Trigun is based off of a manga series written and illustrated by Yasuhiro Nightow. The anime adaptation was produced by Madhouse and directed by Satoshi Nishimura. The anime, which consists of twenty-six episodes, aired on TV Tokyo from April 4-September 30, 1998. The title for the manga and the anime comes from the fact that the main character has three primary weapons, each of which is a type of gun (a long barrel revolver, a false arm hiding a submachine gun, and his powerful Angel Arm). Geneon Entertainment holds the distribution license for the anime in the United States. Trigun also aired as part of Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block in 2003.

Trigun has a Space Western theme, and is set on the planet Gunsmoke. The series is often light-hearted in tone, and comic relief is used often. However, Trigun also involves some moral conflict, primarily to the morality of killing other living things, whether or not it is justified.

The series follows a man called “Vash the Stampede,” who is the first person to be declared as “an act of God” or as a “human disaster.” He is followed around by two Bernardelli Insurance Company employees named Meryl and Milly, who are attempting to help minimize the damage caused by Vash’s appearance. However, most of the damage is actually caused by bounty hunters who are trying to collect the $60 billion “double dollars” bounty that was placed on Vash’s head after the destruction of the city of July. However, Vash has amnesia and has no memory of the incident. Through his travels, Vash tries to save lives by using non-lethal force. Vash later acquires a traveling partner named Nicholas D. Wolfwood, who is a preacher and an excellent gunman.

Meryl Stryfe, one of the Bernardelli employees, has a serious attitude and a short temper. Under her coat, she hides many derringer-style “throwaway” pistols. At first, Meryl thinks Vash is a nuisance, and is quick to dismiss the idea that he is the “Humanoid Typhoon.” Over time, however, Meryl realizes that Vash isn’t the villain that he’s been made out to be, nor is he the buffoon that he presents himself to be.

Milly Thompson is Meryl’s assistant. Although Milly is physically strong, she tends to appear as if she’s simple and ditzy. However, she has an extremely kind heart and is filled with genuine optimism. Milly also manages to somehow hide a heavy concussion gun under her coat.

Trigun is definitely not an anime geared to young children, hence why it aired on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block. After watching Trigun, I think the youngest age that could get away with watching this anime would be around 13 or 14 years old, although some parents would probably prefer to wait until their child is 15 or 16 years old.