I used to listen to the Anime World Order podcast religiously, but I've skipped a lot of episodes recently. Luckily I caught the episode about Trigun: Badlands Rumble and opted to grab the bluray. While awaiting it's arrival I decided to check out the original series in hopes of catching up to the point where Wolfwood joins the cast so I'd be set for the movie which takes place somewhere near the middle of the series.
Bleh, maybe it's the dub, but I can hardly stand to watch the TV show. Incredibly cheesy, melodramatic and rarely funny. The animation is fairly sub-par throughout. Granted, it's not the worst thing I've seen through my years as an anime fan yet I definitely had to force myself through a few episodes. No wonder I never bought anything past disc two when this was being released on DVD the first time around.
With Trigun: Badlands Rumble it's clear that once again Studio Madhouse delivers. Much like the Cowboy Bebop: Knocking On Heaven's Door, Badlands Rumble is set midway through the series with a few new characters thrown in to the mix. It's not really necessary to trudge through the TV show to appreciate the movie. Odds are you caught an episode of this on Toonami back in the day and have a general idea of the character dynamics. I came away throughly impressed with the animation on display here Vash and friends move through a city brimming with crowds of shady characters and Fist of the North Star types, but instead of them all looking similar it's very clear that a lot of thought was put into each background character's design. The crowds are actually animated (imagine that!) The overall art was outstanding and fits the characters and setting well. There's not a lot of epic, over-the-top type stuff yet it's easy to distinguish this from anything produced for television. It's not Redline, but it doesn't need to be.
This movie is a prime example of what I want from the anime industry. Solid entertainment, no filler garbage, great art and a sense of fun. As long as I get something like this once a year I'll remain a fan of anime.
If you'd like to hear more about Badlands Rumble check out the AWO podcast!
