Great series, awful ending.
I disagree. The ending perfectly sums up and aligns with Vash's character throughout the story. He always looks for another way.
selfish (not killing might make him feel better but at too great a cost to everyone else),
Not at all. It's not about him feeling better. It's about not taking someone else's life. It's not for himself that he doesn't kill. It's for others. That's the opposite of selfish.
and ignorant (it's better to be abused and tortured rather than kill your attacker?)
In Vash's eyes, yes.
So many stories, so little time.

I looked at that too, but I think that's another twist in the characters make up that makes for a good "inner character battle" whilst fighting injustice externally.

What happened happened and can't happen any other way

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Great series, awful ending. Along with being a genocidal maniac, Knives is still a real threat, and Vash's poor interpretation of Rem's "take care of knives" comment might doom the humans still. Vash's idealism is hypocritical (didn't he sometimes eat meat on the series), selfish (not killing might make him feel better but at too great a cost to everyone else), and ignorant (it's better to be abused and tortured rather than kill your attacker?)

Lol, how long did it take you think up that sentence?

lol, how long did it take you to troll?

Anyway, back to trigun. How you guys feel about Trigun X coming out? I can't wait for it, I hope it ends with another showdown between Vash and Knives

To me, Vash and Rem's outlook seemed to be nothing deeper than sentimental fundamentals with no practical application
Lol, how long did it take you think up that sentence?

Neon Genesis Evangelion is the worst anime show ever created.

I think you're making it a lot more complicated than it really is. Vash quite simply believed that no one has the right to take the life of another, even if there are "spiders" involved. Killing the "spider" would be easy for a superhuman like Vash. Saving the spider is much more difficult and costly. Thats why Vash never killed anyone until Legato left him absolutely no choice.

K, about that. How exactly did Vash prove his thesis that both the butterflys and spiders can survive? Sure he spared Knives but that was a single occurance that supported his vision, he was disproved pretty much all through the second half of the series. His standpoint is hardly redeemed by this one (quite lucky) example of pacifism working. It only worked only wounding Knives and not having to kill him because he too was a plant and could survive such injuries as leg and arm shots more than the average human.
I havn't read the manga. If anyone has read it and noticed how the resolvment comes accross more clearly in it, which I'm assuming it does, then please explain it to me. From what I could see much was left out.
Throughout the anime I was waiting for Knives logical and correct statment to be disproved by Vashes paradox but it never came. To me, Vash and Rem's outlook seemed to be nothing deeper than sentimental fundamentals with no practical application. Not that the choice to kill someone to save another will ever present itself within my lifetime, but the analogy could be converted to 'Is it moral to scroo (Can the correct spelling justify post deletion froma admin?) another over to get to where you want to be or should you try to be virtuous and tolerate the ramifications of being so.?'

Its all about the spider and the butterfly.

Vash finally realized that when Rem said "take care of knives" she meant help him because she saw what type of "person" knives was turning into after that incident in the recreation room.

it stands to reason that he did let knives live, but the ending is kind of inconclusive it's like, pick your own adventurekinda

thank you very much!

Yes he spared knives in the end since he hold promise not to kill and belived knives is not beyond redemption. He left both angel arm weapons in desert so knives cant pose such big threat to humanity.