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alexiethymia · 1 year

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If I could gif, I would probably gif three scenes. The ‘what rope’ scene where Vash calls Meryl and Roberto his friends so that the townspeople of Jeonora Rock don’t lynch them, and then the scene where Vash says Meryl and Roberto aren’t his friends to Wolfwood when they separate on the Sand Steamer and Wolfwood calls him cold, and finally the scene where Luida definitively calls Meryl, Roberto, and Wolfwood his friends when he first wakes up.

It’s such a nice progression of his bonds in such a few number of episodes. For all that Vash is a nice guy, and has people he helps, and even family in the form of the people in Home, it’s possible Meryl, Roberto, and Wolfwood are his first friends. It’s only when the three stick by him even after Monev and finding out that he’s a Plant, that it really dawns on him that huh in his hundred years alive, he may have finally found his first friends.

Vash isn’t naive. He knows the capacity of people to betray his trust. He’s resigned to it in a way. But he still extends that trust to people. The plan to stop the Sand Steamer wouldn’t have worked without Meryl. But Vash still leaves the task to her without any assurance that she would do her part. At the same time, I get the feeling that he wouldn’t have blamed her if she did decide to run away, same as Roberto was telling her. And it’s such a wonderful thing that through the friendships he formed with Meryl, Wolfwood, and Roberto, the trust that he freely gives is finally reciprocated. (And of course he would always have faith, what with his experiences with Rem, Luida, Brad and the people in Home).

In the same way, Vash saves what was precious to Wolfwood which was the orphanage, Wolfwood eventually gets to return the favor in saving Meryl. Even though it was out of order, you can also look at it as Meryl saving Vash, who saved Wolfwood at the Sand Steamer, who eventually ends up saving Meryl. Even Roberto, cynical as he is, does end up advising Vash on occasion.

People get hurt. People die. It’s a dangerous world they live in. But it’s nice that Vash who always asks if people ‘need a hand’ eventually meets ordinary people who also ask him if he ‘needs a hand’ sometimes too.

#trigun #trigun stampede #taggin #vashmeryl #because fave always #but really it’s the friendship that gets me #vash eventually comes to trust the three of them #not because of their words but because of their actions #and I guess that’s why I like vashmeryl so much #because of the friendship and trust #I really loved the dynamic of the four of them #rip roberto gone too soon #I really liked the touches of ordinary heroism #like how rosa was trying to help meryl even though the bombs were attaching themselves to her too #or that one julai soldier who made sure he was far away from the others when he was about to blow up #like nebraska jr. too #or how heartbroken that one julai soldier who shot vash was because of his friend #which makes it heartbreaking when they turn away from vash because these are good and decent folk #but survival forces them to be cruel #nicholas wolfwood #roberto de niro

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alena-reblobs · 8 months

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Trigun Bookclub Trimax Vol13 Part1

Vol01: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Vol02: Part 1 | Part 2

Huu we're so close to the end....let's start with vol13! Chapter 1-3 review under the cut.

Again trigger warning for suicide mention, but it's late Trimax so who's really surprised.

(the japanese cover seems to be different than the english one, doesn't it?) Anyway very cool cover, I really like this one! And it's Vash with a black coat...! Him with black hair and black coat is giving me emotions!

Chapter 1:

I'm not sure I get this right, but as I understand it Vash deflected the shots by Chronica. If that is correct, well then thanks for nothing Chronica (grumbles) Vash's obvious struggle to keep everybody out of harm, plants and humans alike, is so heartbreaking to watch.

That panel is soooo good though. I'm kissing every drawing in these late volumes because they all are amazing. What I especially love about Nightow's drawing, besides the obvious great feeling for dynamic and posing is how he sometimes lets parts vanish in the shadows or dust, much like we don't get to see Legato's lower body here. Drawing everything out and putting too much detail into the pages would really kill the atmosphere, I think...and so it let's us focus on what's important!

He already got nearly everything taken from him!! How much further do you want to go? D: (until the end of course, rhetorical question)

At this point I'm assuming Knives has developped a pavlovian reaction of yawning around Legato.

But really, if there every really was some good-hearted feeling towards Legato, any kind of affection...I feel like it's gone at this point. The point when Knives turned all his attention towards Vash and started his quest of liberating the plants was the moment he lost all interest in Legato as a companion, which left only Legato, the tool.

Just so that I'm getting this right, Legato regrets that Vash is already this finished, that he won't get to have this big all-out fight to really prove to Knives what he can do for him, correct?

