Legato Bluesummers

Legato Bluesummers (レガート・ブルーサマーズ|Regāto Burūsamāzu) is a man who devotes himself to Millions Knives, and makes it his main goal to have Vash The Stampede experience eternal pain and suffering. He's the secondary antagonist of Trigun and serves directly under Knives, which also gives him command of the Gung-Ho Guns, especially while Knives is injured as a result of the July Incident. He is the only one of the Gung-Ho Guns without a number, as pointed out by Elendira the Crimsonnail, which means he's far less dispensable to Knives than the rest of them.

Manga Version
Legato first appears to Vash claiming to be a messenger. He warns Vash that he will be pursued by "demons" who are intent on killing him. Legato then tells Vash that each of these assassins will be carrying a coin. He tells Vash that once he has collected all of the coins something will happen. When Vash asks his name and how he knows these things, Legato formally introduces himself and then hints that Knives sent him. Legato then disappears.

Legato is in a restaurant having a meal. He notices a group of boisterous men near by who are with three women who are sex slaves. One of the women looks over at Legato, seeming to like him. Her master doesn't take this well and slaps her. He then starts antagonizing Legato. Legato tries hard to ignore him. The man continues bothering him. Letting his emotions take control, Legato uses his powers to kill the man by forcing him to tear out his own heart. He then kills the other men that had been with him by making them shoot each other. Legato tells the women that they are free now and warns them to be careful as "humanity will soon come to an end". Leaving the restaurant, Legato thinks to himself that he had allowed Vash to influence him slightly.

Legato next appears when The Gung-Ho Guns are gathering for Knives's reawakening. Upon being reawakened, Knives twists Legato's neck in an 180 degree angle and then breaks his limbs. Knives does this to him for having used The Gung-Ho Guns to settle his personal vendetta against Vash and for trying to kill Vash upon seeing him arrive to the scene. Legato is then placed in a coffin that is chained shut except for the head area.

Legato appears two years later. He continues to serve Knives and is even more determined to fill Vash's life with pain and suffering. It is revealed that several of the Gung-Ho Guns dislike Legato. On several occasions, Midvalley The Hornfreak, who hates both him and Knives, tries to kill him. Humprede The Gauntlet, after having turned against Knives, tries to kill Legato, who refuses to allow him to hurt Knives. Zazie The Beast, who also turned against Knives, also tries to kill Legato. All three of these end in the death of the one trying to kill Legato. Even Elendira The Crimson Nail, who is loyal to Knives, tries to kill Legato, being jealous of Legato's relationship with Knives.

In the final stage of Knives's plan, Legato faces off against Vash in order to prevent Vash from getting to Knives. At this point, Legato has already been released from the coffin. As Legato and Vash do battle, Legato reveals a lot about himself. He tells Vash that he had once been a sex slave. He had been owned by a man who would frequently rape him, claiming that Legato was very beautiful and had a feminine appearance. When he was not being raped, Legato was developing his powers, hoping that he might be able to take revenge against his master. His master discovers what he was planning and prepares to kill him. Before he can, the whole town gets incinerated by Knives's Angel Arm. Knives accidently misses Legato and saves his life. Legato, seeing Knives as his savior, crawls over to Knives and begs him to allow him to stay by his side. Legato even allows Knives to cut his neck as a sign of loyalty. Knives asks the boy his name and he replies that he doesn't have one. Knives names him Legato Bluesummers, due to his naturally blue hair, and then cuts his hair with his blade, symbolizing him leaving his life as a sex slave behind. Ever since the first time they met, Legato has loved Knives and is willing to help Knives in his plan to destroy humanity.

Having been defeated by Vash, Legato reveals that he and Vash are not so different. He also reveals that the reason why he has been so determined to kill him is because he knows Knives loves Vash more than him. Legato asks Vash to kill him, insisting that Vash would be doing wrong by allowing him to live. Vash refuses to finish Legato. Becoming angry that Vash won't comply with his wishes, Legato yells at him and threatens that he will kill Livio The Double Fang if he doesn't kill him. Feeling he has no choice, Vash shoots Legato in the head. Legato dies smiling.

Legato appears alongside all of the others who have died in Vash's struggle with Knives. this happens before Vash and Knives have their final battle. It is unclear whether Legato and the others are spirits or if they are Vash's subconcious trying to encourage him to finish his battle with Knives.

Anime Version
The anime shows Legato in a less sympathetic light. In the anime, Legato is far less emotional than his manga counterpart and it is never explained why he joined Knives. Legato is simply a sadistic nihilist who is determined to torment Vash and aid Knives in his quest to eradicate humanity.

Legato has a similar introduction to the one he is given in the manga, the key difference being that in the anime Legato does not play the game with coins with Vash. Legato uses The Gung-Ho Guns to place Vash in situations where he must either kill or be killed. Vash never ends up killing though, always figuring out a way to survive without finishing anyone off. Vash still gets scarred by Legato's actions, as most of The Gung-ho Guns either get killed for failing to put an end to Vash or committ suicide because they were afraid of being punished by Knives.

When Vash finally has Legato cornered, Legato reveals that he is going to allow Vash to kill him. Vash refuses. Legato insists that it is okay and that he has no reason to continue living. Seeing that his words are not working on Vash, he threatens to kill Milly and Meryl if Vash doesn't finish him off. Feeling like he has no other option, Vash shoots Legato in the head. Legato dies smiling, knowing that his death will scar Vash for life.

Voice Actors
Voice Actors: Toshihiko Seki (Japanese Actor), Richard Cansino (English Actor)

Trivia

 * In anime, Vash kills Legato after he is about to kill Milly Thompson and Meryl Stryfe while in the manga he is about to kill Livio.