It's been two and a half years since the Lost JuLai tragedy laid waste to an entire city and engulfed the whole planet in chaos. Meryl continues her search for Vash with her new younger sidekick, Milly, and runs into Wolfwood along the way. Meanwhile, Vash has taken the new name Eriks and is living in hiding in a backwater town. When he receives an abrupt visit and an SOS from the third ship they call home, he acts swiftly to protect those dear to him. However, as soon as the planet receives good news from the far reaches of outer space, the one-winged angel returns to wreak havoc and despair. Fates collide to forge a final conclusion for the panicked planet.

Trigun Stargaze is the sequel toTrigun Stampede and is based on theTrigun andTrigun Maximum manga byYasuhiro Nightow. The anime series is streaming onCrunchyroll on Saturdays.

I've always struggled to get intoYasuhiro Nightow'sTrigunfranchise, despite owning the '90s anime DVD box set and every volume of the manga. The strained humor of the anime's first few episodes really grates on me, so on the three separate occasions I've tried to power my way through, I give up around episode eight or so. With the manga, I have all the volumes on my shelf, yet I find Nightow's action sequences to be completely impenetrable, and I'm unable to parse what transpires from one panel to the next. It does not make for a particularly pleasurable read.

2023's CG-animatedTrigun Stampede was, for me, the absolute sweet spot that got me into the story. A combination of a prequel and a remix of earlier versions, it still maintained some goofy humor but got to the point much more quickly. It was also gorgeous to look at, with an incredible soundtrack. Much to the disgust of some of my '90s cel animation purist friends, I confidently stated thatTrigun Stampede was far and above the best version of this story.

Therefore, I'm very excited that the second (concluding) half of the story is now upon us. Two and a half years have passed since Vash the Stampede's Angel Arm destroyed the city of JuLai, and intrepid reporter Meryl Stryfe is now finally partnered up with Millie Thompson. This Millie isn't quite the mountainous woman of the previous versions, though, which may upset some long-time fans. Her peppy, upbeat personality seems similar, at least. It's currently unclear to me whether either of them is employed by an insurance company, as they were in the '90s anime, though.

None of Meryl's stories implicating Millions Knives in the destruction of “Lost JuLai” have been published, which means Vash finally has that $$60 billion bounty on his head, “Wanted Dead or Alive”, as per the iconic poster that we now see. Most of the episode, we follow Meryl and Millie, as they meet up with bug-controlling Zazie the Beast, who takes them to a previously undiscovered crashed starship where all the people, and even all the Plants died. They find a single dead Plant in a vat, which disperses into dust when the fluid is drained. I'm unsure right now what any of this means.

At the conclusion of the previous season, we learned that a human colony fleet was on its way towards planet Noman's Land, and I suspect that will form the plot backbone for much of the upcoming season. I'm not necessarily convinced Millions Knives is dead, and I can't imagine he'll be pleased to hear that more humans are on the way to potentially rescue those trapped on the desert planet. At the episode's beginning, we see a massive ship crashing into a town and stealing its life-giving plant in a spectacular sequence. We learn this has happened multiple times, and I wonder if this is Knives' work.

We leave off this intriguing opener with a glimpse of a mute, blonde-haired character who seems strangely familiar, and a little pigtailed girl who crashes to the ground in search of Vash. What could it all mean? Although this is a relatively understated first episode, it does a good job of reestablishing the world and what has changed in the interim between seasons. I'm gladTrigun has returned, and hope the central cast are reunited so they can entertainingly bounce off one another again soon.

I feel like there were mixed feelings aboutTrigun Stampede, which is understandable given that it served as a reboot or retelling of a beloved anime classic.Studio Orange and the original manga creator seemed to use this as an opportunity to expand the lore of theTrigun universe and tell a slightly different story from what fans and newcomers might've expected. I think I gave the series a fair shot and judged it on its own terms, but even then, some things fell a bit short toward the end of season one. The main issues I had stemmed from Vash himself and his place in the broader moral quandary of how the world worked. The idea that the plants were sentient beings related to Vash and Knives was interesting, especially since those plants were essentially used as batteries to keep the humans alive on this desolate planet, which has its own creatures and ecosystem, creating a very interesting moral quandary that genuinely hooked me. But when I start siding with the borderline sociopathic Knives, who was going on a killing spree because he was kind of right about the abuse of the plants, I worry that the series ended not knowing what it wanted to say.

Thankfully,Stargaze starts off strong by making it very clear that this very moral dilemma that season one ended on seems like it's going to be the basis for this season. There's a lot packed in this episode that both moves the plot forward and sets up these branching moral quandaries. People are going after the plants that are leaving the towns uninhabitable, which creates a plethora of refugees and creates a strong sense of despair for many people. Perfect timing considering that it seems like more humans, and presumably more plants, are about to arrive, so I'm assuming things aren't going to be as simple as a lot of the celebrators want them to be.

