Trigun Stampede 06

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis

Roberto decides to take Vash and Wolfwood as far as a Sand Steamer port. Meryl is unhappy with this decision. Meanwhile, Vash wonders why Wolfwood is clearly following him. As they talk, a cybernetic man attacks. Wolfwood recognizes the man as Livio, a childhood friend who was like a younger brother during their time at the Hopeland Orphanage.

Wolfwood recalls his time at the orphanage until he was selected by a group who work for Doctor Conrad. After the Doctor experimented on him, Wolfwood gained an adult body and an apparent addiction to a drug that can instantly heal wounds and such. He attempts to escape, but is caught by Bluesummers, leader of a religious organization called Eye of Michael. Wolfwood isn’t interested, but is forced to change his mind when he sees they have Livio.

Back in the present, Vash continues to flee attacks from Livio as well as soldiers on the Sand Steamer. Within their transport vehicle, Bluesummers and Zazie observe the action via a flying worm-bug. Bluesummers uses his powers to sabotage the Steam Crawler, causing it to change course to the Hopeland Orphanage. Meanwhile, Bad Lads raiders storm the Sand Crawler.

Thoughts/Review

Two more folks show up in Trigun Stampede 06. In the source manga and OG anime, they were members of the Gung-Ho Guns. But this time, Gung-Ho Guns does not exist. Only a religious order called Eye of Michael.

Livio

In the source manga, Livio was known as Livio the Double Fang. He was never in the OG anime. But for Trigun Stampede 06, he’s just Livio, an orphaned boy and brother-like friend of Wolfwood. And like Rollo (and now Wolfwood) before him, he’s a child who’s been experimented on by that doctor. No clue on how long it has been since the experiment.

The backstory showing Wolfwood and Livio’s backstory is melodramatic to make things feel more jacked up. I don’t have a problem with that. I get the feeling that the group expected Wolfwood to rebel, otherwise why have Livio there as a control mechanism? Wolfwood seems to be the only reason Livio was selected. Yeah, Livio supposedly asked, but that was to follow Wolfwood. And it seems that beneath his programming, that’s still a motivating force.

But otherwise, the character means little to me. I figure he’ll be dead next week when Wolfwood is forced to put him down to save Vash’s life. That’s my prediction, at least.

(Lagato) Bluesummers

I don’t know if Bluesummers is going to get the Lagato name or not. However, the leader of the Gung-Ho Guns in the manga and OG anime shows up in similar form for Trigun Stampede 06. Only there is no Gung-Ho Guns. But he does seem to be a member of a religious order called Eye of Michael. I don’t remember if that order was in the OG anime or not, but I’m pretty sure it was in the source manga. That said, I suspect he is the leader of this religion.

I seem to recall in the OG anime that Legato had some sort of supernatural powers to telepathically control folks. But for this reimagining, that power seems off the scale. He’s able to mentally go inside this behemoth Sand Steamer, which makes a Jawa Sand Crawler look tiny, and sabotage it so that it steers off course.

Still, that begs the question as to why Knives hasn’t exterminated all of humanity yet. He’s got powerful resources, in addition to his own. Bluesummers could just go from settlement to settlement, crushing everyone to death. But then, Doctor Conrad is a supposed priest in this Eye of Michael religion. And whatever experiments he’s doing needs at least some humans alive. While I expect Livio to die next episode, I expect Bluesummers to live.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Let me wrap up my review of Trigun Stampede 06 with some final thoughts.

• It was an interesting choice for Orange to opt to use the silent movie approach for the orphanage flashbacks, complete with informational cards.
• I know the Bad Lads Gang showed up in episode 7 of the OG anime. And they attacked a Sand Steamer. However, in this modern episode, I immediately saw them as a nod to the Mad Max: Fury Road movie.
• I still miss Milly. And yeah, I know she’s not going to show.
• The people animation still enters uncanny valley territory at times.

In the end, Trigun Stampede 06 provides some melodramatic lore for Wolfwood, and gives a glimpse into how deep Dr. Conrad’s unethical and immoral experiments run.