#this is the manga version the animes make it pretty clear that Vash is Good and Knives is Evil

[pepplemint]

Ok I got it - Ideologically, Vash and Knives are kinda like two people arguing about if they should exterminate all the wolves in the area because they keep killing their sheep and dogs. One thinks they should, because they destroy so much, and it's only a matter of time before they will attack a human (they are angry about what has happened, but also afraid of what might happen if they just stand by and watch). The other thinks they shouldn't, because the wolves also deserve to live and they are just doing their best to survive, even if that means humans will loose animals and maybe get hurt (they see that it will be harder and possibly bring them misery, but they don't believe they have the right to make such a decision just to make their own life easier). Neither of them think they are "superior" to the wolves, nor do they think they too are wolves. Ironically, they are just very human.

There's no right answer, and realistically the best option would probably be somewhere in-between.

[lost-technology]

Vash - Asexual Icon?

Okay, controversial hot-take ahoy!   This is NOT a anti-shipping post.  I freakin’ love shipping. It’s awesome!  I used to be big into Vash x Meryl back in my old OG fandom days.   However, I read something on here (because this is tumblr, of course) about Vash being a queer icon, as in some notation on how in Trigun Stampede the director was cited as saying that he made Vash kind of like “both the female lead as well as the male lead” - as in, male, but having some traditionally feminine traits, hence why he looks more “bishounen” than he did in other iterations.  He has some “ship-fodder” moments with various other members of the cast - commenting on Wolfwood’s “kind eyes” and, of course, my VashMeryl heart soared at a certain scene in Episode 11 - those who’ve seen it know the one.   So far, in this version, there’s no clear canonical shipping with Vash.  In the other iterations, there was never any canonical shipping with him (the only canon ship is the OG anime having Wolfwood and Milly “eat sandwiches” together).  He never “ends up” with anyone.   Some fans think that he’s heterosexual (well-argued in the OG anime due to his flirtatious behavior toward some female characters - the old late 1990s trope of “let’s make the hero a bit perverted for humor” that was popular at the time). I’ve met yaoi fans who were convinced that he’s one-hundred percent gay (despite the pervy toward attractive women behavior). Bisexuality can be very well-argued for him, especially in Stampede as noted above, also the “every character in every fandom is bisexual or pansexual in fandom” rule that people seem to have unless a character as a specifically stated sexuality.   But has anyone besides me ever thought of Vash as an...asexual?   (In this essay I will...)  Consider Vash’s general character through the franchise when it comes to romance and / or sex:  Stampede incarnation:  Has a few moments that can be interpreted as flirty or budding feelings toward both Wolfwood and Meryl, however, nothing clear.  His most significant relationship is familial - his grief-filled relationship with his toxic brother.  This seems to be what this anime is about.   Trigun Maximum incarnation: Never has any clear shipping with anyone, although there are interpretable moments, same as above.  I remember that moment of pretending to be unconscious to avoid the attentions of prostitutes and being ashamed of his scars in the manga, same as in the OG anime. Nothing else of note.   Classic Trigun Anime: Vash plays the flirt with pretty women.  He goes into that common Late ‘90s Flirty Shounen Hero trope for anime heroes of the time.  This seems more or less tossed in by the anime writers and director.  As the anime becomes more serious, this is generally forgotten in a “Vash has too much on his plate for the romance-stuff” and it’s an action anime, not a romance anime... And the same shame of his scars... the same scene with the sex workers as noted above. (The context for the scene is that a town is celebrating because Vash saved them all and some of the men in the town set up with the local brothel ladies to show Vash a good time as a reward.  Vash pretends to have drank too much and passed out, couldn’t be roused - to the disappointment of the brothel workers.  He gets up as soon as they leave and wonders “could I be regretting it? Maybe just a little)?   The scene is generally interpreted as him not wanting to take advantage of the women in the situation.  (Although, honestly they were eager)...  Well... it seems to me that Vash might not be as interested in the old bang-bang as some fans would like him to be (and are perfectly within their rights to fanart and fanfic to their hearts’ content).  Even the “flirty” Vash of the OG anime seems to be doing it as part of the fake-stupid / silly behavior that he does to throw people off-guard.  And where it seems to be genuine behavior, well... I still think asexuality is a valid interpretation because, speaking as an asexual, myself, many of us “do things that we think we are supposed to do” because society tells us that people are supposed to do certain things.  Some of us never learned what asexuality even was until fairly late in life and went through various “supposed to” behavior even when we weren’t really feeling it before we discovered ourselves.   This is common throughout the queer community - the gay person raised in a community that is hostile who will try to date the opposite sex, someone thinking they are straight until they discover that they really are bi, and etc.  This happens to asexuals, too.  I had a boy-band member crush when I was 12, just like all “normal girls” did.  It took a while for me to figure myself out - that I wasn’t really “normal” and that it was okay.   Therefore, I see even the “Let’s make him pervy for comedy” written with clearly heterosexuality in mind of the OG anime as compatable with an asexual interpreation of Vash.  He was just doing the “I am a normal human” act!   Do keep in mind that I am arguing for “an asexual interpretation for the sake of fanwork / fan-fun” for Vash NOT based on his artificial human nature / his status as a plant, but just, individually, as a person.  

