Not really seasons by any means - its just Nightow switching publishers. The severe differences in the manga and anime was a combination of Nightow dragging on and the animation company buying in too quickly - was Maximum even out at the time of the last Trigun episode airing?
Yeah, I just couldn't think of another word to put it as. Dark Horse calls Maximum a sequel but what to call The Planet Gunsmoke? The first volume of Maximum is around 50% similar to the anime stories so the animators knew of Maximum's story. The second volume is gonna be a fight with the Gungho Guns but I don't think they'll happen the way they did in the anime.
So I finally picked up the last 3 DVDs. And although it may not have been the best final episode ever, the last 4 made for some of the best and most emotional endings to the series when taken as a whole. Great series and with the ending, surpasses Bebop for me.
And that Hallelujah thing is GREAT! Although I thought the scene itself was handled just fine, made me a bit misty-eyed.