TRIGUN STAMPEDE, the 2023 reboot to the 1998 anime adaptation of Yasuhiro Nightow's Trigun manga, explores the universe of Trigun with much more dramatic urgency than its predecessor. This is owed to the reboot's closer interpretation of the author's intentions, as well as the fact that it is being produced by Studio Orange, which is known for its specialization in 3D/CGI animated works and exaggerated direction; however, this urgency is also due to the direction of the story itself, which reveals pertinent details about the main man Vash The Stampede's origins very early on – the true cause of his infamy worth $$60 billion ($$6 million in TRIGUN STAMPEDE).
Vash's brother, Millions Knives is definitely an example of the age-old infernal twin trope; however, the careful nature with which Orange's TRIGUN STAMPEDE reveals the true nature of Vash's relationship with his brother using recurring nightmares of one fateful day in their youth, as well as the interesting astral visual in the ending sequence, point towards the most famous set of twins in human history: the Dioscuri, better known as The Gemini.
Mythology
For this to make sense, we have to delve into the realm of Greco-Roman mythology and excavate what is known about the most famous twins in history (and one of the more infamous astrological placements), the Gemini. The word "Gemini" is Latin for "twins"; in Greek, these two were referred to as the Dioscuri ("Dioskouroi"), meaning "sons of Zeus". One thing people tend to be in the dark about regarding the Gemini is the mythology surrounding them, especially the hugely significant fact that the Gemini are borne of different fathers.
The twins referred to by this moniker in Greek mythology are Castor and Pollux (sometimes referred to as Polydeukes), who share the same mother, Leda; but have fathers of separate composition: Castor is the mortal son of Tyndareus, the King of Lacedaemon, better known as Sparta; while Pollux was the son of Zeus, who fathered the boy under extremely heinous circumstances while Leda was pregnant. The conception of Castor and Pollux is hence seen as an example of a phenomenon called "heteropaternal superfecundation" – the fertilization of two ova (eggs) of the same cycle by sperm from two different sources presented at different times. Anyway, it sometimes goes that Castor and Pollux hatched from an egg along with their lesser-known twin sisters – Helen and Clytemnestra. Sometimes, both of them are mortal, sometimes both divine; however, if one of the Gemini is to be divine, it is always Pollux.
In astronomy, between the aptly named Castor and Pollux; stars in the constellation of Gemini, Pollux is the brighter of the two. The Gemini are associated with horses, which stems from their origins in the Proto-Indo-European mythological tradition, which is thought to have featured a set of "Divine Twins" who were associated with horses, and the assistance of people at sea. These concepts remained, and Castor and Pollux were seen in Greco-Roman myth to be helpers of humankind who were great horsemen and hunters, as well as brilliant sailors.
In Greek myth, Castor and Pollux were among the crew of the Argonaut. As the story has it, the mortal twin Castor is killed during a cattle raid in Arcadia, and after avenging his brother's death, Pollux is given the option of either staying in Olympus, or "splitting" his immortality with his brother, so they could alternate between realms together. Pollux opts to share his immortality with Castor, while in another version of the story, Pollux's decision sees the pair be "immortalized" as the constellation of Gemini. The constellation itself is the subject of various stories and associated with various pairs in mythology, but the Gemini are its astronomical, and most common association.
The Double
Doppelgängers are prevalent in various kinds of storytelling, and they are usually an unrelated look-alike associated with misfortune. As some legends go, witnessing one's doppelgänger will invariably lead to death, and in some cases, the double will go on to lead the life of the deceased while twisting their ideals, their personalities or lives. The evil twin concept is a similar idea that supposedly has its roots in the Zurvanite Zoroastrian belief system, in which the concepts of good and evil are embodied in the Ahura Mazda, and his evil twin brother, the Angra Mainyu were created by the ageless androgynous deity, Zurman, who decided that the firstborn would be the one to rule over all things. When the Ahura Maza informs his brother of this, the Angra Mainyu rips out of their cosmic womb to emerge first, indicating that he is evil by choice, rather than explicitly by design.
Evil twins in fiction and in myth have generally followed the same idea of being a logical and total opposite to their counterpart in every way. As above, so below, as some would say. This concept is perhaps the most easily notable at play in TRIGUN STAMPEDE, even more so than the central twins' similarities to the Gemini. The kind and helpful Vash is held accountable for the actions of his evil twin, Knives, who is in every way Vash's opposite – including in his ability to control a special power.
Outlaw
There are several parallels between Vash and his brother Knives, and the Gemini, and the TRIGUN STAMPEDE ending sequence features astral visuals that depict Vash and Knives as twins and mirror images of each other in the cosmos. While the series has presented Vash's alien origins, as well as his infernal twin, the original Trigun anime took far longer to establish Vash's character in various respects.
Their guardian during their childhood in SEED, Rem Savarem, is only mentioned briefly in episode 4 of the original series – with no context to the name whatsoever. TRIGUN STAMPEDE hits the ground running by telling us in the first three episodes that Vash isn't from this planet, "this planet" isn't even Earth, and the guy raking up a $$60 billion bounty is Knives – not Vash. The compression of events rearranging of plot elements in STAMPEDE has changed the pace and the way these elements come together, but ultimately, the connection being brought forward in the TRIGUN STAMPEDE ending sequence is the special origins of Vash and Knives, as well as their contrasting ideals, personality and goals.