Trigun (Toraigan) – The Sand Steamer Arc, Episodes 6-8

Trigun (Toraigan) (1998)

Welcome back to more Trigun! Second post already, covering the introduction to the Sand Steamer:

So, in terms of the shift I mentioned last time, one is that from this point forward the girls are more or less on board with Vash, having pretty much accepted who he is. (Here also, Madhouse gets the chance to work on a connected storyline that spans more than one episode.)

I think it’s also a point where the tone shifts a little, considering villain Brilliant Dynamites Neon and our first flashback to “July”. These episodes certainly leave no more room for doubt that Vash is more than he seems. Despite revealing a bit of real pain for the first time here, he continues to defy expectations too.

Elsewhere, Milly’s ‘concussion gun’ provides more comic relief, along with Milly herself, especially when drunk or having “two stomachs”. Milly is one of my favourite characters in Trigun actually, and so it’s always sad to see her suffer – though we’re spared that for a fair while longer yet.

At this point, the tone is still overall somewhat ‘light’ as befitting the feel of adventure story, but tension is high with so many lives at stake on the runaway Sand-Steamer. And while I love the Steamer, there’s one example where it shows the age of the animation perhaps, contrasted with a similar night shot:

The action sequences in Trigun always feel great to me and I have seen criticisms around ‘off-model’ faces at times, which I assume exclude the moments it’s done purposefully, but I wouldn’t say Madhouse did a bad job – at all. Even if this is a show I watch primarily for the characters, storyline and world-building, everything still looks convincing for an action/comedy series.

Probably my favourite bit in the arc however, is not a shoot out or a laugh, it’s a pair of quieter moments. [Spoiler follows]

At one point both before and after Vash has outwitted plant engineer Elizabeth, the audience is given a glimpse of something unusual about Vash and his true nature, as he both grieves for and comforts the Plant, who is essentially a family member/sister imprisoned and drained for electricity.

Despite this injustice, Vash knows that many will die if the plant is ‘broken’ and so, in his utilitarian way, he restores her and the status quo. At this point, the audience doesn’t fully realise what’s going on but hopefully they’re still responding to his tenderness and obvious empathy.

Okay, now that I’ve explored a few things from the episodes I think it’s time to jump to a few quick dot points – this arc had some fun little bits and pieces I noticed:

• Nightow’s neko (Kuroneko-sama) appears on a poster here instead of in the flesh
• There’s an impressive instance of ‘super-deformed’
• Vash has what I think is his first clash over pacifism with Kaite
• BDN is voiced by one of my favs, Unshou Ishizuka

---

Next up is an arc I had a few names for but couldn’t really decide on – I settled on just the Wolfwood Arc but nearly went with ‘clues’ or Beneath the Surface Arc for episodes 9 -11, but it seemed easier to mention Nicholas instead.

Still, it’s a fun stretch of episodes since Wolfwood brings a lot to the table 😀