Trigun Forum

 Big gun... but no killin'.

If I’ve concluded that Goku is anime’s Superman and L is anime’s Batman, then I’m not totally positive who Vash corresponds to, but he’s definitely of the same ilk as all the superheroes I grew up with. Why? He doesn’t wear a mask. He doesn’t have a cape. He does have an outlandish, brightly-colored costume, but what’s more important is that, unlike nine out of ten heroes in adventure fiction, he goes to absurd lengths to avoid killing the bad guys. TRIGUN’s hinted at this, so far, and some of you lunatics may have clued me in early on, as well, but this is the first episode that’s been explicit about this part of Vash’s philosophy.

And I think it’s actually pretty cool. Not necessarily because I want this show to be a forum to debate the merits of capital punishment and justifiable force (though I’m sure there will be plenty of that) but more so because it’s different. I hate cookie cutter “leading men” and if Vash adamantly refuses to kill bad guys, it leads to complication, it leads to ridicule and it leads to setbacks. In short, it leads to an interesting story.

I presume Kaite’s going to become Vash’s sidekick in this slowly-accumulating cast of characters. I’m sure he rubs some viewers the wrong way, but I appreciate how they’re letting him act like a teen in his situation would actually act. In other words, he’s a little twerp. Seems like we’ve got the set-up for a good buddy comedy, although this time, the kid’s the cynic and the older guy’s the naïve idealist.

Neon escapes to bedevil Vash another day. Following Darfox8’s wrestling comparison, that means that the feud with this heel has just started and they’re going to keep cutting promos on eachother until it culminates in a Coal Miner’s Glove match at the next pay-per-view.

Oh, and Meryl and Milly disguising themselves as "lads" was a fun surprise. For once, you can believe somebody can fit into an enemy uniform, because those suits are so damn bulky.

Watch this episode, “And Between the Wasteland and Sky,” below and decide for yourself, then read my comments on the previous episode here.     

Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of  HYBRID BASTARDS!  &  UNIMAGINABLE . Order them on Amazon   here  &   here .  Follow him on Twitter:  @tompinchuk

"Katie isn't coming. But soon we do get Vash's "Sidekick", if we call him that, and he is a total badass."

" Why would Vash let the kid travel with him?  If I remember correctly, he doesn't really want the girls following him, since he always ends up in trouble.  So a kid would be a big no-no.    

I wouldn't say L is anime's Batman. L isn't so proactive and L is willing to kill for purpose. The first act we ever see him do sacrifice a convict to reveal Kira. Only comparison is they are both independently wealthy and both orphans. I also see L as a superior detective. Though, I blame that on writers not showing Bruce Wayne as a detective too often.

1. Famous alias and secret identity.
2. Multiple proteges who take over his mantle, some good, some bad. 
3. A superemly skilled butler. 
4. A wide variety of skills, including martial arts. 
5. And,  yes,  absurdly rich orphans.

" @SamJaz said:

"Katie isn't coming. But soon we do get Vash's "Sidekick", if we call him that, and he is a total badass."

next to Vash I think he is my favorite charicter "

" The no killing angle definitely makes the show more interesting. I usually enjoy stories where the hero has a set of "rules" because the villains usually set up these traps made specifically for the hero to break his own rules(it was pretty much what all of The Dark Knight turned into). The hero usually has to come up with some clever loop hole to escape the death trap, and that hopefully makes for some fun viewing.    

As I mentioned before, Vash is an anomaly in Trigun's fiction. Everyone is out for themselves so when they come across someone who's so interested in helping other people it usually freaks them out, or pisses them off for some reason(kinda like with Kaite). "