Speaking of celebrating, Milly is here, guys! Oh my God, I forgot how much I missed this character. She's not the same one from the original series or manga, but that same wide-eyed, innocent outlook on life is still there, and it's the perfect dose of levity this heavy show needed. I did not like Roberto in the first season because it felt like he was there just to hammer home a lot of the cynicism that the show was already doing a good enough job of establishing. But here, Milly is a perfect character who highlights how simple I think many of us wish these conflicts could be, even though they are much more complicated. That scene with Meryl in the abandoned ruins, where she recognizes how complex the issue is while still wanting to find a solution, is perfect and shows how much Vash has impacted her. I feel like she's going to be the emotional core that needs to get him out of his revealed catatonic state. Or maybe the new humans introduced could do that, but I am really worried this could end up with a relatively bloated cast and a limited runtime.

The show still looks beyond gorgeous. Not only does it display the usual high bar of expressive CGI that seems to use squash-and-stretch techniques to truly create stylized 3D, but the directing also seems more inventive. That scene in the bar, where the camera kept panning and cutting to exaggerated shots to accentuate the characters' movements, was perfect. All of this is accompanied by a score that may not hit me the same way that the original did, but it's clearly going for a more melancholic yet punctuated style, which I think fits this new direction very well. So overall, this was a solid premiere with a lot of heart. Here's hoping the heart isn't overshadowed by all the other things surrounding it.

Despite the new subtitle and the narrative's jump forward in time,Trigun Stargaze is very much the second season ofTrigun Stampede. This is a good thing, undoubtedly, sinceTrigun Stampede was one of the best anime of 2023, and probably the single best series thatStudio Orange has yet produced. Now, almost three years later, the plot of thisTrigun remix has also seen three years pass for our heroes, only for a series of Plant robberies to signal the return of Millions Knives and his Gung-Ho Guns. I don't actually remember if the bad guys are officially called that in this new canon, but c'mon, you can't expect me to drop a gang name as ludicrously wonderful as "Gung-Ho Guns," can you?

Speaking of memory lapses, one of the downsides of a nearly three-year gap between seasons is that there's an awful lot of lore and backstory thatTrigun Stargaze expects you to be caught up on. As Meryl and her long-awaited new partner, Millie, cross the desert and pick up the clues pointing back to the return of Millions and his crew, we get the bare minimum of recap that we need to follow along - Power on Noman's Land comes from exploited alien energy sources called “Plants”, Millions Knives is evil. Vash the Stampede is still wanted for sixty-billion Double Dollars despite being presumed dead after the battle at JuLai. Still, if you haven't brushed up on yourTrigun fundamentals sinceStampede aired back in '23, don't feel bad if it takes you a while to get back up to our heroes' speed.

Once you do, though, you'll be reminded of whyStudio Orange was the perfect team to handle Vash and Co.'s return to the anime spotlight. Their stylish, expertly crafted blend of 2D and 3D animation is still second-to-none, as far as I'm concerned (though recent successes likeGirls Band Cry indicate that the industry is finally catching up withOrange and learning to use 3D properly in their productions). The company's trademark aesthetic continues to be a perfect fit for this lively, flashy, and energetic take on the story of the Humanoid Typhoon and his deranged, blade-obsessed brother.

Story-wise, this premiere is very much about establishing the new status quo and driving our characters to the next big stage of their adventure. We hardly see any of our title character, as it turns out, since he has spent the last two years and change in a catatonic, amnesiac state. While he's on the mend, though, seeing Meryl and Millie together again for the very first time means that this premiere is worth the price of admission. Their dynamic provides a fresh change of pace compared to Meryl and Roberto's whole deal from the first series. There are some ridiculously huge developments already occurring at this early phase of the season, too, with an entire fleet of Earth spaceships showing up to promise salvation at last for the stranded colony of Noman's Land. Of course, there's no way in hell this is going to work out so smoothly, but that makes it all the more exciting to see how the return of civilization will affect Vash's journey.

AfterStudio Orange's visually stunning but somewhat over-prequelized (some would say Surf Dracula'd) take onTrigun inStampede, the remaining looming question was how the follow-up would actually shake out. There were some major expectations thatTrigunStargaze had to live up to, and I am happy to report that this premiere absolutely delivers on the goods that fans will be demanding.

That's right, Milly Thompson is here!Stargaze wastes no time bringing the big lady into the main cast, and she's as lovable as ever. Look at her jauntily waving to that big worm in the beginning; she is already a million times better than Roberto ever was.