[chibivesicle]

Scoured youtube, reddit, and twitter for reactions to episode 9, and was shocked at how the vast majority sympthatized with Nai. The old anime never could convince you Knives made any sense in his motives, let alone agree with him. So to see innumerable old and new fans now actually feeling a lot of sadness in the tragedy of the twins splitting apart, and that Knives now has a POINT (that plenty wholeheartedly agree with!), it's pretty refreshing.

Hello there,

In my opinion out of the three versions of Trigun; '98 anime, Trigun Maximum and Stampede, the one which gave Knives the most clear motivations was Trigun Maximum hands down. Which makes sense seeing that the original anime had no material to go on and the backstory with Rem wasn't until volume 7 of Maximum. Legato was clearly the better villain in the original anime and Knives was just a hands off bad guy whose character would not be fleshed out many years later. The manga really goes into the mindset behind Knives actions, how he asks for forgiveness with what he is about to do/undertake at times and how he thinks that his course of actions is the best one. He's obviously asking for forgiveness from some sort of higher power/authority since the scenes are him alone or it could be that he's asking the other plants for their forgiveness for his own use or abuse of them. Either way, he's frequently aware that he's doing bad things but always for a cause. Some could and have argued it is almost too sympathetic with Knives . . .

However, as I stated in my episode 9 review; I do not think there was any emotional weight or feeling behind Knives (or Vash for that matter). Nor did I feel like there was the same level of emotional tension between the brothers in Stampede. '98 anime Knives was a shallow villain, but the scene where Vash shot him and ran off screaming was very much in character. The manga goes way more into depth at how they process what happened to Tessla in completely different ways and how their inherent nature allows for them to draw completely different conclusions from the exact same facts. Ultimately, Knives chooses revenge with a scorched earth policy to all humans while Vash will always forgive and look beyond bad actions and behavior.

Just because the ending theme song is around the conflict and falling out between two brothers doesn't mean the story is supporting that with its narrative. It sort of mentioned that in the beginning, but dropped the idea until the last two episodes. I had originally predicted this was a theme but it was then lost from episodes 4-7 and with how short this is, not good for pacing.

I guess if you compare Stampede to the '98 anime, Knives being more active could be seen as a win. However, the characterization and storytelling in Stampede being so poor and knowing that the manga had more things which would have been nice to include. But not using them. That's a big disappointment. They had the entire finished manga to work with and for the most part, Studio Orange has been cherry picking bits here and there with little clear vision of how they fit together.

But at the end of the day, I'm here on the internet voicing what is my opinion amongst a sea of other opinions. I keep hoping that Stampede will get more people to go back and read the manga and that Darkhorse will get the act together and do another print run of Yasuhiro Nightow's works. I really want to read Kekkai Sensen and for them to pick up the Back 2 Back tankobon set.

[geneticcatalyst]

the other thing i felt robbed of comparing trigun 98 to stampede was the clever action sequences. yes they had a few good moments but

when you watch 98 it takes a few episodes before it clicks that vash is ending every fight nonlethally and by that time it's really clear how much more skill and finesse and luck that takes than just shooting someone. yeah, he does try to head off or escape conflict sometimes, but of course it doesn't work, and then you get the display of how absolutely terrifyingly good vash really is, to be able to survive without killing. it was just a really cool twist that still had cool gunfights that were all the more impressive for the pacifist angle.

stampede did not do this. im not sure exactly what their reasoning was but it left me wondering what the target audience for stampede was, because while they did have a few moments to showcase vash's skills with a gun it didn't really feel like a shonen anymore, and i was definitely scrolling on my phone during the repeated chase sequences as vash seemingly tries to avoid pulling a gun at all most episodes. it really felt like they didn't trust the audience to understand that he didn't want to hurt people otherwise, which just kind of sucked after how 98 made it such an incredible feature of the action. like. i love vash i just felt like they were selling him short.

now that said i was also pretty done with the extremely generic anime girl characterisation of meryl like. it started not great and didn't really get better. you could have replaced her at almost any point with a high school slice of life protag and barely noticed the difference. i know that's harsh but i like Meryl (98), she has so much personality. combined with really defanging a lot of the cool gunfights, and the similar softening effect that had on vash's character, i was really wondering if they were trying to appeal more to girls than boys with stampede? it just didnt make a lot of sense.

and it didnt click until the end when it's implied that stampede's timeline ends in the July incident and that the 98 timeline takes place later that what we were getting was meant to be a younger, less confident, more inexperienced version of meryl, which, fine, okay. now i'm wondering if they were trying to do the same with vash? he does read as younger, less confident, less experienced too. I guess I just don't really get why they made that choice and still replayed a lot of the same events from the 98 storyline to make it even more confusing. is the manga timeline fucked up?? I know 98 was made before the manga finished but I just dont quite get where they were going here.

[blueshipstealstars]

omg wow

So you guys basically sent ALL of the questions from the Self Shipper Question Post khgfdkjfdg (Except 10 & 11 which is hilarious how those were the only ones)

You’ll find all the answers under the cut cause 14 questions is a lot

1. When did you start self shipping and why? & 2. How long have you been self shipping? (combined cause its the same answer LOL)

I started literally about 3 months ago? And it was like a flood gate sort of thing? I have some friends who have been doing it for a long time and I was always sort confused but curious about it. I wasn’t confident in myself to do it but I remained alright with it when it came across. I’ve followed artists who have basically been self shipping since I was a young teen.

