#actually my favorite characters in trigun

[tenthousandguns]

also it's incredibly difficult to talk about the plants because we know so little about the plants - I would love to know what environment a dependent would thrive in. I have written fic about individual dependents theorizing what their experiences are like. but Nightow himself glosses over their individual personhood so much that it's difficult to tell if it even EXISTS

[tradingjack]

yuppeeee just having fun!!!! ig!!!!! consistency Who (i dont know her :)) (thank you for tagging me @creepycoffins i used this opportunity to simply vibe i hope that's ok 😭)

[lunar-fey]

I was tagged by @playtwewy . thank youuu :3

Rules: make a poll with five of your all time favorite characters and then tag five people to do the same. See which character is everyone's favorite.

tagging @odysseys-blood @skerplesc @the-bastard-king @vaguely-annoyed @chicnstu

[oneguardian15]

IMPORTANT UPDATE/ANNOUNCEMENT

context: i bought both a vash and a meryl funko pop the other day and i just got a notification saying meryl was delivered!!

MERYL IS IN MY MAILBOX

[astrxealis]

i will cry i just found out vash trigun has a twin (sincerely, an identical twin who is interested in trigun but is procrastinating on getting into it and also really likes vash)

[kudotsurugi]

Random Thought: Why does all "90's Anime style" fanart just look like Sailor Moon?

Okay, obviously not all fanart looks like it. But if you were to type in "90s anime style" here on Tumblr or DeviantArt at the time of this post, it at least seems to be the majority stand-in for 90s anime aesthetic, right? Especially in the characters' eyes.

Don't me wrong, this is not a knock against Sailor Moon. It is a great anime, and the collective character designs by Kazuko Tadano, Ikuko Ito, and Mari Tominaga among other staff are iconic. So iconic that Tadano was brought back as the character designer for the latest Sailor Moon movies. That is quite the staying power.

But let's be fair, there are plenty of 90s anime out there that can also be used as inspiration. So, here are the names of 11 character designers alongside some gifs of shows/projects they worked on in that role. Some you may not know but you've seen their work, and others you probably know for their distinct art style or association with a franchise.

Things worth noting: First, the years listed here with some anime may reflect when the artists' work started airing, rather than when the anime itself actually started. Some folks listed here enter their projects mid-production in other roles, while others are in the role from the start. Second, each entry will list 1 or 2 projects aired/released during the 90s, but it will be noted if the artist's role continues beyond that with certain franchises. Lastly, these artists are listed in no particular order, so no "top 11" hierarchy. With that said, here's our examples:

Hisashi Eguchi (Roujin Z[1991], Sonic the Hedgehog CD [1993])

2. Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru(Dragon Ball franchise (Z [1993-96], GT [1996], Daima [2024]), Digimon franchise [1999-2002, 2019-2023])

3. Kumiko Takahashi (Cardcaptor Sakura [1998-2000], Birdy The Mighty[1996])

4. Takahiro Yoshimatsu (Trigun[1998], Slayers franchise[1995-97])

5. Atsuko Nakajima (Ranma 1/2[1989-1992], You're Under Arrest[1996])

6. Sayuri Ichiishi (Pokémon[Pokémon design: 1996-present, human character design: 1996-2017])

7. Atsuko Ishida (Magic Knight Rayearth[1994-1995])

8. Masaya Onishi (Yu Yu Hakusho[1993-1994])

9. Toshihiro Kawamoto(Cowboy Bebop[1998-1999], Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team[1996])

10. Hiroshi Osaka(Gundam franchise[Mobile Suit Victory Gundam: 1993-1994, Mobile Fighter G-Gundam:1994-1995])

11. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto(Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water[1990-1991], Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise[1995-1997, 2007-2021])

Might've leaned a bit more on the Shonen side of things than Shojo, but I hope you can see my point😅. There are tons of 90s anime out there with their own unique feel and aesthetic. These are only 11 names that I found.

For anyone drawing 90s anime style fanart, I hope this has given you some inspiration, and I encourage anyone reading this to look up your favourite anime on Anime News Network's encyclopedia and see who's responsible for helping bring your favorite characters to life on screen and what other shows they've worked on.

[lno-x]

Hello! I'm a little embarrassed because I already wrote out an ask but I was busy doing something else when I did and actually forgot if I had submitted it or forgot to and closed the tab(?? plz pay no mind to this if i already sent one) but I wanted to tell you that your art is incredible and you're my favorite Trigun artist ever :D the way that you draw everyone so realistic and expressive, it's refreshing to see and I love the scenarios that you come up with. It feels very real, like I'm looking at real photos taken of the characters or something. This is a bit more specific but I love the way that you draw Vash's smile, it's very similar to mine which I've always been self conscious about, but seeing it in your art makes me appreciate it more :D keep up the good work!!

thank i am glad the way i portrait him and his smile brings so much joy

[radiosummons]

My sister has been showing me episodes of OG Trigun--mostly in preparation for Trigun Stampede--but also because it's one of her favorite manga of all time.

And holy SHIT I cannot even begin to explain how fucking batshit this show is. Just hearing Johnny Yong Bosch's voice alone immediately sent me back at least fifteen years.

I have watched all episodes of OG Trigun while drunk, high and sober. And regardless of my state of inebreiation, I was always left with the exact, inescapable feeling of wanting to fucking die from the sheer nostalgic cringe and insanity of it all. I hate this show. I love this show. I'm fucking obsessed.

So, to all those who are curious (or would just like a mini idea of how to compare OG Trigun with Trigun Stampede)--here is my comprehensive list of things that ACTUALLY happened in Trigun that make me go absolutely batshit just thinking about them:

The sheer insanity of the--balls to the walls, barely held together with ducktape, spit and shoestring--of a plot, all with apparently little to no accuracy to the manga whatsoever. This both amuses and horrifies my sister.

