Lauren Tripp writes:
Lauren, I have to commend you on this question. You are quite possibly the first person to ask "why did you watch it" in regards to some anime I completed. You'll note that the vast majority of chaff on this site is made up of anime series, of which I only sampled a few episodes each. In fact, Trigun and Nadia: Secret of Blue Water are the only chaff series I've reviewed that I've watched in entirety. (Okay, Fooly Cooly too, but that was only what, six episodes?) You should have heard my IRC buddies after I told them I refused to watch any more Martian Successor Nadesico, or El Hazard, or Twelve Kingdoms, or whatever series happens to be their favorites on any given day. Their statement is usually more like, "Well, you really have to watch the whole series to enjoy it." Which is an absolutely nonsense statement. Some series, however, simply must be watched all the way to the end, for one reason or another. A friend of mine actually mailed me a box of VHS tapes so I could watch Nadia. What was I supposed to do, watch the first tape and then send them back? I'm not a jerk! In the case of Trigun, well, that's what Adult Swim was running at the time. And everyone loves Trigun. I had to see what all the fuss was about myself. I didn't really wait until seeing the entire series to write the review; AA was still a new site back then and I had already seen all of Trigun before starting it up.
Hey, now, no need to get snippy. I'm not just obsessed with television... I play video games too, ya know! I assume your math observation is referring to my remark that Wolfwood dies "halfway" through the series. Which of course isn't true; he dies much closer to the end. However, he isn't introduced in episode one, either. And in the episodes where he is featured (which make up most of the middle), he generally doesn't get as much screentime as Vash. So in the end my "halfway" comment is actually pretty on-target -- especially if you're of the opinion that Wolfwood is the only decent thing in the series.
Aw, man. But the remote is waaaaaaaaaaayy over there! As for research, it's not my job to research the series. All I have to do is watch it and form an opinion. Sometimes I watch as little as one episode! I'm not the anime site that reviews new hot animes that come out; I'm the average American white boy who dislikes almost all anime but is still willing to see what kind of good stuff is out there. My reviews are meant to be ill-researched and knee-jerk. If you came here expecting an objective look at anime, honey, you're at the wrong site.
On this point we agree. My problem with Trigun having a happy ending wasn't that the ending was happy, but rather because it was predictably happy. After all the dark angsty depression Vash goes through towards the end of the series, they pretty much had to give it a happy ending, didn't they? I called it long before I actually watched it. And it wasn't just the ending; the entire plot was like that. It was like I was being telegraphed all the plot "twists" five or six episodes in advance. I made mention of this in Trigun's Story section.
Okay, I give. What was the "positive message" behind Trigun? I didn't realize the series was trying to preach to me, but I'm willing to have my mind changed. (Note: at the time I got your letter, seven of the sixteen reviews labeled "wheat" on AA were ones with happy endings, and six were series that either had multiple endings, or series where I still haven't seen the final episode. I love a happy ending! Really I do!)
Before I get too upset, I'll point out that I was using "bimbo" as a generic insult and not a synonym for "whore".
Again with the research? You realize it's a TV show right? The only "research" I have to do is to watch the show, and form an opinion about it. Out of curiosity though, what kinds of criticisms did those good articles have? Did they mention how much of a dingus Vash is? (I researched the word "dingus" for you, and came up with this definition: a person who is regarded as stupid. So, can I use the word "dingus" to refer to Vash as long as I think he's stupid, or do I have to run some tests and get confirmation from the lab before I can prove it?) Anyway, I think you give middle schoolers too little credit. I know a few middle schoolers myself, and they're all way too cool to watch Trigun!
Lauren, your e-mail really cheered my day. Thanks for writing! Love,
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