List of Trigun characters

Histories of characters in the manga and anime series Trigun. Nearly all of the characters have English names, written in katakana in the Japanese editions.

Main characters

Vash the Stampede

Main article: Vash the Stampede

Adult Vash Voiced by: Masaya Onosaka (Japanese); Johnny Yong Bosch (English)
Young Vash Voiced by: Kouki Miyata (Japanese); Bryce Papenbrook (English)

Vash the Stampede (ヴァッシュ・ザ・スタンピード Vasshu za Sutanpīdo) is the main character of Trigun, also known as The Humanoid Typhoon and Valentinez Alkalinella Xifax Sicidabohertz Gombigobilla Blue Stradivari Talentrent Pierre Andri Charton-Haymoss Ivanovici Baldeus George Doitzel Kaiser the Third, a unique alias he presents to Wolfwood when they first meet. He is the first person to be declared "an act of God" or "a human disaster." He is initially discovered by Meryl and Milly while being chased by some bandits who want to collect the $$60 billion bounty on his head. He escapes and Milly and Meryl eventually learn that this is the person they are assigned to track. Vash the Stampede also has a sad past that involves his brother destroying a whole SEEDs ship with the crew, along with Rem Saverem.

Meryl Stryfe

Voiced by: Hiromi Tsuru (Japanese); Dorothy Elias-Fahn (English)
Meryl Stryfe (メリル・ストライフ Meriru Sutoraifu) and her junior coworker Milly were sent by the Bernardelli Insurance Society to evaluate claims regarding Vash the Stampede. Despite her serious attitude and short temper, she is a good person.

Although she doesn't often fight alongside Vash, she hides many derringer-style "throwaway" pistols under her coat. She once referred to herself as "Derringer Meryl".

Initially, she finds Vash to be a nuisance and dismisses the idea that he is the legendary Humanoid Typhoon. As time passes, she realizes that Vash isn't the villain that he is made out to be nor the buffoon that he presents himself to be. Gradually, she comes to respect Vash and love him deeply.

It is also hinted near the end of the anime that she may possibly be the reincarnation of Rem Saverem. This, however, is not present in the manga, and may have been an independent decision by the producers of the anime. Another source of this belief is through the construction of her name, where as Meryl = Mer-yl = Rem

It is hinted that Meryl has problems involving her family. Early in Trigun Maximum, she celebrates her 23rd birthday, which means she was 21 at the beginning of Trigun.

Meryl is very short, more so in the manga than in the anime.

Milly Thompson

Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino (Japanese); Lia Sargent (English)
Milly Thompson (ミリィ・トンプソン Mirī Tonpuson) is a fellow Bernardelli agent and friend and assistant to Meryl. Despite physically towering over Meryl, Milly looks up to her and always refers to her as "senpai," or "Ma'am" in the English Version, as a term of respect for a senior.

Although physically very strong, she appears rather simple and ditzy, but has an extremely kind heart and also reveals a strength of character and genuine optimism. However, Milly can be just as hotheaded as Meryl if someone is disrespectful towards their family (or wasting food, especially pudding). She can seem somewhat dim, but she has some amazing skills (chess playing, for one) which hint at a deeply buried intelligence. She does have a tendency to go a bit overboard when drinking.

She seemed to pick up on the fact that Vash is the notorious Stampede before Meryl, but she is apparently still somewhat surprised upon realizing that she was correct. Milly comes from a very large family, and writes letters to them constantly (known as "The Milly Monthly").

Somehow Milly manages to hide a very heavy concussion gun (referred to as a "stun-gun") under her coat. The shots, which pop out into the shape of an X-shaped claw, are so powerful they can even knock over trucks. At one point Milly refers to herself as "Stun-gun Milly".

Nicholas D. Wolfwood

Main article: Nicholas D. Wolfwood

Voiced by: Shō Hayami (Japanese); Jeff Nimoy (English)
Nicholas D. Wolfwood (ニコラス・D・ウルフウッド Nikorasu Dī Urufūddo) is considerably different between the manga and anime versions. In the anime, he is a preacher and an excellent gunman, who in the original Japanese version speaks Kansai dialect. Nicholas and Vash meet in the desert when Vash's bus runs across Nicholas' motorcycle. He proves to be a valuable ally, but sometimes Vash and Wolfwood's philosophies conflict. In the end, he comes over to Vash's way of thinking, even though he was associated with Knives the whole time. Nicholas' purpose is to raise money for children at an orphanage he runs. Wolfwood's weapon is a cross that is kept covered for the most part, but it does pack a mighty punch. One arm of the cross hides six handguns, the other stores the ammunition for the built in machine gun revealed in the long stem side, and the short stem houses a fairly powerful rocket launcher. It is extremely heavy, and it seems that only he, Vash, and Milly are capable of lifting it easily. When Vash asks why it's so heavy, Milly replies,"That's because it's so full of mercy!".

