Trigun Bookclub: deludedfantasy: Trigun Maximum Volume 11: Chapter 4-6

Back to the Trigun Bookclub Archive

Original Tumblr Post: Trimax Vol 11 Ch 4-6

Trimax Vol 11 Ch 4-6

Half of this is just me having emotions about Livio. For a character who showed up so late in the game, he’s very quickly wormed his way into my heart.

Ch 4

Return of the wicked? So Legato rejoins the game.
Oooh, Zazie butterfly! You know, it was really funny reading Trimax after watching Tristamp which was chock full of worm lore and realizing there’s just…none of that here. All you know is there are worms, Zazie is one of them (perhaps the leader?), and they’re sorta kinda on Knives’s side. Except not anymore if Knives apparently throws them off the Ark.
BABY KNIVES!!!! I am not immune to baby Knives.
It’s interesting that Zazie says that because Independent Plants can produce matter, they’re better candidates for coexistence. I assume the problem with humans is they only cause destruction. But while Knives is certainly capable of creation, that’s very much not what he’s using his powers for at the moment. On paper, he looks great! In practice, not so much.
Well, I should’ve kept reading because Zazie very much so doesn’t mean that. Apparently, they’re using worm poison to incapacitate everyone on the ship and go after Knives. Zazie does see how much of a danger is to their planet, and seeing as its their own, they won’t stand idly by anymore.
BLEGH I FORGOT ABOUT THE CROTCH WORM.
The concept of a control worm is so interesting. Is that how Zazie is “possessing” the body they use to appear human? But also, the idea of her using that to control Knives is so insidious but so fascinating. I actually want to know what they would do with him and whether they’d be able to wield his powers like that.
I never understood this bit with Legato’s wires. Because he never seemed to need wires to do his body control trick before. Or maybe it just wasn’t explained that that’s how he was doing it until now. He’s yet another puppet master character, except what’s terrifying is he’s somehow using the strings to control his own body. I’m taking back my snarky comments about Vash finding Legato scary earlier. This is terrifying. Imagine the willpower it takes to do this, to endlessly carve metal wires out of the coffin you’re in and use them to remake and control your own body.
All of Elendira’s teasing and joking takes on new meaning too. She was doing that partially because she thought Legato was pathetic and couldn’t do anything to her. How horrifying is it to realize he was just holding back? He was biding his time until he was needed and he could’ve snapped her neck whenever he wanted.
So that massive explosion was Knives expelling Zazie’s poison by gathering it into a gate. This is another one of those times that we’re reminded just how capable of destruction Plants are and just how much power they hold.
Vash watches this explosion calmly and then goes back to making his own special Plant-powered bullets. The way the panels focus on his hair and we realize that it’s gotten even blacker. He’s very purposefully using up his power to make these and that just…that hurts to see.
Because for a moment, in the last volume, he really wanted to live. And now he’s actively pushing himself closer and closer to death. He’s back in that terrible place he’s lived in for so long where his life doesn’t matter, only his final mission, only defeating Knives. It’s an incredibly painful manifestation of his grief and it’s even more pronounced for how Nightow just shows it to us without any commentary.
Chapel…when Vash refers to Wolfwood’s coin he calls him Chapel. Because the man who held that coin wasn’t his friend. He wasn’t even real. He won’t call it Wolfwood’s because it isn’t, because Wolfwood ultimately wasn’t a Gung Ho Gun or a killer. He was his friend.

Ch 5

It’s so exciting to see the Earth Fleet and see how much advanced tech they have. Not only that, but how much knowledge they have about Plants. Most excitingly, the existence of other Independents, like Chronica!
This opening scene reveals a lot too, about the relationship between Independents and humanity in Earth society. Chronica is obviously a respected member of this crew if this man is asking her opinion. It’s unclear how much power she has in making decisions and such at this moment, but it doesn’t look like she’s hated or anything. Then there’s the fact that apparently, they’ve had enough problems with Independents fusing with dependent Plants that whenever new Independents are born they have their neural pathways rewired so they can’t do that. Apparently, Knives isn’t the only Independent who decided to use their powers to wreak havoc on humanity.
Meanwhile, Vash and Livio are being idiots together. I love the relationship between them and how much of a goofball Livio is now that he’s coming out of his shell a little.
You know, if some guy coughed up a worm in front of me, I’d have that reaction too. This is a big mood.

I love that Vash just presses the button on the case. Doesn’t even go, “Huh, I wonder if this is an explosive or if it’ll trigger something bad.” Guess he trusts Meryl and Milly’s assessment that it’s safe.
Legato giving his evil villain speech:
Vash: Can’t believe I have to listen to this bullshit.

