Trigun

I first read Trigun probably around 2015 or so. I was instantly enraptured by the art, the atmosphere, and the storytelling. Trigun is striking in a genre full of unreflective, unself-conscious action; it is sensitive, thoughtful, and most interestingly, kind.

A few years ago now I reread Trigun and I was even more impressed with its message and themes. Vash is such a wonderfully written character and his dynamics with the rest of the cast are so well-considered and tight. Trigun is about love, and grief, and forgiveness.

I am a huge hater of Trigun Stampede. I feel like it absolutely loses out on the ethics of kindness and Vash's agency and I might write a much longer blog post about this later, but I want this page to be positive so I'm going to talk about my absolute favorite part of Trigun: Midvalley the Hornfreak.

I Love Midvalley

Midvalley is such a silly, funny character and I am obsessed with him. I think he really exemplifies what Trigun is about and he's a fantastic foil to Wolfwood and Livio. Midvalley is so painfully, heartwrenchingly human. He's not a godlike Plant. He doesn't have absolute faith in Knives like Legato does. He's scared and he wants out. If things had been even slightly different, Midvalley could've been a friend to Vash. It's Midvalley's misfortune that makes Livio's redemption, his choice to turn away from his path, meaningful--and it also paints a grim picture of what Wolfwood could've been had he never learned to trust Vash.

He's also a hired assassin who kills people with his preternatural saxophone-playing skills.

It's this duality that breathes life into Trigun. The world is full of characters with rich inner worlds, who feel fear and pain and have desires and needs that often conflict with each other and with Vash's, and they're all insanely goofy.

This is the depth and flavor of the world that I both adore in Trigun Maximum and think Stampede lacks. Trigun is an interesting narrative because, while it's obviously about Vash and his friends, the point is that the world is so much fuller and richer than can be encapsulated in one manga. That's what Vash is fighting for, and what Knives fails to understand. It's this richness and depth that makes Trigun not only believable but meaningful.

If you haven't checked out Trigun, please consider reading the manga! The best translation is available for free online here. I'm not affiliated with this project; I just think they're doing amazing work.