What happens if you put the Trolley Problem in front of Vash the Stampede? I think there’s no debating the answer. That man will stop the trolley. He won’t let it keep moving, and he definitely won’t pull the lever. He will jump in, stop the damn thing, and then save everyone on the tracks. To some, that might be cheap. To some, that might look like it is missing the point of the problem. By all means, it is. It is both of those things. And at the same time, in my opinion, it is beautiful. Above all, it is human.

Trigun Stargaze has left me confused in a lot of ways, but mostly in a good way. When I first started watching Stampede after reading the manga and watching the original anime, I wasn’t ready for how good this retelling was. It was a great remake of the original that made enough changes to stay fresh, while still telling the same story. But it was with Stargaze that I think I understand Orange’s true vision with this series. It is not a remake, and it is not meant to be a replacement to the original. Stampede and Stargaze, put simply, are the Golden Route of Trigun.

With their version of the story, Orange is not trying to reanimate Yasuhiro Nightow’s masterpiece. They are trying to question its choices and morality. They are trying to ask if sacrifices are so important when you’re trying to walk the path of kindness. If Vash really needs to kill Legato in order to fulfill his wish, or if Wolfwood really needs to lose his life to let his friend get there. Because if they do, then what is the point of their ideals? Why struggle so much, only to see it crumble in the end and fall to your knees?

Once you’ve already been through the trauma and sadness of the original, Stargaze lets you see the Good Ending to this story. The one where Vash did not need to compromise on his ideals. The one in which Wolfwood lived, and most of the Gung Ho Guns found peace. The one where Vash was not forced to bend down to the world, but made the world bend down to his honest, simple ideals. In any other story, the lack of death lowers the stake. In Stargaze, the goal that nobody should die is the highest the stakes could possibly be.

Does this mean the story is perfect, though? Of course not. Having a completely pacifist, happy retelling of Trigun does not mean it is not a better story. It is a better message, and a better moral, but one that accepts the caveats that come with it. That is why this show confuses me in a good way. Because it allows me to review a season so perfectly realized that it becomes its own worst enemy in terms of pacing. Stargaze is not best read as a story of Vash vs. Knives. It is a story of technicality vs. artistic intent.

Stargaze's greatest strength is also, unfortunately, its greatest weakness. And that is a little thread that they started all the way back in Stampede Episode 2. The idea that there can be a retelling of Trigun in which things just end up going well for most people involved was there, but constantly challenged by Knives' presence. Every step that Vash took in the right direction was countered by a very active, very hostile antagonist.

In Stargaze, however, they decided to let this antagonist take a back seat. Thematically, it allows them to put Knives in the same position as Vash. Alone, misunderstood, and traumatized by his past. On paper, that is a brilliant idea. It helps the parallels between the brothers come across much more easily. At the same time, technically, it is a pacing nightmare. You cannot take away the main threat of your story in its final chapter and expect things to be fun. Because all you have left is a rinse and repeat formula of Vash and Wolfwood confronting a new member of the Gung Ho Guns and bringing about a change of heart. Over. And over. And over.

Once more, thematically, it resonates better than TriMax. If Vash is genuinely saving these people instead of defeating them, his philosophy and stance is stronger. He isn't just a pacifist in name only, but also in action. He genuinely wants to connect to people and bring about a world where everyone can live in harmony. And once more, technically, it takes away all tension and lowers the objective, violent stakes. The story goes from a struggle to maintain your ideals, to a struggle to win with them.

And so, when you've now saved and befriended every villain from the original Trigun, you start realizing that these are two totally different stories. As I said, this is still Trigun, but the Golden Route. A universe in which the protagonist is not hindered by a world trying to change him, but by a world so rotten to its core that it takes all of his efforts to purify it. But it is also a story of a world that is not rotten in intention, but in execution. It is people who start with good ideas, but lose their way along the path. Stargaze is not a Good vs. Evil story. It is a Good Which Perseveres vs. Good Which Gives Up story.

