Trigun is a Japanese manga by Yasuhiro Nightow from 1995. Initially collected in three tankōbon volumes by Tokuma Shoten, published between 1996 and 1999. In 1997, Shonen Captain, the magazine in which Trigun was serialized, was closed, making the manga incomplete. In 1998 Trigun Maximum was published, a continuation of the first series, starting in January 1998 and ending on March 30, 2007. In 1998 it was made into an anime television series created by the Madhouse studio, consisting of 26 episodes and broadcast at home by the Tokyo TV network. An anime film, Trigun: Badlands Rumble was produced. In 2022, a new anime adaptation titled Trigun Stampede was announced and premiered in January 2023 and that is why we have decided to talk about the show a bit.
What we are about to tell you is a list of the most important Trigun Stampede characters and their voice actors, both in the original (Japanese) and the dubbed (English) version of the anime series. Before we approach each of the characters individually, here is a quick overview:
| Character | Japanese Voice Actor | English Voice Actor |
|---|---|---|
| Vash the Stampede | Yoshitsugu Matsuoka Tomoyo Kurosawa (child) | Johnny Yong Bosch |
| Nicholas D. Wolfwood | Yoshimasa Hosoya | TBC |
| Meryl Stryfe | Sakura Andou | TBC |
| Roberto De Niro | Kenji Matsuda | TBC |
| Knives Millions | Jun`ya Ikeda Yumiri Hanamori (child) | TBC |
| Legato Bluesummers | Kouki Uchiyama | TBC |
| William Conrad | Ryuusei Nakao | TBC |
| Rem Saverem | Maaya Sakamoto | TBC |
| Zazie the Beast | Tarako | TBC |
Vash the Stampede
Japanese voice actor: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka
English voice actor: Johnny Yong Bosch
Vash the Stampede (aka The Humanoid Typhoon) is the protagonist of the series. A 60 billion double dollar ($$) wanted man who shuffles from city to city trying to escape a thousand disasters that follow him. Despite being a staunch pacifist he is also a very experienced gunslinger, who tries never to kill anyone. He was left without an arm in the first fight with his brother Knives and was forced to replace it with a mechanical one, which if necessary shows a hidden pistol that Vash will use in critical moments. His appearance is that of a common human being, but his true nature is actually a plant, a mysterious form of artificial life that the spaceship colonists used for the production of energy and supplies.
His whole being is capable of producing energy, which usually “shoots” out of his arm and transformed into a cannon (in the anime, unlike the manga, the gun built by Knives is needed to use the power of plant, in the manga instead the arm transforms into the great weapon without the aid of the pistol). His presumed age is 131 years. In the comic, however, the non-immortal nature of the plants is revealed, which cease to live when they run out of energy (a state symbolized by the progressive transition of the color of the hair from blond to black) unless they reabsorb it from another plant.
Nicholas D. Wolfwood
Japanese voice actor: Yoshimasa Hosoya
English voice actor: TBC
A somewhat mysterious character who appears to be a preacher. At least he is dressed as one, he claims to represent an orphanage and carries a large cross wrapped in a cloth tied with straps. In reality, this cross is an armory that opens when needed: the arms contain pistols, the long end is a long-range machine gun, and the head is a missile launcher. Wolfwood ends up traveling with Vash by chance, or so he lets himself think, for as time passes, it is discovered that he has his own hidden reasons.
He is also a member of the Eye of Michael, an organization of ecclesiastical assassins. Also, he is part of Guns-Gung-ho. Later Knives asks to accompany Vash without informing the rest of the Guns-Gung-ho. However, he will become a faithful friend to Vash. His weapon is a pun, which includes an 8-gun battery, a flamethrower, and a rocket launcher, called “Punisher” (same as his nickname in Guns-Gung-ho). Although he seeks to do good as Vash does, helping others in situations where no one else would volunteer, he differs from him in that he would kill if he thought he had to. He seems to have an attraction to Milly (in the original manga). He is murdered by Chapel when he is manipulated by Legato.
Meryl Stryfe
Japanese voice actress: Sakura Andou
English voice actress: TBC
Along with Roberto De Niro, she is an employee of the Bernardelli insurance organization. She has been assigned to keep Vash out of trouble. They follow him wherever he goes in an attempt to prevent disaster before it happens, hoping that her insurance company won’t have to pay for the damage, which is often huge. However, at first, she did not believe that the reckless subject they met shortly after starting their trip was the real Vash; only after many adventures together and seeing him confront the Nebraska family, is she convinced about his true identity.
