I was looking over my list of manga series that I have to keep in order to keep track of what volume I'm on, and I noticed that I had neglected to list Trigun Maximum here on Goodreads. I know why. I stopped reading Trigun Maximum 13 months ago (in fact, I know the exact day).
So, you might be wondering why I'm a) listing volume 10 instead of 1, and b) I just gave it 5 stars when it was the volume that made me quit. Prepare to have your curiousity satisfied, but at the expense of reading some big fat hairy spoilers. If you've never seen the anime or read the series and you're going to, stop now. For reals.
Like possibly most Trigun fans, Wolfwood is my favorite character. I've seen the anime, and his story is handled somewhat differently there than in the comic--but it does end pretty much the same way. But this final fight took so long, having started in volume 9, that I ACTUALLY BEGAN TO THINK THAT WOLFWOOD WOULD SURVIVE IT. Yup. I loved the character so much and the fight is so well written/drawn, sheer stupid optimism was born. Right to the end, I thought he just might make it. And so, this was a downright excruciating read. I mean painful. I hurt for Vash, and I hurt for myself, and when this volume was over, I could not bring myself to continue the series without Wolfwood. And that's why this thing is 5 stars: a character that I couldn't go on without, a fight done so well it made me believe he might survive even thought I have seen the anime and knew better, a death so painful I grieved for his friend and felt a loss myself. As much as I'd like to f*cking hate Nightow-san for doing this to me, to create that kind of response is pretty remarkable. Even if it cost a reader.
I very well might go back to Trigun Maximum some day and see it through to the end. I wonder if I'll ever be able to read the first ten volumes again, though.