So many good things this episode. We return to what was promised in episode one, an enjoyable blend of comedy and seriousness.
I really liked Frank Marlin's english dub. I thought it was really well done.
I like how the first bar scene with Vash, Frank, and the bartender told us everything the episode would be about. His clumsy and incompetent nature is shown to be false when this frame stays on him staring at Vash's gun while Vash talks with the bartender. He's still sharp and apparently hasn't lost his touch with guns, but his current demeanor has created tension between those who had once respected who he was. When he tells Vash that he'll be shot in the back, he's speaking from experience and of old wounds. He calls his old self and anyone who was like that a fool. He's a man who's scarred, jaded, and can't let go of the past.
It's cool how the Frank Marlin Special acts as a metaphor for Frank's person. He starts out worn and wasted, but still held up in people's minds because of what he helped accomplish for the town. His actions make him feel like he is the one who pulled the trigger on his family, that it was he who killed them. But when faced with tough times, even an old and withered piece of scrap like him can protect people. In the end, Frank has sobered up and polished himself anew, showing us that underneath all the waste he's still the same man he was before.
The stand-off scene between Vash and Fake-Vash was great because it incorporated Frank into the stand-off as well. Vash and Fake-Vash had the physical stand-off, but Frank was in a mental stand-off between his current and old self (which is what he partially sees in Vash). It was cool because it brought all the conflicts into one moment. I don't want to break it down frame by frame because that would take forever, but notice how the camera includes Frank as much as Vash and Fake Vash when building the climax.
We learn a bit about Vash when he finds out who who Frank Marlin is and infers that Frank acts the way he does purposefully. Vash doesn't pity him nor does he act goofy after the realization, he simply looks on with understanding eyes and offers Frank a drink. He knows that Frank's trust in others is near non-existent so he doesn't try to make him do what he's actively avoiding. While I don't think he would want Frank to destroy himself by drinking, he doesn't jump to conclusions about his situation. It's only when he's in Frank's apartment and finds a child's doll sitting in a sea of liquor bottles after learning how it all started does he truly understand why Frank would do this to himself. He doesn't judge Frank, only tries to show him that it's not wrong to trust in people. At the end, when Frank decided to trust in others (and himself) again and fixes Vash's gun, we can see honest joy in Vash's eyes, coming from the fact that Frank saved himself.
Meryl was funny this episode. She's adamant that she won't rely on rumors any longer to find Vash, but still uses rumors about Vash to convince herself that Vash is not Vash. To her, it's a contraction for Vash to be such a goofball, but the rumors provided just aren't holding up.
Funny things: Drinky drunky straw, Vash face 1, Vash face 2, Vash face 3.
Absurd looking and awesome at the same time? Yeah, that's Vash.
Some notes for later: Some cars and giant light bulbs. Iches and yarz used instead of inches and yards.
EDIT: Forgot to mention something interesting. This is the first episode where the OP changes and will continue to do so for the rest of the show. Around the 57 second mark it shows a bit of what will be seen in that episode. Weird that they didn't do it for episode two, though. |