"Trigun stampede" trailer and Trigun rewatch

I just learnt there's going to be reboot of Trigun, an anime space western from 1998. I first watched the original around 2009, and I really loved it. The reboot is called "Trigun Stampede", is coming out in 2023, and is going to be "3D styled as 2D". A trailer has just been released, and that inspired me to rewatch the original anime. I still remembered the rough plot, but I'd forgotten so much about it that this was a really fun rewatch. See my thoughts on the new trailer below.

The rewatch:

What I liked:

I love the slow, gradual introduction of Vash's backstory. The story really takes its time revealing how capable and powerful Vash really is, and even longer to explain his full backstory and what he actually is. Brave choice, and maybe not for everyone? But I remember it was super cool when I first watched it, to get new info, slowly over time. 

I have a favourite character type, and Vash fits it perfectly: Super powerful, super nice. He's just a really lovely, likeable guy.

I find it a bit amusing how how everyone treats "Vash the Stampede" as if it's his given name. Even him. "Oh hey there mr. Vash the Stampede". Wolfwood asks him towards the end what his name actually is, but Vash doesn't say.

And I'd almost forgotten how intense the show gets at some point after the middle point. Complete tonal shift. Trauma conga line. That's not usually my cup of tea, but this story is just so great that it's worth it.

What I didn't like:

I had forgotten the awkward 90's anime "pervert behaviour" in the first half of this series. It doesn't bother me too much, but you definitely wouldn't get away with that kind of stuff today. Strangely, they still included it in the 2010 movie "Badlands Rumble".

Other things to note:

It's been a quite a while since I've watched any anime. I really like the English voice actors for Vash and Wolfwood in particular, but I'd forgotten how awkward the delivery of the English dialogue can be in anime. It must be something about the difference in word count between languages or something. There's barely any breaks between sentences a lot of the time: "Oh mister Vash I'm so sorry to hear that you aren't going to do something rash now are you that would be bad".

The Trigun Stampede trailer:

It's a bit unclear whether "Trigun Stampede" is a prequel or the start of a reboot, but I'm gonna assume reboot? I'm not sure how I feel about getting the backstory right away. Like I mentioned above, it's just so cool when you keep getting clues as the story goes on. And his bionic arm is on full show from the beginning as well. The reveal of the arm and the built-in gun is so cool, why skip that? 

I have read the manga, but it's been ages, so I don't remember that much. But I know the anime and the manga are very different at times. I think someone on reddit said that the manga doesn't wait so long to reveal the backstory, so maybe this will be more based on that? I still like the anime version though. But maybe it'll be just as cool. Who knows.

When it comes to the art style, I guess time will show how I like it. I think it looks ok in the trailer. And I checked out another CGI anime made by the same studio, and I think that looks kinda cool. 

Vash's new look has received a lot of hate online, but I don't think I mind it that much? The few stills from the trailer are going around do look a bit awkward, sure, but I'm going to wait to pass judgement until I have seen more material. I love Vash's original design, but I don't mind that they're trying for a more "natural" approach with his hair in the new design. And I love the look of that wanted poster <3