Vash The Stampede and his brother Knives encounter each other faster than viewers expected in Trigun Stampede, and the evil brother’s attacks make him much more fearsome than the previous anime ever did. The 90s anime aired on Adult Swim and amassed numerous fans with its intense post-apocalyptic sci-fi western action and goofy but incredibly competent protagonist, Vash The Stampede. With the Madhouse production of the anime ending after 26 episodes, fans of the series have awaited a new adaptation that follows more closely to Yasuhiro Nightow’s manga Trigun Maximum. So far, Stampede is just that.
As soon as the new Trigun anime was announced, it became one of the most anticipated anime coming out in 2023. Stampede wastes no time setting itself apart from Madhouse’s adaptation, especially in establishing the series’ main antagonist, Millions Knives. First appearing in a cloak, seemingly made with countless tiny pieces of metal, Knives enters Jeneora Rock in pursuit of the town’s energy source. As seen in the clip from Crunchyroll’s YouTube Channel, Knives apparently controls the numerous sharp metal objects telepathically, creating a fighting style that provides both defense and terrifying offensive abilities. Within one episode of his reveal, Knives uses this ability to destroy the entire town Vash strove to protect.
Knives Millions Episode Three Entrance Shreds Fans Expectations
By the end of Stampede‘s third episode, Knives has already racked up a disturbing body count. Vash’s twin brother uses the countless knives to form deadly tendril-like appendages to block incoming bullets and gruesomely dismember both enemies and allies alike. After an epic fight with Vash in Trigun, Knives seemed his most intimidating until he covered the sky of Jeneora Rock with his floating weapons to destroy the boulder suspended above the desert town, causing its heavy remains to crumble and destroy the town that stood in his way. While the character had his intimidating moments in Madhouse’s anime, it was nowhere as brutal as seen here.
Orange Takes Little Time To Modernize Trigun’s Main Cast
In the Madhouse anime adaptation of Trigun, Knives is only briefly mentioned until he appears in the series’ later episodes. Both versions of the character showed little hesitation in killing foes or followers he deemed useless. However, Madhouse’s version of Knives was never seen using sharp objects as he does in Trigun Stampede. Instead, he used manipulation, cunning, and highly destructive weapons called Angel Arms, which morphed from the .45 long cult revolvers he and Vash used. Because the 90s anime didn’t have the complete story of the original manga to pull from, Madhouse chose to make Knives’ powers similar to Vash’s, unlike Trigun Stampede, which dramatically set the two characters apart.
Trigun Stampede is a reboot produced by the animation studio Orange Co., Ltd., known for creating stunning and stylish 3D anime series like Beastars and Land of the Lustrous, which won a Crunchyroll Anime Award in 2017. The latest series recently began airing its English dub, returning the beloved voice actor Johnny Yong Bosch to voice Vash once again. Bosch’s iconic take on Vash’s voice is a joy to hear for fans of the classic anime. Still, Trigun Stampede has already separated itself from the 90s adaptation with its story and characters that more closely resembles the epic tale Nightow’s manga set out to tell.
Source: Crunchyroll Collection/YouTube