The absolute refusal on the part of the anime to actually explain literally anything. Like the fact that the show takes place in space. Or why humanity is on a desert planet. Or what Plants are, why they're important, why they're there, literally ANYTHING.

Seriously, if you've only ever watched the anime you would have no fucking clue what the Plants are or what they even do. And THEY'RE LITERALLY ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT BITS OF LORE/A HUGE PART OF THE PLOT OF THE ENTIRE FUCKING MANGA.

A major bit of Trigun's lore/setting is just straight up the events of Wall-E.

Johnny Yong fucking Bosch as Vash's English VA. Enough said.

Vash--by simply existing and (mostly) through no direct fault of his own--is capable of wrecking such sheer and complete utter devastation that there's an actual insurance policy people can file after their town is destroyed in the aftermath of him visiting. Iconic.

Monev is just Spiderman's Venom but with a purple and orange reskin. This was intentional on part of the creator as he is obsessed with Venom. Good on him.

This is only specific to the English Dub (we switched to the original sub for the more "serious" episodes, calm down), but HOLY FUCK the absolutely atrocious line deliveries somehow make the show even worse and yet ultimately so much funnier all at the same time!

Millions Knives is the name of Vash's twin brother.

Vash is bisexual. There are multiple occassions where he will call a random male character "Cute" or "Cutie." Somehow, I am not the least bit surprised.

Christianity exists. And the Church trains orphans to be assassins. This makes perfect sense.

"LUUV AND PEEEEAAACCCCCEEE!!!!"

In the second episode of the series (English Dub), there's an actual scene where an old man and his grandson LOUDLY lament the absolute devastation of their home in the most inappropriately cheerful and candid way possible. And then the fucking kid follows that up by just singing out of fucking nowhere "~Bad times are here LALALALALA!!!!!~"

Vash is part gun.

According to "company regulations," as insurance workers Milly and Meryl are not allowed to take part time jobs. They later take part time jobs. My broke ass resonated too fucking hard with this bit.

"Oh, maaaan! Why can't I just get a break?! Death and poverty like me so much, they've brought friends!" Fucking. Mood.

At one point, Vash does the crab walk to dodge a barrage of bullets. This is, surprisingly, quite effective.

"I'll whack you, mister!"

Legato's introduction is him sitting down on a bench and then PULLING A HOT DOG OUT OF A PAPER BAG WITH A HUMAN HEAD IN IT!!!!

Legato has his own personal saxophone player that just follows him everywhere???????

"Oh my. I'm about to go down in ~fllaaaaaammeesssss!~"

Wolfwood.

In EP 16, someone just starts randomly scatting in the background for no reason. No explanation is ever offered.

"My name is .... VASH DA STAMPEDE-DUUUH!!!!!"

Also in EP 16, one of the villains for that episode sounds, deadass, exactly like Jar Jar Binks. I am not joking.

Legato can blood bend.

There's a mini episode dedicated to Milly and Meryl. Vash shows up for five seconds hiding in a trash can. The joke writes itself.

"The DEADLY DODGEBALL HEAD!!! A simple technique to hold the ball in place with INTENSE SUUUCTION!! Try this at home! ;)"

Knives eats an apple, cuts his own hair and enters his impromptu emo arc.

Legato gets horny over the idea of Vash crying. Idk what to tell you, man.

Wolfwood shoots a child. Granted, said child was gonna try to kill Vash and a bunch of orphans. But still.

Vash makes up a dark song about murdering and killing people. The villains of that episode proceed to roast him for his shit lyrics.

Wolfwood doesn't understand why everyone is mad at him for KILLING A CHILD.

"I meditate diligently every morning. The subjects are life and love ... I quit after three seconds."

The actually downright amazing OST, that has no right to be as good as it is. No joke, one of the best anime OSTs I have ever heard in my life.

"And if you're still having doubts, check out my 100% accurate gunmanship!" *proceeds to shoot directly at the sky only then for a black cat to fall directly on his head. The cat's fine btw*

At a certain point, Vash fakes his identity, gets a disguise and goes under a false name. Said false name being "Eriks." He looks like if someone ran Hohenheim through the washer and then hung him on a clothesline for a week. I have ... no fucking words.

"What is this strange phenomena? Is it some sort of strange and twisted Christian science!?"

For as menacing as they make Legato out to be, he sure does shit all in the grand scheme of things. Also he looks like he raids Seto Kaiba's closet on the DL and duels monsters on weekends.

Vash will randomly have Bishie eyes. Arguably, his most Bishie moment is right after Wolfwood punches him in the face. I'll let you infer what you want from this.

Rem randomly appears out of nowhere to taunt Vash with nonsense riddles and haikus. No explanation is ever given until EP 17 for who Rem is, why she keeps reappearing in Vash's mind, if she's even a real person or just someone Vash made up, etc. Because of this, it just looks like Vash keeps receiving American Beauty-style rose shower psychic attacks while a random woman just spouts absolute nonsense at him. There is no way this explanation will prepare you for the actual experience of watching it.

 "I am known as Valentinez Alkalinella Xifax Sicidabohertz-" *prolonged pause* "-Gombigobilla Blue Stradivari Talentrent Pierre Andri Charton-Haymoss Ivanovici Baldeus George Doitzel Kaiser the Third. Don't hestitate to call."

Vash gets adopted by an old woman and her granddaughter. It's actually kind of sweet.

A minor villain in EP 18 demands that Vash strip and then act like a dog. He proceeds to do both without a single objection. Wolfwood pulls down his sunglasses and leers at Vash's naked ass. My sister has informed me that this is actually canonical.

Rem is a hyper Christian.

Wolfwood takes personal offense to a burlesque dancer being absolute shit at dancing. Honestly ... I can't even argue with him.

