#this didn't help

No, seriously, what was that?! That was a huge downgrade! That was Game of Thrones Season 8 for Trigun!

WHAT HAPPENED?!

For context: I love Stampede. Really, I do, and I was HYPED for Stargaze! So I wasn't going into this season looking to hate it, I tried SO HARD to find things to like, but just…

WHAT HAPPENED?! Why did they change directors/writers (because you can TELL)?! The tone is different! The themes are different! Plot threads are just dropped or never addressed! Plot points happen that make no sense! Where's the love that Stampede had?! The deep world building in little details, the layered characters, the hard questions, harsh consequences, dark tone with hope shining through the bloody violence…

It's all gone. Well, mostly. Like, 70% gone. Sure, there's the occasional bloody scene, all of like… two… But even the MEAT TRUCK scene wasn't as harrowing as Knives wiping out Jeanora's Rock in Stampede! It's like they were afraid it was TOO dark, so they dialed it way back to where it's practically sanitized by comparison!

Trying to be it's own thing? That's gone, they just started taking scenes from the manga even if they made NO sense with the story THEY wrote. Things just HAPPEN, it's like a highlights reel with nothing in between to EARN where they ended up, or understanding WHY those scenes worked in the manga in the first place!

The massive plot about Earth coming? How they made sure to mention Chronica was an Independent? It's background noise now, I think we get a glimpse of her for like, two seconds and that's it.

And the characters- oh GOD, DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THE CHARACTERS!!!

Vash? Butchered. He has NO agency. Sure, Stampede!Vash was already a bit more quiet and passive than Max!Vash or 98!Vash, but you still SAW glimpses of his eventual personality and flashes of how dangerous he could be- by the end, his confidence had boosted DRASTICALLY against Knives, and it looked like they planned for him to be closer to his Manga personality in the later seasons. Here? He's BARELY a character! He literally just gets dragged from plot point to plot point by OTHER people, and they repeated the "Vash gets captured" plot from Stampede TWICE!!!

Using the bullets from the manga was a nice touch, but that's about all I can say about him, he's the main character but he BARELY does anything of his own volition. Meanwhile, Vash was the driving force behind the search for Knives in Stampede. Sure, he got captured once, but he was ACTIVE! Also they try to say he doesn't understand the Plants, but like... he connected with ALL of them to acclimate them to No Man's Land's climate?? If ANYONE understands the Plants, it's HIM!

Wolfwood? Butchered. He's comic relief mostly, his intense fight with Midvalley hardly feeling heavy at all, with his MASSIVE character arc done OFFSCREEN!!! He's suddenly gone from being skeptical but hopeful about Vash's philosophy, to full on ride or die with him, with no transition. WHY?! He saw Vash succeed ONE time! Sure, it was a big one, but as far as he was aware from the start, Vash FAILED at JuLai! His kids are still in danger- oh wait, no they're not, because the Eye just LET HIM GO!

I… WHAT?! It was vague in Stampede, but that was the one route I hoped they would NOT take because it destroys his character. The tension of him playing both sides? The danger of being a traitor? Knowing it would put his family at risk if he saves Vash, but does it anyway? All gone. He's not even a traitor now- Oh wait, they try to SAY he is, but… THEY LET HIM GO! HE DIDN'T BETRAY ANYBODY! All his trauma about what he went through as a child, his world view being challenged, slowly becoming "Nicholas" again instead of "The Punisher"… All done offscreen. He's fine, now. And Ooooh, don't worry, I will GET TO WHAT THEY DID WITH HIM PLOT WISE.

Knives? Butchered. Oh he was just a sad boy now, and Vash should have been more aware of his feelings~… NO?! We established in Stampede that Vash had held out hope of connecting with Knives, but came to the heartbreaking realization during their fight that KNIVES CHANGED. "Oh, I didn't want you to cry again" BITCH WHY DID YOU DESTROY JEANORA'S ROCK IN THE CRUELEST WAY POSSIBLE IN HIS FACE!? YOU EMOTIONALLY TORMENTED HIM, AND YOU WANTED HIM TO REALIZE HUMANS DESERVE TO DIE! But oooh…. OOOOH WE! WILL! GET! TO! THAT! Otherwise, he was regrowing for half the season so you don't see much of him. His body horror isn't as horrifying as it should have been, the plot of him losing himself by assimilating the Plants is gone, and for some reason the new director kept trying to pin some of the blame on VASH, which... is WRONG. Vash is under no obligation to "understand" his genocidal brother who tormented him for a century and made no effort to "understand" him.

