The Running Man

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逃げる男 The Running Man
Series
Japanese Name	逃げる男
English Name	The Running Man
English Name (Pioneer)
English Name (Funimation)
Season
Episode No.	2
Original Airdate	January 14th, 2023
US Airdate	January 14th, 2023
Writer
Director	Minoru Yamaoka
Previous Episode	NOMAN'S LAND
Next Episode	Bright Light, Shine through the Darkness

"逃げる男" (Eng: "The Running Man") is the second episode of Trigun Stampede.

Synopsis

Night-time. Vash sits at a desk in his room at Jeneora Rock's inn, cleaning his gun. He is being surreptitiously observed by an small, strange walking drone, which wanders off as the DJ on the radio laments the position that humanity is in trying to survive on No Man's Land. Without the Plants, everyone would have died long ago, but that may have been preferable to what they endure now. Is it divine retribution, or is it just bad luck? As Vash listens, he flashes back to the crash, the last time he saw Rem alive as she helped them escape, and to Nai laughing in triumph over the wreckage. On the desk, Vash has set a framed photo of himself, his brother, and Rem.

In the morning, Vash sits at a table in the saloon for his interview with Meryl and Roberto while a radio announces that the Nebraska Family has escaped from May City prison. Meryl recounts what Vash has told her so far, which is that he's not the person running around stealing Plants, and that the actual culprit is his twin brother, Knives, who looks exactly like him. Roberto points out this is an extremely convenient story and not terribly convincing, and Meryl adds that he doesn't have any proof. Vash tries to play on their sympathies by pretending to cry, but even Meryl is unmoved and Vash puts his face down on the table, looking defeated. Roberto and Meryl both begin to speculate what Knives's motive for the crimes could be - money, honor, revenge? - but Vash offers no answer.

Just then, a boy comes runs up to Vash carrying a cage of insects and puts them on the table to show Vash. Meryl flinches away and hides her face with her notebook, but Vash thanks the boy, Tonis, and gratefully tousles his hair, promising to keep the insects safe. Tonis's mother, Rosa, descends the stairs and sharply tells her son his Worms (the insects) don't belong in the diner, then warns him to go outside for a while. As Tonis takes his Worms and scurries out, Vash waves goodbye. Then Rosa and every other patron in the diner save Vash, Meryl and Roberto pulls out a gun and points it at Vash, who looks dismayed. Rosa apologises and Vash scrambles to escape as everyone in town moves to pursue and capture him for his bounty. Though screaming, wailing, flailing his arms and almost falling on his face several times, Vash dodges every bullet they fire until finally cornered. Meryl and Roberto throw him a rope and haul him to safety, though he accidentally lands on top of them. Roberto asks what the hell is going on, and Vash says he'd like to know, too.

Elsewhere in the desert, the Nebraska Family - father, an elderly man hardly taller than Meryl in a lab coat and goggles, and son, a hulking giant with mechanical modifications that allow him to fire his fist like a rocket and who can only repeat his own name - have hijacked a truck and are complaining to the driver, a patrol officer they've taken hostage, about the car's rough suspension. The driver shoots back that they won't get a smooth ride so far from a wealthy city like July and if they wanted one they should have hit a place like that. The father says he will, right after capturing Vash for his $$6,000,000 bounty, which - judging by the silly-looking picture on his Wanted poster - should be easy. Back in town, Vash is also considering his Wanted poster, lamenting the same silly photo of him printed on it. Meryl and Roberto overhear the townspeople talk about capturing the two people with Vash as well, reasoning that they can then demand more money. Roberto grumbles over Meryl getting them involved by saving Vash, telling him things would be easier for all of them if he'd put up a fight, but Vash doesn't want to cause a shoot-out. Besides, he says, bullets are expensive - one bullet costs the same as two pizza slices. Instead, he proposes that they sneak out of town. They distract the townsfolk by tying a flapping red cloth to an unsaddled toma and letting it draw them away, then creeping to the town's entrance, when they're stopped at gunpoint by Rosa and two other women. The Nebraskas are also approaching the town and the father of the pair isn't happy to see that someone else got to Vash first. They tell the driver of the truck to run all of them down, and when he refuses to do so, the father has Gofsef punch him through the window - right before realising neither of them actually knows how to drive the truck. Meanwhile, Rosa tells Vash they really need the money. Though Vash says nothing in his own defence, wearing a sad smile of acceptance, Meryl is outraged they'd hand over the man who saved their town twice. Rosa says that if it were only herself on the line they would let someone who'd done that for them go, but all three are mothers to children they don't want to see sick or starving. She tells him to blame bad luck, and Vash chuckles grimly. The Nebraskas burst onto the scene in the truck, careening toward a confused and frightened Tonis, who'd wandered out to see what was happening. Rosa drops her weapon and sprints to save him, only for Vash to leap to his feet and pull them both out of the way at the last instant before they're crushed, knocking Tonis's insects out of his hands.

