Evaluation Paper.

Trigun, Manga Series, Great Gunslinger Western

There are many stories of the western genre, but how does a futuristic western placed on a far off planet sound? That is a very basic description of what the series Trigun: Deep Space Planet Future Gun Action is, a graphic novel, Manga to be short, by Yasuhiro Nightow. Now to really get into this series one must know what Manga is. Manga is much similar to a comic book, it however originates from Japan and is read from right to left, instead of the western style of left to right. With this basic comprehension of what Manga is one can start to evaluate the series. Trigun, the series, is set on a faraway barren planet, in the future. The main protagonist is named Vash, known widely as “Vash the Stampede”, a bounty head worth 60,000,000,000 double dollars, the currency of the series, for the destruction of the third city July. It is this bounty that sets up the beginning of the story and the first conflicts that Vash encounters. For example in the first volume of Trigun Vash, a pacifist, is hunted by a town in dire need of money to repair their means of living. It is later after much ruckus that 2 officers of an insurance agency come and stop the trouble to announce that the bounty is invalid now, because Vash is labeled a natural disaster. During the ruckus Vash took down a different bounty head released by the townspeople to try and capture him and thus resolves the townspeople’s issue of money needed to repair the plant. The series is still ongoing for readers in the United States as the last volumes are being translated from the Japanese language to English. Trigun: Deep Space Planet Future Gun Action is a great story to read, and learn how a passive, kind man such as Vash becomes a sharp gunslinger in conflict with his “brother”, named Knives. Points to focus on while evaluating why this series is so good are the art, storyline, character, language, and popularity.

There will be those who don’t exactly agree with the view of the fans and dismiss the series as a pathetic piece of work. They base their judgment of the art on the comedic sketches calling it the artist a hack and lazy in these drawings. Call the characters second class to that of actors in a movie. And then call the story a bland, monotonous tale. Later on they continue to base their judgments on their ignorance never having read it, or any other Manga either. However it is not all who have not read it that would dislike the series, there are those who still plan on reading it when they can. Even some who have read it say it was a waste of their time in doing so, being fans to some other title and thus very biased in liking other things.

The art is evaluated because Manga is a unique medium to telling this story. It is also a point of quality for Manga just like illustrations for a mystery novel. It also sets up the tone for the scenes. The art of Trigun is well done by being detailed during the action. Just like when Vash rushing to stop a man from shooting a hostage he has, pages 172-3 in volume one of Trigun Maximum. It then becomes basic in transition scenes and during a joke being done , to accomplish a lighter mood. This use of basic and detailed art allows readers to really get into the look and feel of the Trigun world. It also does this as to not alienate the reader from joining in the laughs. Though, the artwork is not the Mona Lisa, or the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel it holds quite a value to be put on posters. It’s basic black, white, and shades of gray behind the covers as it is common in this medium of work. The artwork is a normal part of Manga that appeals to the reader’s eyes. The art appeals to the reader so they can go onward to really get into the action and story.

The storyline is important to analyze to tell how well the Trigun series does overall. So, analyzing the storyline is based on how well the plot of the story is understood. The storyline is very deep, but easy to comprehend as the main conflict, Vash stopping his brother, Knives, from killing innocent lives, is revisited during each major battle. The storyline is that man in the future runs out of resources on Earth and so starts a mission to migrate across space to find a new planet to inhabit. During this migration the ships are sabotaged by Knives and end up crashing on a barren planet. The surviving humans awake from their sleep to build civilizations from the broken pieces of the ships, specifically machines called plants, and begin to live an old western lifestyle. Vash survives the crash along with Knives and is in constant conflict with Knives’ ideals of obliterating the rest of the human race. The depth of the storyline clearly shows the huge amount of thought put into creating this series. The story and plot are fantastic, questioning reasons of conflicts, rationalizing them as either protecting something, or just the bloodlust of the characters.

