Trigun: Badlands Rumble

When you hear the name "Vash the Stampede" mentioned in an anime conversation, what is the first thing you think of? If it happens to be Trigun in the first 5 seconds, I can safely guarantee without you even reading this review that you will like this movie.... ...and if I asked if you heard the name "Valentinez Alkalinella Xifax Sicidabohertz Gombigobilla Blue Stradivari Talentrent Pierre Andri Charton-Haymoss Ivanovici Baldeus George Doitzel Kaiser III", and you answered with a smile that it's from the same anime, I can personally guarantee that this movie may even become a personal favorite. So your probably wondering where I'm getting atby asking you these questions. Simple. If you haven't heard of Trigun in this day and age and you call yourself an anime fan, I suggest you stop what you're doing and go buy this anime classic quicksmart as the movie is tribute to this once great series. Trigun, like many other classics I can mention, was pretty much entry level for anyone new to anime back in the day. When people use to ask why I watch "cartoons", I just had to sit them in front of a TV with this series playing and they were pretty much hooked line and sinker.(unless they were girls. period.) Now before I start I'm going to be honest and admit that this review is going to be biased. Yes I'm a big fan of Trigun and yes Vash & Wolfwood happens to be 2 of my favorite anime characters of all time, but that's not what I'm going to be biased about. Let's just say that my favoritism stems from nostalgia. When I had first watched the TV series, I was in my first year of college and the anime club of 6 people I belonged to were still watching anime via VHS. "Ah yes....those were the days when hitting rewind actually meant you wait a few minutes" So when I heard that Trigun had its movie premiere in early 2010, I was pretty much waiting in anticipation for it to hit our shores, and was also disappointed that the wait was going to be a while due to the producers not coming to my backwater country. But as the saying goes: "all good things come to those who wait", and boy was it good! Trigun: Badlands Rumble was created for fans of the TV series. There was never a dull moment while watching the film and if anything, it had made me fall in love with the series all over again. Without giving too much of a spoiler, Badlands Rumble is about Vash's encounter with a bank robber named Gasback prior to the TV series. Due to Vash's "love and peace" nature, he lets Gasback go after foiling his botched robbery knowing full well that the man may become a threat to society later on. Fast-forward 20 years later and the location is Makka City which most of the events take place for the movie. We are shown Gasback, now as a legendary bank robber with a very high bounty to his name(still paling in comparison to Vash's) and a horde of bounty hunters after his head in that city. Now I'm not 100% sure if the film is in the same timeline as the TV series or an alternate(since Wolfwood makes an appearance) and if it is, where in the series it would have most likely taken place, but one thing I can say is that the movie had retained that 'certain feel' which most fans had come to love about Trigun. The original cast of Vash, Wolfwood, Meryl and Milly was a welcome sight after 10 long years, and seeing their antics and personalities in a cinematic film was a treat for any fan of the series. We are also provided with 2 new characters who play pivotal roles in the film. The first being Gasback(a cheap knock-off of Brilliant Dynamite Neon from episode 7 of the TV series) and the other named Amelia: a female bounty hunter with a dark past which slowly unveils through the course of the movie(and whose character design is equivalent to a female version of Ruth the bounty hunter in episode 1) Now after rattling on about the glory days that is Trigun, you'll probably be thinking that animation is old school as well, but let me stop you there. If there's one thing age has helped with this movie, it would have to be its art and animation. Whilst Badlands Rumble had captured the essence of the original series, you'll find that Madhouse Studio had really put a lot of effort to this movie giving you eye-candy that is both rich in texture and detail, and at best could even give series made in 2010 a run for their money. From story to character design, art and animation, soundtrack and even original voice actors, I found Badlands Rumble to be very well balanced and even accommodating for those new to the franchise. The pacing never felt "off", and everything had been executed so well that you could have even viewed this as a standalone. In conclusion I found Trigun:Badlands Rumble to have the right elements to which the original series was well known for - a space western comedy packed with action and stunning gunplay that pays homage to the fans who loved the TV series whilst also a great introduction for those new to it.

