Trigun Bookclub: pancake-breakfast: Trigun Maximum Volume 10: Being Childlike (And Why God Hates Chapel)

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Being Childlike (And Why God Hates Chapel)

There’s a lot going on throughout the whole Wolfwood-Chapel-Livio arc in Volumes 9-10 of Trigun Maximum, not the least of which is some pretty clear Biblical references and imagery. But there are some less obvious ones, too, so I’m gonna talk about one of them here and try to pull it a little closer to the surface.

This bit caught my attention in Volume 9, when Chapel has Wolfwood pinned to the ground and is reviling Vash to him, trying to tear away the hope that has only grown stronger in Wolfwood since he met Vash.

Wolfwood’s not speaking out loud here, but still, his word choice seems strange. He’s called Vash ignorant and an idiot, but calling him a child seems oddly out of place (especially in light of how young Wolfwood is himself).

Despite his seemingly insulting words, Wolfwood doesn’t seem to intend insult here. He cares a great deal about Vash, and while he knows there’s a logic to what Chapel is saying, it’s Vash’s “idiocy” and naiveté that Wolfwood has ultimately chosen to follow.

Then I got to thinking of another place where being called “like a child” isn’t intended to be an insult.

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. – Matthew 18:1-5, NSRVA Translation

It’s inevitable that children would be a bit of a focus in an arc that takes place at a functioning orphanage. But the kids at Wolfwood’s home orphanage aren’t treated as ignorant or annoying or worthless. They’re kids, yes, but they’re full of infinite hope, love, and forgiveness.

At the beginning of the arc, they jump in front of Wolfwood’s bike despite not recognizing him and having no way to know ahead of time that he’s an ally. They’re determined to help Miss Melanie and the hostages and desperate to be taken seriously. They understand the situation is bad and most likely beyond them, but they won’t… can’t… cower in fear and do nothing.

They are scared, but they are brave. In addition to confronting the weird stranger on a bike who is Wolfwood, one of them goes so far as to try and take on the mercenaries surrounding the orphanage himself.

It’s a dumb move that nearly gets him killed, but the alternative at that time seemed to be to sit around and do nothing, so the kid decides instead to do his best.

Later, when Wolfwood is being torn apart by Chapel in front of the orphanage, Miss Melanie tries to protect the kids and save as many of them as she can, telling them all to scatter and do their best to escape. But the kids call her out on the stupidity of this suggestion.

Not only is it unlikely to work, but it practically guarantees her death, at the very least, and they can’t allow that. She may be willing to sacrifice herself for them, but she’s overlooked that they are just as willing to sacrifice for her.

Near the end of the story arc, Miss Melanie decides to trust them with the truth that most of them have already figured out. In defiance of Wolfwood’s wishes, she tells them about his true nature, and then she presents them with a decision. They can turn their back on him if they want. After all, he looks nothing like the big brother they remember, and on top of that he’s become a killer whose hands are drenched in blood. But just in case they feel differently, she’s brought the bag of confetti they’ve been saving to use to celebrate his return… a return they had no way of knowing would ever happen.

They choose the confetti.

It didn’t matter what he’d done in the past, or even what he’d done while they’d been trapped hiding in the orphanage. Their big brother Nico had home when they’d most needed him, and they were going to celebrate.

To be counted among children like these is not an insult. They are the same as Wolfwood was before Chapel took him in. They are hopeful and they care deeply about one another. They have all overcome some darkness or another, and yet at the orphanage they have not only found a family and some sense of belonging, but they have learned to turn around and extend that same love to others.

Wolfwood still has some part of that deep inside of him… and it’s Vash who helps him find it again.

Vash isn’t so different from these children. He hopes for better things even when he has no way of knowing. He tries to see the best in people, to give them as many chances as possible, to understand them and forgive them.

He does his best to help even when it puts him in danger because something has to be done. Often it seems all his kindness has gotten him is reviled and run out of towns and hunted for both bounty and revenge. But he keeps at it.

It’s true he’s lost sight of his goals here and there along the way, but at least in the part of his life that we’re allowed to see, he’s lucky enough to have Wolfwood to bring him back around.

In this way, they’ve both epitomized the verses above, both reflecting the hope and kindness that is displayed by children even when it comes at the sacrificing of their own bodies, their vengeance, and their egos. Vash has demonstrated this particular aspect of Christlike-ness for Wolfwood, and Wolfwood, in turn, grows to reflect those same traits himself.

But the Biblical parallel doesn’t end there. Let me just pull up the verse immediately after the passage quoted above…

If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. – Matthew 18:7, NRSVA translation

Do we have anyone who fits this in the story? Maybe someone who preys on kids, specifically seeking out the most hopeful and protective of them so they can break them down and bend them to his will, drain them of the care they had for others, and turn the best of their traits to be nothing more than tools to be wielded for his own ends?

Anyone?

In conclusion, even God hates Chapel. Tie a giant fucking rock around this man’s neck and throw him into the sea and, Biblically speaking, even that’s far too good for him.

Nightow knew what he was doing.

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