Trigun Stampede Producer Talks Taking On Classic Series

Trigun Stampede will be reimagining the classic Western anime and manga franchise for a whole new era, and the producer behind the studio taking it on has explained why they decided to adapt the series in the first place. One of the biggest surprises of the year was that not only was Yasuhiro Nightow’s classic manga series returning for a new anime, but that it was going to be a fully CG animated adaptation from Studio Orange. It’s the production studio behind series such as Beastars and Land of the Lustrous, so fans were curious to see how they’d take on such a big franchise.

Studio Orange producer Kiyotaka Waki opened up about Trigun Stampede’s early production, and confirmed that the studio has been working on this new series for quite some time. Noting during Anime Expo (via press release) about his feelings taking on such a project, Waki noted that he felt it was meaningful for the studio to take on the Trigun franchise to help CG animation grow even more so than it has over the years. But it’s still a project that’s going to take every effort from Orange to land in the way they hope with fans. 

“It was back in 2017 when the proposal of Trigun came to me,” Waki began. “It was before Orange’s first prime contracting series, Land of the Lustrous, aired. Personally, I started my career at Madhouse, so naturally I knew about Trigun. While I was there, I saw the production of the film, TRIGUN Badlands Rumble, so I knew just how big this title was.” Continuing further, Waki opened up about how the studio felt about the new project, “Furthermore, it was the title produced by Masao Maruyama, who I consider to be my mentor in a way. He’s a legendary producer who has supported the anime industry since its dawn, and his influence in this field of work is immeasurable. That’s why I believed that it would be meaningful for Orange to produce Trigun so that CG animation can grow even more in the next couple of decades.”

Waki then concluded with, “With any title, I’m always anxious during the production process. But that anxiety fuels my urge to explore the endless possibilities of expression. Combining every skill and knowledge we gained thus far into this project, I hope that this series will set Orange at a new starting point.” How do you feel about Orange’s approach to Trigun Stampede so far? How do you like its CG animation? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!