"Hey, 'Thou Shalt Not Kill,' REMEMBER!? WHAT KIND OF CHURCH MAN ARE YOU!!!?"

Vash saves a town's Plant through the power of Bishie.

While trying to save a child, Vash and Wolfwood both get sucked into quicksand. Said child just watches them go into the ground. I would have done the same.

Milly, Vash and Wolfwood decide to share drinks and before any of them even take a single shot, Milly decides to strip naked. Vash and Wolfwood are very pleased by this. Meryl is not.

"WHOSE idea was it to USE THE GRENADE!!!?? He can't be identified for the reward if he's a pile of pulp, YOU DUMBASS!!!!"

Wolfwood calls Vash pathetic. This kickstarts yet another existential crisis within Vash.

"Thank GOD you asked! It's a long story, although it's kind of a short one."

For literally no reason at all, child Knives decides to embrace his Anti-Christ symbolism and goes full Joker mode. This is not at all accurate to the manga.

Vash and Knives are aliens/Plants. Rem thinks they're actual Christian angels. Deadass.

Milly forces Wolfwood to pretend to be her baby daddy for a whole episode. For pudding. Yup.

Vash enters a dom/sub relationship with a Pokemon gym leader looking lady and they engage in extremely explicit pet play.

Anyway, watch OG Trigun. If you've ever watched any sort of anime abridged series, it will definitely make things a little easier for you. There are definitely too many points at which this show feels like a YouTube Poop and I mean in that best and worst possible way.

Also Meryl is Best Girl. I will not budge on this.

[firethekitty]

short vashwood fic rec post flushed emoji

not a comprehensive list by any means but just some of my absolute favorites. some of these are explicit so warning for that!!!

in the woods somewhere by halfdemonvash rating: E, 41k words, 7/7 chapters (complete)

ah i love halfdemonvash’s works so so much. this one is probably my favorite vashwood fic of all time, such a fun reimagining of trimax’s story if vash and knives were Actual forests. excellent characterization and beautiful writing. vash and wolfwood are so fucking sweet together. You Will Read This Now.

figure me out by wateredmycrops rating: M, 33k words, 6/6 chapters (complete)

god-tier character study with an emphasis on vash's inhuman qualities. really fucking good characterization and one of the closest-to-canon vashwood dynamics i've ever seen in a fanfiction. VERY solid understanding of these characters!

someday out of the blue by tenshinokorin rating: M, 11k words, 1/1 chapters (complete)

yeah this one's in every fic rec but there's a good reason for that: it fucking rules. one of the first reincarnation vashwood fics (like Actually—this was started more than 20 years ago and the author only recently got around to finishing it). a post-canon fix-it with a healthy amount of angst; a happy ending you have to work for but man is it worth it

i have a heart made for taking flight by corvidcaper rating: T, 8k words, 6/6 chapters (complete)

BIRD VASH AGENDA. vash-centric character study with focus on vash's inhuman qualities with an avian twist. really really cute and, as a person who is extremely autistic about birds, i had a really fun time reading it!!

eyes of the storm by tenshinokorin rating: M, 46k words, 10/? (in progress)

man this one's good. there's a lot going on here and it's still cooking, but i have all the confidence in the world that tenshinokorin will stick the landing. vash is a big feathery Beast in this fic, and there are some really amazing horror elements here that i rarely see in trigun fics. very intriguing and fun!!

gun barrel red hot by varelsen rating: E, 16k words, 2/2 chapters (complete)

so sosososososo soooo so so good sooo so good oh my godddd so good. character study with excellent introspection and Excellent Porn. varelsen is an amazing author and knows exactly how to write these losers<3

[chronicas]

Despite the URL and icon I do gotta say up front that Milly is actually my favorite character in Trigun. Autistic loser men and vengeful lesbians are awesome but they will never compare to a tall autistic woman full of love who also has a giant fucking stungun.

Milly doesn’t have to be anyone’s favorite Trigun character but everyone has to admit she’s the best one.

[catbountry]

It's been a year since the premiere of Trigun: Stampede. The series, despite the fears of the fans of the '98 anime, actually turned out really good; Yasuhiro Nightow is a big superhero comics nerd, and wanted to have this new anime adaption be an adaption similar to the adaptions of the MCU, back when those movies were consistently enjoyable, and I daresay a bunch of the people watched Trigun probably were either already anime fans, or they were nomad fans who may have been really into the MCU at one point.

I have a lot of thoughts on an American perspective on Vash the Stampede as a character, with a lot of comparisons to American comic book superheroes. And while Trigun wasn't my first anime, I was hooked on it, as someone who grew up around Batman and Spawn's 90's popularity. During my first Otakon in 2001, I must have seen a dozen Vash's and Wolfwoods. I remember the year there was a Wolfwood cosplayer whose Punisher gun was shaped like the Star of David instead of a cross, making him a rabbi. That shit was amazing. The larger point is that I've loved this character for more than half of my entire time being alive, and I haven't seen a lot of discussion of Trigun viewed from a more political lens, and why it resonates so much with Americans (or at least me, who is an American) in particular

Buckle up, kids, this is gonna be long and rambly.

There was a period of time where I watched nearly every single new MCU movie in the theater. It was exciting seeing adaptions of comic books that would have probably never gotten a movie before the success of The Avengers. And I don't think it's a mistake that the most comic book-y of the movies are usually the best; Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel remain as probably my favorite MCU movies. Nightow was working directly with the studio making a new Trigun anime and reportedly got the crew to watch a bunch of Marvel movies to set the tone for the anime as an adaption; it's why Vash got a completely new redesign that freaked all us old fans the fuck out. Though it appears that once again, Trigun tried and failed to get that massive Japanese audience that most successful anime have. But boy, oh boy, do us westerners fucking love Trigun, especially us Americans. Nightow's love of superhero comics bled into Trigun, and it just so happened that he was incredibly influenced by Spawn, Hellboy and Batman as much as he was influenced by Akira Toriyama and mechanical art. McFarlane Toys released a Vash figure that is McFarlane'd the fuck up. Nightow loves all superhero comics but especially the Blade trilogy.