The truck skids to a stop, showering the reporters with sand, and the father of the Nebraskas announces, "Power is justice! Power is truth! There's no future for those who can't fight!" and challenges Vash to a duel. Vash does not meet this challenge, mounting a toma and quickly riding away into the desert with the Nebraskas in pursuit. Meryl and Roberto climb into their truck and follow, Meryl driving and Roberto drinking. The father of the Nebraskas mocks Vash for fleeing from a fight and has Gofsef try to hit him with the rocket-punch, which he dodges, and then tries to run him down, but the truck's engine cuts out, overheated. They pursue on foot, Gofsef carrying his father on his shoulders as he still demands a fight, which Vash cheekily refuses by saying he doesn't really like pain, nor is he eager to defend his pride (since he doesn't have any). The father calls him a coward who deserves death if he won't fight to survive. The two criminals misjudge a grab and Gofsef's rocket-fist retracts too quickly, knocking them both over while Vash rides away, playfully telling them to take it easy. Gofsef stops his father from running after him alone and the father scorns him for cowardice too, lamenting the defeat since without the money they're both back in prison. Then he has an idea.

Stopping so Vash can rest and water his toma, Meryl agrees with the father Nebraska: Vash is a coward, acting like running will save everyone when he's just a wimp trying to avoid getting hurt. Vash responds that he might not be brave, but fighting gets people killed. Is it always the right course?

Jeneora Rock is under attack. The Nebraskas have decided they won't need Vash's bounty if they steal the town's healthy Plant and sell it. Vash hurries back with the reporters in tow as Gofsef lays waste to the town with his rocket fist, with the Plant tied around his back with a rope. He carries it to the end of a long movable bridge, against which they've backed up the truck so that they can grab the winch hook to move the Plant. Rosa, accompanied by the other two women and some other townspeople, want to stop them but are concerned that opening fire might damage the Plant. Instead, Rosa runs at Gofsef alone to strike him with her gun, but he grabs her and tosses her into the air. He launches his rocket fist, but Vash jumps from nowhere to catch her and spin-kicks the fist away, landing on his feet with Rosa in his arms. The father is surprised to see him return, realising he ran to draw them away from the town rather than to escape, and once more demands he fight, having Gofsef launch his rocket fist several times. Vash dodges so easily, still refusing to attack, that the father Nebraska becomes insulted. Though reluctant to use such an expensive weapon, he fires a rocket launcher, which causes structural damage to the bridge that they're all on and knocks Vash over the edge. But he climbs back onto the bridge uninjured, complaining that he really doesn't want to fight. He says they can't take the Plant because then everyone in the town will die.

Genuinely confused, the father Nebraska demands to know why Vash is even bothering with this much for a town of people who pulled guns on him for his bounty. Vash says they were kind to him, so he'll save them regardless of what else they do. Rosa, overhearing, looks guilt-stricken. Becoming even more infuriated, the father Nebraska draws a handgun and fires it. Vash draws his own pistol and shoots the oncoming bullet out of the air, to the father's open astonishment, and says if they want, he'd like to save them too. Roberto is exasperated and asks Vash who's side he's on. Just then, the bridge they're on begins to crumble. Father Nebraska jumps to safety, but Gofsef hangs back to grab the Plant. While he carries it to the structurally sound portion of the bridge, he can't quite make it himself before the ground falls apart under him. He grabs the edge of the sturdy bridge with his rocket hand and Vash tries to heave him upward. The father begs for his son's rescue. When Vash asks for help, after making the father promise to return the Plant, Rosa has all her people pull the Nebraska son to safety. As everyone collapses with relief, Meryl stares at Vash in confusion as he smiles at her reassuringly.

Back at the diner, Rosa declares a free round to celebrate, inviting the Nebraskas to drink with them, though the father turns down alcohol and says he doesn't approve of drinking in daylight. Tonis happily shows his cage of insects to Gofsef, who flinches away. At another table, Meryl is already tipsy and lecturing Roberto over his alcoholism and smoking. Roberto isn't listening, having noticed Vash quietly slip from the building as everyone begins to relax. He follows and asks why he won't stay or say goodbye when these people trust him, and when Vash deflects, Roberto says he knows why already: Vash is running from his brother.

A scream rings out from the diner. The two run back to see the place overrun with small, mechanical walking drones resembling bacteriophages with transparent blue cubic heads. Several climb onto Gofsef, covering him from head to toe. The heads change shape and glow red, and Gofsef stumbles outside and away from the diner. The father tries to go after him, but Vash holds him back. The drones covering Gofsef explode, bringing an end to the episode.

Characters

In order of appearance:

Gallery

• 

  Rem and the kids

• 

  Blue thing

• 

  A bacteriophage-thing

• 

  More of them

Notes

Dub

• In the English dub, rather than "two pizza slices", a line from the manga, Vash says bullets cost as much as "two dozen donuts", an improvisation from Johnny Yong Bosch referencing the anime from 1998.

Credits

See subpage Credits