The $$60 Billion Man
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| 600億$$の男 The $$60 Billion Man | |
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| Series | Trigun (1998 anime) |
| Japanese Name | 600億$$の男 |
| English Name (Pioneer) | The $$60 Billion Man |
| English Name (Funimation) | The $$60,000,000,000.00 Man |
| Episode No. | 1 |
| Original Airdate | April 1, 1998[1] |
| US Airdate | March 31, 2003[2] |
| Writer | Yousuke Kuroda |
| Director | Satoshi Nishimura |
| Next Episode | TRUTH OF MISTAKE |
 
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"600億$$の男" (Eng: "The $$60 Billion Man"Pioneer , "The $$60,000,000,000.00 Man"Funimation) is the first episode of Trigun (1998 anime).
Synopsis
In a saloon in the middle of the desert, two men are playing cards while talking about Vash the Stampede, an infamous outlaw with a bounty of $$60,000,000,000.00 (pronounced "double dollars”) on his head, and his recent destruction of Dankin Town. One of them remarks that the town's undertaker got so rich, he built himself a house made of wood. Nearby, a man in a red coat with spiky blond hair is seen drinking alone at the bar as the men talk. The bartender steps outside and suddenly runs away screaming. The men immediately stop talking and slowly draw their guns. Loud mechanical whirs are heard before the building is sliced in two by a massive boomerang. A group of armed men begin firing their guns at what’s left of the saloon, blasting it to pieces. When the dust clears, only the saloon sign is left standing. The man in red sets down his drink as the battered saloon sign falls to the ground, revealing him completely unharmed. The man stands up slowly and turns to face the gunmen as the boomerang flies past overhead to return to its wielder, Descartes: a giant, red-clad, short-legged man with a green mohawk, pierced ears, and a mechanical arm. Descartes grins, stating that he's finally found him. The man in red silently draws his gun, a silver Long Colt revolver, and aims.
Amidst the ruins of Dankin Town, the sheriff explains the destruction caused by Vash the Stampede to Loose Ruth, a blond man wearing a long grey coat and a brimmed hat obscuring his face with a large rifle slung over his shoulder. Ruth remarks that the undertakers must be happy as he inquires how many people were killed. The sheriff responds that although there were many injuries, no one actually died. Ruth asks for a description of Vash. The sheriff admits he didn't get a good look at him, but that he wore red, had earrings, and was a giant man with short legs. Ruth thanks the sheriff for his help and leaves while the sheriff warns him to stay away from Vash for his own good.
Meanwhile, out at Felnarl Exit 10 iles, a group of men are hanging out inside a bar as the cook cleans behind the counter. A news report is playing on the radio reporting the destruction of Dankin Town and telling residents to go to their designated shelter areas. Two women, Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson, enter the bar. The men in the bar turn and leer at them as they approach the bar counter. Meryl confidently orders a banana sundae and Milly a a gateau mille-feuille with Ceylon tea, which causes the men to exclaim in surprise and make a vulgar joke in regards to their orders. Milly, seemingly not understanding, says that's not what she ordered. A large stungun suddenly falls out from beneath her duster, causing the table to flip up and smash one of the rude men in the face. She apologizes and remarks that her must have sling broke again as she lifts the heavy stungun over her shoulder with ease. Meryl asks the cook if he has any information about Vash the Stampede, as she'd heard he'd shown up in Felnarl recently. The cook inquires if they are after the bounty. Meryl and Milly reply no, they are actually passing through here on business. The cook admits he didn't get a good look at him, but describes Vash as being a 12 feelz tall man with a mohawk who wields a huge weapon, and that he has tons of henchmen and the reputation as the worst womanizer anyone's ever seen. Meryl is confident that's the man they're looking for.
