Space Westerns were very popular in the past century. You can look at Star Wars and see how the space adventures slowly got some elements of westerns included and then swayed away from them into the more epic space opera topic. In anime it was the same: there were ups and downs, the popularity of this mix of genres rising and falling, with notable works like Outlaw Star, Space Adventure Cobra, Samurai 7, all released in the 80s-90s. Two of the most notable works, however, graced the screens at the end of the millennium — Cowboy Bebop and Trigun. The latter recently got a reboot in the shape of Trigun Stampede, and that can showcase how the genre has changed over time.
The premise of the story is the same: there's a desert planet, there's a rag-tag team consisting of seemingly normal human beings that traverses this desert on a roadtrip-like quest. But the emphasis is different.
In Trigun 98, the "western" part is more prominent than the "space" one. Some episodes follow the classic western movie's plot, with abductions, ransoms, loud gunfights and supply crises. And these elements exist in Trigun Stampede, too, but they are not the plot's mainline. Trigun Stampede is more "space" than "western".
The newer show was also created with the input of the original writer, Yasuhiro Nightow, and as the team at studio Orange wanted to explore the lore behind the planet itself and the creatures that inhabit and power it, he provided them with all the needed information and granted them enough freedom to paint this world. Trigun Stampede is not just a prequel or a remake — it's a reboot that follows the same premise, but gives more attention to the parts that were only mentioned in passing in the original show yet were quite prominent in the Trigun Max manga, still giving these events their own twist.
This shift from being "more western" to being "more space" happened not only because the story focuses not on the adventures of Vash the Stampede but on Vash himself: the reason also lies in our society and its current problems. The fact that Stampede leans more toward sci-fi and familial relationship rather than quite straightforward roadtrip adventure is the reflection of what type of stories are engaging for people now. The shorter season also helped condense the story, though the original Trigun is not much poisoned by fillers.
Don't pit these shows against each other; despite having the same origin, they tell different stories and have different perspectives. If possible, try to enjoy them both.
One is more "western", the other is more "space".
Space Westerns were very popular in the past century. You can look at Star Wars and see how the space adventures slowly got some elements of westerns included and then swayed away from them into the more epic space opera topic. In anime it was the same: there were ups and downs, the popularity of this mix of genres rising and falling, with notable works like Outlaw Star, Space Adventure Cobra, Samurai 7, all released in the 80s-90s. Two of the most notable works, however, graced the screens at the end of the millennium — Cowboy Bebop and Trigun. The latter recently got a reboot in the shape of Trigun Stampede, and that can showcase how the genre has changed over time.
The premise of the story is the same: there's a desert planet, there's a rag-tag team consisting of seemingly normal human beings that traverses this desert on a roadtrip-like quest. But the emphasis is different.
In Trigun 98, the "western" part is more prominent than the "space" one. Some episodes follow the classic western movie's plot, with abductions, ransoms, loud gunfights and supply crises. And these elements exist in Trigun Stampede, too, but they are not the plot's mainline. Trigun Stampede is more "space" than "western".
The newer show was also created with the input of the original writer, Yasuhiro Nightow, and as the team at studio Orange wanted to explore the lore behind the planet itself and the creatures that inhabit and power it, he provided them with all the needed information and granted them enough freedom to paint this world. Trigun Stampede is not just a prequel or a remake — it's a reboot that follows the same premise, but gives more attention to the parts that were only mentioned in passing in the original show yet were quite prominent in the Trigun Max manga, still giving these events their own twist.
This shift from being "more western" to being "more space" happened not only because the story focuses not on the adventures of Vash the Stampede but on Vash himself: the reason also lies in our society and its current problems. The fact that Stampede leans more toward sci-fi and familial relationship rather than quite straightforward roadtrip adventure is the reflection of what type of stories are engaging for people now. The shorter season also helped condense the story, though the original Trigun is not much poisoned by fillers.
Don't pit these shows against each other; despite having the same origin, they tell different stories and have different perspectives. If possible, try to enjoy them both.
