Warning: SPOILERS for episode #5 of Trigun StampedeTrigun Stampede teases the truth about the origins of one of the series’ most important characters, Nicholas D. Wolfood, showing that the anime reboot is taking inspiration from the story of the original manga, rather than the first Trigun anime.
Episode #5 of Trigun Stampede, “Child of Blessing“, ends with the revelation that the most recent addition to Vash’s group, Nicholas D. Wolfwood, and his spectacular weapon, the Punisher, are both connected with the series’ villain, Millions Knives. In this episode, Vash had to defend himself against Rollo, a kid that he met many years before and was then turned into a hulking monster by the Doctor, Knives’ mysterious ally. Wolfwood saves Vash by killing Rollo, but in the final scene it’s revealed that both Wolfwood and his signature weapon have also been created by the Doctor.
Wolfwood’s Story Shows That Trigun Stampede Is Adapting The Manga More Faithfully Than Trigun
The first Trigun anime did not follow the story of the manga very closely. One of the biggest changes made was Wolfwood’s story. In the manga, Nicholas is adopted by Chapel, the leader of the Eye of Michael, a cult that worships Knives like a god and provides him with genetically modified assassins, of whom Wolfwood is the best. In the anime, Wolfwood is an orphan raised by an assassin (still called Chapel, but a completely different character) to be his successor, and has no superhuman abilities (like Vash’s powers) or previous connections with Knives. Trigun Stampede is thus clearly following more the manga than the previous Trigun anime, which is a good thing.
There are, of course, differences. In Trigun Stampede, Chapel has been apparently replaced with the Doctor, who seems to have a major role in the reboot’s version of the cult of Knives. It seems that the Doctor is conducting experiments to create superhumans, and Wolfwood could be the result of one of those, but the details are still hazy. Wolfwood’s iconic weapon, the Cross Punisher, is also a creation of the Doctor, while in Trigun it was the signature weapon of the assassins of the Eye of Michael.
The Trigun manga had a much deeper story compared to its first anime adaptation. This isn’t to say that the original anime was bad, on the contrary, Trigun is still considered a must-watch by many fans. However, the manga had the chance to develop some characters and their stories more, and now Trigun Stampede can do the exact same thing. Wolfwood’s relationship with the Eye of Michael and its leader, Chapel, created one of the best storylines in the manga, and it seems that Trigun Stampede is following that lead.
Trigun Stampede is streaming on Crunchyroll.
