(no subject)

I'm watching Trigun right now. It's #4, the hostage episode. I like this one. Especially since epsidoe 5 is when things start to get serious. For a long time I wondered why the first 4 peisodes were mostly comedy, and that the dramatic storyline doesn't really beign until 5&6, and I eventually realized that episodes 1-4 were all about character building, about not only introducing Vash, the insurance girls, and the planet civilization, but also to deliberately get you used to the outward characterization of Vash and how everyone (insurance girls and bounty hunters) perceives him. Then when you're comfortable, they start to muddy the waters. And things only get more into gray-area after that.

Trigun talk.. a bit of a letter to those that grumbled after episode 26.

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Vash: I have one question for you. How does it really feel to kill unarmed innocent people?
Stan: I have a question. How do you feel when you burn your trash?
Vash: Nifty answer, sorry I asked.
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A random letter to those who hated the end of episode 26-

A lot of people I've talked to were unsatisfied with the ending of Trigun. That it was incoclusive and had no resolution. I've always disagreed with that assesment; to me episode 26 ended with a very fitting finish to the series, quite in-character with the writing and the characters and the storyline.

What should an ending do? It should resolve the major conflict of the series. The major conflict of Trigun is not Knives vs. Vash-- peopel who think that will feel disappointed. The major conflict of Trigun is Vash's internal struggle. It's the battle for his soul, between Knives and Rem's memory. Everything in every episode constantly brings up the same question that Vash lives his life by: is it right to hurt others, even if they are not like you. Vash choses to answer "No" to that every time, whereas the world around him-- the planet, the history, the colonists, Knives, Wolfwood-- the world around Vash says "yes." In the end only Meryl, of everyone in Vash's life on the planet, acts as a character shadow for Rem and echoes Vash's initial answer.

What it comes down to is that the show was always about Vash. Much more so than other anime I've seen, Trigun was truly about one person and one person alone. We get many beloved and dramatic sub-characters along the way, from the insurance girls to Wolfwood to Knives, but the themes have always been All!About!Vash. What is most important to Vash as a person? Living a moral life dedicated to the preservation of all life.

Does the ending answer this question?

Let's take a detour for a moment. I'll get back to that question; but this has relevance. You know why I liked the Gung Ho Guns, as villians?

( In which Shaka talks more, and suports her arguments with fairly spoilery thoughts and points )

What's not to like.

Dark Cities

I'll admit, a part of me is laughing at the power outtage on the north east coast yesterday. The little devil on my shoulder is jumping up and down dancing and singing "Ha ha! How do YOU like it, huh?! Laugh at us Californians for our power problems, huh? huh? Look at you, a whole freaking multi-state, multi-national outage! ha ha!"

Then the angel on my other shoulder slaps her wrist and shoves cake in her mouth to get her to shut up. She still grins a bit, though.