Just look at this and imagine being 13 years old and seeing this on a screen for the first time with the instrumental hard rock opening.

Also, I wouldn't actually get around to reading Spawn until I was an adult, but you know what? It's pretty good. The writing is definitely weaker than the art, but holy shit, that art goes hard and I still think that shit's cool as fuck.

As stated before, around the early 2000's Trigun was considered peak anime, though it's been more overlooked in recent years in favor of Cowboy Bebop, an anime that has aged gracefully by comparison. But while Bebop has that sort of timeless cool and level of quality that drew the attention of filmmakers like the Wachoski sisters, Trigun has that very specific kind of adolescent sense of coolness that comic book fans get, especially back in the 90's before this sort of thing would be smothered to death by MCU's Joss Whedoning of superheroes. Spawn, Hellboy and Batman are still cool. And Trigun also has a shitton of guns, obviously, given that Vash being an incredibly OP gunslinger in a world where everybody has guns.

And America loves guns.

I think the contrast of Vash's pacifism while still wielding a gun is extremely interesting because it's not something you see very much (I bet if I watched more westerns, I'd have a better idea if this is a trope in them at all). Batman does not use guns and doesn't kill people, which is why there's still discourse around Tim Burton's Batman films to this day still; I don't think Kevin Smith has budged on this. Other more morally grey superheroes will use guns (by this definition I'm counting The Punisher even if he doesn't have any superpowers, unless you count severe PTSD as a superpower). And a lot of them had huge surges in popularity in the 90's around the time Nightow was making Trigun. Vash posed like Batman or Spider-Man looking brooding (like the gif above) happens a lot in the earlier issues even though that's not really his character.

Several years ago, there was an attempt by a conservative thinktank to discredit a bunch of Hollywood actors saying that gun violence in America is a serious issue and contrasted their statements scenes of them shooting guns in movies, but if we're being real here, gunplay in movies can be really fucking cool. Again I invoke The Matrix, or movies by Robert Rodriguez and John Woo. Look at video games, and compare the decline in violent crime that's been happening here since the 70's and 80's, as culture warriors bemoan movies and video games for becoming more violent. Remember when Wayne LaPierre, vice president of the NRA, brought up fucking Splatterhouse as a reason why Sandy Hook happened? Do you know what Splatterhouse looks like?

It looks like this.

You know how these guys constantly say the only way to counter a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun? Usually, the inference is that if the "good guy" with a gun shoots, he's shooting to kill. Deadpool and the Punisher would shoot to kill. But Vash is constantly trying to avoid it. And I remember as a teenager finding that really cool? And the manga and anime don't shy away from how impractical Vash's pacifism is. It's a bit more realistic than Steven Universe's ending, but also Steven Universe was made for children.

I know Avatar: The Last Airbender is often invoked when criticizing Steven Universe's philosophy, but I haven't really seen Vash's similar philosophy criticized in the same way, and I think a lot of that has to do with the presence of Wolfwood, who is the "I think we're gonna have to kill this guy" guy. I'm honestly surprised I haven't seen art of this yet. I may have to get on that. I already drew Vash horrified at the Trolley Problem.

Vash is a character designed with maximum coolness in mind, but also an overpowered being who is capable of killing millions, and in the anime, he somehow destroys July City without killing anyone directly, but the destruction of the city led to a bunch of people dying. He's so deeply committed to not wanting to kill anyone that he's probably killed more people than he would have if he just shot Knives. The best Batman stories acknowledge that Batman's refusal to kill Joker has similarly results in the deaths of people Batman could have prevented if he killed one guy, and this could also apply to Vash's relationship with his brother Knives, who was kind of destined to be a mass murderer with a name like that, let's be real.

Online, we tend to joke about bringing out the guillotines, or justify not feeling an sympathy for billionaires who die in a sub trying to view the Titanic. But if you were given a gun and a real human person begging for their life, what would you actually do? Do you honestly think that you would be the ethical Death Note user?

Vash has guns but he chooses not to kill people; he prefers to not even use them unless he has to, instead opting to run away and look cool doing it somehow.

He really, really doesn't want to kill people. He doesn't become numb to people dying. It hurts him every single time he watches someone get killed. In reality, most of us that aren't sociopaths would be distressed at the thought of killing someone. The only reason armies in real life work is that they become inoculated to the idea of violence and dehumanize the enemy. Vash is no soldier. He is idealistic, he is empathetic, and he sees every human being as a person worthy of life. Batman refuses to use guns, as that's how his parents were killed in front of him. Vash has to use guns in order to protect people from getting killed. He has the ethics of Superman but the tools of a comic book antihero. He's the logical conclusion of an shonen anime protagonist in a world that chews up anyone with that kind of optimism and hope and spits them out. And yet... he still keeps going. He remains committed. He's still cheery, goofy, lovable Vash.

Batman used to kill people, in the earliest comics. With the Comics Code Authority, no superheroes could kill people. In the 80's, comics were getting darker and edgier, taken more seriously. While Alan Moore's Watchmen delved into the moral complexities in a world with superheroes that was similar to ours, Frank Miller was keeping Batman consistent, even as Gotham got darker and uglier.

Batman is a vigilante. The police can be helpful or they can fuck up everything, depending on what's needed for the story. In Batman Year One, there's a scene where Batman crashes a party attended by the elites of Gotham, politicians and mobsters mingling.

