Anime Insider issue 35

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Anime Insider #35
Magazine cover
Publication	Anime Insider
Type
Language	English
Country	United States of America
Publication Date	August 2006
Issue Number	35
Number of Pages

Anime Insider #35 is the August 2006 issue of the North American publication Anime Insider magazine, notable for featuring an article about the Trigun REMIX DVD release by Geneon.

Overview

On pages 38 and 39 is the article "A.I. Insider: Trigun Remix" by Angela Hanson, which contains information about the 1998 anime series and several details of the manga, the announcement of an upcoming Trigun movie in the works from Madhouse, details about Geneon's upcoming Trigun Remix DVD release, and the show's soundtrack.

Article

Page 38:

THE A.I. INSIDER*

TRIGUN REMIX

WITH A NEW MOVIE ON THE WAY, VASH THE STAMPEDE RE-LOADS FOR A DVD RETURN

Vash the Stampede knows what it's like to be wanted. He's got a $$60,000,000,000 bounty on his head, after all (it's a small mix-up)—plus, fans have been desperate for more adventures of the goofball gunman who refuses to take a life despite the bloodthirsty killers determined to hunt him down. Neither Madhouse's 1998 anime TV series nor Dark Horse's release of Yasuhiro Nightow's still-running manga has proven enough for Vash fans; Madhouse plans to release a new Trigun movie next year. But you can stay occupied until then with Trigun Remix, Geneon's special edition DVD re-release of the original hit anime. Whether you're stampeding for the store already or are new to Vash's home planet of Gunsmoke, here's the rundown on Trigun.

By Angela Hanson

TRIPLE THREAT

Vash is known for being an excellent gunman, but he's not just accurate, he's versatile, using three guns in his attempts to maintain the peace, and his arsenal includes:

1. A silver Colt .35 six-shot revolver that Vash uses to shoot everything from liquor bottles to people (strictly non-lethally.) To the average eye, it's a normal—but impressive—gun.

2. The secret weapon hidden in Vash's artificial left arm. When the time is right, he flips it out for a surprise weapon. Later on it's upgraded to a machine gun for rapid-fire action. Vash's evil brother Knives shot his original arm off!

2. The "Angel Arm." When triggered, Vash's right arm (seen right) becomes a biological cannon, capable of catastrophic destruction that levels entire cities and shoots a hole in the moon. If Vash had a choice, he would never use it.

Page 39:

GREEN THUMB

His uncanny gunmanship leads some observers to conclude that Vash isn't human. As it turns out, they're right–and he's over 100 years old, to boot! As the series progresses, viewers learn that Vash is a "plant"—not the leafy green kind, but one of the beings who live inside the planet Gunsmoke's giant light bulb-like constructs (which are also confusingly called plants) and provide critical energy to the struggling human population—also known as "those who live outside of time." Decades ago, the ships that carried Earth's refugees through space were powered by plants, and it was on the journey that Vash and his twin, Knives, were born. But when Knives' regard for the ships' human passengers turned sour, he crashed the ship on Gunsmoke, killing his and Vash's mentor and mother-figure Rem, and giving Vash an entirely new purpose: to stop his brother from killing more humans.

MIX-UP

If you're curious about Trigun or finally feel ready to add it to your collection, it's a mighty good time for it. Geneon will release the first Trigun Remix DVD on August 1. Newly encoded for the best possible clarity of animation and color, the DVDs also include 5.1 surround sound in English and Japanese 5.1 plus the original Japanese 2.0 mix. As an extra bonus, the original openings for each episode are included on DVD for the first time.

STICK TO YOUR GUNS

Knives sends a horde of his henchmen, the "Gung-Ho Guns," to kill Vash, but they aren't just varmints, they're freaks. Here are some of Vash's more bizarre opponents:

MIDVALLEY THE HORNFREAK A musician who plays killer notes with his saxophone—literally, because it's been modified to turn soundwaves into pain.

GRAY THE NINELIVES Although he's just an indestructible tank of a dude in the anime, in the manga, turns out there are nine tiny men inside him, moving him like a robot.

DOMINIQUE THE CYCLOPS A woman whose eyepatch conceals a secret weapon that lets her move so fast not even the quickest of the quickdraws can ever catch her.

ZAZIE THE BEAST Although he looks like a little boy, Zazie is actually a horrible beast in a boy's body, and can control giant sandworms. In the manga, Zazie is actually controlled by insects—who are the original dominant lifeforms of Gunsmoke!

SPLIT PERSONALITIES

SPOILER! Like many anime, Studio Madhouse began the Trigun TV series well before the manga was over, so it had to create its own storyline—one that focuses on the broken bonds of family between Vash and Knives; Vash clings to the ideals of love and peace, but he's also capable of great violence, and Knives' entire goal is to use his minions to force Vash into accepting his kill-or-be-killed views. The anime also made the seemingly bold decision to have Vash's fellow gunslinger Nicholas D. Wolfwood, a gun-toting priest, killed in episode 23, leading folks to wonder how any Trigun sequel could get made, as Wolfwood was still alive in the manga. But in one of the as-yet-unreleased-in-America volumes, Wolfwood is revealed to be one of the Gung-Ho Guns and dies. So everything worked out.

SOUND TREK

The action might get deadly serious at times, but that's no reason not to have a groovin' beat. Composer Tsuneo Imahori, who also provided music for Gungrave and contributed to Wolf's Rain and Cowboy Bebop, gives Yoko Kanno a run for her money with a diverse set of tracks that includes hard rock, traditional twangy country western, and even soft acoustic guitar for somber moments. Although TOKYOPOP released a "best-of" music CD in 2001, Geneon has already released the first full OST, Trigun: the First Donuts CD, with The Second Donut CD due on later this year.

*Yes, we know that means "The Anime Insider Insider." And it cracks us up.

Notes

Trivia

• While the article stated that a new Trigun movie was planned to be released the next year (2007), Trigun: Badlands Rumble did not release until 2010.
• The article mentions that Tsuneo Imahori contributed to the soundtracks for the anime series Wolf's Rain and Cowboy Bebop and that he "gives Yoko Kanno a run for her money." Yoko Kanno was in fact the composer of the Wolf's Rain and Cowboy Bebop soundtracks, both of which Tsuneo Imahori played guitar on.
• The following releases are mentioned and/or referenced in the article:
  • The Trigun REMIX series of DVD releases is one of the main topics of the article.
  • Trigun REMIX Volume 1, including an image of the DVD cover, is mentioned.
  • Trigun Maximum Volume 10: Wolfwood is "one of the as-yet-unreleased-in-America volumes" referenced.
  • TOKYOPOP's Trigun: Spicy Stewed Donut CD is referenced.
  • Geneon's releases of the Trigun: The First Donuts and Trigun: The 2nd Donut Happy Pack (abbreviated to "The Second Donut") CDs are mentioned.

Errors

• In the article, several details about the series are incorrect:
  • The planet is referred to as "Gunsmoke" multiple times.
  • Zazie the Beast is seemingly described as literally being a "horrible beast in a boy's body" who has the ability to "control giant sandworms." While Zazie describes himself as a "demon", he is not literally one, and his ability to control the sandworms was from the use of a high-frequency device.
    • His manga counterpart is described as being "controlled by insects." While this is partially true, Zazie is the insects, not the actual body they control.