Vash, rude!!! Don’t call Elendira a bitch!!!
Hey!! Look at that, Vash asked someone for help! Not in so many words, but he admits that he can’t take on Legato and Elendira at once. He needs Livio’s help to get past her and get to his brother.
And that means so much to Livio, being entrusted with this duty! He can do something good, he can do something to protect rather than harm, and he’ll do it with the body and powers the Eye of Michael gave him. He’s taking the evil that was done to him and using it for good.
The way he says, “She’s a monster too, right?” it makes me so sad. Because you know he means, “like me.” Only a monster can fight another monster, so he’s the perfect man for the job. I like how even though Livio is finding ways to be a better person, part of him is still stuck in his old way of thinking. It’s so real! He’s making progress, but he’s not quite there yet.
I know everyone has talked about this page but man…it hits hard. They weren’t even directly talking about him, but the idea of being a protector, of taking the horrible things done to you and turning them around to use them for good is a very Wolfwood idea. Both Vash and Livio are taking strength from it. His presence is so powerful they don’t need to say anything to invoke his memory, he’s that meaningful to them. This is a moment of Vash and Livio bonding over that shared memory, and I see it as the first step for Vash in forgiving Livio. He believed that Livio was a good guy, but now he’s seeing it. After all, faith can only take you so far. And he sees how much Wolfwood’s sacrifice means to Livio too.
Also, I just realized Vash hurt himself trying to punch Livio in the stomach. That man has abs of steel.

I think this is the first time Vash explicitly talks about how he can hear the Plants’ thoughts. This is a very revealing moment for him, showcasing his inhumanity, and it’s a big deal. But he’s using it to try to do something good, which is very much becoming a theme of this chapter.
“Is it possible for something created by humanity to break completely free of their creators?” Something something we create our own gods (literally in this case) and then they develop a will of their own. Quite often, that’s what happens with human inventions. The minute you put an idea out in the world, tangible or intangible, it’s no longer yours to control. Plants have always had some will of their own, but until now they hadn’t exercised it. Knives is forcing them to make a choice about whether to save humanity or doom it. But they’re so alien and unknowable to humanity that it’s hard for anyone to imagine how this will go or how they can convince them that human life should be spared.
Vash asks more people for help!!! I’m so proud of him.
Also love that he calls the Plants “the girls inside.” He really sees them as his sisters, as individual people, with wants of their own, and talking like that in front of others might one day help change their minds about how they view Plants too.
Awww, no, his goodbye with Meryl and Milly 🙁
The girls have lost him so many times and they’re watching him walk away again, straight into danger. Vash teases them over it, because this man is incapable of accepting that people actually care what happens to him, but it’s getting to him too. Maybe it’s reminding him that he has something to come back to. Their little goodbye fist bump means everything to me.
You tell him Milly! Let Meryl feel her emotions!

Love that none of those guys even realized they were talking to Vash the Stampede. They just went, “Yeah, we’ll take advice from some random dude with weird hair. Seems legit.”
I don’t understand why Chronica would want to turn off her limiter program if that’s what’s keeping her from fusing with other Plants. I’d think keeping Knives away from her and all the information in her head would be a top priority.

Ch 6

Livio centric chapter!!! I’m really falling in love with Livio’s character on this reread. I think the first time, the hangover from volume 10 was so strong, I couldn’t appreciate it.
That moment when he saved Jasmine defined who he wanted to be, even if later what he did to her dog overshadowed it. But it’s telling that when he faces Elendira, this is what he’s thinking about: how he wants to be a protector.
Oh Elendira. She really knows how to twist the knife. She’s so mean. But it’s so fun to watch. She’s the best kind of villain because her taunts are so truthful, so accurate, that it instills the tiniest seeds of doubt. Oh, she’s good.
But evil. EVIL. THAT IS SO EVIL.

Like I said, she’s good. She knows exactly how to bait Livio. Though I really do wonder how she knows all of this. Not about Wolfwood being dead but about how much he matters to Livio and the way Livio is trying to turn his life around.
Right, this is the part of the story where Livio just becomes a human pincushion. Truly, no one else could survive Elendira. I’m not sure Vash could. Livio’s regeneration abilities are the only thing that make him stand a chance against her.
Also, I don’t understand Elendira’s gun or her powers. Sometimes, I swear the nails can’t be coming from her gun and she’s just creating them out of thin air like in Tristamp. This is one of those things I’m just trying not to think about too hard.
Elendira, you mysterious woman, why are you so focused on the destruction of the world? Who hurt you? More questions I will never get answers to.

Unlike Legato, I don’t think she’s doing this out of any sort of devotion to Knives himself. She seems to just want the world to go to pieces and Knives is a means to that end. Because I really can imagine that if Knives told Legato right now that he’s changed his mind about destroying humanity, Legato would get with the program. But Elendira would blow the bomb anyway.
Oh no, those poor kids! They just saw some guy get impaled! And then cough up blood and pull out all those nails?! That’s horrible!
Awww, Livio’s reaction to them though! He’s trying to keep them calm and make sure they’re safe. He’s never cared about kids before, but now they’re the reminder he needs of what he’s protecting (and what Wolfwood died to protect).
This last scene with Jasmine and the kids, where they give him their clothes as a thank you is so so important that I’m having a hard time putting it into words.
Jasmine obviously doesn’t recognize him, but Livio left the orphanage because of how scared she was of him. She was someone he was supposed to protect and instead he hurt her. He couldn’t live with that. Unknowingly, he’s now protected the children she’s in charge of. He’s made it up to her. He’s proven to himself that he can make amends and do good. And it gives him something to fight for that’s more than the nebulous wants of a dead man. These people are living and they’re his to protect, so they can continue to live in the world. This is the only way Livio knows how to love and it’s bittersweet to see him put in action. Protection isn’t the only way to show love, but it’s how he understands it and at least he has that, when for so long he had nothing.

Back to the Trigun Bookclub Archive