Seeing this during the Bush presidency blew my mind. I don't want to get into just how perfectly the members of his administration seemed to resemble a rogue's gallery of sorts with the shared goals of making a lot of money and bombing the shit out of Iraq and Afghanistan. I was extremely anti-war even before the 2000 election as a very opinionated 14 year-old watching, Jon Stewart on The Daily Show and feeling relieved that a grown-up was able to see through all the bullshit; it helps when the guy who's against the war and killing people is funny. I remember writing in my diary at 12 years old after Columbine happened that I wanted to take all of the guns and melt them down in a pot, similarly to that scene in Superman IV where he throws the entire world's nuclear arsenal into the sun. But also that same year I would fall in love with The Matrix... and not long after that, Trigun.

Again, we come back to the idea of someone using a gun, a weapon designed to kill people, and using it in pursuit of the exact opposite. That resonated with me. I myself was very idealistic, and the political climate of my teenage years seemed to do almost everything to stamp that out of me. Things feel just as fraught two decades later, but in slightly different ways. Pacifism is looked down upon, as indicated by the backlash to the ending of Steven Universe, and how one crazy lady called Rebecca Sugar, a Jewish person, a Nazi for writing it that way. But for Steven, things worked out. For Vash? Well, he still has hope somehow, despite everything. I think the fact that he strives to protect human life, even when someone is a complete monster, is admirable in that it cuts to the very basic desire to not see people hurt. But we're also selfish, and scared, and sometimes it's hard to conceive of a solution to a problem that doesn't involve violence. Seeing dead bodies on TV or the internet upsets us, but we're often paralyzed by feeling like we can't do anything, and even if we tried, we'd likely perish in the attempt. We desire revenge, punishment for those who transgress by inflicting violence, and we can rationalize using it against the right targets. Vash the Stampede would have a fucking breakdown dealing with the state-backed violence that's been a part of geopolitics pretty much as long as there have been states and geopolitics. Vash would try and solve the bombings of Gaza with an impassioned plea for both sides to stop fighting before he would somehow wind up making things worse and it would eat away at him inside, no matter how brave a face he puts on as he tries to find some kind of hope in a hopeless situation. And... you know what? I kind of wish more people would be like that. Maybe if there were enough people like that, these sorts of things wouldn't happen in the first place. I wish more people could look at human suffering and feel compelled to try and stop it, not discriminating against one side or the other, trying to understand why people are doing what they do. Seeing anti-war protestors in Tel Aviv brings back memories of protests against the start of the War on Terror, and how hated America was internationally during those years, even when most Americans approved of the war. Michael Moore was booed at the Oscars for condemning George W. Bush and the War on Terror. It's terrifying that those in power want us killing each other and have conditioned us to support it. I want so badly for human beings to come together to just stop the violence, but it feels impossible, like we're destined for failure, like we might somehow make things worse or become worse versions of ourselves full of hatred and ugliness. But we should want to try, even if it's hard or unprofitable or we have no idea how to even do it. Somebody actually dedicating themselves to trying to fight our violent impulses out of love is appealing, and if they're more powerful than use, and can do more... well, I want the biblically accurate angel with every mental illness willing to martyr himself over and over again. But it is more fun when he's Bugs Bunny about it.

[andypantsx3]

Your master list has jjk listed as "coming soon."

I'm curious who you would eventually like to write for from jjk! I know you have your plate full right now, but I'd love to know which characters have dug their claws into your brain :-)

My personal favorites are Megumi and Toge, plus a platonic love for Todo (He just has such a unique and fun personality - he always cheers me up!).

Error my angel!!!!! I am unfortunately aboard the Gojo express 😔lmao. So my most pressing JJK idea is for him!! Eventually I would love to write for Yuuta, Toge, Megumi as well because they are my faves!!!! I like them more than Gojo, actually, it's just that I am compelled by what I think Gojo's pigtail-pulling style of courtship would be lol.

And in terms of other fandoms, I also have an idea I desperately want to write for Trigun's Millions Knives!!! And if I had unlimited time and energy I would play all the way through HSR and Genshin because like dozens of those boys are so beautiful and I wanna write for them too. 🥺 But I need their lore and a feel for their personalities first.

There is sooooooooo much I want to write and not enough time in which to do it!!!!! I wish universal basic income was a thing so all of us could make our livings typing out our fun lil anime man fic. 🥺

[cerealandchoccymilk]

Trigun Bookclub: Trigun Vol.1, Chapters #00-01

all | next

lets fucking do this

I'm annotating every chapter of trigun, both the Japanese original print (reread) and Overhaul 1.0 (first read). Literally just writing down everything I notice about details, version differences, translation notes, etc. and also being gay about the characters. happy pride month

I had other stuff to do today yesterday so I only got through a little bit but pace will pick up tomorrow today (1 volume/week is faster than i thought...)

Here are the beloved non-analysis sillies...

And there are just so many annotation images so I just put the rest under the cut <3 read my notes boy

[edit: why aren't the images not being side by side like i want them to i hate this. here's the url for my blog page with correct formatting] [edit 2: i guess it's only on desktop, not on mobile. so that's good]

First thing I noticed was the difference in the number of volumes, or the number of chapters in each volume. In my JP copy, volume 1 ends at Chapter #07: Rem, while Overhaul (and I assume every version after the first JP print) ends at #12: River of Life.

Anyways onto the actual images

21st of July - !! didn't notice [that the July incident actually happened in July] during 1st read b/c months are only numbers in Japanese 11 hours after destruction - July incident was 2am

For some reason I thought he was standing this whole time. unneccesary details georg

Estimated age: 24 - Official age for his appearance? dang he's young Appearance - "Place of origin/birth," not "what he looks like" The worst kind of outlaw, and an unrivalled killer. - Added in a later version? (not in my JP copy but the phrase is familiar)

This blank space originally had the Japanese translation for the board.

We see his serious expression already! I don't remember '98 doing so this early on so it's pretty notable to me...

