Trigun/Characters

Characters from  include:

Vash the Stampede (aka "The Humanoid Typhoon")
""I meditate diligently every morning. The subject is Life and Love. I quit after three seconds.""

Voiced by: Masaya Onosaka (JP), Johnny Yong Bosch (EN)

A tall, blond-haired man who seems to have disaster follow him wherever he goes. He is feared by the people of Gunsmoke as a ruthless, destructive killer. Supposedly responsible for the annihilation of July City, Vash has quite the bounty placed on his head—60 billion double-dollars, dead or alive! Constantly hounded by often entire towns of people wanting to claim the reward for his capture, Vash is always wandering, never staying in one place for too long (and leaving behind a lot of property damage). In reality, Vash is not a homicidal maniac, but a complete and utter goofball who actually refuses to kill anyone, despite the huge pistol he keeps with him at all times, a prosthetic arm that can switch into a machine gun, and a switchblade in his boot. He has an extreme fondness for donuts (and sometimes alcohol). He claims to be a "hunter of LOVE AND PEACE, searching for the mayfly known as Love". Still, it just may be that he only puts on a facade of being a harmless moron...


 * Anime Hair
 * Arm Cannon
 * The Atoner: Remember the July.
 * Badass
 * Badass Abnormal
 * Badass Adorable
 * Badass Longcoat
 * Badass Pacifist
 * Beauty Mark: Has one near the corner of his left eye.
 * Berserk Button: Kill just one of his precious huma...OH SHI...
 * Also, don't insult Rem... Knives found out just how foolish that was.
 * BFG:
 * Bishonen
 * Break the Cutie
 * Bring My Red Jacket
 * Broken Ace
 * Byronic Hero
 * Catch Phrase: Robu ando Piisu!
 * Arguably, his cry of "GET DOWN!" counts as well, though it usually portends that very bad things are about to happen.
 * Cool Shades
 * Covered with Scars: The result of being a Technical Pacifist in a gunslinger world.
 * Cute Shotaro Boy: In flashbacks
 * Destructive Saviour
 * Dodge the Bullet: All the time. He's so fast he can deflect bullets by throwing rocks at them. On another occasion he emerged from a hail of bullets completely unharmed; when asked how he did it, he explained that he calculated where the shots would be as they were being fired. Subverted later when he gets shot full of holes while using this same method.
 * Doom Magnet: The reason he's called 'a walking act of God' is because collateral damage follows him.
 * Dork Knight
 * The Dreaded
 * Mr. Fanservice
 * Fan Disservice: his famous Shirtless Scene.
 * YMMV There are plenty of fangirls/boys that have choked on squeals to that scene.
 * The Fettered
 * Fun with Acronyms:, Vash goes by the name VTS to keep at least some lower fodder away from him.
 * Glowing Eyes of Doom: Rarely happens, but if you piss him off enough to push him into this mode, you're so screwed...
 * The Gunslinger: Obviously.
 * Fastest Gun in the West
 * Hair of Gold
 * Heroic BSOD: Multiple times, particularly after.
 * Hero with Bad Publicity
 * Hidden Depths
 * Hidden Weapons: His has a hidden blade in his right boot and a hidden gun in his prosthetic left arm.
 * Hurting Hero
 * Improbable Aiming Skills: Could be the Trope Namer for this. And they turn out to be not so improbable since.
 * Iron Butt Monkey: Early episodes especially emphasize this.
 * Large Ham: When he's not depressed.
 * Law of Chromatic Superiority
 * [LivingForeverIsAwesome: Do you see him angst about his immortality? No. You see him angst about his brother's EvilPlan and how to save people without killing others. He's dedicated to Rem's ideals and goals.]
 * Lost Technology: Has an abundance of it.
 * Love Freak: Now everyone! Let's say very loud - LOVE AND PEACE!!!!!! And again! LOVE AND PEACE!!!!! and again!
 * (joins in) LOVE AND PEEEACE!
 * Mama Bear: He's more of grieving mother than actual father when it comes to humans/living beings he loves so much.
 * The Klutz
 * The Messiah
 * Nice Guy
 * Beware the Nice Ones
 * Let's Get Dangerous
 * Obfuscating Stupidity
 * Meaningful Name
 * My God, What Have I Done?
 * Oedipus Complex: REEEEEEEEEEEEEMMMMM!!!
 * Overly Long Name
 * Person of Mass Destruction
 * Punny Name: Sounds like vache, which is French for "cow", appropriately enough for someone called "the Stampede."
 * Red Baron
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: He's associated with red in contrast to Wolfwood, Knives and Legato.
 * "RED, THE COLOR OF DETERMINATION!"
 * Sanity Slippage
 * Save the Villain: Practically his core ideal; he wants to save both the spiders and the butterfiles. This is a sharp contrast with.
 * Scary Shiny Glasses: When he puts these on, it means he just got serious and is now going to open a can of whoop-ass.
 * Glasses Pull:And when he does that,his actions are more powerful than any One-Liner
 * Shoot the Bullet: With pebbles.
 * Stepford Smiler: Lampshaded by Wolfwood at one point, who observes that his smile doesn't reach his eyes, and that he's "hurting like crazy on the inside".
 * Ubermensch
 * Technical Pacifist: Arguably deconstructed.
 * Tender Tears
 * Thou Shalt Not Kill
 * Trademark Favorite Food: You brought me doughnuts?! Danke, danke!
 * To a lesser degree, he seems to really like pancakes/flapjacks and salmon sandwiches.
 * Trauma Conga Line: Doesn't even begin to describe what this guy's been through.
 * Walking Disaster Area
 * Walking Gunsmoke
 * Walking Wasteland
 * Wave Motion Gun: The Angel Arm.
 * Walking Disaster Area
 * Walking Gunsmoke
 * Walking Wasteland
 * Wave Motion Gun: The Angel Arm.

