Is Trigun a Christian anime? (Contains HUGE Trigun Spoilers)

[Satsuki]

I recently finished Trigun and the show sends some very mixed messages. Are Vash, Wolfwood, and Rem Christian? Wolfwood didn't act Christian at all until the end, and it seems his being a priest was a mere cover for his assisting of the Gung-Ho Guns. Vash and Rem seem to adhere to Christian morality, but neither of them ever make reference to God (I believe Vash said "For the love of God don't do it" once in the dub but I don't remember that in the sub). So the values of Christianity are surely present in Vash and later Milly and Meryl, but Christianity (Remember all those good deeds are worthless without belief in Christ) is only present in Wolfwood, and a very hypocritical version.

On another note there is obviously a lot of symbolism in this series, such as the two suns always shining in the shape of a cross, the Cain and Abel parallels between Vash and Knives, and the apple carried by Chapel. But nothing really ever comes of any of this symbolism, is it just window dressing akin to Eva's equally meaningless religious symbolism? Does anyone have information on the creator of this series's religion? Does anyone know if any of the religious symbolism has any meaning? Thanks.

[Ashley]

We've had a thread slightly similiar to this (http://christiananime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=308)
But as manner of replying, I'll just link to my previous reply here.

[Stephen]

The word they use in Japanese to show Wolfwood is a priest is really not Catholic..I read this somewhere, he was more like a pastor...just a lousy one.
"And it seems his being a priest was a mere cover for his assisting of the Gung-Ho Guns." Eh no...he was a priest before that...he did it for the money for his kids in the orphanage...while Wolfwood did a lot of lousy things...he was for more real and human then Vash will ever be. IMO Vash was an idiot...the whole choice of Milly and Meryl....personaly, if someone held a gun to my friends head and said kill me or they die...he would hardly get the words out of his mouth. I think Wolfwood was well explained, yes he had many sins...that he did for those kids...was he right? No...Its part of the whole repentening thing in the church....eh I think I to have got to deep in this...no Trigun is not Christian...Peter did a good job of explaining that...I'm gonna go sleep now...lol.

[ShiroiHikari]

Hey, this is really weird. I was gonna start a thread asking what people thought about Wolfwood and POOF! this is posted ^^;

I haven't seen all of Trigun...but considering some of the symbolism and stuff, I just wonder how come people are still okay with it and not okay with other series. Oh well. ::steps out of thread with no more intention of posting in it::

[Razgriz]

[quote="ShiroiHikari"]Hey, this is really weird. I was gonna start a thread asking what people thought about Wolfwood and POOF! this is posted ^^]

I like it because it doesn't really promote violence to be the only solution, what other series were you thinking of?

[ShiroiHikari]

PMing you with my response.

[supa dupa ninja]

there is no such thing as a christian anime, the values that they show in some animes may have indirect christian morales but to think about it almost every religion has the same type of morality. furthermore japans christian population is about 3-5% in total population.
hope no one thinks that i'm a hypocrit (is that right? ), mmkay?

[MillyFan]

I have posted this before in an archived thread:

I really think this theory is one that just doesn't work at all. For all the parallels you may think you see, the characters aren't a parable of Christianity, and there are just as many total dissimilarities. I think it's a story that may have been influenced more than a bit by Judeo-Christian thought (especially the wisdom books, I noticed at least some allusions to themes in Job and Proverbs), but still just a very cool sci-fi space western with NO parable meanings or anything.

I don't think Nightow originally intended this, and IMHO to twist a writer's original meaning or intent, even for our own benefit, is ethically questionable at best and leaves us open to embarrassment when we are told that we are wrong.

And Ashley posted this in said thread as well:


"Yeah, I'm with Milly on this one. There's a BIG difference between relating something in the Bible to something you seen on screen (which, yes you can do numerous times with Trigun; from lessons on alcoholism to revenge), but it's another thing entirely to start making it into an allegory. The latter is an arrogant twisting of a media into something that it was never intended to be.
I've noticed a lot of Christians try to "Christianize" everything nowadays; certainly not all, I want to make that clear, but there are a handful of believers that see a movie, realize it's got a lot of good themes in it, and automatically start making it into a Christian movie/allegory. I've seen it done countless times with the Matrix and the Lord of the Rings, and with various anime.
The problem with this is that since the writers did not intend it to be an allegory (Tolkien is a whole 'nother argument in itself, so I won't go there), there are flaws in the analogy, and naturally Christians either avoid these flaws or justify them and it just throws the whole thing off. Like Milly said, as many Messianic attributes Vash or Wolfwood has there are just as many non-Christ like ones as well."

