Nicholas D. Wolfwood

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Nicholas D. Wolfwood

Wolfwood is a preacher and curiously excellent gunman who meets Vash the Stampede Nicholas D. Wolfwood (ニコラス・D・ウルフウッド Nikorasu D Urufuddo), a gun-toting priest, is a main character from the anime and manga Trigun Voiced by: Shō Hayami (Japanese); Jeff Nimoy (English)

Wolfwood in the Anime

When Vash's bus runs across Wolfwood's motorcycle in the middle of the desert. He proves to be a valuable ally although his and Vash's philosophies often conflict, Wolfwood being a firm believer in martialism while Vash is a pacifist. By the end of the series, he agrees with Vash's way of thinking even though it costs him dearly. Wolfwood's purpose is to raise money for the children in the orphanage he runs.

The giant cross that he carries comes in two versions. Version 1 holds 12 pistols (across arms of the cross). Version 2 houses a giant machine gun (long part of the cross) and finally, a rocket launcher in the top, while the ammunition is stored in the arms of the cross(an alternate opinion is simply that one of the horizontal arms holds ammo for the machine gun and rocket launcher while the other holds six pistols). The trigger for the version 2 Punisher is a skull shaped symbol in the centre of the cross. As can be expected, the weapon/case is very heavy, and only Wolfwood, Milly, and Vash seem to have no trouble holding it (though Vash once comments on its weight). Wolfwood states that it's heavy "because it's so full of mercy."

He is modeled on Tortoise Matsumoto, the lead singer of the Japanese rock band Ulfuls. The name Wolfwood (ウルフウッド urufuddo) is a corruption of Ulfuls (ウルフルズ urufuruzu), which is in turn a corruption of the English word soulful (ソウルフル sōrufuru).

Nightow is frequently asked in interviews and at convention panels what the "D." in Wolfwood's name stands for. His responses have varied each time, ranging from "Dangerous" to "Dokonokuminomonjawaresumakinishiteshizumetarokakora." The latter is actually stereotypical yakuza slang, and would be written out as "どこの組の者じゃ、われ！？　簀巻きにして沈めたろか、こら！", which roughly means "What the hell family do you think you're from!? I'm gonna tie you up in a reed mat and dunk ya!". The common theme in these various expansions of the single letter "D" is one of destructive force, anger, or violence, which are traits Nightow has modeled the character after.

In the original Japanese version, Wolfwood speaks in a Kansai Dialect. Nightow has said of this: "It's an English-speaking world, so he's not actually speaking Kansai dialect. Think of it as indicating some accent."

Wolfwood is actually the student of the Gung-Ho Gun 'Chapel the Evergreen'. It is strongly hinted that Wolfwood would have inherited the title once his mentor completed his service to Knives. Wolfwood was taken in by Chapel as a child after escaping an abusive home situation. Nicholas was raised by his alcoholic uncle whom he eventually shot dead; this survival instinct apparently appealed to Chapel, who raised and trained Wolfwood from early adolescence. Although he is a professional killer, Chapel seems to sincerely care for his ward.

During the course of the series, he develops a relationship with Milly that crosses from close friendship into romance. It was speculated by some fans that Milly was even carrying Wolfwood's child towards the end of the series, however these rumors are not widely accepted. In episode 23 it is apparent that she in fact did have intercourse with Wolfwood. In the manga, they do not have this relationship.

Ironically, Wolfwood dies because he embraces Vash's beliefs. He spares Chapel after defeating him, and Legato proceeds to control Chapel and shoots Wolfwood from behind.

Wolfwood in the Manga

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Cover to Trigun Maximum vol. 10

In the manga, Wolfwood was raised in an orphanage before being inducted into the Eye of Michael, an organization of assassins founded by a plant worshipper. The Eye of Michael worships Knives as a god and provides him with contract killers. Wolfwood's teacher and master was Chapel- a man much different from his anime incarnation. During his training, Wolfwood had been physically enhanced to superhuman status including regenerative abilities that are triggered by consuming vials of a regenerative drug.

Shortly before the series begins, Wolfwood shoots his mentor, leaving Chapel without the use of his legs and taking his Master's identity so he can join the Gung-Ho Guns in his place. After the fifth moon incident, he attempts to kill Knives but is overcome by fear and is unable to move. Instead of punishing him, Knives gives Wolfwood the task of protecting his brother until Knives is able to see him again. This causes many of the other Gung-Ho Guns to assume that Wolfwood is a traitor although his actions do not directly contradict Knives' orders until Volume 8 of the manga, when Wolfwood breaks into the arc in order to rescue Vash.

Wolfwood dies in Volume 10 of the manga, after fighting Chapel, Livio the Double Fang and Razlo the Tri-P of Death. In order to continue fighting, he overdoses on two vials of the Super Regenerative Drug taken simultaneously, which causes massive internal bleeding and organ damage, leading to his death shortly after the fight.

The manga version of his weapon is part of a special series of guns named "Punisher," and the highest honor in the Eye of Michael is to receive one, since the Punisher is considered to be the strongest personal weapon the Eye of Michael possesses. His teacher Chapel tells him that his Punisher is the tenth to have been built in the 133 years of history of the Eye of Michael. The manga Punisher differes from its anime counterpart slight in coloration, and in that the two side arms of the cross are used to hold the ammunition for the main machine gun rather than additional pistols.

References

• http://www.geocities.com/sumirechan/tri-chars.html - Page on Trigun Characters, translated by sumire