Just thinking about how Vash counted each individual gunshot being fired during all that chaos... dear god.... During my first read/watch I thought it was just silly Rule of Cool protagonist moment but not really. This guy actually has Insane perception, either from being a plant or sheer practice. Or both.

Also immediately after all that, I really love the way the aftermath is shown here. The only things you can hear are the creaks of the light and the crying boy. It really brings out the tension in the atmosphere.

Finally, something other than unneccesary bits! If you look at the flooring under the toy gun, the perspective lines are pointing SW-NE. This corresponds to the flooring on Vash's right, whose right arm is also suspiciously out-of-frame... This is definitely the moment he took the toy gun. I can't express the amount of Holy Shit I felt when I realized this. The detail!!!!! man!!!!!!!!!

There's a little translation error here - it should be something like "Even if he were still alive, he wouldn't be able to move an inch!"

One of my favorite Vash moves with one of my favorite Tumblr heritage posts.

This is not really based on any drawn details, but I think this is the moment that Vash readies the toy gun, puts it in his pocket, and picks up the ketchup. Do Not trust this man when his arm is not visible. Also finger still in gun <3 doing his part blocking one bullet at a time

And here we have Vash's first COOL cool moment!!!!!! cue my homo screaming. goddddddddd im so mentally unwell about him. agh I also absolutely love when Nightow does that thing where he screen-tones a character's skin just because. It pops!! It's unique!! I love it!! I eat it up every time!!!

Here's where I realize that Vash's hair antennae are pointing straight up. I should be on the lookout for when he makes the transition to the M-shaped antennae we know and love.

Also, a little untranslatable joke from the Japanese version. In Japanese, this guy calls out at Vash like "And you, don't provoke him!" except it's written with the kanji for "Hunter" (狩人 karyūdo), with a ruby pronunciation note saying "you" (おまえも omaemo). These kanji/ruby mismatch jokes are never not funny and it's so sad that there's no way to keep them in without doing...this lol

The "I counted!" reveal never fails to get me. holy shit. I love the little boy's expression when he gets his gun back :) You helped!!! and you don't have to have the real deal to be cool as balls!!!

Just lumping this with the previous two because it's a tall image, but another small translation error. Rather than being about doing harm, he's talking about recieving it (～～はゴメンだ is a hard-to-catch phrasing/idiom; it's already been discussed with the translator on a different instance). It should be more like "[...But] nobody likes getting hurt, right?"

THE GIRLIES YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not including the dialogue because. y'know. At least they get (accidentally) Bonked by Millie :) get their asses

Here, the order suggestion is made by somebody off-screen, but in the first edition, it was made by the cook himself. (left image annotation says "the storekeeper(cook) is so nice!")

That's it for chapters #00-01! I'm going to keep having Category 5 Autism Events every day aren't I.

It's literally 1:20am as of finishing this post because my computer won't stop crashing. Posting this first thing in the morning tomorrow <3

Also, the Japanese copy of the annotations will be in the reblogs for anyone who wants to see them. The emotions are Rawer and they're phrased way less awkwardly... if you can read them lol

[tomatoswup]

Trigun and Perfume: A Headcanon 🥸

summary: Roulette through the Macy's Perfume Aisle! What's YOUR favorite character's perfume smell?

characters: vash the stampede, nicholas d. wolfwood, meryl stryfe, milly thompson

A/N: i said i was gonna make a headcanon post about trigun and perfumes didn't i 🥸 i had fun actually putting my frequent times smelling the perfumes at the Macy's perfume section to wORRKKKKKKK,,, have i smelled all of the perfumes listed before? yes, my friends and I are fiends for perfumes hehehe so we usually gift them out for birthdays or holidays. maybe i'll make another post that includes knives, roberto, zazie, etc. but I'll have to go perfume smelling for them. Enjoy!~

Vash The Stampede

Dior Sauvage Elixir

top notes: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cardamom, Grapefruit

-Vash would totally wear this perfume my top headcanon

-I can see Vash not being a fan of overall too sweet scents, but just a tad bit.

-This is his main perfume to any occasion,,,,loves that people can recognize he was there by just his smell heellloooooooooo? o//o

-He runs through this like crazy, but he does have the mini version!

My notes: This perfume starts off with a woody, musky and earthy scent at the first spray but as it settles, it leaves a very honey-like faint after-smell that makes the knees jelly. How wonderful for the Humanoid Typhoon! pheromones whoooooo :P

Nicholas D. Wolfwood

Versace Man Eau Fraîche

top notes: White Lemon, Rose Wood, Carambola

base notes: musk, amber, sycamore wood

-I can see Wolfwood lean more towards the woody yet aromatic/clean scents.

-Settles in well with his skin, giving the perfume a better twist with his own smoky/natural musk scent and the clean/fresh scent of the toilette mixing.

-Sprays once in a while, he's kinda broke :/ but it's okay! The bottle is a pretty nice size so it lasts a pretty long time!

-I didn't give him any deep musk scent bc mf already kinda has that smoker scent he's on his 100th pack atp

My notes: This scent delivers a faint musk smell but honestly it kinda reminds me of what the woods would smell like but amplified 2x if they were by a waterfall.

So moreover, if water smelled like a man. But honestly, I like this scent, it doesn't burn the nose like other man colognes/perfumes. Touché Undertaker!

Meryl Stryfe

Giorgio Armani Acqua Di Giolia

top notes: Lemon, Jasmine, Cedarwood

-Meryl is more of a fresh scent kinda person and this is that scent.

-It smells like peace tbh, and Meryl finds the fresh airy scent to it very comforting in the sudden chaos and trouble that always surrounds Milly and her.

