Trigun is an anime television series based on the manga of the same name written and illustrated by Yasuhiro Nightow. The series follows Vash the Stampede, the most feared outlaw on the planet, who has a $$60 billion ("double dollar") price on his head. He displays a kindhearted, goofy demeanor and goes out of his way not to hurt anyone if he can help it. Most of the destruction blamed on him is actually caused by the extreme measures people take to capture or kill him for the reward; as a result, he has been nicknamed "The Humanoid Typhoon." As he travels across the planet to meet a certain man, he also meets two women, Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson, tasked with investigating his actions and minimizing the damage associated with them.
The anime was directed by Satoshi Nishimura at Madhouse, with Yōsuke Kuroda handling series composition, Takahiro Yoshimatsu providing character designs, and music composed by Tsuneo Imahori. The series was originally broadcast on TV Tokyo from April 1 to September 30, 1998. It is licensed for DVD and Blu-ray [1] in the United States by Funimation Entertainment, who re-released it on DVD on October 27, 2010. [2] The opening theme is "H.T.", written and arranged by Tsuneo Imahori, while the ending is "Kaze wa Mirai ni Fuku" (風は未来に吹く, lit. "Wind Blows to the Future"), written, composed, arranged, and sung by Akima & Neos. Trigun was released on VHS and Laserdisc, and later DVD, by JVC and marketed by Victor Entertainment in Japan.
The English version was initially released on VHS and DVD by Pioneer Entertainment (U.S.) L.P., and when the company became Geneon, re-released as a new box-set. In the mid-2000s, Geneon re-released Trigun on DVD in a REMIX edition featuring the video, digitally remastered for optimal video quality and the sound, also remastered and remixed in 5.1 Dolby Digital AC-3 surround sound. Funimation re-released the series on DVD in late 2010 upon Geneon's collapse. In the United Kingdom, the anime was released on DVD by MVM Films, starting in 2005 and projected to be finished by the end of 2006 (there were delays due to a fire at a disc duplication plant in August 2005)[ citation needed ]. Also, a single UMD, for PlayStation Portable, was released, named Vol. 1, and contained the first two episodes. Trigun is released on DVD in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment.
EP# | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | English air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "The $$60 Billion Man" Transliteration: "Roppyaku-oku Dabudoru no Otoko" (Japanese: 600億$$の男) | Satoshi Nishimura | Yōsuke Kuroda | April 1, 1998 | March 31, 2003 | |
After a "Humanoid Typhoon" incident leaves the town of Dankin in ruins, a gang of thugs led by the giant part-cyborg Bad Boss tracks down Vash the Stampede in hopes of collecting the $$60 billion reward for his capture. At the same time, Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson, employees of the Bernardelli Insurance Society, are sent to investigate the rumors surrounding Vash and keep him from doing any damage that might affect the company's finances. Bad Boss and a bounty hunter named Loose Ruth mistake each other for Vash in the rocks above the town of Felnarl. Vash, Meryl, and Milly are caught in the middle of the shoot-out but manage to escape, while Felnarl suffers heavy damage but no casualties. At Lewison Town, 40 iles west of Felnarl, Meryl files her report. | ||||||
2 | "Truth of Mistake" | Shigeki Awai | Yōsuke Kuroda | April 8, 1998 | April 1, 2003 | |
Arriving in a town whose water supply has dried up, Meryl and Milly find Vash working for Cliff Cesar, a wealthy water seller. Cliff has hired Vash to protect a young woman named Maryann staying at his mansion, and is worried about someone who has been trespassing on his property. Vash, Meryl, and Milly discover that the intruder is actually Maryann, a marshal who is investigating Cliff's business and his monopolization of the water supply. Vash sides with Maryann and foils Cliff's attempts to kill them both, which inadvertently cause Cliff's processing equipment to overload, destroying his mansion, releasing his stored water, and flooding the town. Maryann places Cliff under arrest, but no-one actually believes the man hired by Cliff is really Vash. | ||||||
3 | "Peace Maker" | Shigehito Takayanagi | Yōsuke Kuroda | April 15, 1998 | April 2, 2003 | |
In the city of Warrens, Vash encounters Frank Marlon, a drunkard who used to be a talented gunsmith. He once saved the town from a group of bandits by arming the residents, but fell into alcoholism after one of his guns was used to kill his family in a bank robbery. Lacking a sheriff, Warrens is defenseless against a gang who plan to rob an armored car until Vash inspires Frank and the residents to stand up against them. The robbery is thwarted without any injuries, and Frank gives up drinking and repairs Vash's gun in gratitude. | ||||||
4 | "Love & Peace" | Toshikatsu Tokoro | Yōsuke Kuroda | April 22, 1998 | April 3, 2003 | |
In the city of Orleans, Meryl, Milly, and a young heiress named Stefany Bostalk are taken hostage in a saloon by a gang who have a score to settle with Stefany's father and the town leader, nicknamed "Grim Reaper." They want revenge on Bostalk for slaughtering their parents and seizing their land years earlier. Vash waltzes into the saloon, and is also taken hostage. The situation worsens when Stan, the local sheriff and formerly one of Bostalk's raiders, hires a group of ruthless mercenaries to storm the saloon. The confrontation culminates in a showdown between Bostalk and the gang leader, in which Bostalk sustains a shoulder wound. Stan tries to kill the leader in a ploy to boost his own reputation, but Vash and Meryl disarm him and his deputies, and Meryl strips him of his position. | ||||||
5 | "Hard Puncher" | Yoshimitsu Ohashi | Yōsuke Kuroda | April 29, 1998 | April 7, 2003 | |
In the city of Inepril, Vash finds its entire population trying to capture him for the $$60 billion reward so they can pay for much-needed repairs to their malfunctioning plant. The citizens cause extensive damage in their pursuit, and the town leader hires the escaped outlaws Professor and Gofsef Nebraska to catch Vash and stop the destruction. Vash puts himself in great peril to keep the violent pair from harming any civilians, and ultimately stops Gofsef's huge mechanical fist by shooting it. As the Nebraskas are recaptured, Meryl finally admits to her dismay that the strange man she and Milly have been following may really be Vash the Stampede. | ||||||
6 | "Lost July" | Nanako Shimazaki | Yōsuke Kuroda | May 6, 1998 | April 8, 2003 | |
Vash allows the citizens of Inepril to claim a $$700,000 reward for capturing the Nebraskas, enough money to cover repairs to the city's plant. An engineering team arrives on a sand steamer, and Vash becomes smitten with Elizabeth, their beautiful manager. She engages him to protect her, but then takes him into a room in the plant filled with overloading equipment and locks them in, where he is attacked by a blade-wielding masked assassin with long braided hair. She intends to kill Vash, accusing him of destroying the third city of July. She blames him for the way the survivors descended into chaos and violence, leaving her an orphan when she was three years old. Vash uses his powers to bring the plant under control, telling her that he has no memory of the day. She breaks down, crying as she remembers him comforting her as a child. | ||||||
7 | "B.D.N. (Brilliant Dynamite Neon)" Transliteration: "Buririanto Dainamaito Neon" (Japanese: B.D.N. ブリリアント·ダイナマイト·ネオン) | Mihiro Yamaguchi | Yōsuke Kuroda | May 13, 1998 | April 9, 2003 | |
Vash departs on the sand steamer with the gratitude of Inepril, while Meryl and Milly take jobs on board to keep an eye on him and save money. He befriends a young stowaway named Kaite, who is secretly helping the ruthless Bad Lad Gang hijack the steamer. Dissatisfied with the haul, their leader, Brilliant Dynamites Neon, decides to crash the steamer into the bottom of a canyon to smash open the safe containing the passengers' valuables. Kaite refuses to help with this plan, claiming that the craft was his father's, and Vash saves him from being killed by the short-tempered Neon. | ||||||
8 | "And Between the Wasteland and Sky..." Transliteration: "Soshite Kouya to Sora no Aida wo" (Japanese: そして荒野と空の間を) | Kou Matsuo | Yōsuke Kuroda | May 20, 1998 | April 10, 2003 | |
Kaite reveals that his father designed the steamer, and while he helps Vash evade the Bad Lads, he sees the lengths to which Vash will go in order to avoid harming anyone, even after he is wounded. The gang eventually capture Vash and Kaite, but as Neon prepares to kill him, Meryl and Milly, having disguised themselves as gang members, hold him at gunpoint. Vash challenges Neon to a duel and wins, so Neon agrees to stop the steamer, but the braking system no longer functions. To atone for his part in the hijacking, Kaite rushes into the engine room and trips an emergency stop switch when the crew cannot do it. Even with his protective clothing, he is badly burned, but the steamer stops just short of the canyon's edge thanks to his efforts and Neon's surprising use of his own getaway vehicle to force it to a halt. While watching the sun rise, Kaite starts singing a song that causes Vash to have a flashback of a long-haired woman from his past. | ||||||
9 | "Murder Machine" | Shigeki Awai | Yōsuke Kuroda | May 27, 1998 | April 14, 2003 | |
While traveling to May City by bus from the site of the steamer crash, Vash encounters a traveling priest named Nicholas D. Wolfwood, who is trying to raise money for an orphanage he supports. The bus is attacked by a squadron of armed robots, remnants of lost technology, and the two men leap into action to save a little girl being menaced by them. In the process, Vash and Wolfwood are sucked down through a patch of quicksand and fall into a buried alien ship which is controlling the robots. Working together, they fight their way past its defenses and shut down the main computer to save the passengers from further attack. The bus safely reaches May City the next morning. | ||||||
10 | "Quick Draw" | Shoji Yabushita | Yōsuke Kuroda | June 10, 1998 | April 15, 2003 | |
In May City, Vash finds Wolfwood helping out at a restaurant owned by a woman whose husband has gone missing and left her and her son deep in debt. Wolfwood persuades Vash to sign up for a quick-draw tournament with a $$50,000 grand prize as a way to help her out, and then Vash shocks Wolfwood by signing him up as well. The two devise a scheme to fake their deaths in the final round, wounding but not killing all the gunmen the organizer hired to capture Vash for the bounty on his head. Wolfwood coerces the double-dealing tournament organizer into giving him the prize money. The restaurant owner is happy to have her debts paid off and surprised when her husband returns home. | ||||||
11 | "Escape from Pain" | Yoshihide Kuriyama | Yōsuke Kuroda | June 17, 1998 | April 16, 2003 | |
While traveling across the desert with a vehicle caravan, Milly and Wolfwood encounter Julius and Moore, a pair of lovers on the run. Julius, the "son" of the caravan company's owner, has learned that the company engages in human trafficking with his real father, the mayor of Fondrique. To the horror of Meryl and Milly, Vash accepts a $$20 million contract to kill Julius and keep the company in business. Wolfwood reasons that Julius should return to the caravan because people's livelihoods are in danger, a higher priority than the young man's own wellbeing. Vash appears and shoots both Julius and Moore from a distance, convincing everyone that they are dead. However, he actually used rubber bullets so the couple could escape together. The owner later sends his apologies to Julius, also saying that he and Moore are free. Wolfwood parts ways with Vash, Meryl, and Milly, reflecting that Vash devised a solution that he himself could not see. | ||||||
12 | "Diablo" | Hideo Hayashi | Yōsuke Kuroda | June 24, 1998 | April 17, 2003 | |
A peaceful day in town for Vash, Meryl, and Milly is ruined when the powerful telepath Legato Bluesummers, commander of the Gung-Ho Guns, arrives and warns Vash that he will die that day. Vash is subsequently arrested for the murder of a shoemaker and jailed to await trial. As Vash ponders Legato's message that night in jail, Monev the Gale storms in to kill him. Monev has spent 20 years training in isolation to become the perfect killer. However, Vash escapes and eventually defeats Monev after a protracted battle that leaves many townspeople dead by Monev's hand. Vash holds Monev at gunpoint, ready to kill him, but then suffers a crisis of conscience. | ||||||
13 | "Vash the Stampede" Transliteration: "Vasshu Za Sutanpīdo" (Japanese: ヴァッシュ·ザ·スタンピード) | Shigehito Takayanagi | Yōsuke Kuroda | July 1, 1998 | April 21, 2003 | |
Vash chooses to spare Monev, who admits that he has no idea who sent him to kill Vash. The townspeople remain on edge as Meryl composes a report for her Bernardelli superiors, told mostly through flashbacks to previous episodes. She summarizes the experiences she and Milly have had with Vash while accompanying him on his travels. They see the multiple scars he has received as a result of his choice to live without killing anyone, and he says that he is on a quest to put his past behind him. When he leaves town, no longer facing a murder charge for the shoemaker's death, Meryl and Milly decide to continue following him. | ||||||
14 | "Little Arcadia" | Shigeki Awai | Yōsuke Kuroda | July 8, 1998 | April 22, 2003 | |
In the town of Promontory, Vash, Meryl, and Milly are drawn into a dispute over a valuable piece of land. The elderly owners are trying to stop the ruthless tycoon Morgan from forcing them off. Morgan has hired a gang of thugs to take the land, including the couple's son Badwick and Patricia Nebraska with the rest of the Nebraska family. Meryl and Milly foil the thugs with a little secret help from Vash. Badwick comes to understand his parents' determination to hold on to their livelihood and heads into town to file the paperwork that will make their ownership of the land official. To his surprise, he finds that his parents are planning to give the land to him. | ||||||
15 | "Demon's Eye" | Tomio Yamauchi | Yōsuke Kuroda | July 15, 1998 | April 23, 2003 | |
In the town of Jeneora Rock, Legato is insulted by a gang known as the Roderick Thieves and takes out his annoyance by forcing them to brutally kill each other. Vash arrives and is horrified to discover the gang's corpses. He chases Legato, but instead comes face to face with a member of his Gung-Ho Guns, the gunfighter called Dominique the Cyclops. She can seemingly move from place to place in an instant, but as the two fight, Vash figures out how to neutralize her powers and gains the upper hand. However, they are interrupted by Meryl and Milly, and Dominique escapes in the confusion. Vash warns the girls not to follow him any further, and quietly vows to hunt down Legato, whatever it takes. | ||||||
16 | "Fifth Moon" | Yoshihide Kuriyama | Yōsuke Kuroda | July 22, 1998 | April 24, 2003 | |
Two weeks after the Jeneora Rock incident, Meryl and Milly decide to follow Vash. Meanwhile, 40 miles from the city of Augusta, a hypnotized man tells Vash the Legato awaits him in the city before killing himself. On arriving in Augusta, Vash uses his reputation to create a panic and evacuate the city so he can face Legato alone. Legato sends two Gung-Ho Guns after Vash; first, the spike-throwing E.G. Mine, who is easily beaten and summarily killed by the second, the samurai Rai-Dei the Blade. As Rai-Dei corners Vash and prepares to kill him, Vash's right arm transforms into an organic cannon, or "angel arm," whose blast destroys Augusta and carves a crater into one of the planet's moons. Wolfwood has also followed Vash, and when he finds the wounded Rai-Dei in the rubble, he kills him. News of Vash's destruction travels across the planet, and Meryl and Milly, who witnessed it all from a distance, receive orders to return to headquarters, as Bernardelli has decided to no longer be involved with Vash after designating the event as "mankind's first human Act of God". | ||||||
17 | "Rem Saverem" Transliteration: "Remu Seiburemu" (Japanese: レム·セイブレム) | Yoshimitsu Ohashi | Yōsuke Kuroda | July 29, 1998 | April 28, 2003 | |
This episode is set during the childhood of Vash and his brother Knives, who were taken aboard a spaceship by its small crew, one part of a large fleet containing humans in suspended animation. They departed Earth as part of Project SEEDS, an effort to colonize other planets after mankind had exhausted its resources. Vash becomes attached to one optimistic crew member named Rem Saverem. However, Knives becomes increasingly disgusted with the behavior of humanity, especially after being beaten by a crew member who distrusts the alien boys. Knives manipulates three crew members into killing each other, then kills the captain and alters the ships' navigation program to make them crash onto the planet. Rem sacrifices her life to reprogram the ships and save as many colonists as she can, urging Vash to "take care of Knives!" 107 years later, as the adult Vash travels to the city of July, he vows to Rem that indeed, he'll take care of Knives. | ||||||
18 | "Goodbye for Now" Transliteration: "Ima wa, Sayonara" (Japanese: 今は, さよなら) | Shigeki Awai | Yōsuke Kuroda | August 5, 1998 | April 29, 2003 | |
Vash has a nightmare in which he recalls when Knives manifested Vash's "angel arm", and provoke him into firing it, destroying July city. Wolfwood arrives in the city of Kasted, which has been overrun by a bandit gang who the townspeople believe is Vash. A man named Eriks intervenes to save a young girl named Lina from the leader's wrath, but he is shot and is rushed to the hospital. Wolfwood recognizes Eriks as Vash, who changed his name after the destruction of Augusta and has settled into a peaceful life with Lina and her grandmother Sheryl. He tells Vash that Knives is implicated in the disappearance of the entire population of the town of Carcasses. When Lina is kidnapped by the gang, Vash reluctantly takes up his gun and his old identity and accompanies Wolfwood, easily rescuing her. Afterwards, Vash reluctantly departs Kasted to investigate Knives' possible involvement in the situation in Carcasses. | ||||||
19 | "Hang Fire" | Tomio Yamauchi | Yōsuke Kuroda | August 12, 1998 | April 30, 2003 | |
When Vash is sighted at Little Jersey, Meryl and Milly are assigned to prevent any destruction, but they arrive too late, finding the town in ruins. Vash and Wolfwood arrive in the city of New Oregon, the site of a long-running feud between the Polo and Fris families. A Fris contingent hijacks the sand steamer carrying Meryl and Milly to New Oregon, and crashes it into the town. Vash makes his way onto the steamer and broadcasts a message over the PA system to scare off the Fris family, who are holding the passengers hostage, while Benson Fris is ready to kill Slader Polo in revenge for the death of his daughter. Benson savagely beats Vash, but he ultimately yields to Vash's pleas to spare Slader and the standoff ends without any loss of life. The Fris leader proves to be a mannequin controlled by one of the Gung-Ho Guns, Leonof the Puppet-Master, who reports to Legato that Vash is once again on the move. | ||||||
20 | "Flying Ship" | Yuji Moriyama | Yōsuke Kuroda | August 19, 1998 | May 1, 2003 | |
Typhoon Jacqueline hits New Oregon, forcing everyone to stay indoors. Vash recalls the moments after the Project SEEDS fleet crashed on the planet, and his anger at Knives, who sabotaged the mission in an attempt to kill the colonists. Vash rides the typhoon's winds up to an ageing SEEDS ship that has remained in orbit since the fleet arrived, and Wolfwood tags along. It has been 5 years since Vash's last visit. The ship's inhabitants regard the visitors with distrust, except the Doctor and the young woman Jessica, who has had a crush on Vash since she was a child. Things take a turn for the worse when Legato has Leonof send his puppets to kill as many inhabitants as possible, and they take Jessica hostage. Vash and Wolfwood free her and shoot down the puppets, but Leonof announces that three "demons" have been sent to destroy him. | ||||||
