Trigun - episodes 6 to 13

Trigun is turning out to be anime that is very hard not to love. The comedy is very funny, and because of this the drama doesn't jar but is actually intensified. Vash is a great protagonist because he's a goofball but totally understands the gravity of situations.
At times, the situations get very dangerous indeed, and when Vash is deadly serious Onosaka Masaya shines even more than he does at when Vash is acting coquettish, and he's pretty damned good at that.

While definitely a road anime, it's one of those that still manages to keep a continuity. The episodes frequently bleed into each other, allowing for great cliffhangers or simply logically continuing the situation. Every time something happens, a little more of Vash comes out. Almost all of these episodes have great Vash moments and if they don't, they have great Wolfwood moments!
Nicholas D Wolfwood - voiced by perennial favourite Hayami Sho, who has been consistently securing work for more than twenty years with his deep and smooth delivery -is a character who comes and goes, frequently where Vash and the Insurance Girls happen to be. He also happens to be a pistol packing priest with a portable confessional and a weapon loaded crucifix that he carries on his back (you see, just as Vash has a dark past, Wolfwood has ... a cross to bear. Wahaha). He's another great comedy character without resorting to Vash's foolish antics, and despite all of his drinking and smoking he's quite dedicated.

Sometimes the drama gets really heavy, and Vash almost always defuses these scenes without becoming annoying. One of the most hilarious of these scenes is the discovery of Vash without a shirt on ... and how he reacts when the Insurance Girls see him. There's another of those sorts of incidents, and really far too much more tomato sauce than is acceptable, but there are two points when no one can escape the heavy drama.
Lost July is one of the best episodes so far. Here one can really start to understand Vash.
Then in episode 12, there come the eyes. It's a well known fact that if an anime character has a dual personality, each has different eye colours. Quite how they do this is never explained, but it's damned cool. Vash can do that. Even when he becomes The Humanoid Typhoon, he still feels like he is Vash. His internal conflict is handled very well. I don't think it's possible for him to cut loose and murder, even out of revenge.
This episode also introduced Vash's telepathic powers and more technology, which will no doubt become important.

Episode 13 is a recap, probably the first I've seen since Gundam Wing. The events of Trigun so far really haven't seen connected or complicated enough to really warrant one of these episodes, but Milly's meditations on Vash are worthwhile enough.

Also worthy of note is that Ishizuka Unsho, traditional villain and all around nice guy, has a two episode appearance as Big Dynamites Neon. It's always nice to hear him.

Trigun is compelling anime, a rare mix of perfectly balanced comedy and drama. It can be compared to so many things, but still it feels incomparable. Even if Vash does seem to have a Julia.