Trigun Bookclub: merylstryfestan: Trigun Maximum Volume 6: Chapter 1-2

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Original Tumblr Post: Chapter 1-2

Trigun Maximum Vol 6 Ch 1&2

Hey friends! I found this volume so interesting I actually decided to contribute to the bookclub conversation for once! Except that there’s so much to talk about that I have to split this into multiple parts lol

I’m going to start with chapters 1 & 2, since I think they pair together well, but this is going to get super long so buckle in!

Poor Meryl 🙁 she is very clearly still trying to process everything that happened at Dragon’s Nest, and this is the first evidence we see of how that’s affecting her.

She goes and has a chat with Wolfwood, evidently trying to gauge his thoughts on the matter.

Except that it seems he’s also trying to figure out how much she knows, without revealing anything himself. Also, he’s such a bad liar, like how has he made it this far?? And this is also when he tells her the she and Milly should leave, specifically stating that Vash himself is too dangerous for them to be traveling with, hinting at Wolfwood’s own fear of Vash which is addressed in chapter 2.

I found these panels interesting for two reasons: first, the injury to Vash’s hand. I assume this must be from when Elendira shot a giant nail through his angel arm, so it’s interesting to see that injuries sustained in that state persist when his arm goes back to normal. Also, this is the first we see of Vash participating in self-destructive behavior in this volume, and don’t worry, there’s more later :’)))

But moving on to the fight at the bank. There’s a lot I find interesting about this fight. First, Vash’s approach here is… something, and I can’t say I fully understand his reasoning. Rather than his more typical “Haha I’m just a silly little guy, don’t fight, let’s just talk this out!” routine, it’s more similar to that time in Trimax Vol 1 where he’s intentionally acting deranged, presumably in an attempt to intimidate his opponents into giving up. I don’t know, I feel like it was a weird choice in this situation.

But another thing to note, is even after it’s made clear that the act isn’t really working, we see a couple more panels of Vash looking, well, scary tbh. And it’s not that we haven’t seen him looking frightening before, but in the context of this relatively low-stakes fight, it’s pretty odd. And also in volume 1, once the intimidation tactic ultimately failed, he gave it up. so what’s going on?

But then we have to remember that we’re pretty much watching this fight from Meryl’s pov, which is important. In the moment, Meryl’s conscious thoughts tell us that she’s scared for Vash. Will he have the determination to fight, to pull the trigger, etc. However, based on how we (and presumably she) are seeing him in this fight, as well as some events later in chapter 5, subconsciously she’s very much afraid of Vash too, and she just doesn’t want to admit that to herself.

There’s even a moment right before the fight ends, where as far as we can see, Vash isn’t really in immediate danger anymore, and he even gets his own gun back, but we still get a whole page with a frightening looking Vash with Meryl screaming and collapsing in the background. It’s been made clear by now that he’s able to fight just fine, so that can’t be the reason for Meryl’s reaction here.

Still, by the end of the chapter, Meryl hasn’t put this together herself, and instead admires how he’s strong enough to keep fighting despite his regrets. Don’t worry, there’s more on this in chapter 5 :))

And on to chapter 2!

This chapter also starts with a nightmare (you seeing why I paired these chapters together? :3 ). This one is Wolfwood’s, except instead of it directly being about Vash himself, it’s about Knives, but we’ll see how Wolfwood struggles to separate the two in his mind.

Wolfwood draws the connection between these two events, identifying the power the twins have to literally exude fear in a way that physically affects others nearby. This solidifies to him how the twins really are the same species, completely different from humans, despite Vash’s very human tendencies. And that makes them terrifying! But then we get one of the most iconic panels in all of Trigun.

The juxtaposition here is top tier! Vash, our lovely protagonist, smiling and relaxed, happy to see his friend. Contrasted with the direct evidence of his power to destroy, Wolfwood having just called him a monster in his thoughts. Wolfwood is also caught off guard by this stark irony, and then we get another of the most iconic panels in all of Trigun.

The themes and motifs!! Now Wolfwood is the one looking down on Vash, now he’s the one framed by destruction. His expression is hard to read but it could be anger? fear? By the next page, Wolfwood has put his gun away, Vash (supposedly) unaware of what’s happened. But the fact is, Wolfwood’s experiencing almost a kind of cognitive dissonance here. Knives is a monster, who Wolfwood wants dead -> Vash is Knives’ brother -> Vash is also a monster, and Wolfwood should want him dead.

Except it’s not that simple is it? Because the chapter goes on, and we see how Wolfwood doesn’t just protect Vash during the fight, but they fight together in perfect tandem, back to back, a well oiled machine, hardly even exchanging words.

And when it’s all over, Vash turns his back to Wolfwood without a second thought, completely trusting him now the same way he does when they fight together. And Wolfwood has the thought, “Man, everything’s different when I’m back to back with him.” Wolfwood also trusts Vash and is able to turn his back to him, despite everything. And even to himself that hardly makes sense, but it’s true.

And so yeah, these two chapters very much complement each other, showing two of Vash’s closest friends and their fear towards him and how they react to it. Meryl, at this point, is trying to ignore her fear of Vash, and instead focuses on her fear for Vash and his safety. Wolfwood very much acknowledges how scared he is of Vash and what he can do, but at the same time must admit that he trusts him anyway. Which is all some great setup for what happens in chapter 5!

Anyway, thanks for reading all this! Posts analyzing the rest of the chapters to follow :3

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