Millions Knives

Main article: Millions Knives

Adult Millions Knives Voiced by: Tooru Furusawa (Japanese); Bo Williams (English)
Young Millions Knives Voiced by: Masamichi Ota (Japanese); Joshua Seth (English)

Millions Knives (ミリオンズ・ナイブズ Mirionzu Naibuzu) is Vash's sinister twin brother and is the real hidden threat on the desert planet. It was Knives, not Vash, who had been responsible for "The Great Fall." He believes that humanity is a plague that must be exterminated because they survive by consuming the plants and all the planet's natural resources. He is doing all this because he is trying to get his brother on his side, as Vash is the only person who can stop him.

Legato Bluesummers

Voiced by: Toshihiko Seki (Japanese); Richard Cansino (English)
Legato Bluesummers (レガート・ブルーサマーズ Regāto Burūsamāzu) loves death, and devotes his life to making Vash the Stampede experience eternal pain and suffering. He also wears a long white coat, making him synonymous with white, the Japanese color of death. His name, Legato, is an Italian word which means "tied together" a reference to his ability to enter or control people's minds. Also, in Latin, "Legato" means "ambassador" or "messenger". Legato is also a musical tempo term for smooth and connected notes, much like his manner of speech.

In the anime, he is a modified human and the leader of the Gung-Ho Guns. He was recruited by Knives after the July incident to make Vash's life a living hell, though the nightmare doesn't really begin until about midway through the series. From that point on, this man continues to weave a living nightmare for Vash, not only on his own but also through the gang of eleven superpowered killers who are under his command: the Gung-Ho Guns. His strong resonance with Vash actually stems from the fact that Vash's left arm is grafted onto him. Legato's psychic abilities are most likely from the arm graft. He can force his victims to do anything he wishes through telepathic control. He sees Knives as a god and, like Knives, sees humans, even himself, as trash to be exterminated. Despite this, he remains calm and polite in his dealings with other humans, if not defending himself from attacks (for instance, from the Roderick thieves).

Legato forces Vash to kill him by using his powers to threaten Milly and Meryl. Legato thus becomes the first person that Vash ever consciously and willfully killed, fulfilling his promise to "make Vash the Stampede suffer eternal pain".

In the manga, he is a servant of Knives separate from the Gung-Ho Guns, and due to his "technique", he is able to exercise considerable authority over them, even taking command while Knives recovered from the July incident. He gives Vash a coin case and each of the 12 Gung-Ho Guns a coin, and tells Vash that if he collects all twelve coins "something interesting will happen." His body is crushed and his neck twisted one hundred eighty degrees by Knives for trying to kill Vash, and also earns some of Knives anger for using the Gung-Ho Guns for his own purposes (the coin game). Legato is consequently restricted to a coffin-like container which is carried by a mysterious, gigantic, lipstick-wearing ogre. When this ogre is killed by Elindira the Crimsonnail, Legato gains a new coffin with metal appendages that allows limited movement.

Where the anime version of Legato controlled humans through telepathy, manga-Legato's "technique" entails the usage of thousands of special metal threads leading from his medulla oblongata and out a skull-shaped dispenser attached to his left arm in a spooled state. When released the threads transmit electricity to control his victim's muscles. The threads themselves are only a few molecules thick and are long enough to ensnare and enslave an entire town.

In the manga Legato came into Knives' service at age 16. Originally a sex-slave, Legato created his technique during this time and practiced it in secret, using it to keep others from hurting him. He planned to use his technique to kill everyone in the town but was discovered before he could try. Legato was inadvertently 'rescued' by Knives, who decided to wipe out the town just as he was about to be raped and then executed. His survival appears to be a fluke; when Knives noticed him, he remarked that he didn't intend to leave anyone alive. Legato walks over to Knives - who promptly tried to kill the young man with his Angel Arm. The blade streaked toward Legato's throat, but Legato succeeded in manipulating Knives himself, stopping the blade just short of beheading him. Legato then fell on his knees, begging Knives: "..... At your side...Please, I only wish that you would permit me to remain at your side." As a testament to this new devotion to Knives, the figure that released him from his horrific life as a slave, Legato relaxed his control, in essence allowing Knives to decapitate him as a gesture of subservience. Impressed, Knives flexed the blade away. When Knives asks for Legato's name, he revealed that he had none. Knives gave him his new name as a gesture of his subservience to him.

