Science fiction author Takehiko Oxi is taking Trigun to prose. His novel Trigun Manuscript focuses on the Gung-Ho-Guns, the killers who hunt Vash the Stampede across the desert planet, and arrives in Japan on December 17 from Shueisha. Check out the official post down below:
The official anime account says the book tells the "unknown story" of the Gung-Ho-Guns that was never shown in the TV anime Trigun Stampede and Trigun Stargaze. Original creator Yasuhiro Nightow drew the cover and the illustrations inside.
Who Is Takehiko Oxi?
Oxi, born in 1973 in Tokushima Prefecture, spent years as a video game planner and scenario writer, including work on the PlayStation 2 game Torinohoshi: Aerial Planet. His story "What We Want" was a finalist for the 2nd Sogen SF Short Story Prize, and in 2012 "Prometheus no Bansan" won an Excellence Award at the 3rd edition of that prize.
His first light novel, Kyoutei no Elpis, launched at Shogakukan's Gagaga Bunko label in 2014, and the series has continued with new volumes into 2026. Oxi is based in Osaka. On Trigun, Oxi wrote the original story concept for both Trigun Stampede and Trigun Stargaze.
Trigun Manuscript Details
- Release: December 17, 2026 in Japan
- Label: JUMP j BOOKS, Shueisha
- Price: 1,650 yen
- Format: shinsho-size novel
Shueisha first revealed the project on October 29 with a "this winter" window. The official account for Blood Blockade Battlefront, Nightow's other long-running manga, said at the time that more information would appear in the January 2027 issue of Jump SQ., on sale December 4.
The Assassins Of Gunsmoke
Trigun takes place on Gunsmoke, a desert world settled by humans whose colony ships crashed there, where society depends on energy-producing beings called Plants. Vash the Stampede, a gunman with a bounty of 60 billion double dollars on his head, avoids killing even while trouble follows him from town to town.
His twin brother, Millions Knives, wants humanity gone, and he assembles the Gung-Ho-Guns to make Vash suffer. In Nightow's manga, the group includes Legato Bluesummers, Knives' devoted enforcer, as well as Monev the Gale, Midvalley the Hornfreak and Zazie the Beast. Each member comes with a signature weapon or ability, and the encounters with them form much of the manga's middle stretch.
From Manga To Two Anime Eras
Nightow began Trigun in 1995, and the story continued as Trigun Maximum in Young King OURs until 2007. Madhouse adapted it in 1998, and the film Trigun: Badlands Rumble followed in 2010. Another classic sci-fi manga is also returning to animation, as covered in Shirow Masamune's Cyberpunk Classic Ghost In The Shell Gets Another New Anime From Science SARU.
Studio Orange rebooted the series as the 3DCG anime Trigun Stampede in January 2023, a 12-episode season directed by Kenji Muto. Yoshitsugu Matsuoka voices Vash in Japanese, while Johnny Yong Bosch returned to the role in English after voicing Vash in the 1998 dub. Its conclusion, Trigun Stargaze, billed as the final phase of the reboot project, premiered on TV Tokyo on January 10, is set 2 and a half years after Stampede and streams on Crunchyroll with an English dub. Masako Sato directed Stargaze, with Kazuyuki Fudeyasu handling series composition. Kouji Tajima returned as original character designer and Kiyotaka Oshiyama served as animation character designer. Ano sings the opening theme "Picaresque Hero," and FOMARE performs the ending theme "Stardust."
Crunchyroll released the official trailer for Trigun Stargaze:
An English edition of Trigun Manuscript has not been announced, and Shueisha has not yet shared a full synopsis.
Should Trigun Manuscript dig into the Gung-Ho-Guns' lives before they joined Knives, or retell their fights with Vash from their side?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.