Vash The Stampede Trigun - Figures
Trigun is a famous manga that first debuted in the weekly magazine Shonen Captain from 1995 to 1997 being discontinued with only 3 tankobon volumes. The manga then restarted serialization from 1997 to 2007 in the monthly magazine Young King OURs as ‘Trigun Maximum’. The Trigun story follows the adventures of a pacifist gunman named Vash the Stampede and his struggles on the planet Gunsmoke with a 60,000,000,000 double-dollar bounty on his head. Vash opts never to kill his opponents and for that reason often ends up in sticky situations. He is met by the insurance salespeople Meryl and Milly, the assassin priest Nicholas D. Wolfwood, and is on the path to vengeance against his twin brother Knives. One excellent example of a Vash figure is Kotbukiya’s, “ArtFXJ Vash the Stampede Statue”, by sculptor Tatsuya Hattori.
ArtFXJ Vash the Stampede Statue | Trigun: Badlands Rumble
From Kotobukiya comes a figure showcasing the unbelievable talent of master sculptor Tatsuya Hattori, ArtFXJ Vash the Stampede Statue, from the movie adaptation ‘Trigun: Badlands Rumble’. Vash wears his typical red leather jacket torn into rugged strips revealing Vash’s thighs, wrapped in tight black leather pants with armor padding attached by screws and bolts. His boots—also leather—have a large steel toe-cap with three large screw-looking parts. Holding a gun at arm’s length and looking ready to shoot, Vash is taking a firing pose, with his robotic left arm kept back for balance. Sharp spiky blonde hair is balanced by deep emerald green eyes and an almost cheeky expression—typical of Vash the Stampede. The sheen on the leather parts of Vash’s clothing or armor is extremely well portrayed here as the painting is excellent. Small details are also present, from the small buttons on Vash’s jacket down to the trigger of the gun and his fingers. Nothing is left out here. The pose Vash is striking is typical of the animation or drawing style of the show or manga, a very loose kind of flowing style.
- Series: Trigun
- Manufacturer: Kotobukiya
- Sculptor: Tatsuya Hattori
- Specifications: Painted 1/8th scale PVC & ABS statue
- Height: Approx: 187 mm | 7.4"
- Also Includes: Base, Kuroneko-sama mini figure
About Vash The Stampede
Vash is the main character in Trigun. A human-plant hybrid that is infamously known as ‘The Humanoid Typhoon’ for the incident that occurred in the town of July resulting in the instant death of over 200,00 people.
Background
Vash and his brother Knives are both not human, but instead a king of human-like plant species. They were both found aboard an abandoned SEEDs ship and were taken in and raised by a human woman called Rem. In one year the two went from infants to small children. The boys accidentally mess with the ship’s systems and wake some of the sleeping passengers, resulting in them being discovered by Dr. William Conrad, who promises to keep their existence a secret. The boys then accidentally find an off-limits area that contained the preserved remains of another plant, like themselves, who had been subject to cancer-inducing scans and countless vivisections. Knives becomes comatose due to the shock and Vash decides that humanity is his enemy. Vash attempts suicide due to loneliness but is saved by Rem, who he hurts in the process. He realizes his mistake and finds a new outlook on love and life. After Knives attempts to kill everyone by crashing the ship, the boys are sent into a space pod by Rem who stays behind to try to save people, ultimately dying herself. Vash and Knives then wander planet Gunsmoke. Vash and Knives separated after Vash was captured and Knives killed all of the town residents to save him. Vash shot Knives in the shoulder for the horrifying deeds he committed and KNives in turn cut off Vash’s left arm. Vash walked the planet alone until he came across a group of humans living in a still-functional space ship. They were the ones to give Vash his robotic arm. He lived with them in relative peace until the events of the July Incident where Knives forced Vash’s angel arm to activate and killed everyone in the town.
Special Abilities
Vash as an independent plant is able to move much faster than humans, so much so that he can dodge bullets. He also has super strength and an increased IQ. The one special ability that sets Vash apart is the ability to morph weapons from his body including a giant weapon from his arm called the ‘angel arm’. The angel arm is capable of huge amounts of destruction, even leveling an entire town in a single blast.
Other Important Trigun Characters
Vash is usually seen as a loner from the start of the manga and anime. This is generally because he believes that people who get close to him will suffer tragic fates or be killed due to the catastrophic events that he seems regularly involved in. One character that plays a very important role for Vash is Nicholas D. Wolfwood, at first an enemy that eventually becomes something of a friend. The other is his twin brother Knives.
Nicholas D. Wolfwood
Wolfwood first appears as an assassin for the order of the ‘Eye of Michael’. He tries to kill Knives but fails and is forced to escort Vash to Knives’ base. He ends up killing fellow order members though and is eventually ordered to kill Vash or forsake the orphanage and its inhabitants. Wolfwood, considering Vash a friend, decides to fight his former master and fellow order members instead. He is gravely wounded during this battle and passes away while having a drink with Vash.
Knives
Knives was born of the same plant as Vash. They both share identical powers and abilities but the difference is in their worldviews. Knives hates humanity and wants to save all plants at any cost, even human lives. Vash on the other hand is the opposite, a complete pacifist. Vash never kills his opponents and his body reflects that by often receiving damage that he would otherwise have avoided had he ended the fight. Despite the difference of opinion between them, Knives still loves his brother Vash and wants nothing more than for them to work together to destroy humanity and save the lives of all plants.
Links
ArtFXJ Vash the Stampede Statue | Trigun: Badlands Rumble
Trigun Figures
Trigun Label
Vash the Stampede Label