Welcome back, fans and friends, for our second episode recap of Trigun Stampede! This week we are once again riding the emotional rollercoaster that is a classic anime reboot. I can’t wait for you to experience the ups, downs, and corkscrew twists that Vash and friends bring, vicariously through my blog post.
“Meeting you has brought me so much joy.”
– Rem
A brief flashback to the explosion, the loss of life, the pale blue operations deck of the seed ship. Vash and Nai are rushed to an escape pod and are launched into space just as the core of the ship ruptures. On a crash course with the surface of the nearest planet, the shuttle narrowly avoids the burning wreckage of the other exploding ships. Vash screams for Rem as he and Nai fall toward the planet.
After crash landing, Vash emerges from the wreckage to the sound of maniacal laughter. He follows the footsteps leading away from the ship to a small plateau. Nai is reveling in his success, the fruition of his master plan, one that led to the devastation from which they’ve just emerged. Somber piano music plays as ships, like shooting stars, burn up as they re-enter the planet’s atmosphere. Only the plant ships are left unharmed.
The radio plays, a group called the Nebraska gang has broken loose from prison. They are convicted of 69 counts of manslaughter and 12 counts of attempted murder. Vash, Roberto, and Myrle sit at a round wooden table in a saloon. As the radio continues in the background, Myrle reconfirms Vash’s story. His twin brother, Knives (Nai), has been stealing plants and terrorizing the planet. This has led to the 6-million-dollar bounty on Vash and his reputation as a criminal. Roberto and Myrle voice their skepticism and call out the lack of proof. Also, why would Nai want the plants anyway? Money, Honor, Revenge?
A child approaches, net and cage in tow. He happily offers the cage to Vash and it is accepted graciously. Just before Vash can accept the insects, his mother enters and scolds the child for having worms at the table. As the child runs out of the kitchen, the crew realizes they are on the wrong end of a half dozen guns. It appears that the townsfolk have decided to seize the opportunity and cash in on Vash’s bounty.
We next join Vash on the rooftops of the town, running and parkouring for his life, as a hail of gunfire rains down upon him. It looks like the whole town has decided to take him dead or alive. Just as it appears he has been cornered, Myrle tosses him a rope and pulls him to a safer elevation. A body drops dead, left in the sand, as a large vehicle drives towards the six-million-dollar man’s last known location. The passengers appear to be the Nebraska gang. A man in the passenger seat, dressed like a mad scientist and holding a bazooka, admires how stupid Vash looks from his photo. He is overshadowed as he sits in front of a Frankenstein like creation named Gofsef. Dawning a red bowtie and shoulder abnormality, Gofsef looks like he may accidentally hug things so hard that they die on a semi-regular basis.
Vash and his new friends are trying to find a way out of town. Myrle ask’s if Vash has remembered to bring ammo this time. Vash advises that he brought plenty of ammo, but bullets are pricey, and 1 bullet is worth two slices of pizza. Please keep in mind they’ve decided to go with a .22 Long Rifle and one bullet costs approximately 7 cents per round. That’s either a great price for pizza or Noman’s Land is still dealing with covid ammo prices! Just as they are about to make it out, the townspeople have them surrounded.
The Nebraska gang is quickly approaching, and one peers through binoculars, they see Vash and the reporters surrounded by the townsfolk. The scientist decides that they will steal Vash from them and orders the driver to run them over! The driver protests and says the deal was he would be allowed to leave before they got to the town. Displeased with this reminder, the scientist orders Gofsef to “shut him up”, so he immediately throws him out of the vehicle’s window. This appears to have been a rash decision because neither of them knows how to drive the vehicle.
On her knees with her hands behind her head, looking down the barrels of multiple guns, a fearless Myrle argues the ethics of collecting a bounty on someone who has saved the town multiple times. The child from the saloon approaches the mob. The saloon owner, Rosa, tries to vindicate their actions – as mothers, as starving citizens, as hopeless and helpless people. Vash seems to show understanding with no signs of contempt. Just as she sees this reaction, Gofsef’s vehicle comes barreling toward the child. Vash jumps and pushes him out of the way just in time to save his life.
