Shoujo Appeal: 3/22/01 Ok, I counted on this essay section as the part of the site that would keep getting updated after all the episodes had ended and I'd scanned all the pics and finished everything else... I figure I have to start it sometime, and there's no time like the present, right? I was particularly inspired by a question appearing in this month's Last Exit Before Toll (March 2001). Trigun is the topic at hand (obviously...), and one comment struck my fancy. "I was honestly surprised by the number of Trigun sites created by women. It doesn't seem to me like the kind of anime that would appeal to females. If any women readers would be willing to explain the appeal to me, I'd appreciate it. Are Vash and his enemies really that bishônen?" Upon considering this comment, I realized it was true, that actually very few websites were created by males for this Shounen series. This threw me off a bit... I'm not often attracted by terribly girly series, and some of my favorites include the EXTREMELY ecchi Futaba-kun Change and the rather violent Mermaid Saga. I figured I probably wasn't too accurate a gauge for that sort of thing since I was naturally attracted to the Shounen genre anyway. But then I started considering what I appreciated about it and what I had gathered from other websites by females. I'll try to keep this as personal as possible, but one broad generalization I'd like to point out is that the only character I've heard anyone consider desireable is Legato Bluesummers, which will be the exception. I'll be the first to admit that this series was not designed for eye candy, for men or women. Sure, there's a certain charm in blonde, spikey hair and tall frames, but it's not a strictly bishounen trait. The closest thing to bishounen this show ever gets is the aforementioned Legato Bluesummers and the pair of Vash and Knives when they had the long blonde hair when they were little, and if anyone was physically turned on by that... Anyway, even though the target audience is male, the female eye candy is kept to a minimum as well, the only exceptions to this being the occasional prostitute that appears infrequently. Sadly, the only recurring character I can think of that would come even close to appealing would be Rem Saverem, which isn't really saying much. So the bishounen aspect of Trigun having been ruled out, I came down to the reason why it appealed to me, and why I think it appeals to so many other people. Vash is not a perfect character, but he is nearly. He doesn't take life even though given the opportunity frequently, he doesn't take advantage of people, and he can't help but to render his services wherever they're necessary. He's a really nice guy, the kind of guys I like hanging around in real life. He has his flaws, just as every person does, with his drinking, skirt chasing, and the added trouble he gets himself into by trying to help out, so he is most definitely not a perfect character, and we do love him for both his flaws and that which we think makes him perfect. For instance, he remains very happy-go-lucky despite great personal conflict and tragedy, not to mention the constant death toll that mounts wherever he goes. He stands up in the face of adversity, making him a really strong character. His emotional appeal wins him large legions of fangirls all over the World, as does the emotional appeal of the other characters. Wolfwood is most definitely a flawed character, he a priest, yet he smokes, he swears, and he even takes the lives of others with the guns he keeps concealed in his cross. Yet he still manages to let his main purpose in life be to help others despite his flaws. Toward the end of the series, we learn to love him even more, but that's a massive spoiler I'll leave out of this article. Milly and Meryl, although I'm not too fond of them, still have their kind, noble streaks when they help out their family, stand in awe of the kind and overt acts of Vash the Stampede, and even little things, like helping a young couple escape to safety, or saving an elderly family's farm. Rem, although she is really only featured truly in one episode, is a virtually perfect character, the only flaw being that she was _too_ kind and it caused her eventual demise (which is most definitely NOT a spoiler, since you can already tell she's DEAD). So I believe the thing that attracts me to this series are the emotional appeal of the characters. They try to do good deeds in a world that is so corrupt, it often doesn't matter that the deeds are done. Looked what happened to the Gung-Ho Guns that Vash spared, he tried to do good by not taking their lives, but the corruption of the world around him took over and they were killed. So I love these characters that, despite their flaws and the corrupt world, will continue to do good. This is what keeps me coming back, and although I hesitate to make a broad generalization, what I feel keeps many other females coming back.
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