21 | "Out of Time" | Yoshihide Kuriyama | Yōsuke Kuroda | August 26, 1998 | May 5, 2003 | |
Two more Gung-Ho Guns enter the SEEDS ship and begin killing the residents: Gray the Ninelives, a heavily armed and armored android, and Hoppered the Gauntlet, a hunchback with a machine gun and invulnerable shield. Vash and Wolfwood fight through hordes of Leonof's puppets to stop the Gung-Ho Guns from destroying the ship's plants. Their efforts fail and the plant is destroyed, causing the broken ship to descend onto the planet. Wolfwood discovers the real Jessica tied up in a closet, and realizes that the one he and Vash saved is a puppet. It draws a gun and fatally shoots Brad, a resident who had become Vash's friend. Meanwhile, Wolfwood finds and kills Leonof in the desert, and Meryl and Milly arrive on the scene. | ||||||
22 | "Alternative" | Shigeki Awai | Yōsuke Kuroda | September 2, 1998 | May 6, 2003 | |
Following the many deaths on the SEEDS ship, Vash realizes he must face Knives, so he travels on with Wolfwood, Meryl, and Milly. They arrive at the city of Keybas, built in the ruins of a SEEDS ship, but the guards will not let in outsiders. The group follows a child to an orphanage built into a rockface and filled with children from nearby towns which the adults have inexplicably abandoned. The next morning, after a nighttime visit from the Gung-Ho Guns, a mob from Keybas attacks, blaming the group for opening the main gates and the death of a guard. They are interrupted by a swarm of giant sandworms that attack and begin to destroy the city. Vash and Wolfwood suspect that the worms are being controlled, and Vash realizes that an orphan boy named Bete is responsible. After Vash destroys his control device, the child admits to being Zazie the Beast, one of the Gung-Ho Guns. He holds the group at gunpoint until Wolfwood shoots and kills him. Everyone is horrified by this, but Wolfwood argues that it was necessary for their survival. | ||||||
23 | "Paradise" Transliteration: "Rakuen" (Japanese: 楽園) | Norihiko Nagahama | Yōsuke Kuroda | September 9, 1998 | May 7, 2003 | |
In the town of Tonim, Wolfwood reflects on his troubled childhood, but is interrupted by the arrival of his mentor, Chapel the Evergreen of the Gung-Ho Guns. Chapel informs him that Knives' order to keep Vash alive has been rescinded and that he must now kill Vash instead. On doing so, he will inherit Chapel's position in the Gung-Ho Guns and be able to protect the children in his orphanage in the town of December. Wolfwood and Vash resume their old argument over the use of deadly force, but another Gung-Ho Gun, Caine the Longshot, begins shooting at them from the desert with a huge sniper rifle. Wolfwood sends Vash after Caine, planning to fight Chapel himself. Caine commits suicide after Vash destroys his rifle, and although Wolfwood beats Chapel, his body is taken over by Legato and is forced to shoot Wolfwood. Fatally wounded, Wolfwood tells Vash that Knives is in Dimitri and then staggers into a church. There, his last act is to apologize for his sins before he dies, leaving Meryl and especially Milly devastated. | ||||||
24 | "Sin" Transliteration: "Tsumi" (Japanese: 罪) | Kazuhiro Ozawa | Yōsuke Kuroda | September 16, 1998 | May 8, 2003 | |
Chapel tries to kill Legato in revenge for using him to kill Wolfwood, but Legato immobilizes him and leaves him to be disintegrated by Knives. Vash departs Tonim in search of Knives, telling Meryl that Knives is his brother and warning her and Milly not to follow him for their safety. He finds Legato in the town of LR, but first has to fight the last remaining Gung-Ho Gun, Midvalley the Hornfreak, who can send out devastating shock waves from his saxophone. After Vash damages the horn with ricochets to render it useless, Midvalley commits suicide. Vash approaches Legato, who tries to trigger Vash's angel arm, but Vash brings it under control and refuses to kill him. However, Meryl and Milly have followed Vash to LR, where they are captured by a mob of townspeople under Legato's control. Legato forces Vash to kill him in order to save the lives of Meryl and Milly. | ||||||
25 | "Live Through" | Shigeki Awai | Yōsuke Kuroda | September 23, 1998 | May 12, 2003 | |
Meryl and Milly take Vash to a small town well away from LR so he can recover from injuries sustained in his fights with Midvalley and Legato. He regains consciousness after 10 days, but is still tormented by Legato's death. Meanwhile, the girls take jobs in town and care for him during their time off. A visiting truck driver recognizes Vash, turning all the residents into a mob eager to kill him unless he leaves town because of the threat he poses. Meryl persuades them to spare Vash, using words that remind him strongly of Rem, and he finds a new sense of tranquility. He sets out to find Knives and Milly gives him the mobile cross-shaped arsenal that Wolfwood carried, saying Vash should carry it in his honor. | ||||||
26 | "Under the Sky So Blue" Transliteration: "Konna ni mo Aoi Sora no Shita de" (Japanese: こんなにも青い空の下で) | Satoshi Nishimura | Yōsuke Kuroda | September 30, 1998 | May 13, 2003 | |
Vash finds Knives in the desert oasis of Dimitri. He reflects on the past 130 years since Knives caused the crash of the Project SEEDS fleet and became determined to wipe out all humans on the planet. He even went so far as to create two revolvers that could be used to trigger the brothers' angel arms. Horrified at Knives' plans, Vash shot him and fled with both guns. Taken in by the residents of the Project SEEDS ship that had stayed aloft, Vash located a descendant of Rem in July and traveled there to meet him, only to find him dead at the hand of Knives. Knives then shoots off Vash's left arm and causes Vash to start his angel arm blast. Vash points his arm at Knives and severely injures him in the ensuing blast, which also destroys the town of July. Some time later, Knives subsequently recruited Legato and the Gung-Ho Guns to cause Vash as much pain and suffering as possible. At the oasis, Vash and Knives engage in a protracted battle, both with guns and their angel arms. Knives gains the advantage and prepares to kill Vash, but Vash shoots and wounds Knives using Wolfwood's cross rather than killing him. Vash discards his red coat and gun along with his identity as the Stampede, resolving to honor Rem's memory and trust his own judgment. He bandages Knives and carries him back to Meryl and Milly, who are overjoyed to see him. |
Trigun is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yasuhiro Nightow. It was first serialized in Tokuma Shoten's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Captain from March 1995 to December 1996, until the magazine ceased its publication; its chapters were collected in three tankōbon volumes. The series continued its publication in Shōnen Gahosha's seinen manga magazine Young King OURs, under the title Trigun Maximum, from October 1997 to March 2007. Shōnen Gahosha republished the Trigun chapters in two volumes, and collected the Trigun Maximum chapters in 14 volumes.
Oh My Goddess!, or Ah! My Goddess! in some releases, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kōsuke Fujishima. It was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon from September 1988 to April 2014, with its chapters collected in 48 tankōbon volumes. The series follows college sophomore Keiichi Morisato and the goddess Belldandy who moves in with him in a Buddhist temple; after Belldandy's sisters Urd and Skuld move in with them, they encounter gods, demons and other supernatural entities as Keiichi develops his relationship with Belldandy. The manga series has been licensed for English-language release by Dark Horse Comics.
Hajime no Ippo is a Japanese boxing-themed manga series written and illustrated by George Morikawa. It has been serialized by Kodansha in the shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine since October 1989, with its chapters collected into 141 tankōbon volumes as of July 2024. It follows the story of high school student Ippo Makunouchi, as he begins his career in boxing and over time obtains many titles and defeats various opponents.