Outside of Felnarl Town, Descartes and his gang have lost sight of Vash and are searching for him. Descartes commands his gang to find him no matter what. The long-haired henchman says that he doesn't believe that coward of a man was Vash and that they should just move on. Descartes grabs him by the head with his mechanical arm and lifts the frightened henchman and reprimands him for trying to give orders. Descartes is certain the man was Vash because of what he was wearing. He orders the henchman to find Vash or he'll break his neck.
The bearded henchman is searching amongst the rocks, walking cautiously with a gun in his hand. A hand suddenly emerges from the ground, grabbing the henchman's ankle, causing him to scream and fall to the ground. Vash's head then bursts from the ground, a drinking straw in his mouth. He loudly gasps for air, remarking to himself that he thought he was going to suffocate. The henchman starts to yell that he's found Vash, but Vash swiftly knocks him out with a chop to the face. With a cheerful greeting, Vash begins rifling through the unconscious henchman's pockets for bullets. Vash then remembers what happened earlier, after he drew his gun at Descartes' gang outside the decimated saloon: Vash pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. The henchmen all grinned and laughed while Vash nervously checked his gun. Upon seeing it was completely empty of bullets, Vash screamed, then awkwardly began to back off with a weak chuckle. The henchmen opened fire at Vash, who ran off shrieking. Back in the present, Vash chuckles and remarks it's a miracle he actually survived as he continues to rifle through the bearded henchman's weapons. The bald henchman suddenly pops up on a rock formation behind Vash and shouts that he's found him. In a panic, Vash flings the bearded henchman's pistol with a scream, clocking the bald henchman in the head. Vash's triumph is short-lived as the other three henchmen appear and begin shooting at him. Vash shrieks and begins erratically scuttling away on all fours, dodging the gunfire. Descartes is amused by Vash's antics and commands the henchmen to hunt him down.
Vash is running and panting for breath and stops to rest under a rocky outcrop. He notices he's still being followed, spotting the tall henchman nearby.
Characters
In order of appearance:
- Saloon patrons
- Man 1
- Man 2
- Bartender
- Vash the Stampede
- Descartes' gang
- Henchman A (long-haired)
- Henchman B (bearded)
- Henchman C (tall)
- Henchman D
- Henchman E (bald)
- Descartes
- Loose Ruth
- Sheriff of Dankin Town
- Bar patrons
- Man 3
- Man 4
- Man 5
- Kuroneko-sama
- Bartender (Lob's Diner)
- Meryl Stryfe
- Milly Thompson
Manga
While the majority of this episode's story is original to the anime, Meryl and Milly's introduction scene at the bar is adapted from the first chapter of Trigun, "THE $$60 BILLION DOUBLE DOLLAR MAN".
Descartes later appeared in the Trigun Maximum chapter "RETURN OF THE BLUE WIND OF DEATH".
Loose Ruth, Descartes, and two of his henchmen would later make a brief cameo appearance in the Trigun Maximum chapter "THE END OF THE JOURNEY AND THE ECHOES OF BREATHING".
Notes
- The unique opening credits animation for this episode were mistakenly used for all 26 episodes on the original English release by Pioneer Entertainment (USA). This was corrected on the 2006 Trigun Remix DVDs release by Geneon (formerly known as Pioneer). However, Funimation repeated Pioneer's original mistake on their first release of the series with the 2010 Trigun: The Complete Series DVD set and episode 1's opening was once again used for every episode. Later releases by Funimation, including their streaming services, have corrected this error.
- However, episode 2 continues to use episode 1's unique opening credits on all releases.
Errors
Animation
- In the scenes where Vash is riding and falling off Meryl's thomas and when he faces off against Descartes, his revolver can be seen in his holster. He should not have had it, as Descartes was shown to be in possession of at this time. Additionally, a scene near the end of the episode shows Vash retrieving his revolver from the defeated Descartes.
- When Ruth throws a grenade at Descartes and his gang, the tip of the boomerang disappears and the unfinished edge of the cel is briefly visible when the camera pans down.
Credits
- See subpage Credits