The final phase of the latest anime remake of Trigun is almost here. New York Comic Con attendees who were lucky enough to sit in on the Trigun panel this past weekend had a chance to catch the world premiere of the first two episodes of the long-awaited TRIGUN STARGAZE. Later, Nerds & Beyond sat down with the original author of the manga series, Yasuhiro Nightow, Masako Sato (Director, TRIGUN STARGAZE), Yota Shirasu (Producer, Studio Orange), and Yoshihiro Watanabe (Producer, Studio Orange) to discuss this upcoming second chapter of the adaptation.
TRIGUN STAMPEDE, which premiered in 2023, introduced Trigun to a brand-new generation of anime fans. The manga dates back to 1995, while the original anime adaptation began in 1998. I asked the creator, Yasuhiro Nightow, what this experience has been like for him over the past few years.
Nightow went on to say that he has wished the best of happiness to be brought to everyone every time that Trigun has been adapted. He explained that he has worked closely with all of the staff who worked on the prior adaptations, along with the current ones, and he believes that they all worked very sincerely to adapt the story of Trigun while also making it their own. Nightow said that he knows how much has been done to create these stories, and he hopes to see them succeed.
Masako Sato steps into the role of director for TRIGUN STARGAZE, and when asked about how she came to be involved with the project, she explained that she was brought on board before TRIGUN STAMPEDE was even announced. Sato was surprised to hear that Trigun was being adapted again.
Studio Orange is known for its captivating 3DCG animation. When asked about working as a director with this particular animation style, Sato shared that it was a very sensational, strong learning experience. She reflected on working with a team of many talented staff, utilizing what they do best to what they could do together as a group, and how to draw the line for things she felt were necessary to be done. Sato felt that working on STARGAZE really extended her skills as a director.
For me personally, TRIGUN STAMPEDE gave me a newfound appreciation for the use of 3DCG in anime. I asked Studio Orange what kind of new technology developments and advancements happened behind the scenes after STAMPEDE and/or during the creation of STARGAZE. Yota Shirasu reflected on the intensive action of TRIGUN STAMPEDE and the creativity of Studio Orange’s animators in making those fantastic actions work. After STAMPEDE, the studio worked on a show called Leviathan, in which they focused on how to express characters in more natural movements (such as walking or even in conversations), including very subtle expressions — both facial and body language-wise. Studio Orange feels that its work on Leviathan has lived on in STARGAZE, and those experiences have enriched its ability to produce character expressions.
When asked about what challenges Studio Orange was presented with during the development of STARGAZE, Shirasu explained that while STARGAZE is a continuation of the storytelling from STAMPEDE, it’s also a new show. It has a new tone of storytelling. Studio Orange tried different approaches to accomplish this, along with utilizing feedback from Nightow during production. The studio implemented both new elements, and existing elements from STAMPEDE.
Finally, everyone was posed with one simple, final question: If you had to put your trust in one character to help you survive the Trigun universe, who would it be?
Sato chose Nicholas D. Wolfwood (and I was inclined to agree myself). However, Nightow had to go with Vash the Stampede (“Because if I choose Wolfwood, he might actually give me the ultimate choice to actually cut me out. So in that case, I would want to make sure that Vash will do everything to keep me alive”). Shirasu, on the other hand, isn’t putting his trust in either of them. Rather, he went with the one and only — Meryl Stryfe. Because even though she doesn’t have any superpowers or super strength, she’s doing everything in her power (“To me, it feels very human and trustworthy”).
TRIGUN STARGAZE will premiere on Crunchyroll in January 2026.