Legato regained the ability to walk and move freely outside his coffin by using his own thread technique to force himself to move when he sensed Knives was about to be killed by Zazie the Beast. Legato also demonstrated in a recent battle with Vash that he could not only walk but display acts of tremendous strength and speed by using his technique to force his body beyond its natural limits.

Wanting a fairer fight with Vash, and seeking to prove himself to Knives, he revealed to Vash that the coin case he gave him can actually become a device which can block his wires' electrical flow when filled with all twelve coins. With his powers blocked, he fights Vash with a gigantic wrecking ball-like weapon and a handgun. In the end, he is defeated by Vash's power, which manifests as an automatic defense system, or "wings," that slices up anything within a certain radius of his body, independently of his will. Lacerated, and having lost both his weapons and a lot of blood, Legato accepts defeat, and commands Vash to shoot him, ending his life. When Vash refuses to do so, Legato reproves Vash by telling him he is insulting the life in which Legato has led by refusing to pull the trigger and threatens to kill all of his friends and the townfolk nearby by using his thread technique. Legato tells Vash his conviction is simply childish in the end, he chides him for not knowing that he could only be a saint in his dreams. He then controls the deceased "Eleindra the Crimsonnail" to cut open "Livio the DoubleFang's" throat with his fingers, which finally pushes him to shoot Legato, breaking the pact of never killing and ending his life.

In the anime, he is often seen eating in restaurants, very slowly, calmly and creepily. He isn't fazed by anything while he dines, even when his fork is shot out of his hand.

Livio the Double Fang

Livio the Double Fang is a childhood friend of Wolfwood and the final member of the Gung-Ho Guns from the Eye of Michael. He weilds the Double Fangs, two small cross-shaped machine guns strapped on his arms that fire from both ends. His body has been enhanced through increased metabolic rate, allowing him to recover from near fatal wounds in a matter of seconds. He grows up in the same orphanage as Wolfwood, having the nickname, "Livio the Crybaby". Razlo the Tri-Punisher of Death is a violent and psychotic split personality, treated as another member of the Gung-Ho Guns. Razlo is created to take all of the abuse given by Livio's father, allowing Livio to not know about it. Razlo only appears after Livio has suffered intense pain or violence, and often commits act of violence, such as killing Livio's parents. He uses three Punishers, the same gun as Wolfwood owns, with the aid of a bionic arm. He is aided by three servants who carry his Punishers while Livio's persona is active.

The two fight with Wolfwood and they are defeated, though Wolfwood dies after sustaining immense injuries while overdosing himself on the regeneration drug. Vash decides to forgive Livio afterward, and he becomes Vash's partner. Livio fights against Elendira. Unable to win himself, Livio allows Razlo to awake and help him kill the Crimsonnail, by utilizing Razlo's faster reflexes and better eye sight. Livio later lives together with the children in his old orphanage and is shown paying his respects to Wolfwoods gravestone.

Gung-Ho Guns

The Gung-Ho Guns (ガンホーガンズ Ganhōganzu) are a group of assassins assembled to cause great pain to Vash the Stampede. Each one is human, but has sacrificed their humanity in order to gain power, often leaving them mutilated. The exact makeup of the Gung-Ho Guns differs between the manga and the anime, as not all the characters had been revealed in the manga when the anime was being made.

Each Gung-Ho Gun has an assigned number, but not all numbers are revealed. In the manga, they also carry half a coin (excluding Elendira). Vash received a case with twelve halved coins from Legato, who told him that if he collected them all something would happen. It has been revealed in the latest chapters that the filled coin case functions as a device to block Legato's powers. In the manga, three spots in the Gung-Ho Guns are always reserved for members of the priest/assassin cult "the Eye of Michael".

In one of the final episodes of the anime, Legato is shown in a flashback speaking to a comatose Knives about tormenting Vash, and then shown emerging from a massive shadowed door with the Gung-Ho Guns in tow, indicating that he may have been the one to recruit the team while Knives was incapacitated. Given a flashback in the manga, there is further reason to believe that the Gung-Ho Guns may have been formed by Legato during the time Knives was recovering from July (though Midvalley the Hornfreak was recruited before that time, as he was recruited by Knives himself in the manga).

