TRIGUN STAMPEDEhas been heating up in recent weeks, and is shaping up to be an interesting take on theTrigunstory in its own right. However, regardless of how goodTRIGUN STAMPEDEis, some of the biggest fans of the original 1998 anime have been unwilling to watch the reboot because of how different it is.
HowSTAMPEDEfails to shape up to the original series has been a big focus; however, what many people don’t realize is that there are also plenty of significant ways in whichTRIGUN STAMPEDEattempts to borrow from its predecessor. In that light, here are some of the major similaritiesbetweenTrigunandTRIGUN STAMPEDE.
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Anti-Hypocrite
One of the biggest similarities betweenTrigunandSTAMPEDElies in both series use of the immensely popular character, Nicholas D. Wolfwood, a priest with a dark past who ends up travelling No Man’s Land together with Vash and his crew. While both series make use of Wolfwood as a foil to catalyse the growth and development of Vash’s characterby questioning his pacificism, the far more grimSTAMPEDEmakes constant reference to this characterization of Wolfwood.
His rejection of Vash’s ideals, particularly his reluctance to kill, is developed over far more episodes in the original series. InSTAMPEDE, Wolfwood continuously tells Vash that he is going to get himself killed by trying to save everyone. What makes the originalTrigun’sexploration of this relationship more poignant is the fact that the reason for Vash’s point of view is explored in the midst of the build-up to the climax of the clashing ideals between Wolfwood and Vash.
In the originalTrigun, Nicholas' controversial decision to fire the bullet that kills Zazie The Beast, a literal child, causes fractures between himself and the rest of the group, but also causes him to question his way of life up to that point. UnlikeSTAMPEDEWolfwood, the character in the originalTrigunis not a rapidly aged-up child in a man’s body, but a priest who takes care of children at the orphanage. This makes the death of Zazie The Beast a crucial plot point in the originalTrigunas it is indicative of Wolfwood’s warped sense of morality despite his profession and his internal conflict, which is caused and exacerbated by contact with the far more valiant Vash The Stampede. InSTAMPEDE,their rivalry takes a more central positionwith regard to their dynamic, which is far different from the friendlier depiction of their relationship seen in the original series.
Sand Steamer Stick-Up
One of the earliest episodes ofTrigunthat show how good Vash is in a fight is the one in which he, Meryl and Milly Thompson board a trans-continental sand steamer which turns out to have been infiltrated by a young boy held hostage by the Bad Lads Gang, a flashy criminal outfit that sports illuminated uniforms, chants and the main objective ofdoing everything in the flashiest way possible. The boy is the son of a deceased engineer who built the sand steamer, so he knows about the vessel’s ins and outs, which the Bad Lads use to their advantage. When the Bad Lads leader murders a number of the vessel’s crew, a mechanical malfunction puts the entire vessel in mortal danger, with the only hope being a manual override of the ship’s navigational system. In the original, there is a scene in which the young boy rights his wrongs by performing the manual override, which requires him to manually turn a crank in the mechanical controls which have been heated to unspeakable temperatures.
He burns his hands but effectively brings the sand steamer to a shrieking halt. InSTAMPEDE; however, the mechanical failure is caused by Legato’s telekinetic interference with the steamer’s controls, which send it on a crash course with Hopeland Orphanage – Wolfwood’s former home. Like in the original, a manual intervention is required, this time, to set and fire the giant laser cannon fitted on the vessel. The intention is to use the major force of the blast to counteract the momentum of the hurtling vessel, which ultimately works.
InTRIGUN STAMPEDE, Wolfwood is the one who burns his hands in the operation to save the sand steamer. InTRIGUN STAMPEDE, the Bad Lads have effectively been rendered into a Ginyu Force reference,with silly poses being part of the territoryfor any member. Unlike the original; however, the circumstances of Vash’s boarding of the steamer are completely different and there is no little boy whose father built the vessel. Instead, the Sand Steamer incident serves as a means forTRIGUN STAMPEDEto explore the backstory of Nicholas D. Wolfwood, and his little brother Livio.
The Internal Conflict of Wolfwood
In the originalTrigun, a huge fissure formed between Nicholas and the rest of the group when he takes the life of Zazie The Beast. In the original anime, Zazie is part of the Gung-Ho Guns, a group of powerful mercenaries led by Legato Bluesummers with the goal of killing Vash The Stampede. Despite having become a comrade of theirs over the course of their journey, the most significant part of the character’s eventual downfall in the original stems from the guilt he felt after his comrades' negative reaction to his killing of a child. InTRIGUN STAMPEDE, a similar conflict ensues when Wolfwood takes it upon himselfto kill Monev the Gale, better known as Rollo from the Windmill Village.
Like himself, Rollo was subject to experimentation by Dr. William Conrad which prompted rapid physical growth in exchange for his humanity. While Wolfwood killing Rollo doesn’t have the same sting as his killing of someone who is evidently a child, Rollo is still technically a little boy whom Vash was convinced he could save. In the original, the guilt from killing Zazie makes things awkward for Nicholas, but his past as a Gung-Ho Gun catches up with him and the person who taught him everything he knows arrives in town. Prior to this confrontation, Vash finally gets through to Wolfwood, who promises to never take another life – a change in values that directly leads toWolfwood’s sad death in the 1998 series.
Legato The Nihilist
One of the best similarities betweenTrigunandTRIGUN STAMPEDElies in the characterisation and casting of Legato Bluesummers. In the original series, Legato is a huge menacing presence who slowly encroaches on Vash, sending messenger after mercenary after him. In both series, Legato is one of the followers of Knives who has powerful telekinetic abilities. In the original, he also uses telepathy to threaten Vash as well as control innocents. One of the most striking things about Legato is his cold and cruel, yet calm demeanour. In the original, Vash labels Legato a nihilist for his outlook on life, humanity and human connection, all at which Legato scoffs. His sadism has been demonstrated inSTAMPEDE; however, the reboot series is yet to fully show how terrifyingly evil Legato Bluesummers really is. His goal is to cause Vash endless suffering and pain, and as far as either anime, it isn’t really explained how he became like that. One of theSTAMPEDEseries' nods to the 1998 anime is in the casting of Kōki Uchiyama, who voices another nihilistic major antagonist with bluish hair:My Hero Academiavillain Tomura Shigaraki.
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