NOT THE HOLLOW EYES™

Oof, the comparison picture with young Legato.

And yeeeeah we got it Vash wants to die :( (or just to be finally finished with this world)

They really got Legato's exaggerated hand movements right in Stampede! I really want to see where they'll be going with his character in the next season.

Love Vash's little face here!! He's close to the end but still making silly grumbly faces hehe.

Uh oh.

Chapter 2:

Aw look here, neither Wolfwood nor Livio are really part of the ghg in Vash's mind in this moment anymore.

It's the trinity of gun-to-face Trimax. (Hm, these look really cool in a row)

What a nice comparison this is to the time, Wolfwood hold the gun against his head and told Vash to shoot! Wolfwood did it because he thought Vash's ideals would get him nowhere, and he needed to be prepared to kill to survive and protect...but Legato, he just wants Vash to suffer by casting away his belief. Also he knows Vash won't do it...

(silently pointing at Livio's well defined butt cheeks)

I'm enjoying their mid-fight talks so much

Omg she's smiling! She does enjoy fighting after all!

And she's so sassy!! I love her :D

And Livio being so incredibly cute in this pose here :D He's really stormed his way in all our hearts at this point.

Chapter 3:

The stuff with the space ships trying to land is very interesting too! I just don't have that much to say so no screenshots...also I still don't really get what the tricking part of Chronica's plan is? I can't remember so I'll have to wait and see.

I love that he's so weird. What a panel.

No wonder Legato hates Vash so much if that is what he thinks. Would it be true, though? That's in interesting idea...in a world where there was no Vash, and the rest would still have happened the same way, could Legato have been more to Knives? Well, it's very hypothetical, but who knows. Maybe these two would have happily destroyed the world together without anyone holding them back.

I'm happy, this chapter is full of so many fun Livio panels!

With the best part being this little emote face in his speech bubble?? How cute is that! New headcanon, Livio in any au WOULD write messages with emotes after every sentence.

As a crimsonfang enjoyer I'm being very well fed with these interactions.

Their dynamic, especially with Elendira getting more and more pissed off, is SO fun! And such a contrast to the fight between Vash and Legato...actually, it's a good decision to have this fight being a bit fun at times, if it were depressing as well, I don't know how well you'd be able to get past this volume.

And Livio getting more motivated with this clothing, which is his reminder that he has something worth protecting and fighting for, is such a sweet note.

Next chapters will be discussed in a new post!

#trigun #trigunbookclub

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calliecat93 · 3 years

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ST: TNG S6 Watchthrough Episodes 6-9

True Q: After a complete absence last season, Q is back! So why’s he there this time? A young woman named Amanda is on the ship... and it turns out that she has the same powers that the Q Continuum has. Q is there (no meniton of where Vash is though…) to take her to the Continuum, but Amanda doesn’t want to go. She’s happy with her life and she doesn’t want it or her future plans to be taken away from her. It feels like they decided to do a remake of Hide and Q, the one where Q gave Riker Q-like powers. While it is one of S1’s better episodes, I don’t particularly care for that one for a few reasons. This one I felt was an improvement. Amanda’s a really nice girl, I mean her intro has her summon up puppies! She’s struggling with her powers especially when Q makes her realize the extent of it and how she can do literally anything. Under Q’s guidance, she begins to actually enjoy it… but Q is really trying to push her away from being human. She comes close to crossing the line when she tries to make Riker fall in love with her, even using mind-control… but realizes how bad it feels and decides that she doesn’t like being an all-powerful being who forces herself on others. I love how aghast Q is that a Q can have human feelings and want to use their powers to do actual good for others. Honestly I’m confused on why they don’t bring up Amanda using her power to just make herself. We know that the Q’s can do so form Deja Q, so how come that possibility enver comes up. I think I’d have liked that better than Amanda finally agreeing to go at the end. Though to be fair she does so after realizing the greater good that she can do with her power after saving a dying planet and has clearly not at all lost her humanity/compassion. She’s gonna give the Continumm one Hell of a time, huh? But yeah, it was good. It’s not Q’s best appearance, certainly one of his more serious protrayals and kind of reminds me why I hate him. But also why I love him cause he’s just so freakin’ fun, John de Lancie is utterly fantastic in the role, and his amorality really adds so much more depth to the show. When he shows up, you know that you’re gonna get something interesting. After not having him at all last season, this was very much welcomed~ 4/5.

