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Much of the damage attributed to "Vash" is caused by the activities of the bounty hunters who are after the $$60,000,000,000 reward on Vash's head for the destruction of a city called July. Vash does not clearly remember the destruction of July, and only wants "love and peace", as he puts it; though he is a gunfighter of inhuman skill, he uses his weapons only to save lives wherever he can.

As the series progresses, more is gradually learned about Vash's mysterious history and the history of human civilization on Gunsmoke, the alien desert planet the series is set on. The series is often humorous in tone, but at the same time it involves very serious character development and especially in later episodes it becomes quite emotionally intense. Vash is occasionally joined by the preacher Nicholas D. Wolfwood, who is almost as good a gunfighter as Vash himself, and later is targeted by a band of assassins known as the Gung-Ho Guns for reasons which are mysterious at first.

Trigun evolves into a very serious discussion of the nature of morality, posing questions such as: What is the nature of morality? Can we judge different moral codes? If a person is forced to betray their moral code, does that betrayal invalidate that moral code, and can the person still try to live up to that moral code? Can the person find redemption from their wrongs, and if so, how? Trigun also seems to challenge, through its storyline and artwork, common dualistic world views that see good and evil as being equal. It implies that good and evil are not equal and that there is something that stands outside of both and is greater than both.

    VASH THE STAMPEDE: 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 $$60 billion bounty on his head. He escapes and Milly and Meryl eventually learn that this is the person they are assigned to track. Vash the Stampede also has a sad past that involves his brother destroying a whole SEEDs ship with the crew, along with Rem Saverem.
Alias: Ericks
         The $$60,000,000,000 Man
         The Humanoid Typhoon
         Spikey
Race: Humanoid Plant
Gender: Male
Age: 131 Years (He says he's 24)
Hair: Blond
Eyes: Blue-Green
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 185.9 lbs.
Status: Knives' Twin Brother
Quote: "Love and Peace"
Voice: Johnny Yong Bosch

NICKOLAS D. WOLFWOOD:
   In the anime, he is a preacher and an excellent gunman, who in the original Japanese version speaks Osaka 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 loves children, a good reason he and Milly hit it off so well. He is also known as Chapel in the manga.

Alias: Chapel Evergreen
          Nick
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 29 Years
Hair: Black
Eyes: Blue
Height:
Weight:
Status: Traveling Priest
Quote: "May you go with the love and protection of Almighty God"
Voice: Jeff Nimoy

MERYL STRYFE: 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. Meryl's actions near the end of the series begin to remind Vash of Rem, and the scene indicates that she may even be Rem reincarnated (though this is disputed). This, however, is not present in the manga, and may have been an independent decision by the producers of the anime.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.

Alias: Derringer Meryl
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 21-23 Years
Hair: Black
Eyes: Grey
Height:
Weight:
Status: Employee of the Bernardelli Insurance Society
Quote: "We are here on behalf of the Bernardelli Insurance Company
Voice: Dorothy Elias-Fahn (Melendrez)

MILLY THOMPSON: 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," 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 didn't completely realize that she was right. 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".In the anime, Milly begins to form a relationship with Nicholas Wolfwood as the story progresses. In episode 23 it is apparent that she in fact did have sexual intercourse with Wolfwood. She is seen laying in his bed while he looks out the window shirtless. Wolfwood later remembers her saying that "It (smoking) isn't good for the baby". This, however, has nothing to do with the romance, as it happened earlier in the series when she was posing as a pregnant woman to hide a runaway girl.

Alias: Stun-Gun Milly
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 23 Years
Hair: Brown(In the Anime) Blond (In the Manga)
Eyes: Blue
Height: Unknown but almost as tall as Vash
Weight:
Status: Employee of the Bernardelli Insurance Society
Quote: "Yes, ma'am"
Voice: Lia Sargent

KURONEKO-SAMA  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 running joke of popping her oval-shaped, green-eyed head on screen at some opportune moment and usually uttering a simple "nyaa." (Some of her appearances are much more comical in nature: in the episode "Fifth Moon," when Vash is clearing out the city of Augusta, he fires into the air and is quite surprised when the cat lands on his head with a "nyaa," then jumps off.) Many viewers miss her appearance in episode 17, contributing to rumors that she is a reincarnation of Rem. In that episode, the cat is frozen on 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. Also, after Vash kills Legato late in the series, Kuroneko scratches him (the only violent interaction Kuroneko takes against Vash in the series); perhaps this is Rem's way of rebuking his decision. However, it is more likely that, if anyone, Meryl is a reincarnation of Rem, as described in her entry above.
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. Some American fans of the series that dislike pronouncing her name have given her the name of Doughnuts.(However there isn't much proof to show this factual) An obvious reference to Vash's love for doughnuts.