In the manga flashback, related to Vash the Stampede while they fight, Legato recalls he and the doctor finding Knives' body in the rubble of July. At first sight, Knives appeared to be dead, and Legato, looking around, notices Vash, wrapped in his tattered red coat, sitting on a pile of rubble. It's to be assumed he knew why Knives was going to July and recognized Vash from his clothes. He starts towards him, but the doctor calls him back; despite his terrible physical condition, Knives is still alive, but it will take both of them to get him back to the compound. With one last look at Vash, Legato goes to help the doctor.

Given the seriousness of Knives's injuries, there appears to have been a very real possibility he might die. It's been suggested that Legato formed the Gung Ho Guns to cause "eternal pain and suffering to Vash the Stampede" in the event of his Master's death. But Knives survived, so the Guns joined the Priests from the Eye of Michael in their attempt to force Vash to return to Knives's side.

Monev the Gale

Voiced by: Masuo Amada (Japanese); Peter Spellos (English)

He is the first Gung-Ho Gun to fight Vash. In the anime, he first appears in Episode 12-Diablo, where it is revealed that Knives locked him in a cell to train his body for 20 years in order to gain the skill and power required to kill Vash. He wears a powered battle suit and carries two high-powered chain guns on his arms. These guns fire extremely fast due to the pressure chambers located on his back, and have tremendous stopping power, enough to tear through entire buildings.

He also carries a wide variety of weapons in a big cloth rucksack, including an enormous minigun, powerful enough to punch through a bank vault.

In the anime Vash shoots Monev's massive weapon with his left arm's hidden gun, causing an explosion that injures Monev. Vash manages to restrain himself from killing the Gung-ho Gun, and allows him to leave. E.G. Mine then pins him to a building to showcase his failure to kill Vash and further agitate Vash into a fight.

In the manga Vash pulls his hidden gun in the jail cell, and repeatedly shoots Monev in the helmet before disabling one of the chain guns. During the gunfight in the street, he shoots off Vash's prosthetic arm, but Vash shoots his mask off and puts out his right eye with the barrel of his gun. After the battle, Vash spares Monev, who quietly surrenders his coin. Monev is later caught and crucified out in the desert by E.G. Mine.

Nightow created Monev as a tribute to the Spider-Man villain Venom, whom he resembles. Nightow, a fan of American comics, went as far as to make Monev's name "Venom" backwards.

His Gung-Ho Gun number is 1 in the manga.

Dominique the Cyclops

Voiced by: Yōko Sōmi (Japanese); Carol Stanzione (English)
The only Gung-Ho Gun born female (unless one counts Zazie's second host body in the manga), she has an ability known as the "Demon's Eye." Whether this ability derives from a mechanical eye-patch she sports or the actual eye it covers (which is red in the anime and reptilian in the manga) is unknown. The "Demon's Eye" causes hypnosis and sensory paralysis in her foes: when her eye-patch opens to reveal the eye beneath it, it induces a trance in her opponents, momentarily stunning them and making her movements appear immediate.

However, in order for Dominique's ability to work, her victim must be focusing on her with at least one of the five senses. Vash was able to break her hypnosis by focusing entirely on pain; this was done by putting pressure on a wound he had sustained on one of his fingers, distracting all of his senses from the powers of Dominique's trance.

Her death is handled differently in both the anime and manga. In the anime, her corpse is skewered to a wall alongside Monev, and E.G. Mine takes the credit for killing the two, although it is more likely that Midvalley the Hornfreak (who confronts her after her defeat in battle) dispatched the Cyclops and gave her corpse to Mine. In the manga, she drops her coin in front of Vash and leaps off a balcony to commit suicide, unable to bear the thought of reporting her defeat to Legato or Knives. In the manga, her Gung-Ho Gun number is 3. In the anime, her Gung-Ho Gun number is 2.

E.G. Mine

Voiced by: Ryō Horikawa
Little is explained of his character, though he exhibits extremely violent tendencies for the short time he has on screen. In fact he was itching to face Vash next, obviously overly confident, and even going so far as to question Legato as to why he didn't just send him and expressing the hope that he would get a reward for his kill. He wears a suit that resembles a sphere and contains control threads for deploying lethal spikes. Further manipulating these threads, Mine can hurl them towards an enemy. He tends to wiggle his fingers tightening and loosening these threads in a trigger happy fashion when he is excited or angry. His name comes from the fact that when he is completely inside his spherical shell, he resembles a naval mine.

He is the second Gung-Ho Gun to confront Vash in the manga. He is quickly dispatched and is not heard of again. In the anime, he is killed by Rai-Dei after the straps holding his defensive shell on were severed by a previous gun shot from Vash during their short battle, allowing Rai-Dei The Blade (See below) to enter the picture. Since he never reappears in the manga, he either fled, killed himself, or was killed by Legato or Knives.

