Trigun gave me BoF IV vibes

 
Trigun really gave me the Breath of Fire IV vibes with Vash and Knives, especially compared to Ryu and Fou-Lu. 

Vash and Knives are aliens (Rem believed them as angels), raised among humans, but Knives was radicalized by how one of the crew member treated him and his brother as a monster, and how humanity treated the world around them general. Especially the fact that the humanity were on this mission of seeking a new home after deplepting the resources of Earth which made Knives think about humans nothing more than parasites. While Vash hanged on every words of Rem, their caretaker and the person who saved them, taught them love and respecting life. And I think this is why the ending hits really good, because when he visits Knives, he is like: He enjoyed the human life. And by end how it turned out, he intends to show the kinder side, what it means to be a human.

Fou-lu and Ryu are one soul separated by time and space, and they are destined to unite in one body one day. 
And you know... there were points where Fou-Lu actually considered to simply just disappear and live a normal life. Despite being ruthless to his enemies, he was actually forgiving to the mortals, thinking, it's in their nature to be selfish, immature and illogical. But the more they pushed him to the edge, the more he was convinced that humanity don't deserve mercy. While Ryu - not knowing about his destiny - he had companions right from the start who cared about him, cherished him, he experience kindness, loyalty, but also the darker sides of human nature too. Ryu had a chance the experience what it means to be human. I especially love this change in the manga adaption that instead of Ryu make Fou-Lu merging with him, they simply just start travelling together. 

I just really like this trope of gods/aliens/otherwordly creatures trying to find the meaning what it means to be human, trying to understand them and how environment and people around them affects them while trying to arrive to their own conclusion about humanity. 

[HARD CONTACT] Chapter 2: Recondition

|| Republic Commando: Hard Contact || 2004 || Book series || Military, Sci-Fi || 18+ for violence and harrowing themes || 

I really love Darman in this chapter. I love his brain, I love how he thinks about the world, and in this chapter we get a lot of lore about the horrors of being a commando - being a clone - and Darman has no idea about it.

The beginning of the chapter where they receive the briefing from Arligan Zey starts with Darman and how he is relieved that his still alive. Or more like, he is still himself:

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•
It didn’t feel so bad to be revived after stasis. He was still a commando. They hadn’t reconditioned him. That meant—that meant he’d performed to expected standards at Geonosis. He’d done well. He felt positive.
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

This is where the cruel reality of the clones hits us in the head for the first time. The reality, that these soldiers can be stripped out of their identity at any time if they don't perform well. That whenever they climb into these stasis tanks with the possible future that they may not get out of here as themselves. It's already quite inhumane to put the commandos in a stasis tank until the next usage, but the inhumanity and cruelty is not something they are aware of, nor something they question. It is completely normal for them. Darman sees it as a positive thing that he did well enough not to be killed off. 

[HARD CONTACT] Chapter 2: Niner is too pure for this world

|| Republic Commando: Hard Contact || 2004 || Book series || Military, Sci-Fi || 18+ for violence and harrowing themes || 

 

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•
Niner raised a gloved hand from his lap. “Sir, what is the comm situation, exactly?”
“Neimoidians.”

“Not quite with you, sir.”

Zey looked blank for a moment, and then his face lit up with revelation. “The Neimoidians own and control all the infrastructure—the native population scarcely have pits for refreshers, but their overlords enjoy the finest comlink net and air traffic control that credits can buy. They like to ensure that nobody does business without their knowledge. So they monitor everything, and very little intelligence comes out—you’ll have to avoid using the long-range comlink. Do you understand me, soldier?”
“Sir, yes sir, General Zey.”
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

Niner doesn't have prejudice toward the Neimodians like the rest of the natborns do. I don't think the clones have the concept of racism and stereotypes just yet. This is why probably mentioning the neimoidians doesn't tell a single thing to Niner about what he needs to know. Anything they know about another species is the way how to kill them efficiently. 

It really makes me wonder why Zey is actually perked up. He actually had something useful to share with the Commandos? Or it can be about this uncorruptedness?