Katsuhiro Takei’s readaptation of the manga series Trigun by Yasuhiro Nightow has managed to become quite the hit despite facing criticism at first. Trigun Stampede was able to complete its first season this year and has laid down the foundation for a second season that will be more like the previous anime we were fond of.
The new adaptation of the series first premiered on January 7th, 2023, and had been ordered for around 12 episodes. Fans of the original anime were skeptical of the new cartoonish style of animation, but as the episodes were released, it was soon apparent that despite the younger child-like animations, the story was much darker and less comedic than its 1998 counterpart. The storyline of the first season was nothing like that of the original; that’s because the creators wanted to create their version of Trigun that would resonate with both the old and new audiences of the anime.
The trailer left many confused as it didn’t show any signs of Milly Thompson, one of the main characters of the 1998 version. It was only after the whole season came to an end that we realized that the first season of Trigun Stampede was a portrayal of the events that led to the JuLai incident. Starting with the second season, Tristamp is more likely to have an overlapping storyline with Trigun. The anime uses 3DCG animation, which makes battle scenes mesmerizing to watch, although the 90s version had its own charm.
Trigun Stampede: What Happens In Season 1?
The anime takes place in the future, where Earth has lost all of its resources, and humans have to go out in search of other planets to continue survival. They build “plants” which act as a source of energy for the fleets during their search. Two brothers, Vash and Nai, are born from these power sources and can connect with the plants. The ship they were traveling on crashes after Nai causes it to malfunction, and the twins are saved in time by Rem Saverem, who sacrifices herself for their survival.
After finding out that Nai was the one behind the crash, the brothers separate and go on their way as Nai wants to end the human race. Flashback to after a hundred or more years, we see a grown-up Vash having a bounty of almost $$6,000,000,000 on his head for ruining many towns from Noman’s Land. These cities were created by the survivors of the crash, and they used the remaining plants as their source of survival on the harsh planet. Meanwhile, Meryl Stryfe and Roberto De Niro are investigating Vash and come across him in Jeneora Rock.
While there, they see that Vash is respected by the locals as he healed their plant in the past. Despite his help, they change their attitude towards him when they find out that he has a huge bounty on his head. They try to capture him but are interrupted by the Nebraskas. During the three-way fight, yet another assailant enters the arena and is much more dangerous. The E.G., Bomber tries to kill everyone using his mini bombs to steal the Plant, but they later find out that he is being controlled by Nai, who now goes by the name of Millions of Knives.
The battle somehow ends, and Vash, Meryl, and Roberto head over to JuLai to confront Knives. On the way, they accidentally hit Nicholas, who carries a huge cross on his back. They take him to a nearby station, where they are attacked by Zazie. We later see that Zazie and Nicholas were both working under the orders of Knives. Episode 8 features the previous events that happened in the twins’ lives and how Vash was rescued by a nearby ship after wandering around in the desert for a long time.
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Back in the present, Nicholas and Vash use the Sandsteamer to travel to JuLai but are attacked by yet another assailant named Livio, who used to be Nicholas’s best friend. Fast forward to episode 11, Knives successfully captures Vash and uses him to open the portal to higher dimensions which would allow him to artificially impregnate the plants, thereby creating more beings like Vash and himself. Almost all of Vash’s memories are taken away, but he manages to snap out of it with the help of Meryl and compresses the released power into a cube.
An intense and emotion-filled fight ensues between the brothers, with Knives trying to convince Vash to destroy humans. Vash is unable to see through the same perspective and releases the cube’s power into space to save JuLai from destruction. Unfortunately, the remnant power in the crystal still manages to wipe out almost 90% of JuLai, causing Vash’s bounty to increase to his 1998 version’s amount, $$60,000,000,000.
Trigun Stampede: Ending Explained
The ending of the first season shows Vash and Knives being injured fatally in the fight. Knives are completely burned to the bone, while Vash is also at the center of JuLai’s destruction. He did survive the event, as after a time gap of 2 years, we see him being treated by a local who calls Vash “Eriks.” As for Roberto, he is killed during the fight, and Meryl is the only surviving reporter. She is later shown traveling through Noman’s Land and returning to JuLai to recall the past. Zazie visits her and tells her that “they” are coming from Earth.
Meryl also receives a call from headquarters that lets her know that she’ll be sent to the insurance department and will be assisted by Milly Thompson. The anime ends with survivors on Earth catching something on their signals and preparing for a second phase of their program.
This gives us a clue about the events that’ll be shown in the second season of Trigum Stampede, which will feature the classic Vash’s return. Milly will now be a regular next season, and we will see the trio reunite once again. As for what happened with Knives, we’ll only know that once the second season premieres. At present, the first season of Trigun Stampede is available to be streamed on Crunchyroll.
