Trigun-Volume 1: The $60,000,000,000 Man (1998)

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General		Extras
Category	Anime	Main Menu Audio & Animation Theatrical Trailer Gallery-Character Designs Gallery-Image Gallery Trailer-Rahxephon; Robotech; Mobile Suit Gundam Wing; Transformers
Rating
Year Of Production	1998
Running Time	98:29 (Case: 100)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Satoshi Nishimura
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Masaya Onosaka Hiromi Tsuru Satsuki Yukino
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$29.95	Music	Tsuneo Imahori

    Trigun is a Japanese animated television series centred around Vash the Stampede, an outlaw with a $60,000,000,000 reward on his head.

    Vash the Stampede has a $60 billion reward upon his head and countless bounty hunters all trying to claim it. Luckily, the details surrounding Vash are very sketchy and little is known about the mysterious man. He has been involved in the complete destruction of numerous towns and leaves a wake of destruction in his path, earning him the title of the Humanoid Typhoon. Despite the extensive destruction that surrounds him, nobody is able to recall an incident where Vash has ever taken a life. In an effort to curb the rate of physical damage, the Bernadelli Insurance Society has sent two young staff members, Milly Thompson and Meryl Stryfe, to track down Vash. When the women finally catch up with him, like many bounty hunters, they are extremely surprised and find it hard to believe that the man before them is really the legendary Vash the Stampede.

    Trigun is a twenty-six episode anime series that is based upon a manga series created by Yasuhiro Nightow. The character was first seen in a February 1995 issue of Shounen Captain magazine and gained a dedicated fanbase. The anime series was released in 1998 and it contains a mixture of comedy and some drama with an enjoyable storyline and character development.

    This first DVD release contains the following four episodes. I have included a very short description for each, but as these may contain some very minor spoilers you may wish to skip directly to the Transfer Quality section.

The $60,000,000,000 Man
    A group of bounty hunters arrive at a small town in search of Vash. In their efforts to capture him, the group destroys the bar he was in and much of the surrounding countryside. Also on the track of Vash are Milly Thompson and Meryl Stryfe from the Bernadelli Insurance Society. When these women catch up with the group, the lack of solid information identifying Vash becomes clear.

Truth of Mistake
    When a local businessman's life is threatened he requires the services of a bodyguard and employs Vash. The businessman lives in a town that has been deserted by its citizens as the local water supply has disappeared. When Meryl and Milly arrive at the town they learn that Vash is protecting the businessman and they investigate. During their investigation, they meet Marianne Aura Cayzen who is introduced as the granddaughter of a government official, but as usual not everything is as it seems.

Peace Maker
    Vash travels to Warren City in search of the legendary gunsmith Frank Marlon. As usual, Milly and Meryl are also in town looking for Vash. While in town, a group of bandits plan to rob an armoured car and Vash becomes involved.

Love and Peace
    A young woman in a bar is taken hostage by a group of men who demand a $10,000,000 ransom. Milly and Meryl are also in the bar and are being held captive. Vash wanders into town and is also taken prisoner by the robbers. As the situation escalates, it becomes clear that this is not just about the ransom money.

Video

    The transfer is presented at the show's original aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

    The image is quite sharp throughout the transfer but during the second episode it does appear slightly softer by comparison. No low-level noise was detected at any time during the transfer. During the dark sections of the transfer, excellent shadow detail is displayed and it is able to accurately reproduce the original animation.

    The colours displayed during the transfer were always consistently bright and well saturated. The desert locations and many characters utilize a relatively bland brown and grey colour palette and this is contrasted with the bright blue sky and the red coat of Vash.

    Some small Gibbs artefacts may be seen during the opening credits at 0:11, but these are quite minor and are not disruptive. Small instances of MPEG artefacts may be seen during a single scene at 3:10, but as this only lasts for a very short time it is not distracting.

    A number of aliasing artefacts may be seen during the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 1:03, 2:11, 3:54, 5:07 and 9:37. All of these artefacts are relatively minor and are only slightly disturbing.

    A number of small film artefacts may be seen during the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 19:31 and 25:03 but as these are all very minor they are never annoying.

    A number of NTSC to PAL frame rate conversion artefacts may be seen during the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 15:35, 18:52 and 20:12 but due to their short duration they are only minimally disruptive.

    A small amount of telecine wobble may be seen during the closing credits at 22:50 but this is not disturbing.

    A single set of yellow English subtitles is provided on the disc and they are always clear and easy to read. During the closing credits of each episode, a set of green non-removable English subtitles are provided for the closing theme's lyrics.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    Both English and Japanese Dolby Digital 224 kbps 2.0 tracks are provided on this disc. I listened to both tracks in full and clearly preferred the Japanese track, as the English track included additional dialogue and inferior voice acting.

    The dialogue was always clear and easy to understand during both tracks.

    As this is an animated feature, there are the expected obvious problems with audio sync for each soundtrack. No dropouts were detected at any stage during the transfer.

    The musical score by Tsuneo Imahori occasionally draws attention to itself but always suits the on-screen action.

    The surround and subwoofer channels were not utilised during this transfer.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The minimally animated menu is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

Trailer: Trigun (1:30)

    This trailer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with a musical Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

Character Designs

    This is a collection of twenty-six character designs presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

Image Gallery

    This is a collection of twenty shots from the episodes presented in a circle in the middle of a 1.33:1 frame.

Trailer: RahXephon (1:01)

    This trailer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with a Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

Trailer: Robotech (1:56)

    This trailer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

Trailer: Gundam Wing W (1:59)

    This trailer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

Trailer: Transformers (1:31)

    This trailer is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced.

    Both versions of this film appear to be identical and I therefore would have no preference for either version.

    Trigun is an enjoyable anime series that has interesting character development and a mix of comedy and drama.

    The video transfer accurately reproduces the unusual original animation design.

    The inclusion of both the original Japanese and English dub tracks should satisfy all fans, but most viewers will likely prefer the Japanese track.

    Fans of the series will appreciate the small numbers of extras included.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall