Vash the Stampede
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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. 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.
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[edit] Character
Vash displays two different personalities. Ordinarily, Vash exaggerates his foolish characteristics [2] to make people feel unthreatened and to hide his identity. (Vash's reputation as "The Humanoid Typhoon" is legendary, as is the damage and destruction associated with his presence.) However, when those around him are threatened, Vash shows complete focus and control. He also has an almost obsessive love of doughnuts. [3]
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 must often suffer from very persistent opponents and their attempts at revenge. As a result, his body is a patchwork of deep, broad scars and stitch marks. In the manga at least, he denies himself the company of women because he is certain that "they would only run away."
[edit] Weapons
Vash habitually carries a high-caliber silver-colored handgun. This gun is modeled after several other revolvers. It is a classic six-shot double-action revolver and fires .45 Colt ammunition, similar to the Single Action Army. It fires from the bottom cylinder rather than the top one, like the Mateba Autorevolver. It has a top-break action - the barrel and cylinder pivots down to reload, and automatically ejects empty casings as it does so. This design strongly resembles the Schofield Model 3. In the manga, Vash uses this unique gun out of mere novelty and habit; however, in the anime this pistol was created by Knives and is linked to his Angel Arm weapon. (see below) The appearance of the pistol in the manga is also subtly different from the anime.
In the anime, Vash's trademark pistol is the catalyst needed to activate this weapon - 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 for that arm, which also conceals an integrated gun. In the beginning, this is a semi-automatic weapon; later on (in both the manga and the anime) it is upgraded to a fully automatic sub-machine gun, which extends and flips over to rest on top of his arm.
In the anime, Vash also uses Reverend Nicholas D. Wolfwood's punisher machine gun, to defeat Knives and kept it.
[edit] Background
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 potental for destruction and knows little about how to use it. In the manga, this weapon is a natural feature of his body, and capable of various effects beyond destruction. In addition, his Angel Arm 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 weapon uses a tremendous amount of power - his hair began to darken after the second time he fires it. Throughout the manga, Vash's hair continues to grow darker until it is almost completely black.
In the anime, 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.
[edit] Voices
Adult Vash Voiced by: Masaya Onosaka (Japanese), Johnny Yong Bosch (English)
Young Vash Voiced by: Kouki Miyata (Japanese), Bryce Papenbrook (English)
[edit] Other appearances
Vash the Stampede makes a cameo appearance in the videogame Wild Arms 2 and in the anime Excel Saga.
[edit] References
- ^ Trigun: The $$60,000,000,000 Man. TV.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-12.
- ^ Trigun- Vash the Stampede- Anime. BellaOnline. Retrieved on 2006-10-12.
- ^ Vash the Stampede. Animefu. Retrieved on 2006-10-12.
- ^ a b Trigun: Under the Sky So Blue. TV.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-12.
- ^ 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 |