Characters in this series play important roles such as how well they flow with and affect the plot. So it is the importance of characters that lead me to evaluate it to help determine the overall quality of the series. The characters of the series are very diverse and deployed where needed. And it is this diversity that makes the series capable of a wider readership. That wider scope of readers shows a higher quality to the story. That story being of Vash the stampede and his friends facing off against the dangers of Knives’ select lackeys, the Gung-Ho Guns. The characters range from the traveling priest carrying a cross shaped gun, Nicholas D. Wolfwood, to the demonic Gung-Ho Guns, such as Leonof the puppet master, meant to make Vash feel the pain of human life. Each character’s background is visited upon eventually to really grasp who they are and why they do what they do. It is because of the characters of the series that Trigun has such an intriguing feel behind it.

The language is a unique point in evaluating the series as Trigun is a translated piece so it is important to notice if certain jokes are actually translated or understood. The series uses very basic language to simplify the translation and not lose the context of the material. It also uses its own words for specific key points in the story. It has unique things such as the plants, angelic figures that have no real consciousness and produce the necessities of human life. There are also the specific names of the technology and moves that the characters use that make the series separate from other Sci-Fi’s. Having such uniqueness would usually alienate the reader if everything else wasn’t common knowledge. This mix of unique and common language is what allows the series to be popular as it is and a favorite for many.

The popularity of the series is evaluated by focusing on the impact it has on other cultures. This is important as it reflects how well the series is accepted and appreciated. The series started out being released in chapters in a popular Manga magazine named Shonen Captain. The series took off landing its own anime adaptation aired in 1998 in Japan and 2003 in America. Because of the series many fans went to anime and Manga conventions dressed as the characters, and continue to do so even today. Numerous copies of the volumes are sold to the fans looking to know more of the story. Some jokes are shared between fans, such as Vash’s love for donuts. Trigun has found much success in its sales and production of figurines and posters. Thus from the success one can easily see how the series is a good read and may even decide to read it themselves.

The Trigun series is a beautiful telling of man’s struggle with society and the destructive ideals of individuals. It has played a big role in the Manga and Anime culture allowing many to share in the joyful jokes of the characters and experience amazing scenes played out in the story. There are those who will count this Manga as another piece of basic entertainment, but is has so much more than entertainment as there is the vast universe behind the series that even teaches readers values of life and allows them to know to be optimistic even in the darkest of moments. To not know of the Manga culture and insult this piece of work is like slapping a fan in the face. Such an action would result in reticule from the Manga culture on the internet and on the street, as they can contact one another all around the world to deliver their opinions. It is with great satisfaction to say that this is truly a great piece and would greatly suggest it to anyone reading enthusiast.

Bibliography

"Manga goes mainstream? Library promotion will nurture new readers. (Opinion)

(Brief Article)." The Bookseller 5155 (Nov 19, 2004): 20(1). Academic

OneFile. Gale. Gateway Community College Library, Phoenix, AZ. 26 Feb. 2008

.

"TRIGUN #1: Deep Space Planet Future Gun Action (Book)." Publishers Weekly 251.4 (26 Jan

2004): 233-233. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Gateway Community College

Library, Phoenix, AZ. 26 February 2008. <http://search.ebscohost.com/

login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=12072087&site=ehost-live>.

Anime News Network. Anime News Network. 1998. 26 February 2008.

.

FITZPATRICK, EILEEN. "Multimedia Magnate." Billboard 113.39 (Sept 29, 2001): C-

10. Academic OneFile. Gale. Gateway Community College Library, Phoenix, AZ. 26 Feb. 2008

.

Gyssler, Garrett. Trigun (Manga). MyAnimeList.net. 2008. 28 February 2008

.

MacDonald, Heidi. "Dark Horse Hits Big With Digital Manga Line."

Publishers Weekly 251.2 (12 Jan. 2004): 15-15. Academic Search Premier.

EBSCO. Gateway Community College Library, Phoenix, AZ. 26 February 2008.

<http://search.ebscohost.com/

login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=11918739&site=ehost-live>.

Nightow, Yasuhiro. Trigun: Deep Space Planet Future Gun Action!!. Trans. Justin Burns.

Milwaukie: Dark Horse Manga, 2003.

Nightow, Yasuhiro. Trigun Maximum: Deep Space Planet Future Gun Action!!. Trans. Justin

Burns. Milwaukie: Dark Horse Manga, 2004.