His Gung-Ho Gun number is 2 in the manga and 5 in the anime.

Rai-Dei the Blade

Voiced by: Akio Ōtsuka (Japanese); Kirk Thornton (English)
Rai-Dei is a samurai who seeks the knowledge learned only when facing death. He carries a sword, and is able to swing it with enough force to create a sonic blast. Later his sword reveals a concealed rifle in the sheath, and the blade can be fired from the hilt. When he appeared, the second Gung-Ho Gun, E.G. Mine was in the midst of a battle with Vash. Rai-Dei quickly 'relieved' Mine of his job, stabbing him through his chest. Throughout the battle in the anime he expresses anger in the fact that Vash is refusing to make his mark true and aim to kill, claiming he wanted "a real battle". Legato activates Vash's angel arm and forces him to point it at Rai-Dei. Vash shot his own arm to make it point skyward, giving Rai-Dei time to get clear of the blast range. He manages to escape the wrath of Vash's angel arm but is killed by Wolfwood soon after.

In the manga he wears demonic "roller skates" that allow him to move at phenomenal speeds. He is fought after the Fifth Moon incident in an abandoned town. After Vash defeats him, Rai-Dei attempts to attack Vash from behind but is quickly killed by Wolfwood. His coin is taken by Wolfwood, who gives it to Vash along with his own. His Gung-Ho Gun number is 9.

Leonof the Puppet-Master

Voiced by: Kaneta Kimotsuki (Japanese); Milton James (English)
In the anime, Leonof controls (probably via a small orb on strings) mannequin-like puppet creatures from a remote location. Some of these puppets are incredibly realistic, though those he deploys for fighting resemble unfinished dolls. Leonof is considered to be the most intelligent of the Gung-ho guns.

Not only was he capable of operating his army of puppets from a distance, but Leonof was also the first member of the Gung-Ho guns to attack Vash in a team fashion, as opposed to Rai-dei and E.G. Mine who came separately but proved incapable of working together. Leonof attacked Vash's "flying condo in the sky" with the aid of Gray the Ninelives, and Hoppered the Gauntlet. During their initial introductions, Leonof revealed to Wolfwood that he was well aware of his connection to Chapel the Evergreen, and knew of his "title".

In the anime, Brad was a colonist on the flying ship and was enraged at Vash when his beloved girlfriend Jessica was taken prisoner by Leonof. After Leonof and the other Gung-Ho guns seemed to have been defeated, Leonof revealed the Jessica Vash "saved" to be only a puppet who tried to kill Vash with a pistol but failed when Brad took the shots for him and he died shortly after. When Leonof realized he failed, Wolfwood appeared and vaporized the puppet master with a rocket in Episode 21-Out of Time.

In the manga, it is revealed that Leonof controls these puppets with several thin strings. He and Gray the Ninelives are sent to invade an isolated colony that Vash considers his home. Vash defeats him by activating the sprinkler system. The weight of the water on his strings immobilizes him and crushes his fingers.

It is also revealed that Leonof's real name is Emilio and that Vash knew him when he was a child. He had a relationship with a woman called "Isabel," who somehow met her end. Heartbroken, he either concealed her body in a casket, made a puppet out of her body, or made a puppet resembling her. (This is unspecified). During the invasion of Vash's "home" Brad, a disgruntled resident, finds her. Upon discovering that Brad had found her, he goes into a frenzy and attacks him, knocking most of his puppets (including her) onto a loading dock, which Brad soon opens to dispose of all the puppets. Leonof jumps after her, desperate to retrieve her corpse. Vash catches him by the strings on his fingers but, after Leonof remembers his past, he decides he wishes to die and has a puppet stab Vash's hand- thus falling to his death in the sand below. Vash finds his coin in an outstretched puppet hand in a pile of trashed puppets.

His Gung-Ho Gun number is 4 in the manga.

Gray the Ninelives

Gray is famous for having nine lives; in other words, being indestructible. The anime version of Gray, possibly named so because of its high resistance to any sort of damage, is actually a cyborg, the only remaining humanity being the brain, which is encased and hidden in the hip area of the robot body. He does not speak, and his "breathing" is heavy, every step taken causes the ground to shake a bit. He is destroyed by Wolfwood after a pipe containing an corrosive liquid is dropped on Gray, melting off his impervious armor and revealing the mechanical body underneath, thus leaving him without a shield. Gray is promptly blown to bits.