-gets the smell of gun powder out of her nose palette.

my notes: if you're into very fresh scents that remind you of the nice scent of the sandy beaches or honestly like summer you'll like this one! Personally, this kinda reminds me of a freshly cut green cantaloupe(very specific hehe)

The tint of jasmine and lemon touches when you smell it give the calming effect it focuses on. Very Nice! Has to constantly rebuy bc she loses the bottle often

Milly Thompson

YSL Black Opium The Original

top notes: Black Coffee, White Flowers, Vanilla

-TOTALLY A MILLY SMELL

-LEGIT SMELLS LIKE A SOFT CARAMEL CANDY

-It's a very warm and sweet mix that I think she'll love smelling on her clothes and just generally the tint of vanilla in it.

-Honestly smells like flan,, or caramelized sugar :)

-tbh its my next perfume purchase They say it has coffee in it but it doesn't smell like it.

-I was torn between this perfume and the pink or green Burberry Her for Milly (the pink one smells like sweet strawberry yogurt and the green one smells like those lil containers of jellies that had little fruit pieces in them if you know you know) yes i have both of them

-But i found this to be a more fitting smell for her!

-Steal her jacket and it smells like Vanilla extract in the best way

My Notes: With a very caramel and vanilla smooth smell, this perfume leaves behind quite the scent of sugar and spice! A very sensual yet playfully smell of autumn! Nice taste Milly!

[metalandmagi]

The Real Anime Awards of 2023 part 2

Every year, I become increasingly disappointed in the Crunchyroll Anime Awards, so I started making my own Anime Award lists THAT ARE FOR THE ACTUAL YEAR IN ANIME! IF CRUNCHYROLL WON'T INCLUDE FALL SHOWS THEN I WILL! I've already done my silly version for 2023, so now it's time for my serious picks. But it's still just for fun, so don't take any of my nominees too seriously or get offended that I didn't include your favorites. Even I can't watch everything.

Full disclosure, I don't include all the same categories that Crunchyroll does (just most of them). These are also only for television shows, so I didn't include any movies (and I really don't watch enough anime movies on a yearly basis to include a movie category).

Anime of the Year

Vinland Saga season 2

Zom 100 Bucket List of the Dead

Oshi no Ko

Frieren Beyond Journey’s End

Pluto

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (I don’t care what MyAnimeList says. It’s made by Science Saru, so I'm counting it.)

Best Continuing Series

Vinland Saga season 2

Dr. Stone New World

Horimiya: The Missing Pieces

Jujutsu Kaisen season 2

Spy x Family season 2

Attack on Titan the final season (just assume I mean the last special from here on out)

Best New Series

Buddy Daddies

Oshi no Ko

Tengoku Daimakyou

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End

Migi to Dali

Best Animation

Tsurune season 2

Trigun Stampede

Demon Slayer: Swordsmith Village arc

My Happy Marriage

Jujutsu Kaisen season 2

Attack on Titan the final season

Best Character Design

Overtake!

Bleach Thousand Year Blood War part 2

Oshi no Ko

Blue Lock cour 2

Tokyo Revengers season 2

Mou Ippon! (Yes I'm 100% serious. I actually respect this show’s character design a lot, considering the artists were able to make realistic, distinct, varied female characters of all shapes and sizes without making them into moe blobs. So that's why this is on here instead of another shounen of the week.)

Best Romance

Tomo-chan Is A Girl

My Love Story With Yamada-kun at Lv999

Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts

Skip to Loafer

Insomniacs After School

Horimiya: The Missing Pieces

Best Comedy

Buddy Daddies

Cool Doji Danshi cour 2

Skip to Loafer

My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999

My New Boss is Goofy

The Hundred Girlfriends Who Really Really Really Really Really Love You

Best Action

Trigun Stampede

Demon Slayer Swordsmith Village arc

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

Jujutsu Kaisen season 2

Attack on Titan the final season

Hell’s Paradise

Honorable mention: Bleach Thousand Year Blood War season 2 (sorry, I just wasn’t as impressed with the action in this season, but it still deserves a shout out)

Best Fantasy

To Your Eternity season 2 cour 2 (is it cheating if it's only counting the last cour of the season 😅)

Ousama Ranking: Yuuki no Takarabako

Hell’s Paradise

Mononogatari season 2

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End

Mushoku Tensei season 2

Honorable mention: Hikari no Ou (I never finished it but the vibe was there.)

Best Drama

Vinland Saga season 2

Oshi no Ko

Pluto

Ooku: The Inner Chambers

Tengoku Daimakyou

Migi and Dali

Honorable mention: Undead Girl Murder Farce- it's more of a mystery than a drama, but I still wanted to include it somewhere.

Best Slice of Life

Horimiya: The Missing Pieces

Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible

Cool Doji Danshi cour 2

My New Boss is Goofy

Insomniacs After School

My Clueless First Friend

Best Protagonist

Thorfinn (Vinland Saga season 2)

Mitsumi Iwakura (Skip to Loafer)

Maomao (The Apothecary Diaries)

Arikoto Madenokoji (Ooku: The Inner Chambers)

Frieren (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End)

Kouya Madoka (Overtake!)

Best Antagonist

Eisuke Nikaido (Tsurune season 2)

Canute (Vinland Saga season 2)

Millions Knives (Trigun Stampede)

Taiju (Tokyo Revengers season 2)

Ibara (Dr. Stone New World part 2)

Reiko Ichijou (Migi to Dali)

Honorable mention: *SPOILERS* The Bureau of Traditional Music (Mononogatari season 2). These guys were squad goals, not gonna lie.

Best Boy

Vash the Stampede (Trigun Stampede)

Every Single Boy from Cool Doji Danshi cour 2- THEY’RE ALL GOOD BOYS OKAY!?

