#i just think that line from knives in 98 is neat.

[commander-goo]

pocket sized plant for all your Armageddon-related needs (she doesn't mind)

[feekins]

wooooo, more Gung-Ho's! let's jump right into it! here are my thoughts and things and translation weirdness I stumble upon as I re-read ch 2 of Trigun Maximum vol 2!

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

so, a few pages in, Dark Horse does that weird thing where they have a character spell out a word as they're talking? this time, it's Midvalley. in response to Hoppered being all like (paraphrasing here) "yo, don't mess with Legato! he's not like he was before Fifth Moon," the Overhaul has Midvalley saying (quoting word-for-word here) "That's exactly what I'm saying." it's the same wording in Dark Horse, except they spell out 'e-x-a-c-t-l-y'. I'm still not sure why 🤨

but ohhhhhh, trimax Midvalley is SO different from his '98 anime counterpart! iirc the anime painted him as like...kind of a ladies' man? which could've been due to the times. but anyway, trimax Midvalley is SO complex. I've always loved that about him. he's similar to Wolfwood in doing what he has to in the name of survival...but he's not stuck between a rock and a hard place the way Wolfwood seems to be. I mean, look at him - Midvalley doesn't hesitate to pull a gun on frickin' Legato.

oh, and here's a little translation discrepancy: while he's subjecting Midvalley to a little, uh...non-consensual yoga...

(Dark Horse on left, Overhaul on right)

...and now I regret saying the yoga thing. except...hang on. Legato's taking away Midvalley's agency here - the same way his tristamp counterpart does to Wolfwood. another SA allegory, perhaps...?

anyway. our next translation discrepancies come in Knives' instructions to Legato. Dark Horse has Knives saying (about Vash):

"We will cause him ultimate suffering...at the hands of you humans! He still doesn't get it. We'll show him the true human nature he so desperately protects. Fuse the futility of his purpose into his very bones."

meanwhile, the Overhaul has him saying:

"Make him feel eternal suffering...at the hands of you humans! He still doesn't understand. Show him the true nature of you humans that he so desperately protects. Engrave the futility of his cause into his every bone."

notice how, in the Overhaul, there is no "we" - just "you humans." that, I think, is an important distinction, Knives separating himself from what he's commanding the Gung-Ho's to do.

a second point in Dark Horse's corner here! the translations are p much the same (except, in the Overhaul, Wolfwood says "ya idiot" and Vash replies "Well, you see...), but that frickin "BeCaAaAuUsE" makes me laugh every. time. 🤣

after these antics, we learn of Tonim Town, another place where all the people just disappeared. it's interesting to note that, same as what happened with Carcasas in the last volume, 'KNIVES' was left, Wolfwood tells us in the Overhaul, "etched on the stone monument at the center of town." Dark Horse's translation only specifies "a stone in the town center." soooooo with the additional info the Overhaul gives us - plus similar visuals of the stone monument - that gives us a neat little worldbuilding detail. Carcasas and Tonim Town have those town-center monuments in common. I wonder how many others do, and how that commonality came about. perhaps an early town had that detail, and subsequent towns adopted similar spatial planning?

anyway. hi. I have 2 degrees in anthropology. I got excited;;;;;;

important difference - just the name VS this, that, and the other thing about this guy.

and I HAD to juxtapose these bits found one page after the next - before and after Rai-Dei introduces himself. serious...and then Vash ruins the mood. classic. 🤣

I never noticed the skull on the back of Rai-Dei's skates has a lower jaw

(Dark Horse on top, Overhaul on bottom)

a couple more translation discrepancies. Dark Horse cuts a whole sentence from Rai-Dei, 'say' VS 'do', and then Wolfwood's line is good either way but I had to show both bc either way, he's hilarious...also, 'terrorist priest' 🤣🤣🤣

'eternal' again in the Overhaul - same as we saw in Knives' instructions to Legato

finally...that's some weird wording you've got there, Dark Horse 😆

[apollos-boyfriend]

Yeah it’s definitely faster compared to the anime but it actually lines up with the manga a bit more (the sand steamer reveal was played similarly in the manga! I find the anime left that reveal pretty vague) The whole wolfwood thing was also more in line with the manga as well. As it stands it seems that they’re speedrunning the stuff covered in the past anime at a very slightly faster pace than the manga so that they can hit the stuff the anime did not reach. As for knives, they are skipping a few manga things but they have given him the ~Presence~ that 98’ was sorely lacking

also just a neat little thing, Vash’s newer hair and coat actually kinda resembles some random manga panels from later on, especially in some of his younger flashbacks! His hair pretty strongly resembles stampede’s whenever it’s not styled lol

i’m excited to see what 98 missed!! i assume that’ll be more in s2 considering i think the current episode count for s1 is confirmed to be 12? i’ll probably keep y’all updated on our thoughts as the series progresses bc this household has Very Strong media opinions and we Must make them known no matter what