However his "bits" proved to exist without the shield. Gray continued to battle Wolfwood in the reactor core of the flying ship, regardless of losing most of his mechanical limbs and his armor. When he was reduced to only a pair of legs, Gray approached the reactor core of the flying ship and destroyed it with a missile located in his knee joint. He was destroyed in the explosion of the reactor.

In the manga, his name comes from the fact that there are nine tiny people living inside of him that control him like a tank. Wolfwood captures the two surviving dwarfs after blowing open the living puppet's chest cavity and slaughtering those inside with his machine gun. The two surviving dwarfs later escape from confinement and attack Vash, Milly and Meryl while they are in the cold chamber, to which Wolfwood suddenly appears and steps on them to halt them, ending the Ninelives' attacks. One of the surviving dwarves gives their coin to Meryl, who gives it to Vash after Vash escapes from the Ark.

Hoppered the Gauntlet

• Voiced by: Keiichi Nanba (Japanese); Jonathan Fahn (English)

Hoppered the Gauntlet is a man who wears a set of armor to cover his degenerated and vestigial legs, while using his large arms to move. The armor acts like a top and he uses a shield to propel himself at high speeds. He seeks to kill Vash to avenge a mute and blind woman detached from the world, killed during the destruction of July. During his final battle, he sees Vash's memory of July, has a revelation that he has made the wrong choice, and he is killed after turning against the Guns. The anime does not feature his backstory, and instead has him just wish to make Vash suffer.

Zazie the Beast

• Voiced by: Hiroshi Kamiya (Japanese); Derek Stephen Prince (English)
  

Zazie the Beast is a collective of group-minded insects able to take over the bodies of humans. These insects are the original inhabitants of the planet Gunsmoke, who form an alliance with Knives to see whether humans or Plants are better to co-exist with them. They originally take over the body of a young boy, but it is destroyed by Hoppered after spying on him. Zazie later reappears in the body of a teenage girl, though it is also destroyed by Legato after trying to infect Knives. The last body is an odd-looking man in disco-clothing used to deliver his coin to Vash. The main hive is destroyed by Knives soon afterward. The anime features Zazie as a Beeb, a troubled young boy capable of controling sand-worms with a high-frequency device he wears on his head. He is killed by Wolfwood.

Midvalley the Hornfreak

• Voiced by: Tomohiro Nishimura (Japanese); Steve Bulen (English)
  

Midvalley the Hornfreak is a violent musician who is able to use his saxophone, Sylvia, to synchronize sound waves with pain, causing physical damage. He also is capable of neutralizing sounds by playing counter-frequencies. He and his band originally just kill for money until being found by Knives, who kills all except Midvalley. He dislikes both Legato and Knives, which leads him to try to kill Legato, though he is quickly killed himself. Legato uses Midvalley's body to attack Hoppered, and it is buried with his saxophone on his gravestone afterward. He has a smaller role in the anime, mainly acting as Legato's bodygaurd until fighting Vash, and killing himself after overloading his saxaphone.

Caine the Longshot

Caine the Longshot is a member of the Gung-Ho Guns invented for the anime. He is a mute, talented sniper who can cloak his body and utilizes a rifle with a barrel many meters long, allowing him to sinpe from many miles away. He is defeated by Vash, which leads him to commit suicide to avoid having to deal with Knives.

Chapel the Evergreen

Main article: Nicholas D. Wolfwood

Voiced by: Sho Hayami (Japanese); Jeff Nimoy (English)

In the manga, Chapel the Evergreen is Nicholas D. Wolfwood's mentor, who Nicholas shot and impersonated to join the Gun-Ho Guns. Wolfwood was a member of the "Eye of Michael", an organization of assassins founded by a church with an apparent catholic theme, their leader and founder being a plant worshiper. The Eye of Michael provides Knives with mercenaries, with three slots of the Gung-Ho Guns reserved for the Eye of Michael's best. Nicholas' title was really 'Nicholas The Punisher', during his time in the Gung-Ho Guns Knives appointed Nicholas as a guide for Vash to lead him towards Knives' hideout.

The mentor who is the real 'Chapel the Evergreen' is an old bearded man in a wheelchair (damage caused by being shot by Wolfwood) - Razlo calls him 'Master C', carrying a large cross-shaped machine gun, with 4 spiked ends at the base of the cross. It is speculated that this gun is named Chapel due to the tendency of members of the Eye of Michael to use the name of their weapon as their title, hence: "Livio the Double Fang" and "Nicholas the Punisher." After taking 2 vials of Super Regenerative Drugs, Wolfwood kills Chapel with an immense head butt, cracking his skull and breaking his neck.

