Trigun: The 2nd Donut Happy Pack

TRIGUN
THE 2ND DONUT HAPPY PACK
Copyright © Victor Entertainment
23 tracks, 66:53
VICL 60286
¥3,045
Available now in Japan
Where to buy

—by Hiromi Hasegawa

01 Love & Peace (0:46)*

02 Nerve Rack (0:46)

03 Rakuen (Paradise) (4:39)

04 West Slang (5:13)*

05 Unhappy Song (3:01)

06 Kuroneko Ku-kan (BlackCat Space) (2:47)*

07 Colorless Sky (2:10)

08 TRIGUN Maximum (2:27)*

09 Hash Hash (4:04)

10 Lost Planet (3:53)

11 Blue Spring (0:19)*

12 H.T-Destroyingangel mix (4:36)

13 Zero Hour (2:36)

14 Insurance #1 (1:56)*

15 The lowdown (2:32)

16 Insurance #2 (2:18)*

17 Gunpowder Tea (2:07)

18 Insurance #3 (2:35)*

19 Cheers! (2:13)

20 Scattered Rain (5:27)

21 Piasu (Pierce) (3:20)*

22 Blue Summers (3:28)

23 Suna no Hoshi (Sandy Planet) (3:23)

* indicates skit

Just like I said in the 3.5 issue review of the 1st TRIGUN CD, that there would be more from this show, here it is: TRIGUN THE 2ND DONUT HAPPY PACK. While the first CD was cool and groovy, this one is more on the lighthearted side, as you can see from the title. Take a look at the cover art, for instance—can you believe it's done by the same artist who drew Vash the Stampede flying through the air in a pose that could sell Nikes? This is the work of Yasuhiro Nightow, author of the original manga. The booklet inside also contains some original illustrations titled "Trigun Gakuen (Trigun Academy)," outlining a little story about a high school baseball team. It also reminds us with an arrow, "Don't take it seriously."
This CD contains no vocal songs, except for a guy humming and what sounds like "hallelujah." The music, by Tsuneo Imahori, is just as good as that of the 1st CD, and you'll hear some familiar tunes from the show. But others, including the 2nd track, "Nerve Rack," are originals. Just like the other, this CD contains a variety of music ranging from ragtime piano la THE STING, to the chilling "psycho music" of Legato's theme, "Blue Summers." This CD also contains the opening theme from the show, but it's a dramatically remixed version of it. Titled "H.T-Destroyingangel mix," it's even more powerful than the original.
What characterizes this CD most is its self-mockery. It contains 9 skits, with most of the lines taken from the manga or anime (I recognized most). They're quite funny, with perhaps the funniest being "West Slang." In this skit, Wolfwood is ridiculed by all the other major characters for speaking standard Japanese in Osaka. This is funny because Wolfwood is the only one who normally speaks in the Osaka dialect in the show. (And I've heard that when Osakans speak standard Japanese—Kanto-dialect, spoken in Tokyo—in their native Osaka, they're often ridiculed for betraying their beloved #2 city of Japan. I guess it's similar to an American who picks up a British accent and comes home with it.) "Insurance #1-3" are skits where Meryl and Milly try to collect insurance fees from Legato, Wolfwood, and Vash. One way or another, all three escape from the taxing pair.
But some others make me tilt my head in puzzlement, such as a narration by Legato with meowing from the show's mascot black cat, Kuroneko Ku-kan. Wherever Legato appears, he puts question marks everywhere (in my head at least). Perhaps what Legato does makes sense only to him or to Knives, his master.
There's no doubt that this CD was inspired by THE SNAKEMAN SHOW from the early 80s. THE SNAKEMAN SHOW was a popular radio show similar to the British TV comedy group MONTY PYTHON (probably named after the show, too?). They did skits and parody songs, and some members are not at all strangers to anime fans. Ibu Masato, actor and a lead member of the group, did the voice of Deslok in UCHUSENKAN YAMATO (a.k.a. STARBLAZERS). Sakamoto Ryuichi, a member of the famous techno-pop group YMO (which collaborated with THE SNAKEMAN SHOW), later composed the soundtrack for WINGS OF HONNEAMISE. The show had a tremendous impact on Japanese teens at the time, and those teens are now in their late 20s and early 30s; about the same age as many of the artists and creators working behind TRIGUN.
You'll catch this influence if you've heard the spin-off albums from the old comedy group. THE 2ND DONUT starts out just like THE SNAKEMAN SHOW "Kaizoku-ban (Pirated Version)" album, with some weird English speaking guy talking in a low voice about the show. (Well, the original was a native called Chris Mosdel, who also wrote the lyrics for some YMO songs, but it doesn't sound like the guy in this CD is a native.)
Unfortunately, the skits contained in THE 2ND DONUT were not as comical as I had anticipated. Sure, I liked the idea and thought it was neat, but it didn't really work for me. It was a good try for a drama skit gag CD, but knowing how good the original SNAKEMAN SHOW was, it only gave me a brief chuckle. Still, the fact that Legato's parts were just plain weird may have had something to do with my evaluation.
What's truly unfortunate is that sometimes those skits distract me from enjoying the music, and the music isn't bad at all. When a joke falls flat it drags everything else with it, and then you might feel like it's not worth listening anymore, despite the occasional good bits (kind of like watching Saturday Night Live in a bad season). So I'll recommend this CD to those who truly like TRIGUN. If you must choose one CD, go for the first one. After all, this CD is meant to be a joke. This "donut" promises to bring happiness to you, but if it doesn't, its Caution label says to "go play outside."