Meryl Strife
""Does this man look like the legendary gunman Vash the Stampede? That droopy-eyed, weak-looking, bristle-headed, promiscuous-looking donut freak of a man?""

Voiced by: Hiromi Tsuru (JP), Dorothy Elias-Fahn (EN, series), Luci Christian (EN, Badlands Rumble)

An insurance agent for the Bernadelli Insurance Company, she and her associate Millie were given the task to search for Vash and apply "damage control" to the so-called disasters he leaves behind. She is often seen typing records of her and Millie's exploits on a typewriter, to send back to the company. She is nicknamed "Derringer" because of the array of derringer pistols she carries under her poncho. It takes her a while to realize that the goofy, donut-scarfing man that she and Milly always seem to run into is THE Vash the Stampede.


 * Action Survivor
 * Awesome but Impractical: Fifty something guns, but only two bullets each.
 * That's why she has so many of them.
 * Bifauxnen
 * Butt Monkey
 * Cannot Spit It Out: She falls in love with our favourite blond goofball in the anime, but can't pluck up the nerve to tell him how she feels. Awwwww.
 * The Gunslinger
 * Hidden Weapons: Has about fifty something guns strapped to the inside of her cloak.
 * Plucky Girl
 * Replacement Goldfish: Vash seems to view her as Rem sometimes.
 * Single Woman Seeks Good Man: In the anime.
 * Tsundere: A fiery tsun-tsun type.

Milly Thompson
""It's like my big, big sister always says, "Never hold back in matters of the heart"."

Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino (JP), Lia Sargent (EN, series), Trina Nishimura (EN, Badlands Rumble)

Meryl's assistant and fellow Bernadelli agent, Milly is plucky and cheerful, constantly trying to convince Meryl that above mentioned man is the real Vash. She's also incredibly tall, and nicknamed "Stungun" because like Meryl, she conceals a weapon underneath her clothes—a huge stungun that can pin enemies to walls without killing them. She likes pudding.

""You should never get between people and their pudding!" "Wastage of pudding is punishable by heaven!""
 * Action Survivor
 * Berserk Button: Like Vash, she hates seeing people mistreating and/or killing each other (when facing a man who had earlier pointed a gun at, she took several swings at him, any of which would likely have knocked him clean out of his boots if they had connected. Also:


 * Beware the Nice Ones: She's very strong and throws a mean right.
 * BFG: Her stungun. The thing looks like a portable gatling gun and can fire projectiles with enough force to flip a truck.
 * Cloudcuckoolander
 * Cute Bruiser
 * The Ditz: Subverted; she may not be very intelligent, but she is actually much wiser than Meryl.
 * Genki Girl: A six foot tall one, no less.
 * Gentle Giant
 * Huge Schoolgirl: Older example.
 * Lampshade-Wearing: When she gets drunk, she gets drunk.
 * Naive Everygirl
 * Obfuscating Stupidity: Much sharper than she first seems. She catches onto some things quicker than some of the other characters at times.
 * Pillow Pregnancy: In the anime, uses her great size and strength to smuggle a slave girl away from her masters by having her cling to Milly's stomach underneath her shirt, so Milly can (with Wolfwood's help) pretend to be an expectant mother. While the sight is rather ludicrous (someone immediately asks if she's expecting sextuplets), she still manages to get away with it.
 * Small Girl, Big Gun: Subverted, since she's very tall.
 * Sweet Tooth: Pudding!
 * Technical Pacifist: She carries a "stungun" that can fire X-shaped crosses capable of knocking over a truck.
 * Technical Pacifist: She carries a "stungun" that can fire X-shaped crosses capable of knocking over a truck.

Nicholas D. Wolfwood
""I picked up my first gun at the age of seven. And I shot. I remember how strangely easy it was to pull the trigger. Ha. I actually laughed. Because that one shot was all that was needed to silence that sickening piece of garbage who had the nerve to call himself my guardian. Ha. It was that simple. And so I was free.""

Voiced by: Show Hayami (JP), Jeff Nimoy (EN, series), Brad Hawkins (EN, Badlands Rumble)

A wandering priest that carries a portable confessional box and The Punisher, which is pretty much a mobile weapons platform (it's a rocket launcher, machine gun, and a pistol rack all-in-one). He tends to call Vash "Needlenoggin".

"Wolfwood: Sometimes, we're even driven to become the devil himself."
 * Anti-Hero: Type IV.
 * Badass in a Nice Suit
 * Badass Normal: In the anime, which was made years before his backstory was released (but was overseen by the manga's creator).
 * Badass Abnormal: In the manga,.
 * Badass Preacher
 * Becoming the Mask: Apparently part of his severe moral dilemmas regarding his friendship with Vash; also why he can so easily isolate Vash's Stepford Smiler tendencies.
 * BFG: The Cross Punisher.
 * Car Fu: More like Bike Fu.
 * Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Because he's a Knight Templar caught between extreme factions with the goal of protecting the maximum number of people it is feasibly possible to protect and a seriously Dark and Troubled Past, he betrays just about everyone at least once. Very rarely to any real effect, and they were usually expecting it. He's actually got a very loyal nature, so he kind of telegraphs before he does it. Related to Double Reverse Quadruple Agent below.
 * Creepy Cool Crosses: the giant cross he carries is actually a disguised arsenal.
 * Cool Bike: He uses one to kill the robot gang.
 * Crystal Dragon Jesus: Dresses and acts somewhat like a Protestant minister, but does things more in line of a Catholic one (such as hearing confessions). In the manga, he's a member of the Eye of Michael, . In the anime,
 * Double Reverse Quadruple Agent: The anime doesn't go much beyond a morally-conflicted Double Agent, but between the Eye, Chapel, the Guns, Vash, and the children manga Wolfwood is playing a lot of sides at once. Although he's not in control at all.
 * : But only in the anime; he's with Vash in the manga.
 * Mr. Fanservice
 * Expy: Of El Mariachi from Desperado.
 * Guns Akimbo
 * Healing Factor: In the manga, it makes him age faster, and he can boost it with drugs.
 * Heroic BSOD: Shortly after, he breaks down in tears in Milly's arms.
 * Ho Yay: With Vash.
 * Improbable Weapon User: Oh sure, we've covered the Punisher, but it reaches a new level in his fight against  when he ejects his pistol's magazine into his opponent.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold
 * Knight Templar:
 * Improbable Weapon User: Oh sure, we've covered the Punisher, but it reaches a new level in his fight against  when he ejects his pistol's magazine into his opponent.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold
 * Knight Templar:


 * The Lancer
 * More Dakka: The Punisher he carries has a rocket launcher at one end, a machine gun at the other, and racks for about half a dozen semi-automatic pistols.
 * Murder, Inc.: His Dark and Troubled Past, at least in the manga. Provided him with Training from Hell and low-level superpowers. Anime is more ambiguous; he may have just had a Career Killer for an Evil Mentor before getting mixed up with the Guns.
 * Mysterious Middle Initial: Word of God's response to the question of what the D stands for is utterly random, ranging from "Daily Cigarette Intake" to "Dokonokuminomonjawaresumakinishiteshizumetarokakora."
 * "What the hell family do you think you're from!? I'm gonna tie you up in a reed mat and dunk ya!"
 * Nun-Too-Holy: He claims to be a priest, but he not only hears confessions for money (admittedly, there were times in history where priests would sell "forgiveness" for money and land), he's also a chain-smoking hard-drinking killer who, in the anime at least, actually paid for the orphans he took care of by being a gunman for hire.
 * Perma-Stubble: Though he is mostly clean-shaven in Trigun Maximum.
 * Poisonous Friend:  because he thought Vash's idealism didn't cut it. In the manga Knives sent Wolfwood to follow Vash for this very purpose.
 * Since the anime replaced his epic execution of Rai-Dei with the Zazie incident, after making Zazie no longer The Worm That Walks, and put Rai-Dei in August, there's an oddly chilling little scene amid the rubble when Rai-Dei, who had somehow survived being at ground zero probably due to Vash's Heroic Willpower alone, sees Wolfwood, expresses recognition, and starts talking about how they have to get together and kill that monster, Vash, while they can. Wolfwood nonchalantly shoots him dead and drives away. This is implied to be done on command from their mutual employer, but he clearly thinks it's an okay idea.
 * In the anime,
 * Sexy Priest
 * Shirtless Scene: After, he stands up next to a window shirtless and deep in thought.
 * Shoot the Dog: His killing of  in the anime, according to him.
 * Smoking Is Cool
 * Tragic Hero
 * Younger Than They Look: In the manga he's seventeen-ish, but looks like he's in his mid-30s.
 * Tragic Hero
 * Younger Than They Look: In the manga he's seventeen-ish, but looks like he's in his mid-30s.

Tropes applying to the Gung-Ho-Guns as a whole

 * Ax Crazy
 * Better to Die Than Be Killed:
 * Carnival of Killers
 * Deal with the Devil: They are said to have given up their humanity in exchange for strength. This is metaphorical, but their choice to work with Knives while knowing his goals is much more literal.
 * Cybernetics Eat Your Soul / Cyborg: Some of them, as part of the above.
 * Humanoid Abomination: Those that aren't mostly human, anyway.
 * The Magnificent: Each of them has a title, usually referring to their abilities. E.G. Mine is the only one which does not fall into this form. In Gratuitous English, no less.
 * Psycho for Hire
 * The Stoic: If they aren't Ax Crazy.

Monev the Gale
"Voiced by: Masuo Amada (JP), Peter Spellos (EN)"

The first Gung-Ho-Gun. The only thing known about him was that he was locked away and trained solely for purpose of killing Vash.


 * Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Begs for his life after slaughtering an entire town and subsequently getting beaten by Vash.
 * BFG: Wields two types, a chain gun he wears around his wrist and back and a rocket launcher after he loses that
 * Expy: Of Venom, his design strongly resembles him. Heck even his name is Venom spell backwards. Most likely this was a homage as Nightow was stated to be a fan of American comic books.
 * More Dakka
 * Oh Crap: His expression after seeing Vash's Glowing Eyes of Doom.
 * You Have Failed Me...: Winds up killed for his failure. Mostly likely from Legoto.
 * Nineties Anti-Hero: He looks like one. Disproportionately huge muscles, bright colors, massively impractical guns, grimacing like a loon all the time....Rob Liefield would have a hard time coming up with anything crazier.

Dominique the Cyclops
"Voiced by: Yoko Soumi (JP), Carol Stanzione (EN)"

The second Gung-Ho-Gun. Tries her luck against Vash but he finds out her powers and easily beats her. Her fate is different depending on the media.


 * Action Girl
 * Badass Longcoat
 * Eyepatch of Power
 * Nice Hat
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: Her main power is her right eye which is red colored in the anime. Reptilian like in the manga.
 * The Smurfette Principle: The only female Gung-Ho-Gun.
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
 * Teleport Spam: What Vash assumes her power be after watching her in action.
 * Time Stands Still: What her real power is as her right eye affects her opponents senses and freezes them in place, allowing her to get the drop on them.
 * Yoko Soumi
 * You Have Failed Me...: In the anime, she's killed for her failure and strung up beside Monev.

E.G. Mine
"Voiced by: Ryo Horikawa (JP)"

The third Gung-Ho-Gun. A villain with two shells on either side of him that shoots out spikes.


 * Anticlimax Boss: Vash beats him seconds after his introduction.
 * Adaptational Badass: Actually manages to be a more of a threat in the anime.
 * Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: His method of murder includes shooting spikes at his opponents.
 * Meaningful Name: the only one with an awesome nickname and is thus defeated in the shortest amount of time at least in the manga.
 * What Happened to the Mouse?: In the manga, after Vash bonks him on the head, the focus immediately switches to Vash and Legato, E.G. completely forgotten and never again mentioned.
 * We Hardly Knew Ye

Zazie the Beast (anime)
"Voiced by: Hiroshi Kamiya (JP), Derek Stephen Prince (EN)"

The fourth Gung-Ho-Gun.


 * Demonic Possession
 * Guns Akimbo
 * Hiroshi Kamiya
 * We Hardly Knew Ye:
 * We Hardly Knew Ye:

Zazie the Beast (manga)

 * Creepy Child: Originally this in
 * Darkskinned Blonde
 * : Bizarre variant;.
 * Pretty Butterflies: First respawn, appears in a cloud of pseudo-butterflies; possibly some kind of connection technique for the newly appropriated hub.
 * : Bizarre variant;.
 * Pretty Butterflies: First respawn, appears in a cloud of pseudo-butterflies; possibly some kind of connection technique for the newly appropriated hub.
 * : Bizarre variant;.
 * Pretty Butterflies: First respawn, appears in a cloud of pseudo-butterflies; possibly some kind of connection technique for the newly appropriated hub.
 * Pretty Butterflies: First respawn, appears in a cloud of pseudo-butterflies; possibly some kind of connection technique for the newly appropriated hub.

Leonof the Puppetmaster
"Voiced by: Kaneta Kimotsuki (JP), Milton James (EN)"

The fifth Gung-Ho-Gun. As his name suggests, he can control puppets many at a time in fact. He can also make them looks surprisingly lifelike right down to the personality to fool his opponents. This gives Vash a hard time as he has to distinguish friend and foe.


 * Berserk Button: He flips out when Brad discovers the body of his love interest.
 * The Chessmaster
 * The Lost Lenore: In the manga, he's preserved the body of his dead love interest in a coffin next to the other puppets. It's implied that he started making puppets because he was lonely.
 * Marionette Master: Natch.
 * People Puppets: Though he only pretends to use corpses.
 * People Puppets: Though he only pretends to use corpses.

Hoppered the Gauntlet
"Voiced by: Keiichi Nanba (JP), Jonathan Charles (EN)"

The sixth Gung-Ho-Gun. A crippled being encased in a bullet like shell that he can use to spin toward his targets as well as a shield behind him which also has a gun.


 * Everything's Better with Spinning: His shield serves as a spinning top.
 * Evil Cripple
 * The Lost Lenore: His motive for joining the Gung-ho Guns in the manga..
 * Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: His shield also doubles as a gun; it can fire bullets from its center.
 * : In the manga.

Gray the Ninelives
The seventh Gung-Ho-Gun. A huge hulking robot-like being with many a weapon imbedded inside him.


 * : The reason behind his name in the manga.
 * Cyborg: In the anime, the only part of him left that isn't a robot is his brain.
 * Nigh Invulnerable: This is what his title refers to.

Caine the Longshot
The eighth Gung-Ho-Gun. Only appears in the anime.


 * BFG: Has a hundred-foot-long sniper rifle, likely due to Rule of Cool.
 * Chameleon Camouflage: His cloak can change into the color of the sand, which makes it more difficult to spot him.
 * Cold Sniper: Practically the embodiment of this trope.
 * Name of Cain
 * Self-Disposing Villain
 * Silent Bob: Doesn't utter a word of dialogue.
 * Sniper Rifle: It is absurdly long, allowing him to shoot targets from incredible distances.

Rai-Dei the Blade
"Voiced by: Akio Ohtsuka (JP), Kirk Thornton (EN)"

The ninth Gung-Ho-Gun. A warrior who's adapted the way of the samurai..with a few adjustments.


 * Death Seeker
 * Katanas Are Just Better: Though it can become a shotgun when needed.
 * Mix-and-Match Weapon
 * Rollerblade Good: Manga only.
 * Samurai
 * You Have Failed Me...: Apparently delegated to Wolfwood in the anime. Manga Wolfwood takes him out for his own reasons. Plus orders.

Chapel the Evergreen (anime)
"Voiced by: Hirotaka Suzuoki (JP), Dan Woren (EN)"

The tenth Gung-Ho-Gun.


 * Bald of Evil
 * Church Militant
 * How Do You Like Them Apples?
 * The Mentor: To.

Chapel/Master C (manga)

 * Evil Old Folks
 * Handicapped Badass: Confined to a wheelchair, still able to toss a spiked cross.
 * Handicapped Badass: Confined to a wheelchair, still able to toss a spiked cross.

Midvalley the Hornfreak
"Voiced by: Tomohiro Nishimura (JP), Steve Bulen (EN)"

The eleventh Gung-Ho-Gun.


 * The Dragon: To Legato.
 * : In the manga.
 * Instrument of Murder: A saxophone that can create shock-waves when blown.
 * Musical Assassin
 * : In the manga,.

Elendira the Crimsonnail
The thirteenth Gung-Ho-Gun. Only appears in the manga.


 * Ambiguous Gender
 * Creepy Crossdresser
 * Death From Above: In the form of giant nails shot down from Elendira's air transport.
 * Dude Looks Like a Lady: Assuming that Elendira is in fact a male.
 * Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Those nails look like they hurt.
 * Power Limiter: Removes it during the battle against
 * The Resenter: Toward Legato, for being favored of Knives. It's mutual.

Livio the DoubleFang
In the manga, one of two members of the Eye of Michael called in to be the last of the Gung-ho Guns.


 * Bait and Switch Boss: He isn't, but when Legato mentions "Double Fang" and "Trip of Death" arriving, we cut to two guys, one with two big tusks, and the other with the power to extremely expand his muscles. One would think these are them until the real McCoys make their entrance.
 * Creepy Cool Crosses: His guns are each shaped like one.
 * Guns Akimbo: Wields the Double Fang, two cross-shaped sub-machine guns capable of firing forwards and backwards.
 * Healing Factor: Like most members of the Eye of Michael. Better formulated than Wolfwood's prototype version.
 * Healing Factor: Like most members of the Eye of Michael. Better formulated than Wolfwood's prototype version.

Razlo the Tri-P of Death
In the manga, the latter of the two members of the Eye of Michael mentioned above. .


 * Creepy Cool Crosses:

Legato Bluesummers


""Your reaction was better then I hoped. You're fun. And to think I could kill every man, woman, and child here in the blink of an eye if I wanted to. The power of death is intoxicating.""

"Voiced by: Toshihiko Seki (JP), Richard Cansino (EN)"

A sadistic blue-haired man with psychic powers who works under Knives and has the orders to make Vash's life a living hell.


 * Ax Crazy: Though more Sympathetic than many.
 * Badass
 * Badass Longcoat complete with Spikes of Villainy!
 * Handicapped Badass: In the manga, Knives shatters his spine after the incident with the fifth moon, and he spends most of the series paralized from the neck down. This doesn't stop him from tormenting Vash and even his own minions.
 * Big Eater: A villainous example.
 * Villainous Glutton: Of hotdogs,
 * Eating something like cheesecake has never been so damn creepy.
 * Bishonen: Though he tends to be Ax Crazy.
 * Boomerang Bigot: Played with no laughs at all.
 * Creepy Monotone: Very creepy.
 * Death Seeker: And it's never been more disturbing, also a Break the Cutie ploy to Vash.
 * Depraved Homosexual: Presumed, based on his slavish devotion and the fact that he is utterly depraved. The Rape as Backstory probably doesn't hurt, unfortunately. Or all the creepy BDSM stuff in the manga.
 * Dissonant Serenity: Bishonen yet is a  and a sadist.
 * The Dragon: To Knives.
 * Epic Flail: In his final fight against Vash in the manga, he swings a mean weapon called the "Guernica" that can only be described as this. The head of it is rather artistic and about twice his size. It's also full of guns.
 * Even Evil Has Standards: Really hates slave traders,.
 * Eyes of Gold: Very creepy.
 * Faux Affably Evil: Even more so in the sub where he mimic Vash's boyish tone to be sarcastic,
 * Freudian Excuse: He had a really really really really crappy childhood, and honestly Knives is the best thing that ever happened to him. Which is just pathetic. So he has reason to hate everybody.
 * : And it has never been so creepy.
 * Goth: Looks like it, but is far more sadistic.
 * Groin Attack: Inverted; he kills someone with a blade on his crotch.
 * I'm a Humanitarian: That hotdog... Eeeeew.
 * Originally this was much worse and more explicit, but it was so disturbing that the editors of the manga forced the author to remove most of it!
 * Kill All Humans:
 * Knight of Cerebus: Everything goes to hell after he shows up, especially in the manga.
 * Mad Love: Knives invariably treats him like dirt, and in the manga cripples him utterly in a fit of rage. This only enhances his devotion.
 * Marionette Master: In the manga, he even applies this to himself. (Yeah, it's Mind Screwy)
 * Manipulative Bastard: To the Gung-ho Guns.
 * Man in White: A creepy one.
 * The Nameless: Until some point after falling in with Knives, literally. Probably why he introduces himself so much.
 * Nietzsche Wannabe: A nihilistic
 * People Puppets: Psychic in nature in the anime, where he also has some degree of telepathy. In the manga, he has the mutant or cybernetic ability to extend nearly-invisible "wires" of some sort that can directly activate other people's muscles.
 * Poisonous Friend: To the Gung-Ho Guns, he even admits that he doesn't care for them in the manga.
 * Power Limiter: Played with in the manga, the coin case that Legato gives Vash way back near the beginning. Once Vash collects all the coins, the case acts as this. Instead of Vash voluntarily using it, Legato uses it himself just so their final fight will be interesting. In the end, Vash destroys the case.
 * Psycho for Hire: Not for hire as such, though, since he's actually utterly devoted to his boss and money really doesn't come into it.
 * Psychotic Smirk: He's crazy
 * Rape as Backstory: Manga only. On panel. Luckily, Knives turned up by coincidence and destroyed the building and everyone else in it before they could rape him all the way to death.
 * Sadistic Choice:
 * Sanity Slippage
 * Slasher Smile: Being normally The Stoic makes this creepier.
 * Spikes of Villainy: Those same spikes appear on Grave's coffin in the Gungrave series.
 * The Stoic: Moreso in the Anime than the Manga.
 * Tall, Dark and Snarky: More Like Tall, Dark and Creepy
 * Tearful Smile: Biggest, happiest, most weepy smile you ever saw on a naked child when he was kneeling there in the rubble, realizing that Knives had chosen to spare his life and accept his petition to follow him, and had even asked his name, and he didn't have one to give.
 * Too Kinky to Torture
 * The Unfettered
 * Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: In the Manga.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Though we notice his eyes and costume more than this feature.
 * The Unfettered
 * Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: In the Manga.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Though we notice his eyes and costume more than this feature.

Millions Knives


""The humans treat you well? Did you have fun, dear brother?""

"Voiced by: Tohru Furusawa (JP), Bo Williams (EN)"

Vash's twin brother. Has a pathological hatred of humans and wants to exterminate them all, as he views himself and Vash as superior beings.


 * A God Am I: Especially in the anime
 * A Nazi by Any Other Name
 * The Antichrist: To Vash
 * Badass Abnormal:
 * Big Bad
 * Bishonen
 * Blond Guys Are Evil: Played with since his twin is The Hero and all Hair of Gold, but the anime plays it kind of straight by giving him a much more white-blond shade, edging in the general direction of White-Haired Pretty Boy.
 * Cain and Abel: Cain, though he's actually the younger brother..
 * The Chessmaster: In the anime, less so in the manga
 * Cute Shotaro Boy: Until he saw the truth.
 * Dead Older Sister: His reason of going crazy in the manga.
 * Evil Twin: To Vahs
 * Faux Affably Evil: In the anime
 * Foil: To Vash.
 * Full-Frontal Assault: In the manga.
 * Freudian Excuse: He and Vash were physically and verbally abused by a crewmember on the SEEDs ship as kids (in anime). He and Vash were exposed to a truly horrific revelation about the nature of morality and their position in relation to all other sentient beings in the manga.
 * Go Mad from the Revelation:
 * : In the manga.
 * Humans Are the Real Monsters This is his philosophy.
 * Kill All Humans: Out of hate, rather than believing that their lives are worthless like Legeto.
 * Knife Nut: Only in the manga, where it fits more in line with his name.
 * Knight Templar Big Brother: Gone Horribly Wrong.
 * Large Ham: In the anime
 * Misanthrope Supreme
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Moreso in the manga.
 * Nietzsche Wannabe: A variation, as he thinks everyone except him and his brother should kill themselves.
 * No Yay: Invoked with his brother, no less. And several scenes in the manga are specifically staged so that it looks like Knives is raping Vash.
 * Person of Mass Destruction
 * Sanity Slippage
 * Slasher Smile
 * Smug Snake: In the anime, where he also comes off a lot more stable, although his philosophical position is less well-supported.
 * The Sociopath
 * Stepford Smiler: When young, he hid his homicidal urges from Vash and Rem very well.
 * The Unfettered
 * Unstoppable Rage: The unproductive kind, for the most part. Tends to destroy everything within range even if that includes people who were fairly integral to his plots.
 * Used to Be a Sweet Kid: No, really, he was!
 * Wave Motion Gun: Also possesses an Angel Arm.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: As a child, his motives and goals are actually fairly similar to Vash's in that both desire protection and survival for the people they care about—it's their methods that provide such a stark contrast. Knives seems to have lost track of their similarities pretty early, and by the time the main story starts cannot be relied upon to adhere to any goal other than rage and revenge.
 * Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: In the manga.

Rem Saverem
""No person ever has the right to take the life of another.""

"Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (JP), Bridget Hoffman (EN)"

One of the maintenance staff on the SEED ship. She takes Vash and Knives in as her own children when the crew finds them, and acts as their surrogate mother. She is extremely kind and idealistic, and Vash treats her lessons and worldviews as sacred. She is also, however, highly competent and has great resolve.