She is a bloodthirsty killer, but rather a good-natured gunslinger with the bad luck that trouble is after him. Meryl is strong and persistent. When the Gung-ho-Guns begin to attack, she decides to stick with Vash despite the risk it entails. Despite her being, strictly speaking, just an office worker, she is an excellent gunslinger. Her nickname, Derringer Meryl, comes from the dozens of Derringer pistols she conceals under her overalls, which she wields with great skill. She bears a resemblance to Rem. As the series progresses, she falls in love with Vash, although at first, she doesn’t admit it, as time goes by and with the help of her friend Roberto, she accepts it.
Roberto De Niro
Japanese voice actress: Kenji Matsuda
English voice actress: TBC
Roberto De Niro is an employee of the Bernardelli Insurance Society. He is a tall, shabby man who accompanies Meryl on her mission to oversee and follow Vash on his adventures. He is a replacement for Milly Thompson from the original manga and 1998 anime series and a completely original character created for this anime. Nothing else is known about him.
Knives Millions
Japanese voice actress: Jun`ya Ikeda
English voice actress: TBC
Vash’s twin brother, raised with him on Terran colony ships, believes that humans are parasites capable only of causing harm to the universe. In the anime, Knives’ hatred is caused by the constant violence suffered by one of the members of Project Seeds who openly shows his contempt for the two plant twins, causing him to be insecure towards all other human beings and consider them inferior and primitive. He kills with a series of deceptions all the staff of the spacecraft with the exception of Rem, due to the strong bond he had established with Vash.
In the manga, hatred is generated by the profound trauma received by Vash and Knives’ discovery of a scientific video diary, which reveals the existence of another plant, named Tesla, born before them in the spaceship. She, considered a technological miracle, had undergone several tests, which tortured her to the point of causing tumors throughout her body and destroying her bones.
Legato Bluesummers
Japanese voice actress: Kouki Uchiyama
English voice actress: TBC
Leader of the Gung-Ho Guns and right-hand man of Knives, whom he considers a god. Legato is quite tall, with yellow eyes and blue hair that often covers his left eye. He dresses in a strange dress similar to a long white coat almost to his feet. He also possesses extraordinary powers: in the anime, they are of the telepathic type and derive from Vash’s missing arm, amputated by Knives; while in the manga it will be discovered much later in the story that he is able to block and move his opponents using thin metal wires. In both the anime and manga his task of giving Vash the Stampede eternal suffering comes to fruition when he forces Vash to kill him.
He risked death after a fight with Vash and Nicholas, during which the reverend had come to the aid of the humanoid Typhoon, who was in trouble against Legato due to his power over him. Wolfwood, who had sensed Legato’s difficulty in controlling Vash in a previous battle, rushes to attack, attempting to shoot him in the temple, but is blocked by the leader of the “Gung-Ho Guns”. In this way, Vash is completely free and Legato, realizing the threat, tries to regain control over the Humanoid Typhoon, but makes the mistake of deconcentrating from Wolfwood, who takes advantage of the situation and fires; however he fails, instead striking the leader of the Gung-Ho-Guns, moved by Legato.
William Conrad
Japanese voice actress: Ryuusei Nakao
English voice actress: TBC
William Conrad is a scientist hired by Legato to be able to speed up Knives’ recovery times from the comatose state in which he exists inside a Plant facility. He agrees to serve Knives only to study the nature of his people but dies at his hands after hiding the secret of the blackening of his hair which results in his death when the power of the Angel Arm is used too long.
Rem Saverem
Japanese voice actress: Maaya Sakamoto
English voice actress: TBC
If there’s one person who has defined Vash’s life, it’s Rem. She practically raised Vash and Knives well when they were kids. She also stood up for them when the crew of the Seed Ships thought they did not deserve to be treated as human beings. Losing her, which fuels his current character and pacifism, Vash learned the value of life at Rem’s sacrifice: he refused to abandon the seed ships in order to save the colonists when they were about to crash on the planet Gunsmoke; Rem crash-landed at the last moment at the cost of her life.
Zazie the Beast
Japanese voice actress: Tarako
English voice actress: TBC
Zazie is the 4th member of the Gung-ho-Guns. This small character, with the appearance of a child, appears to be non-human. He can communicate with animals, which obey him. He can also transfer his soul from one body to another, but it is almost unappreciated, in the manga he uses this ability to go from his normal body (after being crushed by an elevator) to that of a girl.