I think this comes across best in the many, many religious themes Stargaze has. There is no correct side on this chess board. There are different people who grew up in different worlds, with different knowledge, and forgot how to be kind. It is an honest reflection of the real world, but then fictionalized by Vash's presence. A soul who understands that we cannot be the same, but tries his best to look past binaries and save everyone involved. How else do you possibly tell the story of a true pacifist, if not like this? How else, if not via a story that does not just stay true to itself, but imposes that idealism on the entire universe?

There is not much else left to say. The music is hauntingly beautiful. The animation is probably Studio Orange at their very best. Every other episode has the quality and vison of Stampede's finale. And the final episode is...special, to say the least. I've been dying to see the final battle of TriMax adapted in a visually satisfying manner, and they really, really, really delivered on that front. It might be the one of the grandest anime finales I've ever witnessed, and still one of the most subtle and humble.

Stargaze's thematic prowess cannot overpower or hide its glaring technical issues. It is undeniable that a price had to be paid to create a story that is so honest and true to the heart of its source material. So much so that it is forced to sacrifice its own technical competence (and a more faithful adaptation) to achieve it. In fact, I'd argue that Stargaze has a more Vash-like protagonist than the original manga, and that's saying something.

Either way, I can't tell you to hate it or love it. After all, that would go against the very essence of this retelling. You are free to think what you want. So as to say, with a much more cohesive and deep understanding of the phrase - the ticket to your future is always blank.

Love and Peace!

THE OPENING AND ENDING

AI EX MACHINA

THE ROMANCE

THE OPENING AND THE ENDING, REPRISE

Plot and Characters

Presentation

Conclusion

Loser Ranger was one of the absolute stand-outs of Spring 2024. A slickly animated and stylized first episode that instantly grabbed you with its ‘Power Rangers meets The Boys’ aesthetic and did not let go for a while. Sure, the second half slowed down and dragged just a little - but you still got some insane payoff by the end. Not to mention the absolute banger of an opening by Tatsuya Kitani that was the cherry on the top.

So, it was only logical to look forward to something that would be even better than that when Season 2 rolled around. The first episode pulls you right back into the world and its craziness, even if the distinct style and tone it had back in its first season is gone. No more interrupting texts, no more fourth-wall breaking humor that genuinely works, no more gorgeous animation. But at the very least the story was still as strong. For…right about three or so episodes.

The school time loop arc starts showing the major cracks in the adaptation of this season with the middling direction and less than acceptable editing. Even if it has some really good set pieces and visual ideas, the issues are so jarring that it is difficult to digest. For example - take a look at the scene where Fighter D starts realizing who the real boss monster is. It plays with the whole trope of repeating a few seconds over and over again to slowly build up to the reveal. But the completely tone deaf cuts probably make it the worst version of such a scene I have ever seen. It goes on forever, does not put you in the mind of the character and has zero build up of momentum as it goes on.

Once that comes to an end, however, you are in for something worse. The next episode ends with Green Keeper finding out that Fighter D is Sakurama. And then instead of building up on that for even a second, the next one jumps to a completely different plot line with the Red Keeper “dying” for absolutely no reason (like, seriously, that is never brought up again and has no actual effect on the plot). What follows is an actual fever dream.

The Ranger Force loses trust, gains trust, loses trust and then gains trust again as the Monster Protection Society rises. And, oh, did I mention Usukubo is the daughter of its head, and that they are planning on becoming monsters? Oh, and Hwalipon is helping them. Oh, no nevermind, Hwalipon is an evil boss monster. Oh, Daddy Usukubo pulled a Euphy and turned a stadium of humans into monsters. And now regular members can turn into monsters. And some of them can turn into boss monsters. And here’s lore for the Dragon Weapons. And Suzukiri is a Dragon Priestess. And there are a million Suzukiris. And now she has formed a Suzukiri cult. And Hisui is…what is she even doing, honestly? XX is with Peltrola? No, she is now against him. Sakurama (real) is a good guy? No, he is kinda ambiguous now. The Rangers are the enemies? No, we’re cool now. Sakurama dies? No, his sister dies. No, wait, she does not die either and is fine despite having her neck slashed. Fighter D is fighting the monsters, then he is fighting Tokita, then he is fighting Usukubo, then he is fighting the tiny Blue Squadron girl. Oh, now he is teaming up with Hisui to fight the big bad. And now…Usukubo loves him?