I finally caved when talking about a friends ship in FMA and offhandedly mentioning “what we would be like in that universe” and it all trickled downward. It helped that everyone who really knows my past knows that Dolcetto is actually my first anime crush. I remember being in my friend’s pool and shyly thinking about how cool he was, haha. But yeah it hasn’t been long but I’ve clearly jumped in full force.

3. Why do you self ship now?

Honestly? I think it’s fun. I’m very big into character development and stories so it’s fun to take a base such as myself and warp it to the worlds and universes that I have always adored so much. I’ve made fan ocs in the past when I was kid so it’s not shocking haha. Also it’s just personal and enjoyable for me? Not to mention the community here is supportive and inviting??? Like it has helped me be ok with doing that and that’s really awesome???

4. Which of your self insert characters is the most developed?

Dang I wanna be confident and say they are all pretty developed LMAO. I could say the FMA one solely cause her timeline is more made out then others. But honestly a total package it MIGHT be the DGM insert? She has a backstory, weapon, goals, personality, drive, opinions, and probable futures. But I will say mostly all of my inserts are fairly solid in at least one or two areas. Frankly I spend more time on the insert that actually making ship art SOMETIMES LOL

(Weakest developed are probably Fate & HQ ones btw)

5. Are your self insert characters 100% you or are they an exaggerated version of yourself/leaning toward an OC?

Oh that’s a good question? Default I would pick the more powerful ones simply cause I’m a bean. I would most likely say the Bleach one. Maybe it’s because her hair color is just an ideal and not blonde like the others but also her history and story is the furthest from me most likely? I consider her a persona of my more sassy and rude attitudes and behaviors.

But all my inserts possess various qualities of me, be in a specific trait exaggerated, possible career choice I could take/have taken, etc. Also they all have freckles that’s the only staple I hold to and even then all the freckle patterns and areas are DIFFERENT, not something anyone could notice but me LMAO.

6. If your self inserts are closer to OCs what are some similarities they have with you? What are some differences?

Gonna bullet SOME of them this cause I know the similarities and differences of them all as I make them cause I’m crazy:

FMA

Similarities:

Organized

Very clean, likes to clean

Has to work hard a talent (art = alchemy)

Differences:

Tried to take a career track my parents thought was best for me

More willing to be open to outrageous situations

Bleach

Similarities: 

Sass BUT INTENSIFIED

Likes art/got the life goal of being a hermit who works on art

A hard worker

On time always

Differences:

Can kick my ass

Has more trouble owning up to her mistakes

Actually makes the jump to travel/make big life changes

Is more selfish

Kekkai

Similarities:

Becoming (me currently)/Becomes an art teacher

Plant parent

Very down to earth/logical

Differences:

Too aware of her human based weakness and how she can’t make a real difference in severe situations

Lives on her own

More reluctant/shy

More ok with giving power over to others

BNHA

Similarities:

Art orientated (took hold of my art BFA and got a job)

Freelancer

Loves to organize/clean

Enjoys close friends

Stubborn

Differences

Kept my asymmetrical haircut

Doesn’t like to wear t shirts as much

Can drive

DGM

Similarities:

Stubborn

Often gets the workload left to her

Protective of people close to her

Differences

Lawful Good, listens to the orders of the Order

Will throw a punch even at a friend

7. Do you have a ‘type’ when it comes to f/os?

//war flash backs to that post LMAO

really its a toss up, like Mic was a LEFT FIELD KNOCK OUT for me. A lot of times there’s a sword as a weapon it seems, as well as having a bit of that gentleman but can kill you vibe about you? Idk its ROUGH but i’m always for people tossing characters at me to see if I’m into them or not LOL

8. Your top 3 OTPs among your own selfships?

Ouch you’re gonna hurt all my other ships, my dude haha.

Atm I would say top 3 might be:

Silentsound w/ Present Mic

Liquidinstinct w/Grimmjow

Melancholyrose w/Krory

9. Your top 5 OTPs among others in the community?

GASP, I hate when you make me CHOOSE I LOVE THEM ALL GDI;;

@chchchickennugget with Hanzo right now is my jam ok

@salty-kira with Xander is REALLY NICE JUST SAYIN

@anotherselfshippingsideblog with N is always pleasant to me

@ilovemyfos with Vash is always a yes

@screechingbuutti with Greed is a must because I love their dynamic

10. Has a roleplay blog for one of your f/os every interacted with you? (I see why this wasn’t an ask)

Nope! But it would be cool to see happen!

11. Are you an artist or a writer in the community? Or do you do something else entirely? (Also this one because its CLEAR which I am)

//stares at all the art and why I’m still not done answering takeover stuff because Im so busy with work and school and sleeping

I think an artist but I also write a bit.

12. Name a few of your favorite things about self shipping.

It makes me learn to be flexible with the same base and push/expand/imagine what can be done with it

It’s soothing? And cute?? And fun???

Can’t fuck up writing for yourself now can I?

Not as stressful as other environments i’ve been in

How positive everyone is about other’s ships and SI’s in this community

13. Talk about a positive experience you’ve had with the community.

Um...

ALL OF THEM HAVE BEEN POSITIVE??? LIKE??? HOLY SHIT???

