I'm ending 'Trigun' on a cliffhanger?

[Relish in Chaos]

Alright, so I just finished watching the Trigun anime. Good series, but...it kind of ended on a cliffhanger.

Spoiler

As in, Vash merely incapacitated Knives and returned to the town where Meryl and Millie were. It doesn't tell us what will happen after Knives wakes up, since it's not as if Vash is going to get him to change his mind on humanity.

I know that the anime is somewhat different from the manga (which, annoyingly, seems to be the case for a lot of anime adaptations of manga); I read at least the first Trigun omnibus (that's the first two/three manga volumes in one, before the time-skip to Trigun Maximum) and saw that the death of at least one of the Gung-Ho Guns are different. And I saw something about the manga continuing past the point where the anime stopped. I tried looking up what I would've presumed would be the remaining manga chapters online, but found myself completely lost.

So yeah, can anyone who's consumed both the Trigun manga and anime tell me what the deal is here? I want to know what happened.

 

[Ninjamedic]

So yeah, can anyone who's consumed both the Trigun manga and anime tell me what the deal is here? I want to know what happened.

I've only seen the Anime (Love it for the record) and I've always assumd the implication of the ending is that he is going to attempt to rehabilitate Knives, he actually wants to change his mind as a way of trying to see some good come out of everything that has happened.

He believes that people can still be redeemed despite what crimes they have committed, that killing is never the answer. You may disagree about whether or not it is worth it, but that's what he honestly thinks.

 

[Relish in Chaos]

So yeah, can anyone who's consumed both the Trigun manga and anime tell me what the deal is here? I want to know what happened.

I've only seen the Anime (Love it for the record) and I've always assumd the implication of the ending is that he is going to attempt to rehabilitate Knives, he actually wants to change his mind as a way of trying to see some good come out of everything that has happened.

He believes that people can still be redeemed despite what crimes they have committed, that killing is never the answer. You may disagree about whether or not it is worth it, but that's what he honestly thinks.

...Yeahhhhhh, if that's the case, that sounds really idealistic (by which I mean bordering on the insanely stupid), even for Vash. The two's ideals on humanity is such stark opposites that it'd be like a gay guy from Brighton trying to change a Bible-thumping Texan's views on abortion.

Just going by the anime, I would predict that Knives is going to wake up, heal from his wounds, try to attack Vash and the rest of the planet again, and Vash will be forced to kill him.

Spoiler

like with Legato

 

[Ninjamedic]

Yyyyyeah, if that's the case, that sounds really idealistic, even for Vash.

Really? I mena, judging by most of the gunfights and how Vash literally bends over backwards to prevent casualties, I'd say it's in character for him to try to make things right. What's yet another death against trying to make Gunsmoke a little better?

The two's ideals on humanity is such stark opposites that it'd be like a gay guy from Brighton trying to change a Bible-thumping Texan's views on abortion.

.....Which could happen (and probably has happened) in real life, it doesn't mean they are beyond saving.

 

[Relish in Chaos]

Yyyyyeah, if that's the case, that sounds really idealistic, even for Vash.

Really? I mena, judging by most of the gunfights and how Vash literally bends over backwards to prevent casualties, I'd say it's in character for him to try to make things right. What's yet another death against trying to make Gunsmoke a little better?

It's just that, Knives is the worst of the worst. He might be able to reform petty bandits and bounty hunters, but Knives has believed for over a century that Plants like him and Vash are objectively superior to humans and mankind deserves to be wiped out. I don't know what his plan would be when Knives wakes up; it might just end up being a Legato situation again.

The two's ideals on humanity is such stark opposites that it'd be like a gay guy from Brighton trying to change a Bible-thumping Texan's views on abortion.

.....Which could happen (and probably has happened) in real life, it doesn't mean they are beyond saving.

But it's like literally converting someone's entire belief system, influenced by their upbringing and their different life experiences.

Perhaps it's possible, with good enough arguments, but Vash's argument with Knives would fall short when he and other characters admit that Vash's refusal to kill bad guys has often led to the same bad guys going on to just kill even more innocent people, and that Planet Gunsmoke is the way it is because of humans' inability to learn from their past mistakes on Earth.

EDIT: As a side-note, I have three questions.

1. What's a 'double dollar'? Something Nightow (the manga author) made up to sound futuristic in the context of the series?

2. How does Knives possess the ability to activate Vash's 'Angel Arm' against his will?

3. How and why does Vash suffer amnesia whenever he (unintentionally) destroys a city with his 'Angel Arm'? Is it the sheer trauma of the incident?

 

[Rellik San]

Just to let you know, the Anime ends where the original Manga does too.

The sotry isn't continued until the Trigun Maximum manga, which at the time was still in it's infancy and whilst some elements from Maximum are used in the Anime, most of it is literally the the original Manga.

From what I can gather from Maximum to answer a few questions:

Spoiler

A Double Dollar is like a Dollar... but double.

Knives and Vash are basically plants, this is alluded too some in the anime and original manga, hence why Vash can talk too the plant in the steam ship to calm it down. My guess is Knives uses sheer force of will to force the activation of Vash' Angel Arm.

It's also revealed in Maximum that using the Angel Arm and regenerative abilities of being a plant, means that Vash and Knives actually use up their own life energy (this is symbolised by their hair gradually darkening), but my guess is it isn't really Amnesia, it's Vash intending to hide himself away, he doesn't want to deal with what just happened, so just comes up with an entire new life and existence defined by those around him.

 

[michael87cn]

IDK, Knives wasn't that bad. He was abused and mistreated, Vash knew that and knew that if he was shown better he could change.

It can really screw with a kids brain how they are treated when young. Look at wolfwood. Bad guy turned good, at the end.

The theme of the show is that anyone can be redeemed. That everyone, EVERYONE does bad things to get by in this world, and the only way NOT to is to sacrifice. Heavily.

Missing this point? You missed the whole point!