Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Trigun Stampede’ on Hulu, a ‘Trigun’ Remake for a New Millennium (Maybe)

Trigun Stampede (now on Hulu in Japanese and with an English dub) is an all-new take on the story of Vash the Stampede, the beloved goofball-outlaw character who anchored ’90s manga and anime series Trigun. And to answer your question, yes, it’s a “remake,” although some might call it a “redo” or a “reboot” or a “reimagination” or a “whatever.” But either way, fans haven’t seen anything new from this franchise since 2010 movie Trigun: Badlands Rumble, and they should brace themselves for a new, hopefully “refreshing” “reiteration” of Vash’s character and origin, with both new and familiar characters in support. Two things remain consistent, though – its sci-fi/Western tropes and the goofiness of its protagonist.

TRIGUN STAMPEDE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: In the distance, a planet and a moon. Then, the camera tilts to reveal the curve of a nearby planet as a large spaceship passes nearby. (Note: If you’ve seen the opening shot of Star Wars —as in the 1977 movie — this one will look highly familiar.)

The Gist: That big ship by that big planet? It’s doomed. The ship, I mean. The planet will be where some of the survivors end up. We meet two of the survivors, brothers Vash and Nai, as they’re shoved into an escape pod by their caretaker Rem (Maaya Sakamoto), who dies when the ship goes kablooey mere moments later. That planet is dubbed Noman’s Land for good reason: It’s an endlessly miserable desert that looks like Tatooine but has Dune-like giant worms coursing beneath the sand; or are they more like krayt dragons? I can’t tell, nor can I read the minds of the people who created the show, so let’s just say they probably like both sci-fi franchises so we can move on.

Many years have passed since the brothers crashed on Noman’s Land. And now we meet Meryl Stryfe (Sakura Ando), a fledgling reporter paired up with grizzled, cynical journalist partner Roberto De Niro (Kenji Matsuda), as they drive across the desert, to the tune of a whistle-happy soundtrack reminiscent of one of those old pasta Westerns starring that one guy, you know, Lee Van Cleef. One of the aforementioned worms leaps from the sand right behind their truck and they barely flinch – that’s just the way it is around here. Their goal? To find Vash the Stampede, an outlaw dubbed the “Humanoid Typhoon” who has a $6 million bounty on his head for allegedly killing a bunch of people. And no, they’re not after the dough. They just want his story.

Just as Meryl and Roberto’s bickering – he keeps calling her “newbie” despite her protests – peaks, they come across Vash (Yoshitsugo Matsuoka), hanging upside-down in what appears to be a trap of some kind. They get him out of it and help him elude the cops who are after him, and subsequently end up in Jeneora Rock, a town whose townsfolk greet Vash not like a villain with a price on his head, but a hero. Curious! He once saved them, and he might have to do it again, as its water source, a massive processing plant, is failing. And then the arrogant cops catch up to them, flinging accusations and spittle. The head cop agrees to duel Vash, but the cop cheats by launching a cluster bomb into the air. Although Vash seems like a scatterbrain, he somehow has the wherewithal and superior marksmanship to throw a rock in the air and use the only bullet he can find to shatter it into pebbles that detonate every nasty little explosive from the cluster bomb before they hurt/kill him or any of the other citizens who happen to be nearby. (Note: I don’t think the cops are the good guys here.) The day? Saved! For now, at least.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Fans of The Mandalorian who are starved for wandering-through-the-desert-and-getting-into-adventures plots, look no further.  

Our Take: Viewing the first episode of Trigun Stampede in a vacuum and setting aside any baggage or preconceived notions from the previous series yields a shoulder-shrug. Sure, it drops a big reveal that’ll likely see us letting the autoplay lead us into the next episode. But beyond that, director Kenji Muto struggles to set the hook. The core idea that Vash is a misunderstood character who’s likely been falsely accused of many crimes is a good one, but he has yet to exhibit the type of charisma to live up to his grammatically nonsensical Stampede/Humanoid Typhoon monikers. He’s a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a pair of yellow-tinted goggles, but he’s yet to compel us to get out the prybar and jimmy him open to see what’s going on in there. 

Sure, the depth of Vash’s character will likely be explored further in upcoming episodes, but there’s the nagging feeling that more could have been done in the opening salvo to establish him as a worthy central figure. Setting aside its borderline indifference toward its protagonist, the episode is smartly bookended with a flashback and a revelation that casts everything we saw in those opening scenes in a different light. It establishes its dusty, bleached-out setting; Meryl Stryfe and Roberto De Niro (anybody else rolling their eyes at these names?) as amusing comic relief – she’s young and spirited, he’s older and, well, drunker; and Vash and Millions Knives as the siblings with a classic yin-and-yang dynamic. See, Vash is mostly good but maybe a little bit bad, and Millions Knives is mostly bad but maybe a little bit good. Intriguing? Sure, but it feels like Stampede deserved a stronger debut, and isn’t close to reaching its potential yet.

Sex and Skin: None so far.

Parting Shot: Elsewhere, in a weird lair covered with gargoyles and whatnot, we see a strange cloaked figure playing an organ. And that would be Millions Knives (Junya Ikeda), formerly known as Vash’s brother Nai, now a villain, because what non-villain would name himself Millions Knives?

Sleeper Star: The most compelling character in this opening 25 minutes is Millions Knives, possibly because of the mystery surrounding him, possibly because his aesthetic is Gothic, But White Instead Of Black.

Most Pilot-y Line: Meryl has her priorities in place: “I’ll turn you over to the military police after I get an exclusive interview!”

Our Call: STREAM IT. The promise of thoughtful character dynamics, and a clean, crisp and detailed animation style are just enough to keep us engaged for at least another episode or two.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.