I really like talking about the series, so when people talk to me about stuff they are into/getting into it’s really cool? Like i’m still very awkward to discuss my ships with people so I enjoy casual discussions with others! @anotherselfshippingsideblog is great for that cause they come to me just on the fly to chat me up and I really enjoy that and makes me happy haha. Same with @tarushipping cause I really wish the Kekkai manga was more accessible online since I have been enjoying it ;w;

14. Finally, talk about a few of your favorite self shippers!! (Honestly, talk about as many as you would like!)

Why you do this to me I can’t talk about everyone OTL

I’ll just do 3 cause this is a LONG post LOL;;

As I mentioned before, @chchchickennugget with Hanzo (and Genji) is a fav of mine. I adore all the snippets and aus she comes up with. They’re often clever or just cool in general. Not to mention I love the ocs I have seen from her? Just top quality overall imo

Small shoutout to @hardcoreshippingmyself simply because her blog was part of how/why I made this blog so I feel that is needed to say! Also she seems super nice which is really wonderful!

@salty-kira OVERWHELMING ME WITH HOW NICE HE IS??? Like one of those blogs I watched from afar but turned out to be VERY nice and I can’t even still /// I feel bad cause when we talk I get flustered and awkward and ramble bless everyone who has to put up with me ok?

THANK YOU ALL FOR THE QUESTIONS LIKE HOLY SHIT I LOVE YOU GUYS ;W;

[swipestream]

SUPERVERSIVE: “Magi” is an awesome show and that you don’t know that is sad

I’ve realized that unless I think the battle scenes and characters are really, REALLY awesome I actually prefer watching people deal with politics and economics. This is the exact reason “Log Horizon” is such a great show, and one of the things that makes “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” so great are the vast background machinations going on between various semi-independent groups that may or may not be at odds with one another.

“My Hero Academia” is that rare show that has action scenes that are so awesome and characters so memorable that I’m happy with them being the focus of the show, and ditto with “Yu Yu Hakusho”. My second favorite shonen (to MHA), however, is not particularly notable for its action scenes (which are at a perfectly passable level) or its characters (which are never offensively terrible but are hit and miss in terms of memorability and creativity). What it is absolutely great at is dealing with the political machinations of its world and in making its characters act realistically within it.

This show is “Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic” and its sequel season “Magi: The Kingdom of Magic”, and it is a damn shame that they have fallen so far under the radar in recent years.One can be forgiven for thinking it’s a typical shonen action show if one only watched the first arc, or even the first two arcs (at least the second, by far the show’s weakest, is very short). It’s a fairly straightforward adventure story about quirky characters who meet up in an Arabian-inspired fantasy world and decide to run off with each other and go treasure hunting. Even so, as far as those stories go the characters are entertaining, particularly Ali Baba, who soon becomes the most interesting and complex character in the entire show, and one of my all-time favorite anime characters. The action is fun.

And there are points of interest even here. “Magi” does an admirable job of not whitewashing the horrors of the Arab world while at the same time making its appeal clear. The world is beautiful, atmospheric, and has an air of adventure, but the social systems are cruel and suffering is commonplace. Ali Baba himself fluctuates wildly between bravery and cowardice in a way not really common among protagonists in shonen shows, and the hints at his mysterious backstory are well-placed.

The second arc unfortunately moves away from Ali Baba and focuses on Aladdin, a cheerful 12 year old and the titular magi, which at this point as far as we know means he has especially strong magic powers and is friends with a genie. This arc is easily the worst of the show, focusing on Aladdin’s relationship with a small tribe of desert people who find themselves suddenly at odds with the massive Koh Empire, a growing world power with the goal of eventually getting, through force or otherwise, the entire known world under their thumb. The main thing to take out of this arc is the introduction of the Koh Empire, an explanation of the show’s magic system, and the show’s running theme of the perils of globalism that make the show especially timely. Outside of that, the best I can say about this arc is that it’s mercifully brief.

In between this is an arc following the character of Morgiana. I’ll get to this later.

Luckily, it is after this that the show REALLY hits its stride. What follows is the Fog Troupe arc, and I think I can honestly say that it’s one of my favorite arcs in any anime ever. Aladdin returns to the kingdom of Balbadd to meet up with Ali Baba and passes through the kingdom of Sindria, lead by Sinbad. Yes, this is THE Sinbad the Sailor. Magi makes the interesting decision to have our characters find Sinbad when he is already a powerful and well-established king (there would eventually be a prequel series about the rise of Sinbad that was entertaining enough). Aladdin decides to travel with Sinbad, who is on his way to Balbadd himself to deal with a mysterious group known as the Fog Troupe that have been robbing his merchants.

And it is there that Aladdin and Sinbad discover the shocking truth behind the Fog Troupe’s shadowy leader, a discovery that leads to a chain of events that rapidly spiral out of control.

Right. In terms of summary I’m going to stop here. It is from this point on that the show moves from “Good” to “Great”. The Fog Troupe arc delves deep into the difficult political situation in Balbadd, the difficulties inherent in finding ways to deal with it, the decisions made by other nations when they notice the quickly unraveling stability of the nation, and the backstory of Ali Baba and how that affects his actions. Interspersed in this are some truly stellar battle scenes. Ali Baba comes into his own as an outstanding character, one of the only ones I’ve ever seen who is capable of carrying both entirely comedic and entirely dramatic roles in the narrative equally well. In fact, the only other character I can think of with that ability is Vash the Stampede. Now that’s good company!

