Genre: Action | Comedy | Science Fiction | Drama | Western
Company: Pioneer Animation | Shonen Gaho-Sha | Tokuma Shoten, JVC
American Liscensing Company: Pioneer Entertainment
Format: 26 episodes
Dates: 04/02/1998 to 09/23/1998
Original Creator: Yasuhiro Nightow
Age Rating: Not suitable for young children; 15-18 and up

Synopsis: Vash the Stampede (also known as the Humanoid Typhoon) is a gunman on the run with a 60 billion double dollar bounty on his head which has made it difficult for him to go anywhere without being chased and shot at. Because of the bounty, every town he ever visit ends up being destroyed because of his pursuers (much to his dismay, because the disasters always get blamed on him), and miracliously, no one ever gets killed. Meryl and Milly are two insurance agents that have been sent to find Vash the Stampede and keep him under surveillance so no more damage is caused, which would result in more money loss for their company. Meryl, who leads the pair, can't believe that the man they have met can possibly be the legendary gunman. This spikey haired, gangly, and blonde young man is extremely friendly, a pacifist, hates blood and suicide, absolutely loves donuts, and is a dork and a crybaby...how the hell could he be Vash the Stampede, the notorious outlaw? And is there more to him and his past than what he's letting on?

SCORE: 91% This is one of the best anime out there. If you're just starting out in anime, this is probably a good and easy series to start with.

Plot: There are a few filler episodes, and the first few episodes are laughs and kicks episodes, but it's definitely not bad. The first episodes really establish Vash's lovable personality, which is one of the most important points of this series. Vash's personality makes you become attached to him and his weird quirks pretty quickly. So, there's good character development in this series.

There is a couple filler episodes for Meryl and Milly which ticked me off, and the recap episode was really annoying, but otherwise, each episode was really good.

It takes a little while for the plot to begin showing, but it's there, and each previous episode before the plot is revealed actually does a good job leading up to the plot. I'd talk about it more, but then I'd ruin it for you guys! Let's just say that the plot that finally shows is unexpected, and very original. The bad thing about the end is that it did have a resolution, but it is also left open and was unexpected. It would be very possible for the series to continue, and I'd be one of the first to try to see it!

The plot isn't perfect because of some very minor plotholes, but I still loved it and this anime ended in the only way it possibly could. Just to tell ya, I've glimpsed at the manga, which is actually still being written and published. The manga is better and really awesome! If only the anime could be that cool!

I tend to not like Westerns, and I can hate them with a passion. But, this series was so original and had enough sci-fi that the underlying Western theme didn't bother me.

But, to just tell you the message of this anime: Always find a peaceful solution for everyone, by always using love and peace! ...And a lot of donuts ^_^!

Visual: This series has a great story, but the visual quality just doesn't match up. Don't get me wrong; some of this animation was absolutely wonderful! However, a lot of animation was reused and recapping was apparent...but at least it wasn't overdone. Some of the animation did not look up to par, and lacked in looking solid. For an anime being released as recently as 1998, the animation should have been better. The visual ideas however did came across very well, and I never said "what the hell was that suppose to be?!", but it didn't push the borders of superior animation.

Sound: The intro rocks! Hell, yes! The ending song is an acquired taste and is probably better for just listening to and not listening to it while watching the credits. Some of the background music I found annoying, but it was never like it didn't fit the scene. I especially like the piece called Zero Hour that is very weird and played before Vash goes off to kick ass towards the end of the series.

The guns sounded awesome and so did all the other hits and punches, as well as some very comical sounds. These sounds weren't spectacular though.

The Dub: This has got to be one of the best dubs out there! The voice of Vash was great and it was very apparent that his voice actor watched the original Japanese, having matched his voice to that of the Japanese actor in many great aspects, which helped to keep Vash's character. This is one of the few dubs that hardcore anime fans like myself actually like and might even perfer over the Japanese.

Dub Letter Grade: A+

Extra Rants and Bitching: Kuroneko-Sama! Lol, gotta love Vash! Hee-hee-hee! He's a cutie! And Wolfwood ain't bad either.

Score Comments: I will be buying this box set of this series eventually, no doubt about that (even though I have the first DVD already). This is an awesome series, and don't pass it up! The only reason why this series was docked on it's score of 91% is because of the not always good animation and the suck-ass filler episodes. But otherwise, make sure you at least see this series!

Websites:

Have a website about this series, or do you know of a good one? Want me to link to it on this review? Well, the feel free to email the sucker to me! Just make sure to put "Review Link" in the subject.