Millions Knives (ミリオンズ・ナイブズ, Mirionzu Naibuzu), alternatively oriented as Knives Millions or simply Knives, is the main antagonist of Trigun and the older twin brother of Vash the Stampede. As a Plant, he was born to an artificially created mother and raised on a ship of settlers. Knives attempted to destroy the ship fleet so that humans would not colonize the new home planet. He was unsuccessful in persuading Vash to join his side.
Appearance[]
ANIME (1998)[]
Knives is a tall man with short blond hair and blue eyes. He has sharp nose, a defined jaw, and broad shoulders, with a muscular but lean body type. He is the same height as his twin brother, Vash, and wears a futuristic outfit with huge shoulders pads that is colored in white and blue which matched the outfit he wore once in the escape pods. Later on, after the July incident, he sports a sporting a red collar, white, and gold colors of his uniform. There’s an absence of his beauty mark on his right side, which is the opposite eye of Vash’s own beauty mark.
ANIME (2023)[]
He has his beauty mark on his right side, which is the opposite eye of Vash’s own beauty mark. This detail is left out in the 1998 anime adaptation but is present in the 2023 adaptation.
MANGA[]
Knives appears similarly to in the 1998 anime but with the beauty mark included. He is seen wearing an assortment of spacesuit-like attire, often depicted in a black bodysuit, a cropped white jacket with white pants and boots. He frequently wears a torn brown cloak from his left shoulder. After Knives' restoration, he is seen with long, wavy blond hair. Part way through the manga, Knives gains a black streak in his hair, and later it turns entirely black as his power is drained.
Personality[]
As a child, Knives was a kind and caring boy much like Vash, but more naïve and melancholic. In the manga, Knives expressed curiousity about Humans and wondered if they'd accept him and Vash while studying Earth's history. Knives would often cry and lean on Vash for support. Knives' hatred towards humans began when he and his brother discovered the abused remains of Tesla, an independent Plant that was "born" before the twins. Both of the boys were shocked when they discover Tesla; seeing what the humans did to her caused them both to suffer severe psychological trauma, and though Vash was able to communicate with Rem, Knives developed an intense distrust of humans due to their cruelty and lack of self-control. He insisted on suffering silently, masking his grief and apprehension while he plotted to take swift action against the human colony. Seeing Tesla's abuse also caused Knives to begin inflicting pain on himself whenever he was left alone.
Knives as a child
In the anime, Knives' resentment towards humans begins when a SEEDS crew member, Steve, began abusing him. After Knives finds out that Steve was also (verbally) abusing Vash, he begins to question why he is really "here". While Rem cuts Vash's hair for the first time, Knives leaves while they are talking and comes to a realization that "it is all wrong". After Vash finds him and discovers that Knives had cut his own hair, Knives explains that he had a change of heart. While in the recreation room of their ship, Vash, Knives, and Rem notice that a butterfly is caught in a spider's web. Noticing Vash's concern for the butterfly, Knives kills the spider, saying that it was "the easiest way to save it" and that Vash "can't save both", foreshadowing his philosophy and willingness to sacrifice humanity for the wellbeing of the Plants.
Throughout the series, Knives is portrayed as a sociopathic, cruel, and commanding character, even to his allies, the Gung-Ho-Guns. Knives is able and willing to commit grand and repeated acts of homicide with no signs of remorse, in fact reveling in them. He is shown to be austere, very prideful and reacts to challenges to his logic with violence. Knives repeatedly expresses counterphobic tendencies, responding to trauma and fear with unbridled aggression. Knives demonstrates high tactical intelligence, able easily to triumph over military resistance efforts, yet lacks interpersonal and emotional awareness. This does not mean he does not experience empathy at all, despite a clear deficiency, as he truly intends to care for his fellow Plants, though his actions are sorely misguided and at times encroach upon their autonomy. He is resolutely passionate about liberation for his species and will stop at nothing to realize the future he has in mind, primarily motivated by an egregious hatred for the human race. It is also true that Knives acts in self-preservation against the abuse he believes humanity inherently threatens him with as a Plant. Knives appears to take little pleasure in living beyond his ultimate goal of human genocide, surrendering to a dejected and suicidal attitude at his failure, declaring there is "nowhere else for (him) to go" [1]. Furthermore, he firmly believes in the superiority of the Plants over humans, particularly his own supremacy; this is emphasized by the fact he has attracted a Plant-worshipping cult dedicated to himself. Compared to his rash actions as a child, Knives is shown to have grown more patient and calculating as an adult, but has also seemed to have grown rather bored with the game he's set up in the manga. He may still be impulsive and audacious in high-stress scenarios, such as when he nearly ceded to Vash during a fusion attempt. Even though Knives despises humans, he still retains a caring relationship with Vash, and wants him to join in on his quest to eliminate humanity for what they have done to the Plants. He shows no desire for connection with anybody else. It is also subtly hinted that he still holds affection for Rem, though it is deeply buried by his misanthropy.
