Trigun: Badlands Rumble

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.

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!

Trigun Badlands Rumble is a very good movie, with some nice nostalgia for Trigun fans.

It's in the style of the first half of the series, Vash wandering around getting into trouble and helping people out. He runs into our cool heroine of the movie, Amelia, and she's quite likable. Of course, Meryl, Millie, and Wolfwood are in the house as well.

The story here is not black and white with good guys and bad guys, it's interesting in that the villains of this movie aren't all that evil, and overall the movie has a more laid-back feel than you might expect.

One cool aspect is how they incorporate Vash's past and how old he is, by tying in a flashback from 20 years prior into the current events. We have some nice fun dialogue, great slapstick humor, a crazy bar brawl, lots of action, and a bit of drama to give it some weight. The animation is the most flawless aspect of the movie, the art is detailed and it's lushly done. There's a lot of great detail, and all the wacky background characters have a lot of care put into them.

Overall, though the plot takes a couple clever turns, the movie is just a nicely done, very straightforward light action romp, done well. I enjoyed the ending especially, which had a nice way of commenting on Vash's ideals. And of course, this movie is even better for letting us hang out with those classic Trigun characters for another hour and a half. Check it out!

This is a sort of add-on to the anime series, offering a standalone story for the sci-fi Western comedy action.

It starts great, with Vash playing the fool, saving lifes in the most idiotic way possible. It is bright and fun and just what I remember liking about the TV series.

But around the halfway point the series gives itself over to pure bullets & bombs action. So much of it that it gets rather dull after a while.

The movie also takes on the themes of Vash's pacifism and its potential costs, but it fails to really make its point, if it has one.

When the movie focuses on Vash, it's funny and fun. When it focuses on shoot-shoot-boom-boom, it's sort of fun. I wish there had been more of the first and less of the second, but if you're a fan of the series you should definitely watch this. Although if you haven't seen the series, start there.

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.