The very best thing I can say about the Fog Troupe arc is that the show manages to maintain this level of quality, or close to it, for the entire rest of its run! Season 2 actually leaves Ali Baba behind for the majority of it but the complex social structures it explores along with the behind scenes machinations of the various competing nations makes it damn near just as compelling as the best parts of season 1, and sometimes even more so.

I mentioned above that I would get to Morgiana, and I will. Morgiana is a somewhat unusual character in that she doesn’t actually HAVE to be involved in anything going on but continually makes the decision to join our other protagonists of her own accord. Freed from slavery by Ali Baba despite the fact that she also tried to kill him under the orders of her master in the show’s first arc, Morgiana’s original goal is to return to her people’s homeland but she eventually comes to the conclusion that she owes too much to Ali Baba to leave him behind in the middle of such a huge crisis.

I could summarize a lot of the show without mentioning her but I decided to bring her up here because I would be doing her a disservice if she was never mentioned. Morgiana is a great character. Her personality is actually interesting! She plays a distinctly feminine role in the narrative as support for the male leads, and acts incredibly grateful to them because of her kindness. She is essentially superpowered due to her race, which is what makes her so valuable as a slave, but she uses that power always in service to others. Her character arc partially plays out in a separate arc but it is very well-handled. Her scenes also tend to be very fun – because of her powers the animation tends to be very on point when she gets the spotlight (take a particular look at her animation in the first OP, because wow).

She also has one of the most interesting character designs I’ve seen yet for an anime heroine. She is supposed to be a foreigner and she actually looks like a foreigner. She’s pretty, but there is something slightly unconventional about her appearance that really makes her stand out amongst the rest of the cast in the best possible way. The actress also manages to somehow make her actually sound like a former slave – there is a sort of quietness to her voice that gives the impression she is unused to voicing her own opinions or expressing strong emotions. This is a credit to the English voice actress, who does an excellent job imbuing the character with a unique personality.

I really wish I could talk more about the specifics of what makes the show great, but for once I don’t want to spoil things. When it explores the complex social and class-based differences that lead to the chaotic and dangerously tyrannical structures of the various governments it does so without forgetting that there are multiple parties involved, that even the underclass aren’t necessarily blameless when it comes to their circumstances, and that the line between oppressor and oppressed is far less black and white than it originally appears. And yet it does all of this without ever compromising on the idea that good and evil exist and it is our duty to do good. That a shonen action show manages to explore ideas in such depth while still managing to feel like a shonen action show is incredibly impressive.

There isn’t much else to say about the show except, I suppose, that it’s very pleasant. The show benefits greatly from scenes where the characters just hang out with each other. It makes their relationships feel realistic, and their comradery feel earned. This helps a lot when the main cast gets separated for any length of time. They can meet up and hit it off immediately without anyone feeling like they missed anything.

If I had one comparison to make of the show, I would call it a somewhat inferior version of “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood”, and since I consider “Brotherhood” one of the greatest shows of all time this is still a very high compliment. It breaks a lot of interesting ground for a shonen in the complexity of its international and social politics.

Unfortunately I think its first two arcs got it to slip under the radar a bit, and that’s really a shame. After I finished season 2 (and the fun if rather slight prequel “The Adventures of Sinbad the Sailor”) I actually went and found the manga because I was so excited to continue the story, and so far I definitely haven’t been disappointed.

This is a true hidden gem and one of my favorite anime ever, and I highly recommend it…if only to drum up enough interest for a season 3!

Two final notes, ones I make often:

The dub is really excellent, especially the voices of Ali Baba and Morgiana, who manage to cover an impressive amount of range. If you look for that sort of thing this one is definitely worth it.

Every OP and even ED is killer in this show, though my personal favorites are the first ones of each.

Really fun!

SUPERVERSIVE: “Magi” is an awesome show and that you don’t know that is sad published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames

[chibivesicle]

Trigun Stampede - Episode 2 review.

Another Saturday has come and gone and thus, episode 2 of Trigun Stampede.  After watching this episode, my brain has accepted that this will be a different spin on these characters and their world.  This episode picks up exactly where the last one left off.  Vash has just saved Jeneora Rock and it starts out with him alone in a room doing maintenance on his gun.  He’s got a small radio where the dj is lamenting about the general state of things on the planet.  At the same time a mechanical looking phage seems to be watching him?

The dj makes it clear that plants are essential to life on the planet and notes they would have gone straight heaven.

We see Vash’s coat and bag next to a chair or couch.

This is an interesting take to show that he has all the tools for basic stuff for his gun and that he’s carrying that photo of them with Rem.  It then feeds into the OP.

What I noticed on this watch is that it shows plants glowing red (likely Knives influence).

and as Vash is in free fall, he falls in front of this out first shot of a plant.  The style makes me think of a cross between an Egyptian sarcophagus and that one species of alien from Star Wars.  Don’t come for me Star Wars fans, but you know what I mean.

This is a clear full redesign of the plants and how they were depicted in the manga and even the anime.  The anime design was low budget but clearly angelic and in the manga, they are angels.  Full stop.  This is likely a direct allusion to Knives goal to fuse with all the plants and will turn red in color when working for him.  I think it is clear that the Christian imagery is going to be greatly reduced in this version.  The anime was pretty high in it and the manga was even more so. 

