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Vash the Stampede (ヴァッシュ・ザ・スタンピード Basshu za Sutanpīdo) is the main character of Trigun, also known as The Humanoid Typhoon. 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 $$ (read 'double dollar') 60 billion bounty on his head.^[1] He escapes and Milly and Meryl eventually learn that this is the person they are assigned to track.

Contents 1 Vash in the Anime 1.1 Weapons 1.2 Background 2 Vash in the Manga 2.1 Weapons and Abilities 2.2 Background 3 Voices 4 Other appearances 5 References

Vash displays two different personalities. Ordinarily, Vash exaggerates foolish characteristics to make people feel unthreatened and to hide his identity; for instance, exhibiting an almost obsessive love of doughnuts^[2] and, at times, introducing himself as "Valentinez Alkalinella Xifax Sicidabohertz Gombigobilla Blue Stradivari Talentrent Pierre Andri Charton-Haymoss Ivanovici Baldeus George Doitzel Kaiser III". (Vash's reputation as "The Humanoid Typhoon" is legendary, as is the damage and destruction associated with his presence.^[3]) However, when those around him are threatened, Vash shows complete focus and control.

Indeed, Vash is a multidimensional character who, despite his age, has still not found peace with himself and the world that continues to shun him in fear. Of note is the inner difference between him and Millions Knives, his twin brother, regarding humanity. Though Vash and Knives have gone through the same experience and torment, Vash has chosen to remain hopeful and loving toward humanity whereas Knives has fallen into a deep-seated hatred of the human race. Their personalities also have key differences: Vash cannot stand the despair of being alone, whereas Knives revels in his loneliness and has no desire for any company except that of other plants.

Because Vash refuses to kill any of his opponents, he often suffered in the past at the hands of very persistent enemies and their attempts at revenge. As a result, his body is a patchwork of deep, broad scars, crushed skin supported by metal mesh, and stitch marks.

Vash habitually carries a .45 long, custom silver coated metal bodied revolver resembling a Mateba Autorevolver (though the gun is possibly modeled after many other revolvers). It is a classic six-shot double-action revolver with a top break reloading mechanism and fires .45 Colt ammunition. This pistol was created by Knives and is linked to his Angel Arm weapon. Vash's trademark pistol is the catalyst needed to activate his "Angel Arm" - he cannot use it without that pistol. In addition, no mention is made of his power limits or other uses for his power.

Vash lost his left arm in an incident involving Knives. He has a cybernetic replacement, which also conceals an integrated Submachine gun. It is first a semi-automatic weapon, but later on it is upgraded to a fully automatic sub-machine gun (the recoil of which proves slightly problematic at first), which extends and flips over to rest on top of his arm.

Vash also uses Reverend Nicholas D. Wolfwood's cross gun to defeat Knives.

Vash is in fact not a human, but a human-like "Plant", interdimensional beings that are tapped as a source of power and energy for the planet Gunsmoke, similar to the "Fast-Friends" from the George R.R. Martin short story of the same name.^[4] As a Plant, his body does not physically age past his mid-twenties or so (he is 131 years old in the anime, 150 in the manga by the end of the first series. 152 by the beginning of the second series.) and his right arm can transform into an unusually destructive weapon, called an "Angel Arm." This weapon is powerful enough to destroy entire cities with a single blast (in a way somewhat similar to the effects of a hydrogen or nuclear bomb), but Vash fears its potential for destruction and knows little about how to use it.

Vash requires a special Angel Gun to activate his powers. Shortly after he receives his Angel Gun from his brother, Vash shoots Knives in the leg, then takes both guns and flees into the desert. He spends two years alone wandering Gunsmoke until he finally collapses.^[4] He is rescued by humans from the only remaining functioning SEEDS ship on the planet, which didn't quite crash during "The Great Fall."^[5] While there he makes human friends and is gifted with his signature red (duster styled) trenchcoat. After a few months he leaves and ventures out into the world. Vash returns to the ship 80 years later in search of any relatives of Rem in its databanks and finds the last one alive: PASSENGER NO.300-89-9023AS, or "Revenant Buskus". Buskus had studied Plants and established a new plant-theory in July City. Vash goes to July City in the hopes of meeting him, but instead finds Knives standing over Revenant's dead body. In the ensuing firefight, Knives shoots Vash's left arm off. He then activates Vash's Angel Arm in an attempt to destroy the city and everyone in it, but Vash turns the Angel Arm on Knives instead.

