I have a lot of conflicting emotions when it comes to Stargaze but I think my biggest gripe with it as a whole (er,,,what I think my most valid complaint is, so to say?) is the way that it treats the āvillainā characters
I think Knives and Razlo are written incredibly 2-dimensionally (Iād go as far as to say 1-dimensionally honestly). This is an issue I feel with most of the characters, likely in part a result of the series just. Not having the time to actually develop anyone because of the sheer amount of story itās trying to tell in just 24 episodes, but it is the most blaringly obvious when it comes to Knives and Razlo (at least as of 8 episodes into Stargaze)
A big part of Trigun imo is being able to see where our "bad guys" are coming from, and why they end up doing the things they do--because in most cases it's NOT just "for the sake of it" !! Many times in this series it is mentioned that people act out the way they do because they feel as though they have no other choice, because No Man's Land is a harsh planet to live on, and the people are suffering.
Stamgaze starts off with even child Knives being cold and uncaring, which means you don't really grasp the severe impact that Tesla (along with the repeated mistreatment by the humans on the ship) has on him. Knives WANTED to get along with the humans. Hell, initially it's VASH who is untrusting of them! To me, Knives' story is one of the loss of childhood innocence too soon, and what can happen when you feel like you don't have the proper support systems. You lash out, and you fall through the cracks.
In the case of Livio and Razlo, it feels like there is a...fundamental misunderstanding of what, exactly, Razlo's "job" is. Myself and many others have read trimax with the understanding that Razlo formed as a direct result of the trauma he experienced growing up before the orphanage. In Stampgaze, it seems Razlo is formed whilst Livio is under the Eye of Michael, which definitely changes how the audience is reading his character (it feels more like Livio was sort of...experimentally nudged to form an alter, rather than it happening "naturally" due to the need to protect himself)
Livio and Razlo were never perfect DID representation, but undeniably their portrayal is better in the manga--or at least more respectful. Razlo's goal--his entire reason for being, was to protect Livio. In Stampgaze, we just see an angry, hateful Razlo who is doing all of this...just for the sake of doing it? We don't get to see his betrayal by Chapel--the one person he thought cared about him, or hold any faith in him and his abilities, nor do we get to his his agony at the thought that Chapel died and left him alone. Chapel's manipulation of Razlo is pretty important to understanding his character, because it gives a lot of insight as to WHY Razlo is so willing to push so hard to complete his task (killing the fuck out of wolfwood)
Make no mistake, Razlo is definitely unhinged, but he's also human deep down, and that's an important part of all this. He lives and breathes and feels the same as anyone else, and his heart can hurt. This aspect of him just does not come across in stampgaze, so it makes all of it feel very corny and excruciatingly pointless, at least to me
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