Sousuke Shima (Skip to Loafer)

Taiyou Takada (My Clueless First Friend)

Einar (Vinland Saga)- Yes Einar instead of Snake. Snake is a lovable antihero, but Einar is best boy material

Yukichi (The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today)

Best Girl

Tomo (Tomo-chan Is A Girl)

Runa Shirakawa (You Were Experienced, I Was Not: Our Dating Story)

Kana Arima (Oshi no Ko)

Amit (Niehime to Kemono no Ou)

Akane Kinoshita (My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999)

Mitsuri Kanroji (Demon Slayer: Swordsmith Village arc)

Best Score

Trigun Stampede

Vinland Saga season 2

Insomniacs After School

Bleach Thousand Year Blood War part 2

Jujutsu Kaisen season 2

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End

Best OP (yes there are 8 nominations, I couldn't decide 😭)

Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 (“Specialz” King Gnu)- I really think this season’s OPs should be taken as a pair, but when it comes down to which OP will stand the test of time, I think this one will be more iconic.

Vinland Saga season 2 OP2 (“Paradox” Survive Said the Prophet)

Oshi no Ko (“Idol” YOASOBI)

High Card (“Trickster” Five New Old)

Hell’s Paradise (“Work” Millennium Parade)

Tengoku Daimakyou (“Innocent Arrogance” BiSH)

Bleach Thousand Year Blood War part 2 (“Stars” w.o.d.)

The Legendary Hero is Dead (“Shinda” Masayoshi Ōishi)

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead (“Song of the Dead” Kana-Boon)

Honorable mention: Link Click season 2 (honestly this is probably the best OP of the year, but since the show isn’t Japanese, I have to exclude it 😣)

Best ED

Tengoku Daimakyou (“Dare mo Kare mo Doko mo Nani mo Shiranai” ASOBI Doumei)

Oshi no Ko (“Mephisto” Ziyoou-vachi)

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (“Anytime Anywhere” milet)

Dr. Stone New World part 2 (“Suki ni Shinayo” Anly)

Spy x Family season 2 (“Todome no Ichigeki” Vaundy ft. Cory Wong)

Migi to Dali (“Skyline” Nulbarich)

Best VA Performance Japanese

Uemura, Yuuto As Thorfinn (Vinland Saga season 2)

Takahashi, Rei as Tomo (Tomo-chan is a Girl)

Satao, Gen as Ganta Nakami (Insomniacs After School) His laugh is so pure and genuine, I could listen to it forever!

Inoue, Marina as Armin Arlert (Attack on Titan the final season)

Tanezaki, Atsumi as Anya Forger (Spy Family season 2)

Nakamura, Yuuichi as Satoru Gojo (Jujutsu Kaisen season 2)

So there you have it! My picks for the real anime awards of 2023. Like I said, don't take this seriously at all, it's just something fun I like to put together every year. I always try not to nominate the same things, but it's easy to end up playing favorites. It's so hard to try to include a variety!

[needle-noggins]

Sav's Author Highlight: Lenipez

For the entire week of @trigunfanfic appreciation week, I’m going to highlight my favorite authors and friends whose writing I adore and why. Now it's @madnessmadness's turn >:3

Oh man. I gotta start first with the fic series that low-key changed my life, Becoming Eden.

Rating: mostly M (main series), some T or E (side stories) | Ship: Gen, +/- Mashwood if you squint, previous VashMilly | Genre: Sci Fi, Drama, Very House of Leaves, Psychological.... horror? fuckery? | Trigun Soup (all three characterizations in a blender)

Last summer I started this fic on a whim and had no idea that I was in for the wildest, most interesting fic I'd ever read. I have to chew on every word so slowly, sucking as much meaning as I can out of every metaphor, trying to figure out what the POV character is saying versus what they mean vs what is true. The prose is unlike anything I had ever read before, and the formatting is so unique and interesting. I was sending screenshots of this fic to my irl friends who haven't watched Trigun, that's how intensely this fic had me in a chokehold.

Becoming Eden is always reminding me that I can write weirder, I can write sillier, I can do whatever I want. It's a masterclass in sci fi weirdness, diving into different character POVs, unreliable narration, and using unusual formatting to help tell the story. It's a visual experience as much as it is a verbal one. Even with a huge cast of characters getting POVs, there is such an interesting difference in each one of them, and they all feel so unique and rich. And the imagery and metaphors! Damn!! This series has in turn inspired some of my own writing, particularly a one shot I wrote about Rem and plants.

Also, Waterloo is my new on repeat anthem. It calms me down, okay?

I also highly highly recommend Leni's other works, particularly their other interesting poetry if you like what BE has to offer, a Pacific Rim AU, their Millyknives if you're into that, and their fairy AU. ALSO! Their smut! Their smut is so delicious that I actually want to highlight some of it on its own.

First Rodeo - Mashwood, E. 11K of Meryl weaponizing her rope tying skills into the longest slow burn oh my god. Makes me insane just thinking about it. Everyone is pitiful in this and the tension is insane. This is one of my favorite smut fics of all time, and I read a lot of smut.

Jar of Marbles series - Vashmeryl, Vashwood. E. Weird alien xenobiology. I can never look at an ultrasound the same way. I love the implications in this fic, both funny and not. Wolfwood's weak little "Oh yeah?" makes me die laughing.

White Lie - Vashmeryl, E. But in the fun stupid way that is catnip to me.

Hog Tied - Stryfewood, E. You want stupid bickering Stryfewood? You got it!!

ANYWAY. I'm not sure how else to describe Leni's writing style other than that it's vivid, wonderfully metaphorical, and has a stream-of-consciousness flow that is so interesting and sucks you right in. It's really just something you're going to have to experience on your own. It's inspired some of my own writing too, and it's a really fun style. Leni's biggest advice is that fic is always for fun, and you can just tell how much fun they have writing their fic. And I want to sit down and dissect every little bit of Becoming Eden. I want a bound copy. I want a full college course and a dissertation on the themes. Makes me crazy in the best way, and to really just add the icing on the cake, Leni is a wonderful, kind human through and through.