Warning: Spoilers for Trigun Stampede, Episode 3Trigun Stampede continues to bring its classic characters to life, and the new series' take on the villain Knives is both terrifying and incredibly awesome.
Knives is Vash's brother, as well as the big villain of the entire series. Knives and Vash are both non-human entities known as Plants--the very same Plants that make it possible to live in the desolate landscape of planet Gunsmoke. While Vash has a great love for humanity despite the horrible treatment he's frequently subjected to due to his reputation, Knives despises humans and would gladly see them all wiped off the face of the planet. Knives had appeared in the first episode of Trigun Stampede, but only as a child in flashbacks, so this episode saw his proper introduction. Though viewers get time with Knives in the episode, his full design is best seen in promotional art.
Knives is Deadlier Than Ever in Trigun Stampede
In Trigun Stampede's third episode, Knives begins by unleashing one of the Gung-Ho Guns, a group of highly skilled assassins and mercenaries loyal to him, on the town. This assassin was responsible for the bizarre lost technology robots that attacked at the end of the previous episode, and threatened to blow up other citizens. Knives himself appears in town as a cloaked figure playing the piano in the saloon, and promptly kills his own henchman for failure. Knives then delivers a devastating speech to Vash, claiming that he only helps people so that they'll like him better, and he won't be as lonely. Knives leaves Vash momentarily hypnotized, then takes a rocket launcher to the face without so much as breaking his stride. Knives reveals that his coat can double as an incredibly deadly bladed weapon, and proceeds to slaughter a great many of the townsfolk, and ultimately gets away with the plant.
Knives has always been an exceptionally deadly opponent in every incarnation, and Trigun Stampede is proving that it's no exception. His new cloak weapon has incredible range, able to strike at people dozens of feet away, and it can form multiple tendrils, each coated in blades, allowing him to attack multiple targets at once. The blades can also retract in an instant to form back into his cloak, allowing him to block almost all attacks. For his final flourish, Knives allowed the bladed tendrils to swirl into the air, forming a conical shape that then sliced through the massive, hundreds-of-feet-wide boulder above the city, effectively destroying the entire town with just this one weapon. It really gives his full name, Millions Knives, a literal new meaning.
Knives Finally Lives Up to His Name in Trigun Stampede
As for Knives' new character design, his look is actually pretty similar to his original appearance in the 1998 anime, aside from this incredibly powerful new cloak weapon. He still has the undercut that he and Vash were shown to have as children, but the top of his hair is otherwise essentially as it was, if a bit more "anime." The resemblance between Knives and Vash is also present in Trigun Stampede, but not so great that the two characters are likely to be confused.
Fans who've been waiting to see Trigun Stampede's take on Knives are sure to be pleased knowing that the villain is just as dangerous and ruthless here as he always has been--a fact which will make it that much more satisfying when Vash eventually gets his rematch.
Trigun Stampede debuts new episodes on Saturdays, via Crunchyroll.