#anyway heehee this arc is so fucked up 🥲

[feekins]

oh man, I am having a LOT of feelings about ch 4 - it's hitting me completely differently from any other time I've read it (mostly thanks to the Overhaul 💕) so. let's get into that. thoughts and things and translation weirdness I find as I re-read Trigun Maximum vol 3.

(NOTE: I'm reading the Dark Horse [physical] and the Overhaul [online] translations side-by-side)

ok so this is a silly lil Dark Horse thing: at the end of ch 3, Vash called Leonov "Player Emilio" - but then ch 4 is titled "Emilio the Player." Dark Horse so silly~

(Dark Horse on top, Overhaul on bottom)

🎶 WHERE DID U COME FROM, WHERE DID U GO / WHERE DID U COME FROM, PUPPET-MAN SHOW 🎶

ok but srsly - doing VS going ("going" makes more sense contextually). next, the Overhaul makes it clear that Brad could be hearing Vash and/or Wolfwood fighting, based on the explicit mention of gunfire - although I suppose this could anyone else? sad faces are bc I like Sensei. I don't like how Dark Horse kinda makes it seem like Brad's more angy than concerned?

on the next panel on the next page, there are some other translation discrepancies. Dark Horse has "You... Can you come out of this, grinning and victorious...?! Vash the Stampede." meanwhile, the Overhaul has "You think you can get out of this... You think you can win... Vash the Stampede?!"

subtle differences here, but imo the Overhaul is more explicit/straightforward in its explanation - and it feels like what Vash is saying supports what I was saying last chapter about how Leonov separates/distances himself from what he's doing. there is, in fact, a distinct disconnect.

then, on the next 2 pages...it feels like, as Vash lists names, he's inching his way toward a reconnection. Leonov's expression is different right before Isabel is mentioned - or rather, he's not completely expressionless anymore. I'd even say it's like this...slowly-dawning recognition? before he completely breaks at "Isabel".

important distinctions here imo. "lie" implies a denial, while "things" implies Leonov doesn't/can't recognize who Vash is referring to - further illustrating the disconnect between the GHG Leonov and his former self, Emilio.

next, "point" + "continued existance" are huge here. it's not a question of Vash's reason for being - it's "why shouldn't I kill you?" which flows right into Leonov saying (paraphrasing both translations here) "I don't care about his punishment" - which I thought was in reference to Vash continuing to live and being 'punished' by the GHGs, but now, I think it's more likely he's referring to how Knives would punish Leonov for going against orders and killing Vash.

SENSEIIIIIIIIIIII 😭

the hands bit in Dark Horse feels kinda misleading? like...yeah, Leonov uses his hands to make and control the puppets, but the point isn't so much that as it is how easily Leonov has been able to do it all thus far.

(...it also occurs to me just now that, in Vash calling him "Emilio" this whole time...to me, it's like...despite the horrific things this puppeteer is doing, despite what he's become, despite this monstrous role he's cast himself as...he's still this human person whom Vash knows. it's not a denial of the new identity - it's acknowledgment of his continued humanity. which makes him "family" to Vash. lol I just made myself sad.)

now, let's dig deeper into "guignol"! from what I understand, it's not just any French puppet show - it's a genre characterized by being horrifically graphic and gory and morally bankrupt! 😁

...and here, we have interesting typesetting choices on Dark Horse's part...

once again, the Overhaul's translation is much more clear. also, religious imagery methinks? with that last thing Vash says?

...some weird speech bubble-swapping between translations...

I always thought this line in Dark Horse was weird - it makes so much more sense as a question, like how the Overhaul does it.

...with all that blood...I think...this is where the people-puppets get made... 😱