His weapons of choice are pistols and a large cross-shaped gun known as Punisher. The Punisher expands into a machine gun, and also has a built-in rocket launcher. It is one of the most devastating weapons of the "Eye of Michael", and is only provided to skillful and worthy assassins of the cult. His body has been enhanced to significantly increase his metabolism, thus he can regenerate from wounds much quicker than normal people, although to recover from serious wounds, he relies on vials of Super Regenerative Drugs, which further increase his body's metabolism and regenerative functions. However, a side effect of his healing abilities is that he ages much quicker than normal persons. Wolfwood may therefore be much younger than his appearance.

He is acquainted with Livio/Razlo (see Livio the Double Fang / Razlo the Tri-Punisher of Death below). He dies after battling his mentor and Razlo, having sustained immense internal injuries by overdosing himself with 2 vials of Super Regenerative Drugs taken simultaneously. He gives his and Rai-dei's coins to Vash before his death.

In the anime, a man named 'Chapel the Evergreen' is Wolfwood's mentor. He carries the parent version of Wolfwood's famous Cross Punisher (Punisher is not an officially given name in the anime), though Chapel's splits into twin machine guns. He cared for young Nicholas after Nicholas killed his abusive guardian. He dresses in dark green and has red goggles grafted to his face. He always carries a green apple in one hand and is instrumental in Wolfwood's salvation.

Elendira the Crimsonnail

Elendira the Crimsonnail, referred to as the lost thirteenth Gung-Ho Gun, is the most powerful of the group. She shoots giant red nails from a large briefcase that transforms into a crossbow. She is a transsexual, and normally wears feminine clothing and a pillbox hat. However, underneath her outer garments she also wears restraining armour, and after disabling it, she is able to move at an even faster speed. She is jealous of Legato, as he is not part of the Guns, suggesting that he is more important to Knives than her. She fights with Livio and Razlo, who kill her.

Minor characters

Rem Saverem

Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (Japanese); Bridget Hoffman (English)
Rem Saverem (レム・セイブレム Remu Seiburemu) was one of the original crew members who intended to populate the planet Gunsmoke for the perpetuation of the human race. She was both a mentor and a mother figure to Vash and Knives when they were children.

On Earth, Rem had a lover named Alex, who had died due to reasons left unrevealed. Vash reminds Rem of Alex, and she cuts Vash's hair in a manner that Alex wore it when he was alive.

Her teachings of love and peace, especially that no one has the right to take a life, have a profound influence on Vash. She taught him that each life is important and can not be given a value lesser or greater than any other life. She dies along with the crew and most of the human ships when Knives sabotages their course, causing all but a few human ships to burn up in the planet's atmosphere.

Rem was a mother figure to Vash. In episode 17, "Rem Saverem," Rem tells Vash about her lost lover on earth, "Alex," and how he had to leave her, Vash says "Are you sad, Rem? Don't worry, you still have me. I will never leave you. I promise because I really love you, Rem." This love is probably an important source of courage for his actions. He pays homage to her by wearing a red coat based on the red Geranium, her favorite flower. She considered the color red a symbol for determination.

As adults, Knives blames her for his brother's softness; Vash blames Knives for the death of Rem. Often Rem is the guiding force for Vash whenever he must face difficult situations; he often speaks to her indirectly both in dreams and during waking daydream-like sequences.

As a child Vash comments for a preview: 'Rem told me that someone she loved died on Earth. She told me she boarded the ship so she could start over. What does it feel like to have someone you love die? I tried thinking of what it would be like if Rem died. When I did, hot water came out of my eyes, and it wouldn’t stop for a long time. Rem, I’ll always be there for you. I won’t leave you alone".

One episode hints that Meryl Stryfe may be a reincarnation of Rem Saverem, given their similar appearance.

The word "rem" in Latin has a plethora of meanings: the most common are "thing", "truth" and "power" (though the word is in its accusative case - the nominative case of it would be "res").

Also, her last name contains her first, and could be read as: "Rem, Save Rem!" Vash's inability to do so leaves him a painful emotional scar.

William Conrad

William Conrad, alias The Doctor, appears only in the manga, but is mentioned in an early episode of the anime.

The Doctor first appears during the Fifth Moon incident. It is he who comes up with the plan of synching Knives' remains to the plant in order to resurrect him.