Alias:
Race: Feline
Gender: Female
Age:
Hair: Black
Eyes: Yellow
Height:
Weight:
Status: Just a cat...who happens to show up everywhere.
Quote: "Nya"
Voice: Bill Timoney

REM SAVEREM:  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.Vash has always loved Rem; it is speculated that Vash not only loved Rem as a mother figure but also as a love interest. 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. The geranium is 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: ('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.

Alias:
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 20's
Hair: Long Black
Eyes: Brown
Height:
Weight:
Status: Vash and Knives' Foster Mother
Quote: "No one has the right to take the life of another."
Voice: Bridget Hoffman, Emily Brown (Singing Voice)

MILLIONS KNIVES: 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 because Vash is the only person who can stop him.

Alias:
Race: Humanoid Plant
Gender: Male
Age: 131
Hair: Light Blond
Eyes: Blue
Height: 5'11" (Same as Vash)
Weight: 185 lbs.
Status: Vash's Twin brother
Quote: "Your not a uman being. Your a plant."
Voice: Joshua Seth (Also credited as Jeremiah Freedman

LEGATO BLUESUMMERS: loves death, and devotes his life to making Vash the Stampede experience eternal pain and suffering. He also wears a white coat (similar to Vash's), making him synonymous with white, the Japanese color of death 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.In the manga, he is a servant of Knives separate from the Gun-Ho Guns, and due to his power, 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 Gun-Ho Guns a coin, and tells Vash that if he collects all twelve coins "something interesting will happen." He is crushed by Knives for trying to kill Vash, and also earns some of Knives anger for using the Gun-Ho Guns for his own purposes (the coin game), and is consequently restricted to a coffin-like container, using his telekinesis when he would normally need hands. His coffin 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.In the anime, 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, Legato's telekinetic ability comes from his own usage of special threads that connect his brain to his victims. Legato came into Knives' service at age 16, after having spent most of his life as a sex slave. He is inadvertently 'rescued' by Knives, who decides to wipe out the town he's being auctioned off in. His survival appears to be a fluke; when Knives notices him, he remarks that he didn't intend to leave anyone alive. Legato walks over to Knives - who promptly sends out an angel blade towards his throat, but Legato then manipulates Knives himself with his telepathic powers, stopping the blade just short of beheading him. Legato then sinks to 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 horrifc life as a slave, Legato relaxes his telepathic control, in essence allowing Knives to decapitate him as a gesture of subservience. Impressed, Knives flexes the blade away. When Knives asks what Legato's name is, he reveals that he has none, and is thereby inducted into the service of his new master. Legato regained the ability to walk on his own 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 demonstrates in a recent battle with Vash that he can not only walk but display acts of enormous strength and speed. Wanting a more fair fight with Vash and to prove himself to Knives he reveals to Vash that the coin case he gave him can actually become a device which can block his telepathy powers 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 manifested as an automatic defense system, or "wings". Lacerated, and having lost both his weapons and a lot of blood, he accepts defeat, and commands Vash to shoot him, thus ending his life. When Vash refuses to do so, Legato threatens to kill all of Vash's allies using his telekinetic abilities. He dies by a bullet to the head in Chapter 96, in a similar manner to his death in the anime.
In the anime, he is often seen eating in restaurants, very slowly and creepily.

Alias:
Race: Modified Human (Was human)
Gender: Male
Age:
Hair: Blue
Eyes: Gold
Height: 6'1"
Weight:
Status: Leader of the Gung-Ho Guns
Quote: "That's unusual for me. I don't usually waste my time on vermin like that."
Voice: Richard Hayworth

THE GUNG-HO GUNS: are a group of assassins assembled by Knives 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 exception to this is Gray the Ninelives in the anime, where he is completley robotic. 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. 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. 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 the anime they are sometimes referred to as demons.)