‘Trigun Stargaze’ Episode 6 review: “The Darkest Hour Is Just Before the Dawn”

So much of Trigun Stargaze has involved wrestling with the sinking feeling of disappointment as Studio Orange struggles to match Stampede’s quality. Based on the manga by Yasuhiro Nightow, there’s just so much here in the characters and world-building worth exploring. In many regards, Stargaze is making a hefty case for itself to go and check the manga or the ’90s anime adaptation. While the series has all the pieces to create something astonishing (as evident by Stampede), Season 2 is struggling with the wealth of material at its disposal.

Rather than engaging with the dense world or analyzing the contradictions of its protagonist, they’re steamrolling through it. It indicates an overwhelmed writers’ room. A writers room that saw the expansive story at its fingertips and was slapped with a two-season deal.

And, for most of the runtime of  Trigun Stargaze Episode 6, that feeling of discontent remains. So much happens in “The Darkest Hour Is Just Before the Dawn” that could, on its own, fill the pages of an entire single episode. From Wolfwood’s (Yoshimasa Hosoya) dwindling supply of drugs and his seeming return to traitor – at least on the surface – to the explanation of Vash (Yoshitsugu Matsuoka) and Knives’ (Junya Ikeda/Ryūji Satō) biology and why both of them show signs of fatigue through the black roots that peak out through blonde hair. Knives returns – awakened and re-emboldened, and even that doesn’t land with the necessary intensity.

The series is in dire need of stronger, cohesive plotting.

And, most egregiously, there’s the whole standoff between Vash and Legato (Koki Uchiyama). We know that Vash isn’t going to kill him. It would go against everything the show and this character stand for and undermine the story’s central thesis. But to walk boldly into a fight where Vash knew he wouldn’t just be unable to pull a fatal trigger but also not pull a warning shot soon enough?

The frustration with the story stems from the writing taking shortcuts rather than investigating the very real flaws of the characters. Vash’s pacifism is both his greatest strength and his greatest flaw, but Stargaze shows little interest in probing that idea.

At the very least, the sequence reintroduces the dark thread of characters stripping Vash of his autonomy. With Legato controlling him with his telekinesis, he forces Vash’s wing – his Angel’s Arm – to flicker to life, the first sign of it since the destruction of July.

It’s a stirring moment as Vash struggles for any ounce of control against an enemy all too happy to steal it. The design of the wing is sinewy and symbiotic, creating an uneasy sense of thrumming tension – a being at odds with a limb.

The animation stuns in the standoff between Vash and Legato. The writing less so.

The fact that the animation isn’t quite up to Season 1 standards is one thing. There are very few series that, given the grueling schedules teams of artists face, don’t show signs of wear and tear as a show progresses. It’s simply the nature of the medium (though there are certainly exceptions)

But it would be easier to overlook if the writing were more cohesive and consistent with what had already been laid out. Vash walking straight into Legato’s clutches despite being explicitly warned not to by Wolfwood isn’t just his doomed pacifism, but simple foolishness. Something that doesn’t befit the character even when his inherent desire for kindness and compassion is spat on by the world surrounding him.

There’s just such a rich, vast amount of text existing in this story to be so casually brushed by. Because when the series hits, it hits with striking efficiency. Trigun Stargaze Episode 6 would be so easy to write off if not for an ending that manages to drive home what the series does best.

Trigun Stargaze Episode 6 still manages a strong, haunting finish.

In a 15-second scene, we watch as Knives enacts his great plan. His objective is to “flood” the world they’re on by destroying the incoming colonial fleet to create a second Big Fall.  Knives starts by targeting the satellites orbiting Noman’s Land. With the communication cut off and the debris burning in orbit, “The Darkest Hour Is Just Before the Dawn” delivers an absolute gut punch.

The direction, editing, and score by composer Tatsuya Kato all culminate to depict this deceptively simple image of cataclysmic destruction. Our hero is once again caged. His allies are either far away or, seemingly, in bed with the enemy. And the world is once again facing impossible, catastrophic wreckage. The three elements fine-tune this moment to such a degree that you’ll be rewinding to watch it play out once more. This is where the story shines. In beats of otherworldly yet human disaster. And, in the divide between brothers who, despite their shared DNA, drift so diametrically apart from one another that to meet in the middle could only ever spell chaos.

Trigun Stargaze Episode 6, at face value, isn’t bad. It looks good, the direction is solid – especially in how it frames the uneven standoff between Legato and Vash – and the ending more than makes it worthwhile. It’s just that the series set a high bar for itself, and we keep hoping to watch them clear it.

Trigun Stargaze Episode 6 is available now on Crunchyroll. 

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Images courtesy of Studio Orange/Crunchyroll.