Rascals: We have a de-aged episode folks! Picard, Ro, Guinan, and Keiko have all been turned into young children. They’re not happy about it. Picard cause it undermines his captaincy, Ro because her childhood was traumatic to put it lightly, Keiko because it major complicates things with her husband and child, and Guinan… no actually, Guinan just has fun with it XD Now de-aging episodes can either be really fun or really annoying depending on how it’s done. My favorite one is the one in Justice League Unlimited, which did a good balance between having fun with the concept and still telling a good coherent story with a major heartbreaking line at the end that shows that being a kid again wasn’t fun for everyone. How did TNG do? Honestly IDK why they included Keiko in this. Don’t get me wrong I like Keiko… but it feels like they only included her to do some really cringy humor on how a grown woman got de-aged and is now married to an adult man. Thankfully O'Brien is a good man who’s as uncomfortable with it as I am and doesn’t do anything that he shouldn’t, but still, the show was it really necessary? Aside from that, it was fine. I feel like they’re trying to tell a serious story as per usual… and I think that was the wrong approach. That JLU episode I mentioned did play parts of it seriously, but it also recognized how absurd the whole premise was and rolled with it. There are entertaining bits, like a kid!Picard acting like… well Picard is pretty dang funny, but I just don’t feel like they struck a good balance between the seriousness and just having fun with it. It outright makes the adults all getting overtaken by the Ferengi outright embarrassing, not funny or scary. Like I said though it does have fun moments. I like how Guinan just wanted to have fun while a kid again and manage to get Ro to finally give in and have some form of a happy childhood that she didn’t get to have before. A bunch of children, including the non-de-aged ones like Alexander, outwitting a bunch of Ferengi was also hilarious, especially Picard faking being Riker’s son. Riker’s face when Picard hugged him was amazing. The kid actors were also really good, especially Guinan’s actress. But otherwise, it just kinda feels like they couldn’t decide on a tone and as such while it has its entertaining bits, it feels confused on what kind of episode it wants to be. It’s harmless and another one of those episodes that I’d say adult fans can watch with their kids, but it’s certainly not one of their best efforts. 2/5.

A Fistful of Datas: We got us a Western episode! Hooray~! The crew has some time off and Worf gets forced to agrees to undergo a Wild West Holodeck program with Alexander with Troi also joining in. Too bad that they chose that day to link Data to the ship’s computers and a power surge causes a malfunction n both Data and the computers! Oops. So yeah, the ship/Data is having issues while our trio is trapped in the Holodeck with Data’s image replacing the characters. You know how I just complained that the last episode couldn’t decide between seriousness or comedic and thus they clashed? Not an issue this time! This one was just complete and utter fun~! Even when it gets serious this was just great! The Western heme, Troi being a Western fangirl, them making Brent Spiner play a billion roles again, it is just a blast! Heck just having Worf in this role where he’s clearly dreading everything, then has fun with it (at least until Alexander gets kidnapped/the Data thing) I'm just so nice haha! I can’t think of much else to say but another fun Holodeck episode! Now if only they could stop malfunctioning every time they use it… 4/5.

The Quality of Life: So we have a scientist and these cute little robots called Exocoms. They are made to make repairs but one unexpectedly shuts down just before the terminal explodes. Upon investigating, Data begins to believe and later decides that the Exocoms have gained sentience, and are therefore living beings. This is the closest thing that we’ve gotten since The Measure of a Man, and I really like it! I loved Data here... I mean I always love Data but he was so freakin’ good here. He chooses to advocate for the Exocoms, even when it reaches a point where Picard and Geordi’s lives are in danger, and sacrificing the Exocoms is the only available option. While he knows that he’s accepting of letting them die and very much doesn’t want to, how can he sacrifice one species of life for another? Lifeforms who are very much like him, machines made by humans but unlike him who has people like Picard to advocate for his rights, they had no one. The episode doesn’t ignore the moral questions here and really raises some good questions about life, what counts as being alive, and where we draw the line when deciding between lives. I also loved Data and Crusher’s interactions in this one and him going to her when questioning how to define life. While Indo believes that Pulaski wasn’t as bad as others, her interactions with Data were just bad but Crusher comes off as so much more compassionate and understanding towards him. It just really shows why Crusher is the CMO that this show needed, sorry Pulaski. The Exocoms are really cute and while I won’t give away the ending, they truly are heroes. This was the kind of Data episode that the show needed, and they delivered pretty dang well I’d say~! 4.5/5.

#st watchthrough

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animebw · 5 years

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Binge-Watching: Trigun, Episodes 18-21

In which I wonder if the soul is starting to leech away, but we’re far from giving up hope yet, and it looks like Vash’s past has one last terrible secret to reveal.

