Trigun Anime Manga

    (Dark Horse, 2004)
™ and © 2003 Yasuhiro Nightow/Shonen Gaho-Sha-Ve

The full color pages and dialogue of Trigun are taken directly from the frames of Yasuhiro Nightow’s anime series. A path of destruction always seems to follow the outlaw, Vash the Stampede, in a post–apocalyptic world. His reputation precedes him, however, when a couple of insurance agents sent to file insurance claims related to the disasters track Vash down and refuse to believe they’ve actually found the Humanoid Typhoon. Because for a man with a sixty–billion dollar bounty on his head, Vash is really just a silly guy with bad hair who always happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

— Jillian Burcar

From the Comics Buyer’s Guide:

Vash is a blond whose ambition baffles his enemies. In this dystopic Japanese Western, he stands up for the weak, shoots straight against the powerfully abusive, but refuses to take a life, even when others want the large bounty on his scalp.

Reproducing episodes 7 through 12 of the animated series, this collection starts with a train heist by a big-shouldered brute whom Vash opposes, then introduces Wolfwood, a pessimistic, wayward gun for hire. However, does this priest, who carries a jumbo cross-like firearm, have a hidden agenda? Aided by Milly and Meryl, female insurance adjusters who inspect Vash’s trail of damage, they battle robots, gangs, a caravan, and even more heavily armed psychos.

The popular Trigun anime is lighter than the manga from which it is adapted. Manufactured from the cels of the animation, this “ani-manga” version suffers further dilution from the source material, a common hazard in this growing genre. Misspellings, missing frames, and fractured pacing tend to disrupt any dramatic drive, forcing die-hard fans to stampede back to their TVs.

— Oliver Chin
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