Buso Renkin is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. It follows Kazuki Muto, who becomes an alchemical warrior in the battle against alchemical monsters known as homunculi. Watsuki envisioned the manga as his last shōnen manga, and then he tried to do as much as he could with that genre. It was serialized in publisher Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine from June 2003 to April 2005. The individual chapters were republished by Shueisha in ten tankōbon. The series has been licensed by Viz Media for North American release.
Vash the Stampede is the protagonist of Trigun, a manga series created by Yasuhiro Nightow in 1995. Set on the planet No Man's Land, Vash is the most feared outlaw who has earned a bounty of $$60 billion on his head and the nickname "The Humanoid Typhoon" (人間台風) after accidentally destroying a city with his supernatural powers. He is a skilled gunman who battles bounty hunters and assassins working for his twin brother, Millions Knives. Despite his reputation, Vash displays a kindhearted personality by befriending citizens and refusing to murder his enemies.
Nicholas D. Wolfwood, also known as Nicholas the Punisher, is a major character in the Trigun manga series created by Yasuhiro Nightow, as well as its anime adaptation. He is a priest who wields a large cross-shaped gun named the Punisher, which he and his former colleagues use either in saving people or for complete destruction. After showing potential in the orphanage in which he was raised, Chapel trained and modified him, giving him enhanced abilities and the ability to regenerate from heavy injuries using special vials. He was given a special large cross-shaped gun called the Punisher, which contains two machine guns and a rocket launcher. Wolfwood is found nearly dead in the desert by protagonist Vash the Stampede. They become recurring allies despite acting on different morals when fighting.
Shakugan no Shana, also known simply as Shana (シャナ), is a Japanese light novel series written by Yashichiro Takahashi with illustrations by Noizi Ito. ASCII Media Works published 27 novels from November 2002 to November 2023 under their Dengeki Bunko imprint. The story focuses on Yuji Sakai, a high school boy who becomes involved in an age-old conflict between forces of balance and imbalance in existence; in the process, he befriends a fighter for the balancing force and names her "Shana". The series also incorporates fantasy and slice of life elements.
Hellsing is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kouta Hirano. It was serialized in Shōnen Gahōsha's seinen manga magazine Young King OURs from April 1997 to September 2008, with its chapters collected in ten tankōbon volumes. The series chronicles the efforts of the mysterious and secret Hellsing Organization as it combats vampires, ghouls, and other supernatural foes who threaten England. The series was licensed for English language release in North America by Dark Horse Comics. From 2002 to 2006, Hirano released a six-chapter prequel series, Hellsing: The Dawn, in Young King OURs Zōkan.
Retroactively known as the first season of the FLCL series, all episodes of the 2000 Japanese original video animation series were directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki and produced by the FLCL Production Committee, which included Gainax, Production I.G, and Starchild Records. The English adaptation was licensed by Synch-Point, which released the DVDs and soundtrack. After Synch-Point went out of business, Funimation licensed and re-released the series on Blu-ray and DVD. The story follows Haruko Haruhara, a sociopathic alien drawn to the fictional Japanese suburb of Mabase by the Medical Meccanica building while weaseling in the lives of twelve-year-old Naota Nandaba in the first season and fourteen-year-old Hidomi Hibajiri in the second season as pawns in her agenda to acquire the being called Atomsk.
Black Lagoon is a Japanese anime television series based on the manga series of the same title by Rei Hiroe. The series was produced by Madhouse, Geneon Entertainment and Shogakukan and directed and written by Sunao Katabuchi, with Masanori Shino designing the characters and Edison composing the music. The first season was broadcast in Japan from April to June 2006; it was followed by a second season, titled The Second Barrage, broadcast from October to December of the same year. A five-episode original video animation (OVA), subtitled Roberta's Blood Trail, was launched from July 2010 to June 2011. In North America, the anime series was originally licensed by Geneon Entertainment in 2006 and was later acquired by Funimation in 2008, who also licensed the OVA and released it in 2013.