After the OP, the story starts with the breaking news that the Nebraska family have broken out of jail from May on the radio while Meryl interviews Vash to help him clear his name.  We learn that Vash already knows that Knives is stealing plants and it has been attributed to him.  We don’t know if this is because they are twin brothers or if Knives said he was Vash while doing it.

Of course they aren’t going to believe him since he lacks evidence (what about that photo you have Vash?).  We also learn that Tonis is Rosa’s son and likes to collect insects that creep people out.

We’ve named a kid so we know he’ll have to be rescued of course!  As they wrap up the interview, the townsfolk try to arrest Vash for his six million $$ bounty.  This is similar to how the town of Inepril in the anime/April in the manga tried to catch Vash and then the Nebraska family broke out of jail.  In the manga they just broke out, in the anime, the mayor allowed them to break out and in Stampede they broke out from May and went to Jeneora Rock.  Oh goodness the shift in cities for plot points is going to make things hard to keep track of.

Anyhoo, back to the main action.  The entire town is after Vash and he does a similar chase scene but more serious and less humorous with the clotheslines and such.  I do think this show of the cityscape looks very nice with him in the middle but the others are barely visible, blended into the background.

However, this looks steampunk and not wild west.  Can we tell we are in a desert landscape city?  No, not from this view.  However, Vash is not as trapped as we’d expect, Meryl and Roberto save him.  There is a sign in the background which says ‘we have to carefully use the limited [resources] we have’ to really remind everyone not to waste things.

But it is a sort of blink and you’d miss it sign.   I think it would have helped their storytelling to linger on it a bit longer.   The point is that Meryl and Roberto are going to great lengths to help Vash - all for their ‘scoop’?  Not sure if this is for the story.

We also learn that the Nebraskas are heading to their location b/c they broke out of jail - so that they could get the bounty on Vash.  This is a plot point which confuses me - wouldn’t they be arrested once they handed Vash over to the authorities?  The MP could just not pay them either. 

I will say, I like the smaller Gosef model. The bow tie is a nice touch.  I mean the original was a bit on the over the top shounen bad grunt side of things. . . so - less over the top bad son is a design plus.  He still has his weird hard punching extender hand.

While they are attempting to escape, our reporters give Vash a hard time about being prepared (which is very much a Meryl trait) and he notes that ammo is expensive using a pizza example.

This same exchange happened at the beginning of episode 5 - Hard Puncher, when he beats bounty hunters.  Yet, in that one he shoves a stack of four pancakes into his mouth in one go. 

Ah, the pancakes make sense since he is in a diner.  I’d argue that Rosa’s diner is more like a saloon, since it seems she only serves drinks and not food.

This time Vash gets caught my the women with the same rationale that they are mothers but there is less verbal stories of why they need the money, more that ‘we are mothers read between the lines.’

I think Stampede is going to have a lot of blink and you miss it points for motivations along with rationale.  I think the other formats might have given a bit more time to things which makes it fit a bit better.  You don’t need that much more - just a touch, but do let the establishing shots breathe a bit more so our eyes can linger over them a bit more. 

The Nebraskas want that bounty on Vash so they almost crash into the group.

Of course Tonis randomly shows up with his bugs, so Vash has to rescue him and Rosa.  I like the attempt to show the dirt and dust but it should be hazier, it all seems very contained.  I think it is throwing me off b/c the sky is lacking in that desert haze that never really goes away.  I’m wondering if the creative team were fans of Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul?  The creative teams behind both those shows purposely really emphasized the desert landscape of the blue, taupe, brown, brown and more shades of brown.  Breaking Bad worked really hard on highlighting the contrast in their shots.

The images above can be deceptive since many days aren’t the clear and pristine and instead you are being pelted with dirt and sand which gets in your face, up your nose and even in between your teeth.

I just keep wondering where the high clouds are and why the windmills aren’t spinning in all the background shots.  The terrain is mainly flat, there will be wind.

Back to the plot - Vash is able to escape drawing the Nebraskas away from the town and Meryl lays into him that he’s running away.

Not only that, she tells him outright that he’s running away from pain.  This sort of dialogue is too ‘early’ in the narrative.  Wolfood is the character who is the first one to really call this out in the anime and manga.  But everyone now has an amazing EQ and can all see that Vash is running from pain and is a sad boi.  Meh. 

Of course, the Nebraskas quickly abandon their quest for Vash and decide to steal the one working plant.  Which really leads me to question the plant security here.  In episode one the MP strolled right in.  In this episode they strolled right in.  Not only that, plants aren’t that heavy so it is very easy to steal the key part of it over the large tower reactor bit.  Can I have a word with you Jeneora plant security people?  Maybe make it a bit more secure.  Or at least harder to reach like the bulb version.

The fight scene is okay, not great.  Vash saves Rosa again, dodges a lot and looks cool breakdancing and then stops a bullet with his single shot showing that he’s an excellent marksman.  The structure collapses and Gosef saves the plant but then the rest of them need to pull him up.  Daddy loves his darling son and the mothers relent to help him.  In the original, he’s just as protective, instead upset when he trips over a parked car and yells at the people to not hurt his son (in giant steam powered form).  Afterwards, drinks are on the house and everyone has made up.