Meryl (and Milly)? She's… there, I guess. Her resolution with Elendira was BULLSHIT, but I'll address that in Elelndira's section. Her and Milly look good, their little moments were nice, but that's all I can say. They were there. That's it. We never find out how Milly knew about Meryl, or why she requested her, but we get a bit of lore from her, so… there's that I guess.

Legato? He's just a crazy zealot, that's it. Nothing more than that. His obsession with Knives? Unexplained. His tragic past that shaped him into the nihilist that he is now? Never addressed. His loathing of humanity? Never explained. His hatred of Vash? It's KIND OF there? His slow descent into further madness? Gone. His fixation on Wolfwood? Gone. And we KNOW they planned for his backstory to be similar to the manga one, they dropped hints! They point out that his hair is unusual, and in one of the notes the writers mention that on Earth, some people went through genetic modification to get crazy hair or eye colors, and some of that passed down to NMLers today. It noted that they're highly valuable in the SLAVE MARKET. Yeah, that's never addressed. He's just killed and forgotten about (WE WILL GET THERE!)

Livio? Personality wise he's fine, it's nice to see him finally animated (even if he's still a twink compared to his manga self), but even he was sanitized like crazy! He serves no purpose (WE WILL GET THERE!), Razlo was just "crazy alter ego" that vanished and was never mentioned again, instead of a self-defense mechanism from trauma that saved Livio's life but was weaponized by the Eye. His guilt, struggles, and eventual overcoming of everything? Gone. He's pointless, you can literally remove him from the cast, and as a Livio lover, that hurts to say.

Elendira? BUTCHERED. We know the original plan was for her to GROW UP over the series, we saw the notes and concept art of her as her sexy badass manga self. Here? She's just a sad child that needs a hug and she's all better! Revenge is bad! Nothing more than that. Something about not being accepted by Knives, but even that scene doesn't make sense 'cuz he's absorbing the DEPENDENTS which she is NOT, but in the manga Elendira KNEW Knives didn't intend for her (or any of the humans) to live. Her being a sort of hybrid? Not addressed. Her relevance to the plot? Meryl has like two seconds of considering revenge for Roberto, but makes the deranged adult-child monster all better with a hug.

FUCK. YOU.

Hoppered the Gauntlet? I actually didn't mind his change too much, even if it meant Lina disappeared into the void (seriously, they act like she never existed despite making an appearance at the end of Stampede- DID THEY EVEN WATCH THE LAST SEASON BEFORE TAKING OVER!?) Him struggling between seeing "Eriks" as a replacement for the girl he lost (that being her name is stupid, but besides the point) and hating him as the one that took her away was interesting. His mini arc was probably the closest tone to Stampede, and it was one of the few times I actually had misplaced hope for the series.

Midvalley the Hornfreak? …Honestly the only character done decently well. A bit too weepy for my liking, but you can argue it was everything piling on him at once. He had a decent setup, you felt for him, his fight with Wolfwood was…. Meh… And his eventual redemption to helping teach the kids on the Home ship was nice and felt KIND OF earned. A little. He's still sanitized, but it's the most earned ending ANYONE gets.

Leonoff the Puppetmaster? WHAT THE FUCK?! Okay, Midvalley I could understand; sure, he wasn't a GOOD guy, but he wasn't a violence-loving lunatic like the other Guns. He didn't WANT to wipe out humanity, he didn't WANT to work for Knives, he wanted to ESCAPE and they gave him that…. LEONOFF?! He was just a sadistic creep! Why are you letting him around children?! If he had any redemption it was OFF SCREEN!! But no, hardly anyone can die in Stargaze! Ugh.

