TRUTH OF MISTAKE
TRUTH OF MISTAKE is the second episode of Trigun.
| TRUTH OF MISTAKE | |
|---|---|
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| Japanese Name | TRUTH OF MISTAKE |
| English Name (Funimation) | Truth of Mistake |
| Episode No. | 2 |
| Original Airdate | April 8, 1998 |
| US Airdate | April 1, 2003 |
| Previous Episode | The $$60 Billion Man |
| Next Episode | PEACE MAKER |
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Synopsis
The episode opens at night, with a blond-haired figure in a red coat being shot at while running away. The next day, a bedraggled Meryl and Milly arrive in the remains of a once-thriving but now deserted town. At first they are overjoyed to find a well, but are soon dismayed to find that it is dry. A helpful background character reveals that the town's water dried up and that Vash the Stampede is now the bodyguard at the Schezar mansion, meaning that the town "isn't fit to live in no more." Meryl, however, is delighted because she's been looking for Vash, and Milly is delighted because the mansion will likely have water.
The girls arrive at the mansion and knock on the door, only to be greeted by Vash himself when he hands them two glasses of water. Milly waves in reply while Meryl expresses disbelief at the fact that the dorky guy from the previous episode is there. When she asks what he's doing there, he tells her he's working as Mr. Schezar's hired bodyguard and ace gunman. He then takes the box of donuts Meryl is holding and starts eating them. He offers some to the girls and Milly readily accepts, only to be admonished by Meryl.
Mr. Schezar - or Mr. Cliff, as he's called - comes walking up at that point and asks if the girls are friends of Vash's. This earns an outburst from Meryl, who is not at all convinced that the dork in the red coat is the legendary Humanoid Typhoon. Mr. Cliff invites the girls in and introduces himself. He says that he's in the business of selling water but that recently someone's been trying to kill him - that was originally why he hired a bodyguard. He had put Vash's name down in the ad as a joke, but didn't expect that he'd actually show up. Milly expresses delight at this turn of events, but Meryl still isn't convinced that Vash is the real thing.
Mr. Cliff then pulls a rope that opens a curtain to reveal the other reason he hired a bodyguard: Miss Maryanne Cayzen, the granddaughter of the head of the Stantal Federal Bureau. She is staying as a guest at the mansion, and Mr. Cliff is concerned for her safety. Vash, of course, is instantly smitten and goes on a monologue about his shots not missing their mark, especially if it's the heart of a beautiful young lady. He pretends to fire a gun, which causes Meryl to grab her chest and flop onto the floor. Embarassed at the cringe, Maryanne polilety thanks Vash for offering to protect her.
After Meryl comes to her senses, she pulls Mr. Cliff behind the now-closed curtain. She proceeds to ask him if he really believes the guy he's hired is actually the legendary gunman while absolutely dunking on Vash verbally. The others overhear, causing Milly to remark that Meryl's actually really nice - she was the one that bought the donuts, after all. Vash remarks that she's nice and LOUD. Meryl asserts that Mr. Cliff is being deceived, to which he replies he's actually doing the deceiving - he spread the rumor that Vash was now at the mansion in the hope that it'd get his enemy to flee like the other townsfolk did. As it turns out, the man Mr. Cliff claims is after him happens to match the rumors regarding Vash's description, so Meryl volunteers to have she and Milly also be bodyguards of Mr. Cliff's in a bid to catch up to him. He agrees to it - and then promptly puts them to work in his kitchen cooking dinner. Vash pokes his head in and asks when it'll be done, which causes Meryl to snap at him and then lament to Milly that nothing's gone right since they met him. Milly respectfully disagrees.
Vash heads upstairs to check on Maryanne and hears the sound of running water coming from her room. Inspired by this, Vash ties a rope around his waist and drops down off of the roof of the house in an attempt to spy on Maryanne through her window while she is bathing. To his surprise, he finds that she is not actually in the bathtub despite the water running. Just then, the door opens and in walks Milly, who came up to get Maryanne for dinner. She is also surprised to find the room empty, and then asks Vash what he's doing hanging upside down in front of the window. He tells her he's "patrolling the roof area for spooks."
Elsewhere, Meryl is bringing a covered tray upstairs and notices Maryanne exiting Mr. Cliff's study. Downstairs, dinner is served with Vash, Maryanne, and Mr. Cliff all present. Vash starts a conversation, and it's revealed that Mr. Cliff's father was a plant engineer who purchased land with a water supply. Mr. Cliff says he's been accused by many of monopolization, but asserts that the water on the land needs to be managed properly lest it be used up too recklessly. Maryanne objects to the fact that Mr. Cliff is still profiting off of a natural resource, and shortly after this she excuses herself to go back to her room. Then Vash excuses himself, saying that he should go make the rounds. Mr. Cliff says he's had Maryanne's curtain drawn as a precaution, much to Vash's chagrin.
Meanwhile, Meryl and Milly are sitting out in the house's back courtyard on the edge of a fountain eating sandwiches. Milly says she's exhausted from all of the cooking they did, but Meryl says that they have to remain vigilant in case the man they want shows up. In her room, Maryanne is about to change out of her dress when she is interrupted by Vash knocking at the door. She lets him in and he tries to start a romantic conversation with her, but is interrupted when Maryanne pretends to see something outside. Vash jumps out of her window - which faces the courtyard - and proceeds to apprehend Meryl, thinking she's the mystery assailant. Meryl becomes aggressive, thinking she's being accosted by the mystery assailant before realizing that it's just Vash the Dorky Bodyguard. Meryl chews Vash out while Milly obliquely comments that she didn't know Vash and Meryl were so close. Vash turns back to the window to let Maryanne know everything's okay, only to find that she's disappeared. Curiously, Mr. Cliff is also missing.
Vash and the girls go looking for the two of them and end up down in the parlor, where Milly shares the evidence that she's found: Maryanne's dress and some bloody bandages. She also accidentally ends up revealing that Vash was being a peeping Tom earlier when she speculates that ghosts, or "spooks", got Maryanne. Meryl is enraged and advances on Vash, who starts to lose his balance while backing up. He instinctively grabs the rope for the nearby curtain, opening it and revealing a secret passageway down to an underground chamber. Down there, they find Mr. Cliff and his water-hoarding/ice-making operation. Maryanne is down there too, and it turns out that she's actually a Federal Marshal who's been investigating Mr. Cliff and his wrongdoings. He pulls a gun and advances on her, knocking her down and preparing to shoot. However, Vash bumbles in and saves her by distracting Mr. Cliff. Maryanne tells Vash to run, but instead he fights with Mr. Cliff and ultimately gets him to shoot up the machinery powering his operation. There's an explosion, which frees the water that was dammed up in the basement. The surrounding town is flooded, but Maryanne says that the water will eventually return to its natural place underground.
With Mr. Cliff captured, Maryanne decides to let Vash go in the end, despite suspecting that he is actually the Humanoid Typhoon, and tells Meryl that he actually isn't so bad for a man. Vash laments what he could've had with Maryanne, but says he doesn't want to get arrested. He walks off into the sunset.
Characters
In order of appearance:
- Cliff Schezar
- Marianne Aura Cayzen
- Meryl Stryfe
- Milly Thompson
- Father
- Child
- Kuroneko-sama
- Vash the Stampede
Manga
This episode's story is original to the anime.
Notes
- This is the only episode without a unique version of the opening credits. It reuses episode 1's version on all releases.