Is this an episode of Fairy Tail?  Did I change series? 

I get that Vash is all about resolving issues with no conflict but he still made sure they were arrested again in the anime and manga.  Hell, he gave them to the town to claim the bounty to fix the broken plant.

What I missed was the showdown between the Nebraskas and Vash.  The build up in the anime was perfect.  The lone figure in the clearing dust.  Dust that looks more accurate than in Stampede.  I know that is weird to say; it just is way more desert with that overall haze of all the sand that was kicked up in the collapse due to the giant punch.

I loved the little bit with the marker and the finger wave to come at him.

And then, saving all the women one by one before getting serious.  The ratcheting up on the tension is great here.  We also have all the townsfolk around watching and commenting giving it more of that emotional drama.

And then, when Vash puts on his glasses.  That shift in tone from I’m just a carefree guy to this means business is instantaneous.  This was when it struck me.  Something had seemed off in episode one and two.  It was this!  The build up to him putting the glasses on for the first time.

Studio Orange why did you skip this small bit of character establishment?  If you did it, all the older fans would get chills up their spines.  New fans would get chills up their spines!

I also miss the touch where he pops out the empty casings from the five shots he took to deflect the punch.  The moment to declare his last bullet is special.  How he spins the barrel before cocking it back and firing to disable the punching mechanism.

God, this was such gold.  And then it goes to Vash making his first declaration of “Love & Peace!”

Since the Nebraskas don’t get arrested again, they are treated to beers and Vash tries to slip away.  We’ve got classic framing here but I keep expecting that to be Wolfwood giving him shit for not saying goodbye.

I really want to know - Roberto and Meryl are remarkably friendly with Vash in a way that seems almost forced.  You literally met him 24 hours ago.  And you already feel the need to look like a smart ass by 1.) rushing out the door to look cool when Vash does come out and 2.) why is such a cynical man being understanding towards Vash? 

I don’t get it, doesn’t seem quite natural.  The relationship between Vash and the Bernardelli Insurance Society reps of Meryl and Milly developed more naturally.  At first they were a nuisance, but over time grew to know one another.  However, if someone is an investigative reporter you are NOT going to befriend them since you have no idea what their angle is.

Of course the drama isn’t over and a scream brings them back in b/c the giant mechanical phages are attacking Gosef!  They lock onto him and he dashes out the door with Vash holding Daddy back from chasing after his son.

Who blows up out of line of sight and the episode ends.

Roberto declares again “Lost technology?” in case we don’t realize that glowing mechanical things are lost tech (again writers, you don’t need to spoon feed us this info). 

Therefore, these weird mechanical oversized phages are the tool of one of the Gung-Ho Gungs is my guess.  I’m leaning towards either Zazie due to the virus inspiration or Elendira since nails are her tool.  But maybe I’m wrong and it is E.G. Mine since he did blow up.  Argh.  Gung-Ho Gun likely though.

The episode then has its first ED and based on the imagery we are focusing on the brothers and Rem.  While watching this, it was when I realized that more than the main parts of the narrative are changed but the entire dynamic.  In the anime and manga, Knives is the big bad at the end.  The manga gives him more motivation but he keeps a hands off approach and Vash slowly gets pulled in by the increasing stakes.

For the anime and manga the major themes that stood out to me were the following:

1.) Holding your ideals and beliefs in the face of impossible situations. aka - faith in something larger than you.  Or in this case a mainstream Protestant/Roman Catholic inspired God.  Vash has an almost childlike or characterized as childlike dedication to his motivation to never kill.  However, as much he tries to prevent collateral damage, he can’t.  Yet, he earns Wolfwood’s respect due to his dedication, especially in the manga at the end of volume 9.  Who is bowed down before a ‘metaphorical’ cross . . .

2.) The right to life is sacred/Do not willingly prevent another person’s future.

All living things are sacred and thus should be respected as such.  This ties in with Rem’s dream of having a train ticket with no destination meaning each person makes their own choices where to go.  It is a pity Knives never learned this when he manipulated the rest of the plants into joining him.  Vash takes this to the most literal extreme while Wolfwood splits the middle of what is the ‘least damaging for the group as opposed to the individual’.

3.) Humans commit sin and deal with great suffering.  Yet, they still seek redemption and forgiveness in light of this inherent nature.

Wolfwood is the easy example of this conflict that plays out through his entire character arc but this also applies to Vash.  Vash’s somewhat misplaced desire to not kill resulted in many deaths or destruction.  Plus, in the manga, when he destroyed July, he killed many people in the process, that is how Hopper the Gauntlet was able to be recruited and modified - for revenge of the woman he loved and cared for.  This also plays into how Vash is able to break Knives control of the other plants.  We see, what they saw, watching humans from their bulbs which is a mix of both the best and worst of human behavior.

Stampede with its ED showing the two twins as well as the immediate introduction of both and their past childhood events is going for a conflict/contrast between two brothers.  Therefore, based on the first two episodes this version looks to examine

1.) How to be a pacifist and cause no harm to others.

2.) How are two brothers raised in the exact same environment polar opposites?

I’ll adjust and add to these as we go.  Last bit, with the new night sky based ED, it is leaning into the sci fi/we came from space angle for the series and not the western. 

For example the first still panel of Vash in the ‘98 ending has him shaving with a straight razor and a kerchief around his neck.  This is a full reference to westerns.