Biography[]
Knives and Vash as children
Anime (1998)[]
In all iterations of the series, Knives proceeds to alter the trajectory of the fleet in an attempt to crash all but the Plant-carrying ship though the damage is mitigated by the late Rem Saverem. After Knives and Vash escape the SEEDS ship, they crash land on the planet Gunsmoke, not far from the other ships. Knives talks with Vash about joining him in destroying the human race. Vash is overcome with grief over the death of Rem and refuses, but follows regardless Knives since he does not want to be alone.
After 15 years of wandering Gunsmoke, Knives and Vash come across the wreckage of a SEEDS ship. Leaving Vash alone, Knives goes alone into the ship in search of two .45 Long Colt revolvers. After a year of searching, Knives returns and gives a silver revolver to Vash, keeping a black one for himself. However, Vash was uncomfortable having a gun due to the pacifistic ideals that Rem had taught him, and shoots Knives in his right thigh. Terrified that he had hurt another, especially his brother, Vash runs away, leaving an injured Knives behind as he cries out in pain.
Several years after that incident, Vash discovers that one of Rem's last surviving relatives is still alive, and living in the city of July. He finds the man related to Rem a moment too late, as Knives murders him, breaking all connections between him and Rem. Left utterly dumbstruck, Knives takes his left arm, and once again offers Vash to join him. He controls Vash's remaining arm and summons the Angel Arm. However, Vash aims the Angel Arm at Knives, and fires it, destroying all of July and nearly killing Knives as well.
CURRENT EVENTS[]
Even though Knives was nearly killed in the July incident, he slowly regenerates, and later forms the Gung-Ho-Guns to act for him in his stead while he recovers. Like the manga, the Gung-Ho-Gun's purpose was to eliminate Vash, however, there are no special coins that Vash had to collect. However, despite never actually killing the Gung-Ho-Guns himself, they were either killed or committed suicide rather than to go back to Knives and admit their failure. Eventually, after all of the Gung-Ho-Guns are dead, Knives himself waits for Vash to find him.
Vash and Knives during their final battle against each other
Vash manages to find Knives, and the two have a massive battle. Because of his better knowledge of the Angel Arm, Knives gains the upper hand at the beginning of the fight, Nearly killing Vash with his and his brother's guns in the Angel Arm form. However, with Wolfwood's Punisher cross, Vash disables Knives by shooting him in both of his shoulders and thighs. Then, falling unconscious, Knives is taken back to the village by his brother where Milly Thompson and Meryl Stryfe await Vash's return.
Knives' fate is unknown in the anime, but at the ending of the series, he is shown to have been bandaged from his final fight against Vash.
Manga[]
After the Big Fall, Vash would accompany Knives for about 80 years until Vash is abducted by a man from a small town. Knives follows and wipes out the population of the town in retaliation, claiming it was a natural consequence of their actions, to Vash's horror. Knives announces his plan to eradicate humanity and Vash shoots him in the shoulder in protest, to which Knives responds by slicing off Vash's arm and taking off on his own.
Some time after, Knives would come across a slave town of 1301 people, killing all but one male slave, later known as Legato, who briefly stopped Knives' blades with his telekinetic ability for a chance to plead he be granted permission to serve him. Knives accepts and takes him as his second in command. During this time, Knives also tracks down Conrad to work for him and comes across a young Elendira.
Many years after their last encounter, Vash and Knives meet in the city of July. Knives take control of Vash and activates Vash's Angel Arm. Trying to control the power, Vash points the arm at Knives as it fires, leaving him in a critical state. He slowly regenerates over 20 years after being placed inside a Plant, and forms the Gung-Ho-Guns to act for him. After the Plant gives birth to a regenerated Knives, he breaks an eager Legato's bones to prevent him from harming Vash, before triggering the Fifth Moon incident. He later visits a town with a dying Plant. He witnesses the Plant's last death throes as the town's occupants send it through one last "run" to retrieve any resources left from the Plant. The Plant begins to turn black and dies. He is then informed by Conrad, whom he proceeds to kill out of rage, that his power is finite and he will slowly die by using his abilities. This is evident by a black strand appearing in his hair showing the process has already begun. In order to continue with his plans of destroying the humans he begins absorbing other Plants into himself, which causes his powers to grow exponentially.
Knives in Trigun Volume 3
Knives launches "The Ark", a floating ship that travels around the planet Gunsmoke, absorbing almost all the Plants on the planet. This results in the near-total collapse of human civilization on Gunsmoke, as cities are left with no means of producing power, water, or food. He claims that when he removes all the Plants, the humans will kill each other over resources, thus proving to Vash that that is all humanity is good for. As he absorbs more and more Plants, his Ark takes on the form of a sentient organism, capable of defending itself and, in some cases, even teleporting short distances. Knives is threatened by an oncoming Earth Federation fleet with other independent Plants in tow, Chronica and Domina, but he overpowers them by forcing Domina to fuse into the Ark and deflecting their attacks.
