So, we’re kind of bringing PA back. Maybe there’ll be more, but we’ll see. Today, Drizzle Sez and Gingawd tackle the classic series Trigun and if the manga is better than the anime. Spoilers aplenty. If you have never seen the series, check it out on Hulu now.
Speed: So, I want to watch Trigun again. No reason why. I just want to revisit the story of Vash The Stampede. Should I?
Drizzle: The ending is complete garbage compared to the manga.
Gingawd: No.
Drizzle: Yes.
Gingawd: No.
Speed: I never read the manga in full, so I’m biased and slightly uneducated here. Why is the manga better, in your opinion.
Drizzle: It’s absolutely better.
Gingawd: No, it just wasn’t the same scale.
Drizzle: What did Knives want?
Gingawd: To kill all humans and establish their beings as the rulers of the world, basically. AKA “the plants.”
Drizzle: And you know that…how? Because I know that only from the Hulu synopsis.
Gingawd: Because dialogue.
Drizzle: And how did he plan on doing this?
Gingawd: By using the Gung Ho Guns, as well as the plants’ powers of manipulation with their Angle Arms being able to smite the human and free plants. That part isn’t explicitly said, I will give you that
Drizzle: And how was he to achieve this by having a one-on-one fight in the desert with Vash?
Gingawd: If he defeated Vash in the desert, he would have control over both Angel Arms—which would make him virtually indestructible.
Drizzle: And when did he say that?
Gingawd: It was implied with Vash desperately hiding the Angel Arm from his brother. Vash being a being who can dodge bullets when he is sleeping.
Drizzle: So, if you had never read the Wiki or guessed–or read the manga–the end of the anime, though epic, would’ve made absolutely no sense.
Gingawd: Then you weren’t paying attention and don’t deserve to understand the ending. Even the creator of the series was shocked–and happy–at how well-done the anime was.
Drizzle: But–but–you literally said “They never explicitly said that.”
Gingawd: Yes, but there was enough evidence to piece is together.
Drizzle: So, how did Wolfwood die?
Gingawd: He was shot. Pew pew pew.
Drizzle: He overdosed.
Gingawd: In the manga maybe. But, in the anime? It’s clear. Pew pew pew.
Drizzle: He used the Wintergreen Serum to keep fighting his master. Legato has him shot, yes, but the bullet pops out. It’s the serum that kills him.
Gingawd: In the manga, yes. But, in the anime? Bullet wound and bleeding.
Drizzle: If you missed it, you don’t deserve to understand that the church scene was ironic. The bullet clearly pops out.
Gingawd: Let’s keep in mind that this is 1990s animation we’re talking about here. Nothing is all that clear.
Drizzle: The Punisher Cross that took so many lives was the only thing keeping him alive and holding him until it killed him as well.
Gingawd: And nope. Definitely bled out in the anime. One minute and 18 seconds into his final scene, there’s blood. Not coughing.
Drizzle: In the manga, he dies drinking with Vash.
Gingawd: There, it is implied. In the anime, he’s shot.
Drizzle: He was definitely shot.
Gingawd: Super cool moment. But, the artistic change for the death scene is just as beautiful to me. Shot and pierced heavily, implying that he died from gunshot wounds.
Drizzle: Ah. In the English, he just bled out because of censorship, like how Frieza kills Krillin in English versus Japanese.
Gingawd: No, that’s just the anime in general. Remember, you challenged me to watch the subs. It didn’t change anything. I’ve watched this anime, honestly, six times. Five in English, once in Japanese.
Drizzle: He dies of an overdose of super serum. But, getting shot is just as good.
Gingawd: Yes, Trigun, the anime, isn’t perfect storytelling.
Drizzle: Point. Why was Knives’ hair lighter?
Gingawd: Doesn’t matter really to the anime. But, he is clearly more connected to plants. So, I assume that it’s a by-product of that.
Drizzle: It was initially supposed to be in the anime, but was cut due to time constraints–which is why they animated it in the first place. Their hair starts the same color. It’s a major plot point.
Gingawd: Maybe as a foreshadowing tool, maybe not a plot point. Plot point would mean that if Knives’ hair is any other color, it would make a world of difference to the entire story.
Drizzle: Alright, hear me out. As they use their plant powers, their hair gets darker to display how much life energy they have left. Once it turned black, they die. Knives recharged his power by eating people and plants. The entire point of the Gung Ho Guns was to get food for Knives. So, Vash was in a race against time to stop his brother before he succumbed to death himself.
Gingawd: I’m fine with them not explaining that.
Drizzle: So, your assumptions about the Gung Ho Guns was wrong.
Gingawd: Not for the anime. For the manga, yes.
Drizzle: They literally massacred that town and left Knives’ name there so Knives could eat and let Vash know that Knives was eating.
Gingawd: In the manga. In the anime, it’s clear that Knives killed them all to goad Vash out of hiding.
Drizzle: Vash wasning hiding. He was called a literal Human Act of God because of the destruction he left in his wake.
Gingawd: He was definitely hiding from Knives at first.
Drizzle: Two people from the insurance company were following him aroudnand logging his movements. What the fuck do you mean “hiding?”
Gingawd: He was hiding the Angel Arm, hoping that would be enough to stop him. And how many episodes did it take for the insurance company to believe that he was, in fact, Vash? He was hiding in plain sight! By the way, it took six episodes. So, a fourth of the series, they don’t even know who Vash is exactly. They figure it out in “Love and Peace,” episode six.
Drizzle: He was being followed by one of the Gung Ho Guns for A WHILE before that happened.
Gingawd: And he used a fake name, originally, to Wolfwood in episode eight.
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