Studio Orange is making it clear.  This is not a western.  This is sci fi/steam punk in a desert more than a western.

That is all for now and I’ll be back next week with my episode 3 review!

[chibivesicle]

Trigun Maximum - I have feelings.

Ooooh boy.  I ended up at the shop for a bit this morning to have my HVAC controller in my car fixed and I had some down time.  I spent it reading the Trigun manga while the local CBS station had the morning news on the TV.  The pacing for this manga is fast fast fast fast and faster.  I will definitely need to go back and reread all of it after my first pass because it is both sparse and dense at the same time.  The amount of information that you have to glean from it - not sure if it is a stylistic choice or forces you to think about it just yet.

Yet, you know it is never a good sign when a character ends up bleeding profusely in the author’s notes.  Warning, mild spoilers ahead for up to volume 9.

Several plot points have just sort of made me go, ‘huh . . .’ and try to shake out why it would make sense in the context of things.

1.) Knives is the leader of his own personal crusade and he doesn’t need to convince anyone of it.  More that he simply tells himself that ‘sacrifices are necessary for the cause’, when the cause is himself? All other life is meaningless save for his own?  I hope the next few volumes clear this up a bit more since I’m currently struggling to really understand his motivations.  Especially, his idea to steal as many plants as possible, ‘eat’ his ‘sisters’ and to do what?  Even if the other ships get close enough to the planet and he absorbs them, then what?  I dunno man, what is your endgame?

2.) The Eye of Michael are an assassin group that recruits orphans due to the fact they lack attachment to others.  And their goal is to achieve what exactly?  They’ve been around for 133 years and they are far to obvious to act as a sort of covert group. I mean sure, if you kill everyone in your path there won’t be eyewitnesses but the giant cross - not subtle.  They are working with Knives but it isn’t the same - only part of them were sort of committed to the gung ho guns.  I really need to go back and glean from the text.

3.) Wolfwood is around 20 - max?!?! I’m also baffled how he got recruited based on what we’ve seen up through volume 9.  I found his words to be out of alignment with his age as a child at the orphanage.  Only going by the anime, I put him to be older, like 30s.  When he has his showdown with Chapel, we know that he was trained by him for ten years but the specifics are vague and it is clear he fucked off on his own when he realized he didn’t want to be told what to do.  In the anime, his realistic words of wisdom make sense for them to come from an adult with life experiences.  Yes, trauma and a harsh childhood can make you grow up faster but he always had that weird vibe that he was trained in some sort of religious philosophy that he could have more input into things.

Yet, in the manga he still has mature dialogue that I don’t quite get.  I hope volume 10 helps to explain things further in regards to this weird disconnect.  Wolfwood is there to oppose Vash in a constructive way, not in the straight out opposition that Knives is to Vash.  Yet, by having Wolfwood start out as someone who is good with others, willing help out and care about people.  It makes it obvious in retrospect he’d never be able to have given his all to the role that he was supposed to fill.  I mean the fact that he shot and crippled his mentor but didn’t kill him already speaks volumes.  Does he try to save everyone and not kill like Vash?  No.  Yet his destructive power is more tempered than many others.  He also has that built in protective nature which pops up all the time.  Though, he has spent a lot of time rationalizing that it is why he can kill people.

4.) Plants are technology that works on using the life force of angelic beings trapped in a bubble that are something - I need more info.  Pleeeeeeaaaase? Pretty please?  And are definitely modeled on more ‘realistic’ versions of angels e.g. not looks like a person with a pair of wings. And more in the this angel has a fuckton of eyes all over it and weird creepy manifestations, extra wings, heads, faces etc etc etc.

Does this mean that Knives is into a weird from of cannibalism?  He tried to absorb Vash as well but obviously since they are diametrically opposed to each other’s viewpoints we know that isn’t going to happen.  Isn’t he supposed to respect the other plants that he’s essentially using as an extension of himself?  How is this fair to them.  Hello plant ladies (?) allow me to rescue from your human oppressors - to serve me as a giant melded mess. . . . 

These aren’t my most organized thoughts - just the general feelings and questions that really pop to the surface.  I’ll try to reorganize my thoughts for the future.  I’m thinking of:

1.) Wolfwood analysis - I know lots of people have their own interpretation of him, but I’d like a crack at it too.

2.) Tone of the anime vs the manga.  Right now, I’m leaning towards preferring the anime; by no means is the manga bad, just they have different ways to get to the same sort of end.

3.) Review each episode (or two) of Trigun Stampede.   I’ve seen other commentary online which is being a little more gentle to it.  Not that I want to skewer it, but more point out where it works and doesn’t work in the context of the manga and previous anime.  I purposely, went ahead and rewatched the original just to prepare for watching Stampede.  I’m also getting the vibe that some people are like me and have done this while many other people’s commentary are coming from “I watched it on Adult Swim.” or “I’ve never seen it but it was apparently popular.”  Making me feel even older with the Adult Swim comment since I saw it before then on fan sub VHS.

4.) Why Trigun Maximum is a type of seinen that works for a female audience.  I think this also applies to Golden Kamuy.  The series do have some overlap and I’m beginning to wonder if there are other elements of these two fairly violent series that allow for them to have a more equal gendered fandom.

That’s all for now.  I need to put all my thoughts together and start cracking.