Vash and Knives eventually fight for a final time, and with the help of the humans Vash is successful in breaking Knives' control over all the other Plants by convincing them to give humanity a second chance. Robbed of nearly all of his remaining power, Knives and Vash clash one last time, before escaping together from the vengeful ships from Earth. The two apparently make peace and take refuge at an isolated house occupied by a father and son, who provide the wounded pair with medical care. Knives seemingly uses the last of his power to raise a small fruit tree beside the house as a parting message and seemingly vanishes afterward. He is never seen again, presumably dead by an act of suicide due to the intentional forfeit of his remaining energy, however his status is unclear.
Abilities[]
As the twin brother to Vash, Knives has many of the same independent Plant abilities, including advanced physiology, an extended lifespan and ability to summon wings and take flight. Knives understands his origins and powers better than his brother Vash, and as a result, he knows how to tap into his powers and create weapons such as the Angel Arms. In the anime, the catalyst required to activate them is hidden above the barrels of his and Vash's revolvers. These power cores, when held in either of their hands, transforms the guns into weapons with immense destructive potential. It can cause their arms to morph into miniature versions of one of the SEEDS guns, the true power of the Angel Arm. Even at 13% of its maximum output, the results are nothing less than devastating. In the manga, the Angel Arm is a natural ability of a Plant, and does not require a special revolver to utilize.
Knives is also a powerful telepath, using his ability to speak to and manipulate other Plants via their shared consciousness, evident when he almost causes a Plant to combust [2], when he manipulates Vash's Angel Arm and throughout his assimilation of Plants into The Ark. In the anime, he can also use this power on humans; Knives kills the crew members one by one via manipulation and the apparent insanity that the crew members seem to suffer from. [3]
Knives' power manifests itself as an array of monomolecular wire or extremely sharp blades. Furthermore, Knives learns how to increase his power by merging with other Plants, demonstrated in the manga where he absorbs other Plants into his left arm, taking their power source into his. When using this power, parts of the Plants he has absorbed may protrude from his body. Arms, legs, and faces peek through the cloak he wears from his left shoulder to keep it concealed. Knives' "gate", the source of a Plant's power, is apparently less potent then his brother's, as he was unable to force Vash to fuse into him.
Relationships[]
Vash the Stampede[]
In all three iterations of the Trigun series, Knives loves Vash and believes he is misguided, just as Vash cares about Knives and believes him to be misguided. In the manga, Knives is shocked and saddened by Vash's scars, which become a new testament to his beliefs. He does, however, have genuine interest in Vash's ideology, whether it be out of disgust or fascination, as he continues to ask Vash why he is committed to protecting humanity—humans being a lost cause in Knives' eyes [4]. He wants Vash to pay for shooting him, but other than that, Knives’ main goal is convincing Vash to join his side, something he realizes he will never be able to do as the story progresses.
LEGATO BLUESUMMERS[]
Legato is Knives' right-hand man and proxy leader of the Gung-Ho-Guns during his absence. In the manga, Knives rescued Legato from sex slavery after wiping out the population of the town in which he was captive, and impressed by his abilities and resilience, decided to grant him mercy for Legato's offer of loyalty in return. Legato values Knives above all else and chooses to live only to serve him, willing to die for his cause, though Knives does not overtly reciprocate Legato's fondness and often speaks cruelly towards him.
WILLIAM CONRAD[]
Conrad is Knives' counsel and works under him as a Plant scientist. In the manga, Vash and Knives first met Conrad as children on their SEEDS ship; initially, Knives respected Conrad and took his words to heart, but after discovering the Tesla and Conrad's key role in her suffering, he developed a disdain for him. Years after the Big Fall, Knives seeks out Conrad and coerces the man into working for him by capitalizing on his guilty conscience. The two fiercely distrust one another.
Trivia[]
- Given their age at the time, their turning points match up with when most children would be learning basic shapes and colors, appropriate given how their fundamentals were based entirely on what they saw on that ship, much like how humans understanding of shapes is formed by what they see in the beginning and what thoughts come to mind with specific colors. Given what Knives saw and how he was left to brew on it, it is easy to see why he might have developed his violent logic.
- In Trigun Stampede, it is said that Knives, unlike Vash, does not need to eat or sleep. This is incongruent with his portrayal in the manga in which he is seen sleeping on multiple occasions. There is no other indication that the brothers have differential needs.
- Additionally, in Stampede, Knives was originally given the name "Nai" by Rem, later abandoning this name in favor of "Millions Knives". In other iterations, Knives has always had his name.
- Despite being socially male, in Chapter 20, it is shown that Knives lacks a phallus. Furthermore, in TM Chapter 72, Knives in Ark form presents with female sex characteristics. Combined with the fact that all other Plants are female-presenting, it is implied that Knives (and Vash by extension) are biologically female despite presenting as male. As a result, the twins may be understood as transgender men, though presumably they were raised as male.
- In the 1998 anime, Knives has an extremely low pain tolerance. [5]
- In the manga, it is revealed that Knives is the older of the two twin brothers. He refers to Vash as his "little brother" in the Trigun Maximum chapter TM Chapter 35.