| Vash the Stampede | |
|---|---|
| Trigun character | |
 Artwork by Yasuhiro Nightow of Vash the Stampede in Trigun Maximum. | |
| First appearance | Chapter 1: "The $$60,000,000,000 Man" (May 30, 1995) |
| Created by | Yasuhiro Nightow |
| Voiced by | Japanese Masaya Onosaka (adult) Kōki Miyata (child) Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (adult, Trigun Stampede) Tomoyo Kurosawa (child, Trigun Stampede) English Johnny Yong Bosch (adult) Bryce Papenbrook (child) Kristen McGuire (child, Trigun Stampede) |
| In-universe information | |
| Relatives | Millions Knives (twin brother) Rem Saverem (adoptive mother; deceased) |
Vash the Stampede (Japanese: ヴァッシュ・ザ・スタンピード, Hepburn: Vasshu za Sutanpīdo) is the protagonist of Trigun, a manga series created by Yasuhiro Nightow in 1995. Set on the planet No Man's Land, Vash is the most feared outlaw who has earned a bounty of $$60 billion ("double dollar") on his head and the nickname "The Humanoid Typhoon" (人間台風) after accidentally destroying a city with his supernatural powers. He is a skilled gunman who battles bounty hunters and assassins working for his twin brother, Millions Knives. Despite his reputation, Vash displays a kindhearted personality by befriending citizens and refusing to murder his enemies.
Nightow created Vash as a strong gunner who would stand out because of his pacifist ways, traits that are different from those of the stereotypical protagonist of action films. The manga was adapted for television as an anime series in which Vash was voiced by Masaya Onosaka as an adult and Kōki Miyata as a child. For the English dub, Johnny Yong Bosch voices him as an adult and Bryce Papenbrook as a child. The character also appears in the 2010 film Trigun: Badlands Rumble, among other one-shots. Nightow was surprised at Vash's popularity with Western audiences.
Critics praised the mixture of seriousness and goofiness of Vash's character. However, his pacifism received a more mixed response. While some reviewers praised it as a part of Vash's heroic traits, others disliked the negative consequences when his pacifist choices failed. He remains popular in the anime adaptation and has appeared in multiple "best character" lists and articles. Onosaka and Bosch were praised for their performances.