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Just because two people of the same gender are best friends does not mean they're gay, dammit!
History: I bought this right after Cowboy Bebop. I wanted more outlaw/bounty hunting fun, and this seemed like a good bet.
Art: Graaagh. Flat colors, squished faces, minimalistic line backgrounds, and the occasional "South Park" style animation... you could really tell when the budget was running low. However, when the art is good, it's fantastic. I adore Vash's nose. Wolfwood, of course, was the first to get sent to Hell when the money ran out. Dammit.
Characters: Just accept the fact that Wolfwood is Spike Speigel from the outset, and everyone will be happier. Ditto for Vash and Keshin. I had a good time with this show, because there really is a bishounen for any taste. The two "Insurance Girls" are fun to watch, and I eventually came to root for the Meryl/Vash pairing-- don't ask me why, since she spends most of her time bashing him on the head! Vash and Wolfwood have a very close friendship, one that is permanently twisted in yaoi. I have nothing against yaoi, but this pairing I object to-- these guys are straight. I think it's insulting to say that two same-sex characters can't be good friends without kinky sex going down, especially since they are each fairly obviously paired up in canon with a respective Insurance Girl[/end rant]. And one other thing I need to mention: LEGATO. Forget Knives. Knives is a throwaway villain; LEGATO is the cool one. He's the best anime villain I've ever seen... and you have to love his minions.
Plot: Just accept that you are watching two different series-- the first half is Happy!Vash, and the second half is Dark, Angsty!Vash. The first half is fun to watch because Vash spends all of his time acting like a goof, your little brother, or a horny high school freshman. The second half is fun to watch because Meryl keeps falling all into little angsty pieces, and then Millie falls into little angsty pieces, and then VASH falls into little angsty pieces-- there are some great moments in this series, similar to Kenshin's Battousai moments in RK. Basically, this show is fun. It could have been a lot better, but for what it is, it's worth a look.
Music: This show is full of snarling, raging electric guitar. It's a good complement to the action, and H.T. is an appropriate opening song. The end song bugged me, though.
Dub or Sub?: This show relies heavily on humor in order to work, and I've noticed that the Japanese idea of "funny" doesn't always translate into my idea of "funny"-- therefore, I watched this show in dub. The voices are pretty good-- typical American over-acting abounds-- but other than that, they fit the characters and none of them were too jarring.
Reactions: "It could have been a lot better, but for what it is, it's worth a look."