is back: Wolfwood the priest, the two lesbians from the Bernardelli insurance agency, and even Knives.

Will Vash the Stampede cause even more mayhem? Will he blast the moon or devastate more cities while trying to not hurt anybody? You betcha!

Trigun is still my favorite manga/anime of all time and this first volume of Maximum is no disappointment. Picks up where Trigun left off.

I've become a bit jaded with manga in recent years, as evidenced by the fact that I quit the last long term series that I was working on (even though it had beautiful art) and barely gave the last set a try, but delving back into Trigun was a fun romp. The post-apocalyptic(ish), western setting is definitely not my norm for content, but something about the red-jacketed gunslinger makes me want to know his story. Nightow is really just starting to set the stage for his story in this first volume, throwing all kinds of random conflict Vash's direction, but some of the major themes are already starting to emerge. We see Vash's lonely nature being eroded by the insurance girls and the wild west themes about settlement, competition for resources, and the importance of the environment are taking the forefront. What is Vash trying to accomplish on this wayward planet is still a mystery, but we'll join the caravan (or steamship in Vash's case) for a while to find out.

It must be a lot longer than I remember since the last time I watched Trigun, because I barely remember some of the stranger details of the story. I recalled that Vash was trying to track down an enemy who killed someone he loved, but I had totally forgotten that he was some type of otherworldly being who was mixed up in the attempted revitalization of the planet. With the end of this volume we see the publication switch to a slightly more grown up tack, so we'll see if I'm any more into the series. In paper format it's not quite as engaging as the anime, since the artwork makes things a bit challenging to follow, so we'll see if I can make it through 14 more volumes.

The final one. I'll miss you Vash...

The final one. I'll miss you Vash...

The final one. I'll miss you Vash...

One of the first anime I ever watched was Trigun. Soon after I bought a few volumes of Trigun Maximum, which have been sitting on my shelf for close to ten years. Of course, Trigun Maximum is not the start of the series, something I hadn’t realized at the time. Finally, finally, I’ve read the actual beginning of the series: Trigun Omnibus by Yasuhiro Nightow. It took long enough, I know. And I am very happy I finally got around to reading this.

Trigun is a science fiction, wild-west styled manga that takes place on the faraway planet of Gunsmoke. Vash the Stampede is a wanted man. With sixty billion double-dollars hanging over his head, every gunslinger on the planet is hunting him. Vash, is an avowed pacifist, however, not wanting to fight, but not willing to go down without one either. Because when he does fight, the damage is catastrophic. Not massive collateral damage and hundreds dead catastrophic. More like hole punched through the planet, millions dead catastrophic.

This is a fast paced action story with roots in science fiction and gunslinger westerns. Vash is a likeable character, one surrounded by mystery and seeming contradictions. He is a pacifist, but carries a bounty in the tens of billions. He doesn’t wish to fight anyone, but is quite skilled in fighting nonetheless.

The story takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of a struggling planet. Society survives in run down cities with vast swaths of desert in between. Technology seems to be the only thing keeping humanity going, but this very saving grace also seems to be something which, at least in part, has been lost to time. Vash’s backstory along with overall world building are relayed in part, both unfolding slowly as the story progresses. What is shown is intriguing. The blanks aren’t all filled in yet, leaving room for growth as Trigun Maximum, the next part of the saga, unfolds.

Character designs are, at times, over the top. Villains appear less human and more grotesque. They are larger than life, or else smaller than normal. The art overall, was quite enjoyable. Some cells were a bit hard to discern, however. Certain fights got a bit muddled between character movement, physical fighting, and gun fighting. It was difficult to figure out what exactly was going on at certain points – who was fighting who, how they were fighting, and who was winning.

In this respect, I’m glad I watched the anime. If I hadn’t, I expect that I would have been much more confused in certain scenes than I was. Some background, quieter moments between characters, and chances for more overt character development were lacking, the story jumping quickly from one action-packed adventure to another. I do wish that the manga took a bit more time to delve into some of that. Without watching the anime I wouldn’t have understood the inclusion of Meryl and Millie, nor would I have found myself caring about either one very deeply. Perhaps they were never meant to be quite as large as a tour de force as they were in the anime, but the, why include them at all?

The manga did hit a few major issues. The main one being not everything was translated. Sure, chat bubbles were translated. So were inner thoughts and explanations on character and setting. However, all onomatopoeia’s, those giant Bams! and Kabooms! we are so used to, were left in Japanese.

I understand leaving the individual cells as is. Changing these to English would not only be a massive undertaking, but would change the original art as well. This isn’t something I would recommend in many cases, but a translation should exist nonetheless. The vast majority of other manga I have read have the translation between the borders of one cell and the next using an asterisk followed by the word in English. I don’t know why this was completely ignored in the Trigun Omnibus.

I can’t help but feel I missed quite a bit by not being able to read everything on the page.

Another issue I had was the use of honorifics. Admittedly, this does encroach on personal pet peeve, but I do believe the issue is more pervasive than that. I don’t think that using the Japanese honorifics in a fully translated work is necessary. Most of the time these honorifics aren’t integral to things like plot or the subtle explanation of character relationships. When they are, workarounds are never terribly difficult, especially with a touch of creativity. Keeping them in the supposedly fully translated work is simply lazy.

Needless to say, if you have watched the anime adaptation of Trigun, events do differ. This is particularly prevalent at the end of the omnibus as this story is wrapping up and Trigun Maximum begins. If you are mainly a watcher of anime and tend to pick up a series at the point the anime leaves off, this is probably one series you don’t want to do this with. While volume one of the omnibus is much the same as the anime, events do differ in volume two.

Trigun by Yasuhiro Nightow is a fun story of action and adventure with a likable main character. While this manga felt a bit ‘monster of the week’ the story does lead towards a much larger overarching plot toward the end. Questions were left unanswered, but with promise of being answered in the future. I already own the first two omnibuses of Trigun Maximum and will certainly be reading them soon.

This review and more can be found at Looking Glass Reads.

the anime covers this same territory. I liked the anime better.

Great series. The manga makes more sense than the anime.

Confusing,
Reason why only one volumn released

This series is great because of the character of Vash. A gunslinger bent on protecting life at any costs is my idea of awesome. This book is packed with the most entertaining action and story. One of the best manga of all time.

This series is great because of the character of Vash. A gunslinger bent on protecting life at any costs is my idea of awesome. This book is packed with the most entertaining action and story. One of the best manga of all time.

This series is great because of the character of Vash. A gunslinger bent on protecting life at any costs is my idea of awesome. This book is packed with the most entertaining action and story. One of the best manga of all time.

This series is great because of the character of Vash. A gunslinger bent on protecting life at any costs is my idea of awesome. This book is packed with the most entertaining action and story. One of the best manga of all time.