I love the anime for Trigun, and I love the manga. Like LOTS of other people, I was beyond excited when I heard about a movie. It's one of my all time favorite Anime. I was only hoping for something as good as an average episode of Trigun though (so pretty amazing), but didn't even get a decent film. The worst part was probably the story. It is very obvious, every little twist that is. And I don't just mean that Vash isn't dead. If that's a spoiler for you, you're just strangely not aware of the likelyhood of the main character of a large franchisedying before the movie is even close to over. Following that, would be the original characters. Like in many films, they lack even the interest that you would feel for a character who was introduced for one episode or chapter of a manga. Lastly was the music, which while fitting in some ways, was rarely used and not put to good use. The pacing was also strange. Like many movie adapations, it forgoes most character interaction for extended scenes of nothing. Also, planet gunsmoke now has 3 moons, which I don't personally recall. It also has a very populated galaxy, which again I don't recall. There's like 20 planets on the zoom out, all within a planets distance of each other! Of course, Vash was made out to be an idiot, rather than just somewhat strange. While the animation was really good, it just lacked most anything that made Trigun good. And I did watch it subbed, unlike some reviews for it that rated it rather high.

The day was 4/2/2010, the location was Seattle WA at the World premiere of the Trigun movie, shown to a lucky audience at Sakura Con. The movie was Presented in person by Takahiro Yoshimatsu, and Saoshi Nishimura (the director). It was presented in Japanese only with no subtitles and I do not speaky the Japanesey. So I wasnt able to grasp the depth of the story.... :( but it was good!!!!! I strongly believe that everyone could enjoy watching this movie. The reasons that make the Trigun series good is also what makes this movie good. If you like Trigun, youwill like this movie. IF you havent seen the original story, it probably wont spoil anything (but then again maybe it will...) , but it will probably leave you asking a few questions... So just go watch the awesomeness that the series is first, if you have time. You will be able to appreciate this movie the most after having watched the series. I am very likely to watch it many more times, as soon as i can :D. What you should expect from this movies is all of the same awesomeness that the original story provided. The artwork was virtually identical to the original series, and the humor was excellent (basing this fact only on what i could see was funny, I'm 100% sure there was a lot of vocal humor i missed as well). I do not think that it added anything to the original story. EXTRA INFORMATION: This story takes place somewhere after Wolfwood appears and as the director indicated : "It is an event that Could have taken place somewhere within the story of the series". It didn't seem to add anything to the original story, so it could be considered similar to a filler episode, but were talking about Vash the Stampede here, could there really be such a thing as a filler episode when Vash is involved? :3 Plus it was wicked awesome to watch. It is worthy to note, that when the director was telling us some background about the movie (though a translator), he told us that the reason that this movie even exists is because of the American fan-base, which was so extremely vocal about wanting more Tri-gun. (FEEL VERY PROUD TODAY ALL YOU TRIGUN FANS!!!) This was also the reason we were able to watch this movie even before it was shown in Japanese theaters.

Trigun Badlands Rumble is an okay movie but could've been better if the story was about Vash's journey to face Knives rather than the plot we got instead. The mains story of Badlands Rumble is centered on a robber named Gasback which leads to bounty hunters to gun him down for the reward money, however the film's main characters aren't very dominant onscreen as it leans more towards Gasback & Amelia; a woman who has a grudge against Gasback. The main dilemma is Vash sparring Gasback's life leading his morality being put into question as the criminal managed to get away from judgment. While it bringsan interesting study into Vash's lifestyle the movie tends to not completely focus on that subject. While Vash still remains true to his pacifist convictions, he comes as a bit too naive & goofy in this film with showing very little of his serious side. Wolfwood, Meryl, & Milly also partake in the film but like Vash seem to play second string to Gasback & Amelia. Action is just the right amount as it is supported by its updated animation as Mad House in 1999 (Trigun anime) is nothing compared to its current visuals. One of the aspects I enjoyed from the movie is the "Trigun World" as much detail is placed into the bounty hunters with very wacky & strange character designs but remains true to the spirit of Trigun. Trigun Badlands Rumble does have the heart & soul of the Trigun series, but Vash himself has a minor role to the film & his perspective on morality doesn't come into play until the scenes played in the credits, proving that his way of life may indeed be correct. At the end of the day, Badlands Rumble seemed to be a film that expresses the zany yet cool style of Trigun with showing very little of its more complex philosophies. I personally preferred if the movie focus more on Vash's journey to confront Knives & The Gung-Ho Guns as it would've made a theatrical feature much more rewarding, thus showing a interesting tale of a gunman questioning the death penalty.