Trigun Manuscript, a new novel about the assassins known as the Gung-Ho-Guns, will be released in Japan on Thursday, December 17. The official Trigun Stargaze anime account announced the date along with the cover, which was drawn by original creator Yasuhiro Nightow. Check out the official post down below:
The post describes the book as the "unknown story" of the Gung-Ho-Guns that was not depicted in the TV anime Trigun Stampede and Trigun Stargaze. Takehiko Oxi, who wrote the original story concept for both anime series, is writing the novel. Nightow is credited for the original work, the cover illustration and the interior illustrations.
Oxi is a science fiction author from Tokushima Prefecture who worked as a game planner and scenario writer before turning to prose. His short story "Prometheus no Bansan" won an Excellence Award at the 3rd Sogen SF Short Story Prize in 2012, and his light novel series Kyoutei no Elpis began at Shogakukan's Gagaga Bunko label in 2014.
Trigun Manuscript Release Details
- Release date: December 17, 2026 in Japan
- Publisher: Shueisha, under its JUMP j BOOKS label
- Format: shinsho-size novel
- Price: 1,650 yen including tax
- Story: Takehiko Oxi
- Original work, cover and illustrations: Yasuhiro Nightow
The novel was first announced on October 29 in the autumn issue of Shueisha's Jump SQ. RISE magazine, and the anime account said that day that it would arrive "this winter." The official account for Blood Blockade Battlefront, Nightow's other major manga series, shared the news the same day and said more details would come in the January 2027 issue of Jump SQ., on sale December 4. Bones adapted Blood Blockade Battlefront as an anime in 2015.
Who Are The Gung-Ho-Guns?
The Gung-Ho-Guns are the group of killers organized by Millions Knives, Vash the Stampede's twin brother, to hunt Vash down. In Nightow's original manga, the roster includes Legato Bluesummers, who serves as Knives' right hand, as well as Monev the Gale, Midvalley the Hornfreak and Zazie the Beast, each with a distinct weapon or power.
The Stampede and Stargaze anime reworked many of those characters for their own continuity. Trigun Manuscript is set in the world of those two anime series, filling in stories about the Gung-Ho-Guns that the TV episodes skipped.
From Stampede To Stargaze
Studio Orange produced Trigun Stampede, which premiered in January 2023 with full 3DCG animation and ran for 12 episodes under director Kenji Muto. Yoshitsugu Matsuoka voices Vash in Japanese, and Johnny Yong Bosch, who also voiced Vash in the 1998 anime's English dub, returned for the English version. Its follow-up, Trigun Stargaze, is the "final phase" of the project and is set 2 and a half years after the end of Stampede.
Stargaze premiered on TV Tokyo and its affiliates on January 10, with Crunchyroll streaming it as it aired along with an English dub. Masako Sato directed the series at Orange, Oxi returned to write the original story, and Kazuyuki Fudeyasu handled series composition. Kouji Tajima returned as original character designer, with Kiyotaka Oshiyama as animation character designer. Ano performed the opening theme "Picaresque Hero," and FOMARE performed the ending theme "Stardust."
Nightow created Trigun in 1995, and the story continued as Trigun Maximum in Young King OURs until 2007. Madhouse adapted the manga as a TV anime in 1998, followed by the 2010 film Trigun: Badlands Rumble.
Crunchyroll's official trailer for Trigun Stargaze shows the setting the novel draws from:
No English release has been announced for Trigun Manuscript yet. Shueisha's JUMP j BOOKS label also published the novel covered in Demon Slayer: Mugen Train got a full novel adaptation.
Which Gung-Ho-Gun would you most want Trigun Manuscript to focus on?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.