Zazie? They exist, I guess? There's no more conflict with them and the humans anymore, because who needs nuance in TRIGUN? We don't get to see that cool adult Zazie design we saw, the horror about their existence is gone, they're just pals with Milly now (which by itself is fine, but it needs to be EARNED, GOD DAMMIT!)

Chapel? Killed offscreen. I don't even think Wolfwood did it. THEY. KILLED. CHAPEL. OFF. SCREEN. THE DRIVING ANTAGONIST BEHIND WOLFWOOD, LIVIO, AND THE WHOLE HOPELAND ORPHANAGE, AND THEY JUST TOOK HIM BEHIND THE SCREEN AND SHOT HIM OLD YELLER STYLE. WHAT THE FUCK?!

Okay, now onto more of the plot stuff. It was a mess. It was like they wanted to just speedrun highlights from the manga, without doing any of the work to get there, or even considering that it WOULD NOT WORK with the story they've written. Plot points that worked in the manga only work because of things and characters that are build up, but are glossed over, changed, or just straight up MISSING here! And the biggest one?

Wolfwood. Wolfwood is probably the biggest example of how awful the writing it- and not just him directly, but other things related to him/his character/his themes/his scenes. This just goes to show the domino effect of BAD that happens when you try to force certain scenes after butchering the foundation.

First off: He survives. No. I adore Wolfwood. He's doomed by the narrative in every version, and is (especially in the manga) the driving force behind Vash actually getting his shit together and BEATING KNIVES. Not only that, it ties in beautifully with his character arc, his contrast with Vash, and Nightow even said his life and death were one of the things he was most proud of in the series… AND THEY FUCKED IT UP!

Now, okay, there are ways I CAN see it working. Kind of. In theory, if written well. It's not written well. There's a watered down version of him realizing Vash means a lot to him, but we don't get the reverse. We don't REALLY get to see Vash's desperation to keep him with him, we don't get a "sharing our tomorrows" scene, or the "Bride" scene. However? They don't do anything with it.

OOOH NOW WE'RE THERE!

First off, having Chapel just croak offscreen? That fucks up Wolfwood AND Livio/Razlo. Razlo has NO reason to hate Wolfwood here; he wasn't a traitor (THEY LET HIM GO), he didn't kill Chapel, the only reason they were at the orphanage in the first place was because Wolfwood brought Vash there (which was STUPID AND SOMETHING HE WOULD NEVER DO). Basically, it just happens because the plot demanded it. Wolfwood finally overcoming the man that made his life hell? Gone. Razlo snapping over Chapel, only to learn the man didn't care for him at all leading to his breakdown? Gone. Razlo in general? Gone. No stakes. No consequences. No reason to attack the orphanage itself.

Second, Wolfwood surviving ruins what little purpose Livio had left. Livio has no reason to feel immense guilt over killing his older brother. There's no tension between him and Vash, bonding only through their shared love of Wolfwood and mourning of his death. There's no redemption to be had because Razlo didn't DO anything, and Wolfwood is FINE. He's got white hair now (which they don't do anything with, even if it's a nice contrast with Vash), but that's it. Livio's entire reason for being in the story? Gone. He's comic relief with Wolfwood now (ngl I DID enjoy those scenes, but there's no SUBSTANCE behind it).

Third… I thought they were only keeping Wolfwood alive for Legato to use later to force Vash to kill him. See, in the 98 anime, he threatens Milly and Meryl's lives to force Vash to break his code and kill him. In the manga, he threatens Livio's life to force Vash to kill him- and specifically, Vash does so BECAUSE WOLFWOOD DIED TO SAVE LIVIO. If he let Legato kill him, Wolfwood died for nothing, so Vash broke his lifelong philosophy to keep his memory alive. Legato forcing Vash to kill him is A HUGE MOMENT for the plot, themes, and most of all, Vash's character. So what do they do?

Well at first it seems like that's what they're going for. Legato threatens Wolfwood, Vash hesitates, looks like Wolfwood died because he hesitated too long, then pulls the trigger. Okay, we're back on track!

….Then KNIVES STOPS THE BULLET FROM KILLING LEGATO.

WHAT?!