I make my little jokes, but with Vash as we know him largely absent from this start-up forStargaze, it's up to Meryl and Milly to carry this premiere, personality-wise, and they're mostly up to that task. They're a great showcase ofOrange's storied animation output, with a business scene at the beginning, like Meryl giving Milly coffee and food while driving. And the quick action scene the pair pull off at the beginning shows that side ofStargaze is as swish and swoopy as ever. The animation's face game, especially on Meryl, is still terrific.

However, reshuffling the character lineup with ostensibly better personalities can only do so much asStargaze gets itself back on the dusty trail after all this time. Meryl and Milly's relationship may be based on a more equalized rapport than Meryl just reacting to Roberto's infodumping inStampede, but in practice, in this episode, that means the characters are now sharing the burden of the show's characteristic overexposition.Stargaze as a new beginning means characters have new reasons to stand around recapping and answering world-building questions that might otherwise have had answers paced out more naturally. Some of this exposition is arguably made more necessary by the years-long gap, both inside and outside the show, but that just makes it an odd exacerbation of a problem the reboot already had. Roberto may be dead, but Meryl, Milly, and even Zazie carry on his spirit in less-than-graceful ways.

It's frustrating because the non-exposition bits with Meryl and Milly feel good, and there are already some stunningly evocative visuals in sections like Meryl's visions during the plant facility tour. That same turn toward evocation, rather than exposition, is present in the latter chunk of this premiere, wherein a near-catatonic Vash Eriks is taken care of by a hulking, mysterious individual. This simple, melancholy stretch is comfortable, letting viewers ease into the days in the desert, with flashes toward mysteries that might be clarified later, as needed. It builds up vibes around the just-restarting story, alongside the impending arrival of a human armada that looks to inject a little more of the "space" element into this seminal space western. It teases a simple, vacating solution to the impending humans vs. plants crisis that, even as most people can guess, isn't actually going to go well, and it gets the wheels of hope turning.

But those are all just flashes of potential plot to be covered over the whole of the season, this premiere abruptly ending with the arrival of a girl who looks for all the world like Goo fromFoster's Home for Imaginary Friends. I get the impression all this recapping and evocation might play better once the second episode ofStargaze is out to complete the picture a bit. But for now, it makes apparent to me that, much as I'd love to, I cannot subsist entirely on attractive visuals and tall ladies.

SHE'S HERE! SHE'S HERE!! THE GIRL IS HERE!!!!!

Sorry, sorry. Like many long-timeTrigun fans, I am beside myself with joy that Milly Thompson has finally made her appearance. The series has many memorable characters, but none may be as universally beloved as she is. She was sorely missed inTrigun Stampede, as Meryl was paired with the much less dynamic Roberto. In her original incarnation, her sunny, naturally trusting personality made her the natural foil to the pricklier Meryl.

Once again, I'm forced to reconcile my fond memories of the 1998 anime withStudio Orange's reenvisioning of the story and characters. This Meryl is softer and more idealistic, a journalist trying to get the truth out rather than an insurance agent assigned to prevent Vash from incurring more costs on the company through his rampant destruction. Her personality contrasts much less sharply with Milly's sweetness, so the two's dynamic is considerably different. I'm also not wild about Milly's redesign. At the same time, the original version of the character had the shoulders of a linebacker draped in a cloak; this one's fitted clothes reveal that she's taller than average but is typically proportioned. Still, her conversation with Meryl as they drove through the desert showed that she's as empathetic and kind-natured as ever. I missed her, and I'm so happy to have her back.

Oh, sorry, did you want my thoughts on what happened in this episode other than Milly's debut? Why? Don't you know Milly is the most important thing in the world? Oh, fine. Meryl grapples with the fundamental contradiction of being a human with empathy for the life-sustaining beings, the Plants, and what it means for humans to exploit them to survive in the harsh, arid environment of the planet JuLai. As Zazie mocks her for her simple-minded desire to reconcile these things, the news comes that a fleet of ships from Earth is coming to rescue humans from this hellish frontier planet.

As I watched the countless humans celebrate their upcoming migration, a sickening foreboding came over me. Of course, it's not that simple; we wouldn't have a show if it were. But there was something sinister about their promise to take along anyone who wanted to come. This is a story about the exploitative nature of humanity; it seems unlikely they're making this promise out of the goodness of their hearts. Millions Knives is a compelling antagonist because he's right about most things. Maybe it'll be simple, and Knives and his goons will just knock humanity out of the sky out of spite; humanity's abandonment of the Plants is well-seeded in this episode.

Trigun Stargaze is different, but “different” doesn't mean “bad,” andStampede earned my trust. I'm just glad Milly is back.