Sorry for bringing back old posts and not really posting anything new, but this theory does not deserve new consideration.

[Technomancer]

I'd have to agree with everyone here. At best, Trigun is only Chrisitian in a very indirect sense. It's already been covered, so I won't belabour the issue any further.

Wolfwood is more interesting. Given that he was a professional killer, it's hard to swallow the idea of him being a minister or a priest. However, his last episode was done brilliantly. That he was often a hypocrite, a drinker, and a scoundrel should not count against his dramatic role however. In this, Wolfwood bears some superficial similarity to Graham Greene's "Whiskey Priest" in his novel 'The Power and the Glory' (considered by some to be the best book on the priesthood ever written).

[Ashley]

Someone asked earlier how you could like this show and not like others. Regarding the use of "Judeo-Christian elements" in the show--like Eden, Wolfwood, etc.--I'd say the deciding factor in it is the way in which it is presented. For example, both Neon Genesis Evangelion and Trigun have "Christian" elements in them. While Evangelion presents a twisted view of them, Trigun for the most part presents them in a way compatible with scriptures and doctrines. That's why so many people like to argue it's a Christian allegory: the makers stayed mostly true to Christian themes when they used them. However, I say mostly, and it's that flaw that makes it not an allegory. Plus, an allegory has to be intentional, clear, and consistant.

As for violence and language...for me, it's the context. For no reason vs. justifiable in situation.

[Razgriz]

I agree with the people that posted here, Trigun is not a Christian anime. But, if you can take something good and positive from it in your walk with Christ, then it's for the best, and it all depends on the individual. On top of that, it's comparatively better to watch than other animes (To say the least). To conclude, Trigun follows the same principle as any and all other anime, it's entertainment first and formost.

[Satsuki]

[quote="MillyFan"]I have posted this before in an archived thread:

I really think this theory is one that just doesn't work at all. For all the parallels you may think you see, the characters aren't a parable of Christianity, and there are just as many total dissimilarities. I think it's a story that may have been influenced more than a bit by Judeo-Christian thought (especially the wisdom books, I noticed at least some allusions to themes in Job and Proverbs), but still just a very cool sci-fi space western with NO parable meanings or anything.

I don't think Nightow originally intended this, and IMHO to twist a writer's original meaning or intent, even for our own benefit, is ethically questionable at best and leaves us open to embarrassment when we are told that we are wrong.

And Ashley posted this in said thread as well:


"Yeah, I'm with Milly on this one. There's a BIG difference between relating something in the Bible to something you seen on screen (which, yes you can do numerous times with Trigun]

I didn't say I thought it was an allegory. I was just wondering if the anime was "Christian" (Specifically if it's creator was Christian) and if the symbolism meant anything. Your reply was best suited for the thread it was posted in originally .

[uc pseudonym]

there is no such thing as a christian anime.

We would love to disagree with you about that. Superbook isn't exactly the highest quality, but it does fit that category. Besides, there is nothing about the genre that says it cannot be used for Christian material. I would hope in the future that such things would exist, in quality forms that I would want to watch.

[Ashley]

Then no, Satsuki, the creator is not to my knowledge Christian, nor is the team that created it. Like other Japanese animators, they probably just found the idea of Eden and other Christian elements appealing and threw them in.

[Bobtheduck]

I won't be making Christian anime, but I will be making Christian Video games (which will not be interactive bible stories or puzzle games that spout "memory verses") and I may hire Ink&Paint Japanese animators to do cutscenes, and if It's successful, may make an animated ova out of it too, a lot like .hack.

[Razgriz]

I think Bob is planning something revolutionary and being guided by the Holy Spirit. I have faith that it'll be great.

[ShiroiHikari]

That's not something we can say for sure. If Bob wants to try, then he can, and I pray for his success.

By the way, this thread is SEVERELY off-topic, therefore it's closed until further notice. Bong.