In the manga, Vash is an "independent" plant, with a mostly similar personality to his anime adaptation. His body is ravaged and scarred, and he refuses to use his abilities as a plant to heal them. He denies himself the company of women because he is certain that "They would only run away" after seeing his scars.

In the manga, Vash uses his unique gun out of mere novelty and habit. The appearance of the pistol in the manga is also different from that in the anime. One should also note, than in Trigun Maximum, the revolver used in the anime does in fact appear to Vash for use, albeit for 2 panels grand total as a replacement while he had his usual gun repaired.

His left arm is prosthetic and contains a submachine gun.

In the manga, the Angel Arm is a natural feature of a plant's body, and can be manipulated into various shapes to create various effects beyond destruction. In addition, his power is limited - like a battery, it contains only a certain amount of energy, and when that energy is gone, he will die. A plant's hair color gradually darkens as their power is depleted - when it is gone, their hair is entirely black. Vash's Angel Arm takes the shape of a large cannon weapon, which uses a tremendous amount of power - his hair began to darken after the second time he fires it, which blasts a hole in the moon. Throughout the manga, Vash learns to gain better control of his power to form smaller cannons and defensive feathers, though his hair continues to grow darker until it is almost completely black.

Vash and his brother Knives are plants- beings that can generate energy and even food and water based on environmental conditions. Plants were invented by humans, and are usually kept alive in light bulb shaped containers and used as a power source. However, Vash and Knives are "independent" plants, meaning they can survive independently (other plants depend on being kept in a special environment in their containers) and even use their powers of their own conscious will.

Vash and Knives were born and found by Rem aboard a SEEDS ship, part of a fleet to send humans to colonize new worlds. Rem raised them over a period of one year and they grew quickly, resembling preteens within that time. Vash keeps an expressionless face because he does not know how he should look, and both twins are concerned about what humans will think of them. Soon afterward, they discover that their birth had been preceded by another: Tesla. The crew of the ship, interested in the discovery of an "independent" plant, experimented on her until she died. Her dissected remains are discovered by Knives and Vash.

Knives faints from the shock, but Vash enters a period of depression, while Rem tries to explain that what happened to Tesla was wrong and that it must never happen again. Vash, afraid of humanity and depressed that he is alone among humans, tries to commit suicide, but is stopped by Rem. Afterwards, Rem relates her story of her own depression and her dream of the blank ticket with no guaranteed destination. This inspires Vash to keep on moving forward with his "ticket to the future" and decides to forgive and trust humanity.

Knives, after he wakes and learns about the story of Tesla, cannot bring himself to trust humans anymore. He then engineers the Great Fall in an attempt to destroy the fleet, but some ships are saved by Rem at the cost of her life. Vash, who cannot bring himself to be alone again, has no choice but to continue to follow Knives to explore the new planet.

Vash and Knives separate after Knives slaughters a city that had captured Vash. After a fierce argument, Vash panicked and fired a gun, hitting Knives in the back. Knives retaliated by using his angel arm to cut off Vash's left arm. After this separation, Vash was found by the SEEDS ship colony, where he gained his gear and prosthetic left arm. After years of intense training to become a skilled gunslinger, Vash searched for Bill Conrad, one of the crew aboard the SEEDS ship he and Knives grew up on. Knives, however, found Dr. Conrad first and used him to learn more about the Angel Arm and the power of plants. When Vash arrived at July, Knives defeated him and had Conrad study Vash's abilities. Afterwards, Knives activated Vash's Angel Arm, which led to the destructive July incident.

In both versions of the July incident, Knives was severely injured and hid away to recover, with the Gung Ho Guns being sent (though in the manga, Legato does it without Knives consent) to torment and prepare Vash to confront Knives again.

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

Vash the Stampede makes a cameo appearance in the videogame Wild Arms 2 and in the anime Excel Saga^{[citation needed]}.

1. ^ Trigun: The $$60,000,000,000 Man. TV.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-12.
2. ^ Vash the Stampede. Animefu. Retrieved on 2006-10-12.
3. ^ Trigun- Vash the Stampede- Anime. BellaOnline. Retrieved on 2006-10-12.
4. ^ ^{a b} Trigun: Under the Sky So Blue. TV.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-12.
5. ^ Trigun: Flying Ship Recap. TV.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-12.

Trigun
Media
Trigun X | Trigun: The Planet Gunsmoke
Characters
Vash the Stampede | Millions Knives | Nicholas D. Wolfwood | Gung-Ho Guns