Ask John: Is the Trinity Blood Anime Good?

Question:
Is Trinity Blood a terrible anime? Or is it just me? I watched the first two episodes of Trinity Blood and thought it was terrible. It seemed to me like Gonzo tried to copy ideas from Trigun and Hellsing, somehow making the combination of two excellent series into a terrible series. However I’m reading on a bunch of boards that fans just seem to love the show, and I really can’t figure out why. I was less than impressed with everything the show had to offer. It was subpar on every level. I’m just wondering what you think of it, and if I’m just being too picky.

Answer:
I think you’ve provided an excellent summation of Trinity Blood as a combination of Trigun and Hellsing that’s less than the sum of its parts. I’ve watched the first 8 episodes of Trinity Blood, and I’ve consistently wondered to myself why I continue to watch it. When the anime adaptation of Yoshida Sunao’s Trinity Blood novels was announced and promoted, I had high hopes for the anime, especially because the promotional art for the anime reflected the lush, Gothic design style of original novel cover illustrator Thores Shibamoto. Unfortunately, based on the first 8 episodes, the Trinity Blood anime television series has been a major disappointment because it has none of the ornate, Gothic look or atmosphere of the original and promotional art. The design of the Trinity Blood anime is merely a pale shadow of the opulent and richly evocative original illustrations and promotional art. And as a supposed horror drama, the show is neither macabre or scary, nor particularly dramatic.

In essence, the Trinity Blood anime is a thinly disguised re-make of Trigun. The protagonist of the Trinity Blood anime, Abel Nightroad, is just like Vash the Stampede in the regard that both are rare, powerful creatures who value pacifism and have a cheerful, deprecating personality that occasionally gives way to the brief dominance of a serious side. The defining characteristics of Vash and Abel are basically identical. The tone of the Trinity Blood anime also mirrors that of Trigun. In fact, if a conflict ravaged, not quite contemporary setting and an episodic, humorous adventure story with hints at somber origins is clothed in the guise of a Western, the result is Trigun. If the exact same foundation is placed within a horror shell, the result is the Trinity Blood anime. Despite its narrative flaws, the Hellsing anime had a charismatic protagonist and a tense, suspenseful, macabre atmosphere. Trinity Blood, sadly, has none of those elements. A bumbling, goofy hero is appealing in a comic show, such as City Hunter or Trigun, but weakens a story that’s apparently intended to be serious and frightening, as is the case with Trinity Blood. Illustrating this fact, Trinity Blood episode 6 is the most satisfying episode among the first eight because Abel Nightroad does not appear in the episode. Beyond the obvious fact that his absence removes the comic relief he brings, the episode without its comic protagonist has a consistently morose, Gothic feeling that’s more appropriate to the setting and style of the show.

I’m hesitant to call Trinity Blood as bad anime because it does have moderately good character and background art, effective music, and satisfactory animation quality. Rather than call Trinity Blood bad, I’ll say that the show doesn’t meet my personal expectations, and I don’t think it adequately fulfills its apparent intentions or potential. That summation allows for the existence of fans who do seem to love the show. Fans searching for another Trigun will find exactly what they’re looking for in Trinity Blood. Fans who are receptive to dark but flawed action anime like Weiss Kreuz, Tsukihime, and Bakuretsu Tenshi will also likely enjoy Trinity Blood immensely. I have been disappointed by the Trinity Blood anime because I don’t think it adequately recreates the look of the original illustrations its partially based on, and because I don’t think the show fulfills its apparent promise to be a dramatic action/horror show. That may be because unrelenting, mature horror anime like Berserk and Hellsing are typically not very successful among Japanese viewers. But I do envision the show being successful upon its American release because I think that there are a lot of American fans who will enjoy the show unawares, or forgiving of its weaknesses.