Yasuhiro Nightow

I wish I liked this volume, because it's got some of the better art in the series and Wolfwood is in it, and his relationship with Vash is rather cute. There's also just a lot of panels made to admire Vash's body, which is fun. And Knives' introduce is pretty decent. But unfortunately the volume compensates by upping Vash's sexism, which, while typical of 90s shounen, is still just as bad now as it was back then.

I'm still not a general fan of the character designs or ridiculous Very 90s costuming, but I do respect the artistry in the fight scenes and posing. The story also isn't very good. The sense of place and time isn't clear, and a good chunk of the story is "Meanwhile, Legato is up to no good", and the climax was... unfulfilling.

Milly is still my favorite character, but Wolfwood is up there, now. Legato and Vash are fun, and Knives is interesting.

All in all, if you want a classic shonen from the 90s... well I can't say I exactly recommend this, but if you really like "s-CRY-ed", "Cowboy Bebop", "Outlaw Star", "Marchen Awakens Romance", "Flame of Recca", or that kind of thing, this might be for you. If you like "Trigun: Stampede", there will be a number of elements here that you can see I the anime, but a lot was changed.… (meer)

For a shonen from the 90s, it's quite typical, and if that's something you're looking for, particularly something that mixes science fiction and westerns, this is probably the thing for you. Personally, while I respect the talent and detail in the artwork, I cannot stand the art style, and actually find it quite difficult to follow a lot of the time because too much is happening. I also find the story in this volume at best funny in the more comedic moments, or just kind of boring, though the world-building is... at least interestingly designed? Though also a lot of it is very typical for stories of this type, and this doesn't exactly stand out to me other than it's still popular today, and I'm up to speed with "Trigun: Stampede", and giving the manga another chance while I wait for episode 12.

I actually started this back in 2011 and dropped it because of the art and story. My impression hasn't changed. I still love Milly best of the cast, and it's nice to see her again. Vash's physical flexibility is also quite neat, and his ability to wear 10,000 belts and constantly show off his stretchy arms and legs is quite... fascinating. I'm not complaining.

All in all, if you want a classic shonen from the 90s... well I can't say I exactly recommend this, but if you really like "s-CRY-ed", "Cowboy Bebop", "Outlaw Star", "Marchen Awakens Romance", "Flame of Recca", or that kind of thing, this might be for you. If you like "Trigun: Stampede", there will be a number of elements here that you can see I the anime, but a lot was changed.… (meer)