Trigun: Badlands Rumble

I just saw the movie, and I have to say it was quite an experience, it brought back fond memories of one of the best Animes I've ever seen, Trigun is truly an epic. The animation was top notch, fighting sequences were great too, the story was predictable but that wasn't a bad thing. You really have to thank the creators for their great vision, Vash the Stampede's character is pure genius, he's the hero that everybody loves and respects, and you'll find this apparent in both the TV series and movie. Kudos to everyone who worked on this, hopefully a dub will come along soon. A must watch to all the Trigun fans.

TRIGUN (2010) is a very fun space western anime film, based on the anime by the same name, and filled with action, adventure and comedy. The quirky and outrageous characters all grow on you, especially Vash the Stampede, Wolfwood, Meryl, and Millie. Quirky and out-there, this movie, like the previous series really gets more interesting as it goes along and the plot truly thickens.

"Trigun takes place in the distant future on a deserted planet. Vash the Stampede is a gunfighter with a legend so ruthless that he has a $$60,000,000,000 bounty on his head. Entire towns evacuate at the rumor of his arrival. However, the real Vash the Stampede is not the same man that rumor portrays him to be. The enigmatic and conflicted lead character in Trigun is actually more heroic in nature; as well as a complete and utter idiot at times."

Overall, it's a modern anime classic, highly humerous and memorable, exciting and compelling. It was a fun film. Very enjoyable!

I sincerely don't get what was the point of this thing except making a quick ca$hgrab on a beloved anime series ten years after its completition. The story has no particular appeal and it's EXTREMELY boring, the characters are all recycled from the 90's series (particularly the main villain is simply another spin on Brilliant Dynamites Neon, and with that I mean he is a TOTAL CLONE minus some elements in the chara), Vash acts completely off in comparison to how he acted in the main series (mind you, the best thing to come out of the Trigun Franchise hands down, Yasuhiro Nightow can eat $hit), the new female character is irritating and her modus operandi is beyond stupid, the "big twist" is highly predictable from half the movie on and it doesn't make any sense considering what the characters say, the humourous part which was genuinely fun in the 90's series (I am ok with both this one and the latter, more serious approach) is absolutely and totally non-humorous, there's nothing particularly great about this product except maybe the technical element...even if, in reality, some of the scenes with an extensive use of CGI in looked really ugly, with slow frames that looked like they were taken from a Windows XP screensaver and that have aged worse than the animation in older series like Attakku No.1 from FRIGGIN' 1969! At the end of the day, the only positive thing I can say about this thing is that the instinct that prevented me from watching this crap for 13 years even with my love for the original series was absolutely on the point, and the lesson has been learned. Watch and enjoy the original 90's series (again, the BEST to come out of the entire Trigun IP, the manga is beyond horrible and I have the feeling it is the reason why this was a failure to begin with, there's the direct hand from hacky Yasuhiro Nightow somewhere in here) and forget this thing was ever produced in the first place.

Edit: apparently this was written by the same person who wrote the terrible Kamen Rider OOO and Kamen Rider Ryuki series and the unwatchable Sailor Moon Live Action. Bad writers doing bad stuff, what a surprise!

This film doesn't follow the Anime at all.

This film is in no way a movie for the Anime watchers. This is specifically for the Manga readers. I'm not sure why they would review something that someone would think would apply to the Anime when they admit they've never even watched it.

Either way. The movie is stand alone. A neat tidying bit that the director said would only come out in sub edition because of the Mangas success. If you're a Trigun fan, you'll love it. If you've never read the Mangas you'll be a bit confused but non the less enjoy it, and that's why it's a 6 from me. I only wish there are/were more stories like this that actually did tie in with the Anime.

I wish I could write about spoilers. But I can't. And I won't out of principle. But more on that later.

I got to see Badlands Rumble during its world premier run at Sakura-Con 2010 in Seattle. This was almost a year after seeing the world premier of the trailer and the panel at Anime Expo in 2009. I had been excited about this since the rumors started, and the at the panel I was given a taste of what the movie could be.

By the time I finally saw it I didn't care that it was raw and I couldn't understand more than just a couple of passing phrases. It was Trigun. It was a movie. It had the original cast. It was SHINY. And oh yeah. Wolfwood was back. I sat in a fangirl stupor enjoying the pretty on the screen. So that's why I really can't write about spoilers - I suppose I could try and give something away via analyzing the animation, but I could be very, very wrong.

Chronologically speaking, Badlands Rumble takes place somewhere in the middle of the series. Hence Wolfwood still being alive. The prologue is dated about twenty years (I think) before the start of the series, but the bulk of the movie takes place in the middle of the series. In addition to fan favorite characters returning (including Wolfwood, but you should know this already), there are a handful of new characters created just for the movie. In terms of animation, it's much sharper and cleaner than the TV series - basically it's what the TV series would look like if they made it today. It should be noted, however, that despite the ten year gap in production between the series and the movie, the character designs are the same. No radical make-overs, they just look cleaner and sharper. Seriously, visually speaking, the movie is a treat.

A major coup for the movie is the return of the four original cast members. No word on if it will cross over into the dub or not (if Funimation is smart, they'll have the four main actors return). Another coup is Tsuneo Imahori returning for the music. While it's not the exact same tracks from the series, the spirit of the music is the same, all while keeping an independent feeling unique to the movie.

Big Damn Movie, indeed! As my friends and I exited the auditorium, Satoshi Nishimura thanked everyone who attended at the door. My friends and I enjoyed ourselves so much we actually bowed and thanked him for the honor of allowing us to attend one of the first screenings of the movie. He got all embarrassed and I swear he blushed. But seriously. Well deserved praise, Nishimura-san.

It should be noted that the first time a recognizable character appeared on screen, the whole room went up in cheers and whoops of joy. Even when Kuroneko-sama appeared. Actually, every time Kuroneko-sama appeared. I think it goes to show just how much the American audience loves Trigun, and the fact that even ten years later it could get its very own Big Damn Movie. I have no idea what its reception at Anime Expo was this year (as it had finally been subtitled at that point), but I can imagine that it was just as enthusiastic as it was at Sakura-con, especially given how packed the Trigun movie panel was the year before.

I cannot wait until this movie comes out on DVD. I was completely blown away by watching it raw, I'm sure that feeling will be ramped up to eleven when I can finally understand what they're saying.