 * The Atoner: In the manga. She didn't fight hard enough to save Tessla, the first independent plant born on the voyage, who died Strapped to An Operating Table less than a year old, and all the devotion and secrecy in which she raised the boys was initially motivated by her determination to do better, given this second chance.
 * Death by Origin Story
 * The Gwen Stacy: To Vash.
 * Heroic Sacrifice: On a greater scope than most; her sacrifice single-handedly saves the entire population of the SEED ships.
 * Hero's Muse: She inspired and guided Vash. She's the reason he never kills anyone, no matter how much they deserve it. She took Vash and Knives in as her own children when the crew found them, and acted as their surrogate mother. She is extremely kind and idealistic, and Vash treats her lessons and worldviews as sacred.
 * Hot Mom: Uh, sort of.
 * The Messiah
 * Parental Substitute: To Vash and Knives.
 * Posthumous Character
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist: More or less; despite her statements, she has a noticeably bad habit of putting off actual planning on how to confront problems, because that might conflict with the conviction that a perfect solution is possible. This trait was passed on to Vash and was a major factor in his doing nothing to resolve the plot for over a century.
 * Woman in White: Her shirt. She also wears blue jeans.

William Conrad/
""Knives...please forgive us humans...""

Manga-exclusive character. One of the scientists on the SEED ship who discovers Knives and Vash when accidentally woken up from cold sleep. He agrees to keep their existence a secret after talking with Rem. After the Great Fall he used his knowledge of Plants to become wealthy and live a comfortable life in July. Vash goes looking for him.


 * Actor Allusion: Named after William Conrad of the radio show Gunsmoke. Bares a striking resemblance to Patrick Stewart.
 * The Atoner: Agrees to serve Knives out of his own guilt for the cruel experiments he performed on Tesla.
 * Humans Are the Real Monsters: He might even be more aware of that fact than Knives.

Joey
In the anime he's the captain, Rem's confidante, and something of a father surrogate.


 * Armour Piercing Question: Cuts right to the heart of the matter in the manga when little Vash and Knives are shyly meeting their second human ever--"Do you love Rem?" [Knives nods shyly. Joey smiles.] "Then it's fine."
 * Boom! Headshot!: Anime Knives takes him out right between the eyes.
 * Only Sane Man: Is one of the few crew members who isn't unhinged.
 * Shoot the Dog: Kills Rowan to save Rem, and feels horrible about it afterwards.

Steve

 * The Alcoholic
 * Bullying a Dragon: He both beats and verbally abuses a being that has far more intelligence than him and that possess unknown powers.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: He's pretty much the sole catalyst for Knives' descent into madness—if he wasn't such a Knight Templar, Knives would never have become so scared of humans.
 * Fridge Horror: One of the Epileptic Trees for how independent plants get born is engineers...fooling around with the plants. If this were the case, Steve would be the only feasible candidate for the twins' father. Ugh.

Rowan

 * Ax Crazy
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Appears to be a normal person at first, but reveals himself to be the above trope after things start going downhill.
 * If I Can't Have You: To Mary.

Mary

 * Disposable Woman
 * Meganekko

Chronica
A manga-only character, Chronica is an independent plant, just like Vash and Knives. She serves aboard an Earth-based fleet that is finally responding to Planet Gunsmoke's transmissions.


 * Big Damn Heroes: She and the rest of the fleet only show up at the bitter end, when Knives is about to finish the rest of humanity.
 * The Stoic: Even in the face of Domina's fusing, she never loses her calm demeanor.
 * Superweapon Surprise: Despite their desire to swoop in and save humanity, Chronica immediately employs their most powerful weapon, the "Tall Hammer", against Knives. Of course, it doesn't work.
 * Superweapon Surprise: Despite their desire to swoop in and save humanity, Chronica immediately employs their most powerful weapon, the "Tall Hammer", against Knives. Of course, it doesn't work.

Domina
A manga-only character, Domina is Chronica's subordinate, and also a plant.


 * As You Know
 * Red Shirt: Gets absorbed into Knives, seemingly to prove how powerful he is.
 * The Watson: To Chronica.

Kuroneko-sama
The small black cat with huge green eyes that appears randomly in the manga and at least once in every episode of the anime. Included because the author found the kitty easy to draw. Her name means "Lady Black Cat".


 * Cute Kitten
 * Mascot: In one episode they drink out of a bottle of Kuroneko-sama brand beer, and she also appears on a calendar.
 * Recurring Extra: Such a recurring extra that Kuroneko-sama appears in a flashback that happened a century ago.
 * Rummage Fail: In one episode Wolfwood is searching for a book in his bag and instead finds the kitty.
 * Word of God: Nightow explained Kuroneko-sama is female and has absolutely no metaphysical significance.