WHY?! WHY WOULD HE DO THAT?! HE WANTS VASH TO KILL HUMANS! HE WANTS TO BREAK HIM OF THAT PACIFISM! THIS IS WHAT HE WANTS!!! Is it because he didn't want Legato to die? NO, BECAUSE KNIVES IMMEDIATELY KILLS LEGATO ANYWAYS?!

WHAT. THE. FUCK?!

Oh, and Wolfwood's fine. He and Vash barely share any scenes after this, so the relief of him still being alive, the tension and pain of Vash (intending to) kill Legato, any sort of reunion that makes his survival mean anything… Nah. They don't do anything with it. No actual emotional payoffs allowed.

This. This was the moment I gave up. I had been trying SO HARD to like this season, especially as the finale, it was just disappointment after disappointment, after disappointment, and this… this broke me. I didn't care anymore after this. It makes no sense, it destroys EVERYONE'S character that was involved. Legato is forgotten, Vash didn't kill anyone (or even suffer knowing he intended to), Wolfwood is hunky dory, Livio exists in the background, Knives stopped Vash from doing WHAT HE WANTED HIM TO DO only to TURN AROUND AND DO IT HIMSELF FOR NO REASON… Christ, this scene hurts me so bad.

So, Wolfwood's survival? Meaningless. Livio's existence? Meaningless. Knives' motivations? Broken. Legato's character? No nuance. Vash's growth? Gone. All so we could have a nice, happy, unproblematic ending where only like, three people die, one of which they reduced to just "crazy zealot" so why should we care, and the main heroes don't have any deep struggles or guilt anymore because everything was wrapped up in a neat little bow with ABSOLUTELY NO SUBSTANCE. None of this was EARNED.

Also, their big finale moment with the Plants was ruined because it contradicts the whole thing! "Oh, we'll learn to live with the Plants" And then most of them just… leave. No humans risking themselves to save them. No moment of true connection. Nah, they just fly away. Something something symbolism, i dunno, it's bullshit.

To be clear, similar with GoT S8, I don't actually have an issue with WHERE everyone ended up in the end, I think if Nightow (or the Stampede writers) had done it, it could have worked. The problems I have are HOW WE GOT THERE. None of this is earned. Most of it makes no sense. Characters were butchered, plotlines chopped or just vanished

Honorable mentions that show how absolutely CHOPPED the script is: The red vial Leonoff had? Nothing comes of it. The meaningful moment where he and Midvalley give Wolfwood their vials (which we never saw Mid use but whatever)? He takes one after Legato in like, a split second, and it's never a big moment. Lina? Disappeared into the void. The Guns retrieving everyone's bodies? Meaningless except Livio. Wolfwood being such a suitable candidate for the Eye's experiments? The whole S+ thing? Doesn't come of anything. The focus on Earth and Chronica? Two seconds of screentime. This not being the "last season"? Lie. Elendira growing up? Gone. Wolfwood's white shirt? Gone. Zazie's new body? Gone. Wolfwood leaving the orphanage? RETCONNED. IT IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SCENE THAN STAMPEDE.

Okay, for the positives… Uh, the animation was good? For fight scenes at least? The experimental tones, styles, symbolism, angles, etc. weren't there, but it looked like they were actually able to have fun and get creative with SOME of the fights, especially the one against Leonoff. Um, that one breather episode before the climax was actually quite enjoyable, even if how they got there pissed me off.

Wolfwood with white hair cracked me up for more personal reasons; anyone here remember this piece of ancient history?

Otherwise ….Yeah, that's it. The passion, love, risk taking, deep lore, nuanced themes, and deeply complex characters from Stampede are pretty much all gone. It just feels like the new director wanted to get it done as fast as possible with no care for the actual story. It's like they just decided to shove in scenes everyone liked from the manga with no effort (on the writers/directors part, no hate to the animators, they still LOOK good!), or understanding of WHY we loved those scenes in the first place. It's LAZY.

Guys… this broke me. It really did. It's just… Trigun has been my special interest nearly all my life (those who know me can attest), and Stampede was just SO GOOD and had SO MUCH POTENTIAL, only for it to just… get thrown away. This is no longer the passion project that Stampede was, and it SHOWS. And now, knowing this is the last thing we're probably ever getting, and all the potential Stampede had is gone...