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Review

by Allen Divers

Trigun

DVD Vol. 7 - Puppet Master

Synopsis:
Trigun - Puppet Master DVD

Trigun: Puppet Master is the seventh DVD release of the Trigun series. After a time of looking back in the past 3 episodes, Vash is once again ready to wear his red coat and finally move against his brother, Knives. As it can never be that easy, Wolfwood makes a fatal decision that drives a wedge between him and Vash.

Review:

In Puppet Master, the video is clear, with hardly any film scratches showing up. For such a dark world, the artists chose to use bright vivid colors. The main characters stand out in direct contrast from the desert sands and low-tone buildings.

As with the other discs in this series, Audio is crisp and clear. The background music plays up the western, or 'cowboy,' feel of the show. When its time to step away from the playful aspects of the series, the music picks up a metallic rasp. The music goes a long way towards conveying the emotions in a given scene. The English dub sticks very close to the original Japanese script, changing only to fit mouth movement.

For you parents considering letting your kids watch this one, be aware there is frequent use of everyone's favorite four letter words.

The extras contain your standard mixed bag of line art and production stills. This time around you get the covers used on the Japanese VHS releases. Most of these have been reused or updated for the DVD covers. The line art this time around contain designs for many of the villains seen in the latter half of the series.

Pioneer's authoring company really goes all out with the menus for the Trigun DVD series. The menus are all animated, with small details in movement. For Puppet Master, the menus are set up to resemble an old photo album. When you move to a sub-menu, the pages turn. The animation this time around is a fluttering of light from a fire. You don't see the fire, but you get its reflection off the pages. A repeated music track plays, reflecting the somber mood as we near the end of the series.

The Trigun series continues to provide twists and turns as the back story unfolds. In Vol 6 we learned Legato is being supported by someone from Vash's past. In Puppet Master, Vash quickly learns that he can't save everyone. He also learns that not everyone shares his passionate views towards life. Vash continues to struggle with his own beliefs as others line up to sacrifice themselves for him.

All the major characters show growth, or change as they move with the story. All except Milly, who is, well, just Milly. Wolfwood continues to show that he truly is more than just a preacher. Wolfwood finds himself in the unusual positions of doomsayer and protector. This is quite a change from the drifter attitude he portrayed before. Meryl and Milly for most of this disc Play Comic relief. No major changes occur for them this time around, but expect to see some as we reach the final disc.

Trigun is nearing its conclusion. The action and unfolding back story have done well to keep viewers involved all the way through disc 7. This series continues to prove why it is a must-have for any anime collector.

Grade:
Overall : A+
Overall (dub) : A
Overall (sub) : A
Animation : A
Art : A
Music : A

+ Outstanding character design and spectacular back story
Vash's struggle to find himself and his motivation seems to drag on

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Production Info:
Director: Satoshi Nishimura
Series Composition: Yōsuke Kuroda
Script: Yōsuke Kuroda
Storyboard:
Noriyuki Abe
Hideo Hayashi
Fuminori Kizaki
Katsuyuki Kodera
Yoshihide Kuriyama
Kou Matsuo
Kazunori Mizuno
Yūji Moriyama
Satoshi Nishimura
Yoshimitsu Ohashi
Kazuhiro Ozawa
Masayuki Ōzeki
Takuya Satō
Nanako Shimazaki
Shigehito Takayanagi
Shinichi Tōkairin
Shoji Yabushita
Tomio Yamauchi
Episode Director:
Shigeki Awai
Hideo Hayashi
Yoshihide Kuriyama
Kou Matsuo
Yūji Moriyama
Norihiko Nagahama
Satoshi Nishimura
Yoshimitsu Ohashi
Kazuhiro Ozawa
Nanako Shimazaki
Shigehito Takayanagi
Toshikatsu Tokoro
Shoji Yabushita
Mihiro Yamaguchi
Tomio Yamauchi
Unit Director: Shigehito Takayanagi
Music:
Tsuneo Akima
Tsuneo Imahori
Kiyoshi Kamata
Naruyoshi Kikuchi
Masafumi Minato
Hiroaki Mizutani
Gen Ogimi
Yūji Okiyama
Atsushi Sano
Udai Shika
Akira Sotoyama
Michiaki Suzuki
Hideyo Takakuwa
Masaki Tsurugi
Original Manga: Yasuhiro Nightow
Character Design: Takahiro Yoshimatsu
Art Director: Hidetoshi Kaneko
Animation Director:
Yūki Iwai
Akira Kano
Yuki Kinoshita
Makoto Koga
Naoyuki Konno
Shiro Kudaka
Yūji Moriyama
Masao Nakata
Masakazu Okada
Fujio Suzuki
Satoshi Tasaki
Yōichi Ueda
Takahiro Yoshimatsu
Mechanical design: Noriyuki Jinguji
Sound Director:
Yasunori Honda
Tomohiro Yoshida
Director of Photography: Hisao Shirai
Executive producer:
Shigeaki Komatsu
Masao Maruyama
Producer:
Shigeru Kitayama
Masao Morosawa
Licensed by: Geneon Entertainment Inc.

Full encyclopedia details about
Trigun (TV)

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