Adios, Cowboy

Trigun is a really damn good show. That needs to be said right up front, because the myriad strengths its shown itself capable of are really something to behold when stacked all together. It’s got excellent character writing, rock-solid plotting, an incredibly strong sense of thematic resonance, and a constant chipper spirit that makes the act of watching it a real blast. It’s essentially one of the best Saturday morning cartoons you’ll ever watch, just with a little more blood and gunfighting. So it really bums me out to get this far into the show and realize that I haven’t been enjoying its second half nearly as much as its first. It’s still been good, to be clear, but the all-encompassing magic of those first thirteen episodes is starting to be rubbed away by wear and tear. And that’s a frustrating feeling. I want Trigun to stay as good as it’s always been, to keep up the high standards and champion’s spirit that first drew me in. I don’t want it to close out on a lesser note after all the goodwill it’s built up. But I guess we’ll have to wait and see how it all comes together in the end.

So what’s caused this shift? My issue primarily stems from the tonal re-adjustment that’s been going on every since Legatto’s arrival first spilled blood on Vash’s account and nearly drove him to the point of breaking his code. Prior to that, Trigun was a rollicking space western with goofy sci-fi concepts and a real beating heart. It was a scrappy underdog with no pretention about itself, and that welcoming attitude was a huge part of its charm. Even as broad as it played, it always kept things close and intimate and human in ways that could be equally hilarious and heartbreaking. But ever since Legatto’s arrival, Trigun’s been pushing itself to go bigger and darker. We’ve started introducing more and more out-there, big picture concepts like Vash’s alien heritage (more on that later), sci-fi WMDs, psychic powers and crazy assassins, the entire history of humanity’s journey to the stars and its tragic conclusion, and as a result, the trials of Vash and crew have become wrapped up in a massive, galactic struggle with crazy high stakes and even higher emotional turmoil. And I just... don’t really like what that’s done to the feel of the show. I feel like so much of its grounded humanity has been lost in the hyperspace jump to the stars, replacing the dusty, tactile world of blood and sweat down below with an overstuffed, overly posturing Shonen action spectacle, complete with ridiculous powers and far too much time spend brooding. The Trigun I loved was scrappy, messy, earnest and poignant, but the thing it’s turning into is starting to feel bloated and fake beyond recognition.

And look, it’s not like I don’t understand what’s going on. The overall comedic tone of the show’s first half was meant as a set-up for things to eventually go darker in the second, so the good times we’ve spend with these characters make us care when they’re placed in increasing emotional jeapordy. It’s a classic storytelling structure for a reason. But I feel that in going more serious, Trigun’s edges are starting to be sanded away. Vash is becoming more of a straightforward brooding loner, with much more time dedicated to his angst and stoic facing of his pain than ever before, and far less time allowed for his goofy, genuine self to shine through. Hell, we even go full-on Hairy Dad Time Skip mode for an episode that sees Vash trying to forge a new life after his last big bionic disaster, only for the Call of Duty(tm) to call him back into action and leave her perfect, idyllic new family behind, and I just... that doesn’t feel like Vash to me. That doesn’t feel like the way this scrappy, winsome underdog I’ve come to know and love would process his grief and sorrow. And it’s not even like it’s done poorly; there’s a particularly great exchange with Wolfwood talking about how he destroyed the city that goes as follows: ”I have no idea what I did.” “But you do know you did it, right?” “Oh yeah, I know.” There’s so much subtle power in those lines (and in Johnny Young Bosch’s superb delivery) that speaks to the way Vash has been trying to wrap his head around the absurd burden he carries with him. I wish I could feel that same energy in the rest of that episode, in the rest of all of these episodes.

I just... don’t. I don’t feel enough of that energy in the scene where Vash tries to talk a guy out of killing the man who slaughtered his daughter. I don’t feel enough of it over the course of watching the Sky Colony get ripped apart. I don’t feel enough of it in Vash’s increasingly stilted, hard-edged approach to breaking through his pain. I do feel enough of it in bits and pieces, the moment where Vash breaks down upon seeing all his friends slaughtered in the darkness (more props to JYB, hot DAMN he is good at this), Vash’s antagonistic chemistry with Wolfwood that allows his prickly goofiness to still shine through (”Are you dissing my beautiful shiny Angelina too?!”), the incredible soundtrack that adds so much character to every single scene. I just want more of it. I want more of that soul of the first thirteen episodes, that soul that used to feel so plentiful and now is starting to feel stifled by a story that no longer has room for it.