Did that give you a headache? Well, I’m sorry if it did. But that is exactly what watching the season felt like.

There is zero cohesion to any of these plot lines. Things just happen because they need to, not because they are correlated to each other. Season 1 had points like these as well, but they were used sparingly, and rather cleverly to maintain a certain uncertainty that increased the threat and horror brought by the Dragon Keepers. But because of how easily they appear in Season 2, they seem to carry no weight any more. The Red Keeper goes from being the Homelander of the show to an actual joke who takes the tension away from a scene instead of bringing more in - without any character development.

The many, many random flashbacks of random characters really want you to feel the emotions they are feeling at that given moment, but it is not easy to pull that off. And the show never does pull it off. It is a jumble of storytelling that wants to tell the tale of a minor apocalypse caused by the savior complex of a human driven mad by love, but never ends up achieving it because of how little connection you have to these characters. Seeing the Keepers be the villains for most of the show, and then slowly building them up to demonstrate their individual strengths and stories could have made the final sequence where they come together to actually save the world for once an incredible payoff, but we get a mostly-boring action sequence with slightly better animation and zero actual emotion instead.

I could go on and on about just how much of a misstep in terms of pacing this season is, but I’ll probably end up repeating myself over and over. The main point, I think, has been put across. There is nothing holding the second half of this story together. Nothing that you can actually see progress and develop, paired with characters who are more like two-dimensional caricatures being forced to be at points of mental development with no buildup. It is nothing less than chaos, and not in a good way.

It is an absolute shame that this is how this is where the trajectory of this story took it. A lot of potential squandered because of a rushed arc that had no place so early on this show’s life cycle. I’ll watch Season 3 if they decide to make it, but with tempered expectations. All is not lost, since the soft reset at the end of 2 can give time to course correct and start over. All we can do is hope that lessons are learnt and mistakes not repeated.

The more you watch shows, the more you realize that there is nothing which can be described with a 'rarely seen' or 'special'. I've used those terms to describe shows I've given a perfect score in the past, and then used them over and over again. Because those words mean absolutely nothing. There will always be multiple shows which surpass your expectations and blow you away any given year.

So, no, Apocalypse Hotel is not the greatest show ever made. It is not something that only comes around once in a century. It is not something that you'll regret your whole life if you don't watch it. It doesn't need to be. Because if there is one thing it is - it is honest. To you, to itself, and to everything that it builds up in its very short run.

I am not going to spoil anything. I am not going to tell you how it goes through a massive tonal shift after Episode 4. I am not going to gush over its brilliant emotional writing in Episodes 6 and 9. I am not going to tell you how I couldn't stop laughing at Episode 10. I am not going to tell you how well the experimental Episode 11 works on every single front. I am definitely not going to tell you just how perfectly its themes come together in its finale.

Because none of it is something you haven't seen before. All it is, is someone pouring their heart out into making the best version of their perspective of that particular trope or idea you've gotten tired of. Whether it be the smooth sakuga that comes out of nowhere in a random action scene, or the heartful compositing in scenes of quiet introspection. It isn't new or unique, but something made with passion that just works perfectly in that moment.

It is a love letter to the things that make shows wonderful, and an imprint that the Apocalypse Hotel's creators wish to leave in the pile of creativity that is the history of anime. A retread of ideas and concepts, only to help them come together and celebrate the joy of watching something that can make you cry, laugh and get frustrated without warning. A reminder of the simple themes of being kind, warm and welcoming to everyone you meet (even if they might be an intergalactic alien serial killer).

And when you've been through all the episodic randomness that this show is, appreciated the way it built up to the ending and then been surprised by the abrupt ending, you finally realize what just happened.

Just like every other character in the show - you were nothing more than a guest. One who tuned in to watch the antics of the cast every week, got something worth spending twenty minutes for, and then left. The story existed before you came in, and will exist after you've left. But in the little bit of time you spent there, you were greeted with a warmth that will stay in your heart a long time after you've checked out and moved on.