The vehicle crashes into the building. Vash emerges from the dust cloud; he is escaping on the back of a large blue galliform reminiscent of a Chocobo. The Nebraska gang turns the vehicle around and gives chase as the perplexed townsfolk watch, doing nothing. Vash, quickly being outpaced, takes a turn for rougher terrain in an attempt to lose his pursuers. The instruments on the vehicle begin to fail and it slowly grinds to a halt. From the vehicle, Gofsef shoots his detachable arm catching onto Vash’s pack. Vash begins to run, dragging the Nebraska gang through the sand until they release him, left to deal with their failures in his dust.
Escaping to a safe distance, Vash, Roberto, and Myrle come to a stop. Vash nonchalantly pets and waters his galliform. Myrle scolds him for running away from his problems, his pain, his pursuers. Vash wonders out loud if it’s such a terrible thing to be timid? If fighting everything head on is so important? Even if it gets someone killed?
The Nebraska gang are causing havoc and destruction on the town with their eye on stealing the half operational plant. A distress call comes over the radio, in the news van, requesting backup at the factory under attack. As Vash overhears this, he mounts his steed and takes off like a .22 caliber bullet towards the town. It appears he intends to go for a hat trick and save the town for a third time. The Nebraska gang has secured the plant and moved it towards the truck, but the townspeople are following them and prepared to attack. As Rosa optimistically charges Gofsef, he picks her up like a rag doll, begins choking the life out of her, and then throws her into the air for a trick shot. Vash intervenes just in time and catches Rosa.
The Nebraska gang, excited about a head-to-head fight with Vash, begins throwing punches with the detachable arm. Vash utilizes a mix of break dance and ballet to skillfully evade being struck by Gofsef’s arm. The scientist fires his bazooka, barely missing Vash, and strikes the piler behind him. Vash emerges from a large cloud of debris, unharmed but highly aware of how close he just came to death. He pleads with the Nebraska gang to end the fighting. They question why he would want to help the town, after they planned to turn him in for bounty and betrayed him? Vash, as selfless as ever says, “There’s no reason not to help them”.
Vash’s response irritates the leader of the Nebraska gang. He attempts to fire his bazooka, forgetting that he just shot it, and tosses the spent weapon to the side. From his coat he produces a large handgun, takes aim at Vash, and pulls the trigger. Vash quickly draws his weapon, once again changing all of the known laws of physics and shoots the much larger round out of the air with equal force as both bullets drop to the ground. With no time to be stunned by this magical feat of mind-bending gun sorcery, the bridge starts to collapse, along with the plot, and the Nebraska gang has been completely disarmed without any further escalation of force or effort. The Nebraska gang then promises to give back the plant for no reason, and the scientist hugs Gofsef and begins to cry.
Just as the Nebraska gang begins to meander off in defeat, they are interrupted by Rosa the Saloon owner, who inexplicably offers them a free round of drinks back at the saloon. Despite the bloodshed, destruction of the town, and the theft of their only power source, the townspeople cheer in fellowship as they drink with Vash, the reporters, and the Nebraska gang. The boy they almost killed shows his bugs to Gofsef who recoils in terror.
As Vash tries to leave, he is stopped by Roberto, who calls out the fact that he is leaving without saying goodbye. Just as he stamps out his cigarette, a loud scream comes from inside the saloon. Gofsef is being attacked by large metal cubes that look like a virus. Just as he refers to it as lost technology, they turn red as he runs outside and explodes.
This episode did not make a lot of sense to me and left me feeling like I’d have been better off not watching it. That said, my love for this series will ensure I continue. When it’s over, will I or won’t I like it? Will you? Who knows what the outcome will be? Join me next week as the next episode airs and let me know what you thought of this episode. Did it live up to your expectations or are you as lost as I am? Don’t be shy, hop into the comments and share your opinions!
