It kinda bugs me when some people characterize the ending of Trigun Maximum as this super depressing downer ending where nothing changed and Vash is alone and depressed and lost everything he cared about and will have to stay on the run forever. Cause none of that is true.
For one thing it feels like people with this attitude are often acting like the only character in the series who ever existed or ever mattered to Vash was Wolfwood (and maybe Knives if they're being generous), and like they think characters like Meryl, Milly, Livio, Brad, Luida, Marlon, Lina, Cheryl, etc etc don't exist or don't matter. For another it feels like those people are 1) not actually paying a lot of attention to the ending and epilogue chapters.
For one thing, it's stated that while Vash is still wanted, he's wanted specifically by the Earth forces not Noman's Land, and that it is not something that everyone agrees with. Indicating that there's pushback against him being wanted in a way there wasn't before. We know for a fact that by the end of the fight with Knives Vash's reputation was much better than it used to be with the people on Noman's Land, to the point that the plants and humans literally bonded over knowing him because of his efforts to communicate and advocate for both sides to each other. While there are still some unsavory types from NML chasing him for his bounty, he's likely going to have a lot less of the locals being hostile towards him when he helped save the planet. Plus it's worth noting that the NML natives who are chasing Vash end up attacking the earth forces instead of him. Even if he also saved Knives, the fact that Knives didn't continue to raze the planet in the 6 months before Vash was found indicates that he didn't unsave the planet by doing so, so I doubt that'd be enough to erase all the positive rep he'd earned by defeating Knives in the first place.
For another thing, one very important aspect is that Knives is fucking gone. A significant amount of the stress, pain, and hardships Vash dealt with throughout his life was because of Knives being an active ongoing threat who occasionally dropped in to assault and traumatize Vash. Vash is going to mourn his brother's death sure, but at least now he can move on and actually start living his life for himself without his brother hanging over him. There's no more impending doom to worry about. Not only that, but because of Vash's powers being almost completely drained he also never has to worry about blowing up and leveling a city ever again, which is probably a huge relief for him (even if he could control it by the end so it probably wouldn't have been a problem anyway).
And for another another thing, he still has all his remaining friends who have stuck with him through thick and thin who he has slowly been learning to open up to and rely on more. Not to mention Milly and Meryl being reporters who are in his side are certainly going to be helpful in lobbying for his bounty to be rescinded. He is not alone at the end of Trimax by any stretch. Heck, Luida made quite a name for herself as a leader during the crisis, and she's the captain of the Vash Defence Squad, so she's probably already pressuring the earth forces to drop the bounty herself as well as a prominent political figure.
Is Vash going to be fully emotionally and mentally healed right away? Of course not, but he absolutely has the room and possibility to heal and be happy in the future with a lot less weight on his shoulders. Losing Wolfwood was definitely a major blow to him emotionally, Wolfwood was pretty much the person he was closest to by the end. That's part of what makes the ending bittersweet as opposed to just sweet, but it doesn't mean the ending is 100% bitter either. I really don't understand why some people characterize the Trimax ending as super sad and hopeless just because Vash is still on the run and Wolfwood is gone. Soooo much is still different and better from where he started out. Even in terms of the plants situation, the arrival of the earth forces bringing resources means that NML won't have to rely on plants so much and won't be as driven to doing terrible things to survive out of desperation, and plants and humans managed to communicate with each other and humans showed the desire to do better and care for the plants properly. You can even see a news article showing that they're building a giant dome for the plants. There is absolutely hope for a happier future in the Trimax ending, including for Vash.
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