Anime The relationship, what was it?

[MillieFan]

NOTE: if this becomes lemon/hentai/spam/whatever either because of my posts or because of someone else's posts, I want it closed at once. I don't want any of that to happen. Please.

What do you think the relationship between Vash and Rem in Trigun (the anime, the manga is another issue) really was? I mentioned this in a thread before but my post was a little too lemony and I ended up ruining the thread so. . .

I personally think the characters had something more than just mutual admiration there. My reasoning is as follows:

Rem seemed to show more interest personally in Vash than in Knives, even going so far as to tell him that he reminded her of her then-dead former lover and to style his hair so he would look even more similar.

When Vash told Rem that he loved her, the reaction on her behalf seemed like she wasn't just humoring him. IIRC, she even blushed in that scene.

It was implied they spent time together without Knives being with them (which he was usually when she was teaching them).

In episode 17, when Rem left the escape pod, then died, Vash cried as a grieving lover would. . .

Anyway, I say there's a lot of evidence. It's kind of creepy to think about in one way (because chronologically in the series it could be seen as statutory) but looking at it another way, since he's like depicted as outside of time, that doesn't apply.

So what do you all think?

[Shinmaru]

I'm pretty sure that Vash really did truly love Rem (despite how easily he goes after other women lol). As for Rem...I'm not too sure. I've only seen the "Rem Saverem" episode of Trigun once, so I can't make a definite opinion. My impression (from what I remember, that is) is that she liked him, but I don't think that she loved Vash like he loved her...if that made any sense.

[MillieFan]

I've seen that episode twice (albeit the TV edit and dub, not enough money and I don't want to engage in software piracy :P ) I've also read character bios and plot summaries both at theotaku.com and elsewhere.

The episodes that hint they were alone together without Knives present are other episodes IIRC: 7, 8 (B.D.N. and Between the Wasteland and the Sky), and 20 (Flying Ship, near the end when they are looking at the flowers)

[Shinmaru]

You know, I'm gonna watch that episode right now, since I have nothing to do. For now, my opinion = Vash loves Rem because she treated him as an equal (unlike those other jerks on the ship) and Rem liked Vash because...er...he's really likable, I guess. Gotta stop before this gets too spammy.

[Epitome]

I would say more of a mother/child love relationship. I do think that they both loved each other very much but I dont think that they had like "love" love. They were more of like a mother and child in my opinion. She was always teaching him new things and stuff so thats why I that. But they did have deep passion for one another I can tell you that for sure.

[Shinmaru]

Okay, I just finished watching the episode. It confirmed my suspicions that Vash did indeed have strong feelings for Rem (he did say that he loved her). But, I also noticed something interesting that I forgot about. For one thing, the captain of the ship (his name escapes me) mentioned that Rem had been teaching Vash and Knives emotion, hope for the future, etc. Perhaps Vash's love for Rem is because he grew attached to her because of what she taught him. Kind of like imprinting, like when a baby duck hatches, and assumes that the first thing that it sees is it's mother and follows it around and grows attached to it. Of course, Knives is pretty much the opposite of that, so I don't know how sound that theory is. As for Rem, she did compare Vash to her old boyfriend, but I'm still not sure if she "love" loved Vash. Maybe it's just because I'm a heartless fiend that I can't see it lol.

[amibasuki]

[FONT=arial]I think it was like a younger brother/older sister-type thing, or yeah, the mother/child deal. Rem took a liking to him because he was such a nice little kid. I think she showed more interest in Vash than in Knives because Vash had such a pure heart, and she could see that, and she wanted to keep it that way by teaching him all she could. and when Vash told Rem he loved her, I think he was too innocent/naive to have meant it in a romantic sort of way. kinda like a child telling his mother that he loves her. and Rem probably wasn't expecting it, so of course she'd blush ^_^. she was probably very happy that he did love her. it's true that she might have liked him more than Knives also because he looked somewhat like her former lover, but that could be the same thing as when a mother has a son and notices how he looks so much like the father. the similarities between the two wouldn't necessarily make the mother 'love' the child more, would it? that'd be kinda twisted 0_o'. as for Vash crying the way he did when Rem died, anybody would cry like that if they actually saw someone they loved get killed. I think that about wraps up all I can think of.[/FONT]

[Plant_Angel]

I dont think Rem was comparing Vash to her dead lover more that she just used his hair style for inspiration. This may sound rather cold hearted but maybe Rem was only so attached to Vash because of WHAT he was, she was an engineer herself or had some kind of profession in the field (the Plant engineer in July was related to Rem by either profession or relative, it is unclear what). She may just have been extremely curious the way most scientists are when they discover something they dont understand. Perhaps she only spent more time with Vash than with Knives because, unlike his more independent brother, he was so willing to do so.
When Vash tells her he loves her she does not return his sentiment by telling him she loves him too the way a mother/lover/sister would.

Vash being little and naive wouldnt understand her scientific curiosity about life and its many forms and very much loved her as a mother and teacher, in my opinion (he refers to her as his 'mother' in the sequence showing what will happen in the following episode before Fifth Moon).

[pbfrontmanvdp]

Id have to say its both a mother/child and they were in a mutual romantic relationship because Vash looked up to her as a sort of mother figure, but in the last part of episode 17 i think they both did have a romantic relationship with each other. I think Rem just didnt show it as much as Vash did even though Rem did have another lover at one time i think she did have a thing for Vash. If not that then they were really close friends and would [spoiler] basically die for one another. [/spoiler]