Later, it turns out that this Doctor is really William Conrad, a crewmate of Rem who argued with her against the terrible experiments performed on Tessla. When Knives releases the crew, Conrad lags behind and actually meets Vash and Knives on the Ship. After a quick talk with Rem, he returns to cold storage, promising to keep his silence.

After the crash landing on Gunsmoke, he takes on the assumed name of Revnant Vasquez and uses his vast knowledge of Plant mechanics (he was an engineer on the Ship) to amass a fortune in July City. However, Knives tracks him down and forces him to serve him as a scientific adviser. Conrad, fascinated by Knives, and suffering lingering guilt over Tessla's gruesome fate, reluctantly agrees. Knives fakes Conrad's death and arranges circumstances to implicate Vash. The murder charge appears on the Wanted poster that opens the manga.

Conrad helps Knives to gain greater control over his abilities, and examines Vash after his capture in July. There, he discovers that Vash's powers far exceed Knives' own. Frightened by such tremendous potential, he tries to warn Knives of the danger, but Knives still goads Vash into firing the shot that levels July.

Both he and Legato escape death, and the two of them manage to pick Knives' broken body from the rubble. After Knives' resurrection, Conrad continues to serve Knives as an adviser and a scientist. However, he remains a reluctant ally and, plagued by guilt over betraying humanity, reserves one crucial piece of information.

Eventually, he and Knives witness the horrible death of a Plant at the hands of human workers determined to get "one last run" out of it. Knives goes berserk, slaughtering the engineers in his fury, before the loss of power hits him, doubling him over and turning part of his hair black.

The Doctor, looking on, calmly informs him that this is a sign that his power is running out, and that continued use of it will continue to turn his hair black and eventually cause his body to break down, just as the Plant did in front of them. Knives furiously realizes that the Doctor has been counting on his power loss all along, something only he knew, and had learned from the death of Tessla.

Conrad tries to talk Knives into putting aside his hatred and living like a normal person, promising to stay by his side and help him if he does. However, when Knives learns that Vash's hair is also darkening, he kills Conrad in a fit of rage, finally releasing the poor man from his service.

William Conrad much resembles Patrick Stewart, who plays Captain Jean-Luc Picard. How he managed to live nearly a hundred years is unstated, though his capsule may have survived the Big Fall and been unfrozen later.

Kuroneko-sama

Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino (Japanese); Bill Timoney (English)

Kuroneko-sama (黒猫様 lit. 'black cat Lord/Lady') is, as her name suggests, a black cat. (Yasuhiro Nightow has said that the cat is female, and he would know: Kuroneko-sama was one of the first characters he created for the manga.) Her formal name is Kuroneko Kukan, or Black Cat Space.

She appears in every episode at least once, usually as a "Where's Waldo?" running joke of popping her oval-shaped, green-eyed head on screen at some opportune moment, uttering a simple "nyaa." Some of her appearances are much more comical in nature. In the first episode of the anime, "The $$60 Billion Man", the audience can see her leering at Meryl and Millie as they enter the bar, and in the episode "Fifth Moon," when Vash is clearing out the city of Augusta, he fires into the air and, to his surprise, the cat lands on his head with a "nyaa" and jumps off. Another running gag involves everyone thinking Vash turns into her. Wolfwood once told him, "Though I know you were no mere mortal man...I never knew you were a cat.", uttering an angry "What the!?" as it was revealed Vash had run off (leaving the cat on his plate), leaving Wolfwood to pay a restaurant bill. Many viewers missed her appearance in episode 17, contributing to rumors that she is a reincarnation of Rem. In that episode, the cat is frozen in the arms of one of the cryogenically-preserved population. This does, however, lead to questions as to Kuroneko-sama's apparent longevity.

Kuroneko-sama may have some connection with Vash, but that, like her appearances, is a mystery. Many speculate that she is a reincarnation of Rem, who watches over Vash on his journey. After Vash kills Legato late in the series, Kuroneko scratches him (the only violent interaction Kuroneko takes against Vash in the series), seen by speculators as Rem's way of rebuking his decision.

Her appearances in the manga are not nearly as frequent as in the anime, and Nightow has stated that she is just something easy and calming to draw in between action scenes. His most common response to queries as to her nature or significance at anime convention panels is "Kuroneko-sama is a small black cat," stated fully in English. She could also be considered as a regular black cat that brings Vash bad luck wherever he goes.

Kuroneko-sama makes a cameo appearance in Wild ARMs 2nd Ignition. There is also a very similar black cat in the anime FLCL and well as Black Cat.

External links

• Page on Trigun characters by sumire, including quotes from a Nightow interview in Puff magazine.
• Sumire' Nightow Interview