Sun’s Heat

That. Having. Been. Said. Trigun is still an exceptionally well made show, and it has far from shattered my trust in it yet. For all I can nitpick about the “soul of the homespun desert” no longer being there, this show is showing no signs of giving up on what it’s trying to be. And if anything, there are promising signs that this lapse in potency is only temporary. We spend a lot of time over the course of these episodes essentially resetting the status quo, getting back to the point where Vash, Meryl and Millie can all share the screen again after being separated for so long. And considering how much I adored their collective chemistry, it should come as no surprise that I feel the show’s been a little lacking without them. They are the heart and soul of Trigun, and the entire point of this stretch of the story has been about gathering them back together, restoring the camaraderie that Vash tried to forsake to his detriment and all the power that connection brings. In fact, by the end of episode 21 it feels like we’ve officially reached a collision point. A hefty chunk of Legatto’s henchmen have been simultaneously wiped off the face of the map, the central threesome has finally been reunited, the last remaining wreckage of humanity’s ships has finally crashed down to the planet’s surface and united the entire race, we’ve discovered that Knives is the ultimate power Legatto is answering to, and Vash’s emotional turmoil has reached its breaking point with the loss of a suspicious sky dweller who came to trust him and put his faith in him. A conflux of threads have all come crashing together under the head of the sun, and something tells me the fallout is going to shake things up to such an extent that we can never go back to the way things were. We’re close to the end now; it’s all gonna be on the final long stretch of episodes to bring this journey home. And despite my misgivings, I still have absolute faith that Trigun can bring this home.

Who Is Vash?

On the subject of bringing it home, these episodes end up raising a very important question that’s been on my mind ever since we started learning more about where Vash came from; who, or what, is he? From the way Knives talks about them in relation to humans, it’s clear they’re from an entirely different species. Of course, Knives considers himself above humans whereas Vash sees them as equals, and that difference of opinion is the source of their conflict. But what does make them different from humans? Because the evidence we’ve gotten thus far suggests that Vash is far more than just a member of an alien race. For one thing, he’s got the power to essentially lob off a Hiroshima-sized disaster embedded into his arm, a power that we find out ended up injuring Knives- his fellow whatever-being- so badly that he now has to survive inside a goop bath, Mr. Freeze style. He was also able to form a bond with the people in the floating ship, suggesting that he has the power to regularly jaunt up that high. Then there’s his tech empath powers, which we’ve seen in action as early as episode 6, if I recall; it’s like he can reach into technology’s soul and influence its thought process. But it’s one last thing that Brad says about him before his death that’s really gotten by mind racing: he calls Vash’s race “the ones who live outside of time.” And he mentions that in the over a decade since they last met, Vash’s appearance hasn’t changed a bit. That’s not just alien; that’s downright inhuman. Something serious is hiding behind the mystery of Vash the Stampede, some reveal that will lay bare just what manner of monster deserves the title of Humanoid Whirlwind. And I can’t wait to find out what.

Odds and Ends

-”Hey, I wasn’t done eating yet.” God, I missed Wolfwood.

-”I can see why he’s upset, it does ruin his boyish good looks.” pfft

-Holy shit, that shot of the sunlight coming out from behind the clouds as Vash’s rage silently reaches a fever pitch... he’s back, baby.

-I love it I love his stupid crucifix arsenal I LOVE IT SO MUCH

-Somebody was having waaaaay too much fun with that valley girl voice.

-Millie washing the windows from the outside is my aesthetic.

-”I always had my suspicions that you were no mere mortal, but I never thought you were actually... a cat.” OH MY FUCKING GOD YOU LUNATIC

-”Put it on my tab?” “No dice.” rekt

-God, I love badass prison break sequences.

-”La di da di da, genocide!” Listen, this entire song is fucking gold, but this line especially cracks me up. I swear to god, Vash.

-What. And I cannot stress this enough. The FUCK. Why was puppet people. Why was any of that.

-God girls don’t ride your horses indoors how many times do I have to tell you

-”Oh my god, he changed into a cat this time!” I’m sensing a theme here.

-Yeesh, that shot of the meteors reflected in Knives’ eye... this show and its freaky atmosphere, man.

-Jessica’s great.

-So Rem even inspired the red coat. Red geraniums for courage and determination. Sounds about right.

-”You know, now that I stop to think about it, this is really kind of SCAAAAARYYYYYYYYYYY!!!” fucking rip

We’re getting close to the end now, folks. See you next time!

#anime #the anime binge-watcher #tabw #trigun #vash the stampede

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