The tenth episode ofTRIGUN STAMPEDEsaw the departure of one of the series main characters from episode 1. Roberto De Niro, the character brought in to replace Milly Thompson in the 1998 anime, finally has his luck run out after he and Meryl meet a few of Knives' closest allies. Despite being the most cynical and cautious of theSTAMPEDEmain crew, De Niro finds himself caught in an unfortunate situation as Meryl’s curiosity gets the better of her, leading to the unfortunate death of her senior journalist and closest ally.
The death of De Niro means the loss of the main crew’s wisest member, and will definitely be a major sore spot for Meryl, whose dogged pursuit of the truth with minimal care for her own life gets someone else killed.Will Meryl be able to carry on her missionin the face of such guilt and grief?
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Rookie and the Vet
Roberto De Niro is very obviously named and modeled after the American actor, Robert De Niro. He was a veteran reporter at the Bernadelli News Agency, and his extensive experience as a journalist has enabled him to amass a wealth of knowledge about various factions, locations and phenomena in No Man’s Land. His age and experience are also the main factor causing his highly suspicious and cynical personality, and having seen all kinds of horrible thing courtesy of his occupation makes De Niro more likely to save his own skin rather than jump head first into danger like the youngsters around him. De Niro was quiet and observant, choosing to watch the scenes play out in front of him from somewhere just out of sight. He was always quick on the uptake, catching Vash just before he was about to leave Jeneora Rock prior to the appearance of E.G. The Mine; deducing thatNicholas D. Wolfwood was hiding a major secretin their encounter with Zazie The Beast; and, a few moments before his death, De Niro was able to piece together the fact that Wolfwood was one of William Conrad’s bio-engineered super humans, like the two previously mentioned and Monev The Gale.
When Vash and Nicholas split from him and Meryl to board the Humpback Sandsteamer, De Niro was more than happy to let fate run its course, seeing that as the natural end to his observation of Vash The Stampede; however, his junior was not happy about his eagerness to let someone as notorious as Vash go unaccompanied by someone from the agency. This kind of interaction is seen throughoutTRIGUN STAMPEDE, and De Niro and Meryl together create a somewhat contrasting dynamic characterized by their huge gap in experience, age, values and temperament. De Niro’s proximity to Meryl as a mentor is also further deepened by his choice of armament, with the Derringer that she was known for in the original anime being repurposed as her mentor’s ace-in-the-hole. As is customary in most anime narratives that feature a senior-and-junior or master-and-student dynamic, there is always a point at which the old must make way for the young. Despite the fact that they were constantly bickering, it was apparent that Meryl held ahigh level of respectfor De Niro, who in his middle-age must have been a shadow of the journalist he used to be, and something akin to the wide-eyed Meryl who was with him throughout their journey with Vash, until his last breath.
Death
William Conrad showed Meryl and De Niro his room of bioengineered Plant-Human hybrids, an undertaking he believes will lead to the salvation of the world. Among them is Elendira The Crimsonnail, the Android 18 lookalike previously seen with Knives and the Dr. When Meryl expresses pity for her and the other test tubes, Elendira scoffs at the premise of a mere human pitying her and begins her assault, flinging numerous needles that she controls with psychokinesis like an off-world Nobara Kugisaki. De Niro literally throws his junior over his shoulder and begins their beeline for the exit; wherever it may be. As they run away from the superpowered threat, De Niro lets Meryl know just how badly she messed up this time. They arrive at the elevator, hoping it’ll arrive before Elendira turns them into pin cushions, and while they make their way to safety, De Niro is seen running very clearly in front of his junior as they escape the hail of nails.
They’re saved when Nicholas and Vash burst out of the elevator and defeat Elendira with a single scratch; however, throughout the engagement, De Niro’s breathing had been shallow. As he and Meryl ascend to safety, the grave reality begins to set in as De Niro’s shirt is stained crimson. He asks Meryl to pass him his flask so he can have a last drink, but she refuses, which leaves him to sit through his own death with a clear head. He hands Meryl his bloodied Derringer, telling her thatshe is now the one in charge. He calls Meryl by her name for only the second time in the entire series before succumbing to his wound. Meryl is left with the bone-crushing guilt of being the reason why De Niro was there in the first place – the reason for his death. Having been entrusted with De Niro’s gun and his legacy, Meryl Stryfe knows what she must do to honour the memory of her mentor.
