Breaking Down Legato Bluesummers’ Appearance

warnings: this post will contain discussion of sexual abuse and exploitation both in description and in manga panels from the original Trigun work.

Legato Bluesummers is one of the most interesting character I've ever taken the time to really look into. Through obsessive devotion to traumatic backstory, Legato really does come off as what people may assume is the perfect believer and cultist! But, despite that,  Legato is incredibly interesting and a lot of his scenes shape the direction of Trigun as a work. 

One of the most important ways that his character his portrayed, though, is his appearance. From descriptions from those around him to the way he presents himself, Legato is incredibly visual in his storytelling when it comes to his design.

When it comes to Legato, his backstory plays into a large part of his character, as expected. Though it's unknown how he became a possession to his old master, it's not unlikely to assume he was sold or born into the life itself due to the core of what makes him "desirable" being genetic traits—his appearance. 

Primarily, his hair color is a source for a lot of his abuse and the reason for Legato's hair color in itself is able to be traced back to the SEEDS project of 150 years ago prior to the main story. Originally, cosmetic alterations would occur on the SEEDS ships, such as changing ones hair color down to a genetic level. However, as time went on and after the Big Fall, it's become expected for the descendants of the people who had gotten these genetic surgeries to fall into human trafficking and slave trades.

Legato is one of these people.

He was, rather openly, sexually abused but also trafficked to the people within his hometown who either assaulted him themselves or stood by and turned a blind eye—making them just as complicit, especially in Legato's mind. As a child into his late teen years when he was found and "saved" by Millions Knives,  Legato was routinely abused sexually and physically with little care towards anything except his appearance. Even though his old master had no real issue severely harming Legato, such as putting a bullet into him, he comments heavily on Legato's appearance itself.

Additionally, whenever Legato is portrayed in his backstory, he's portrayed with either nakedness or a dress-like robe as if to highlight femininity, further pushing the descriptions that Legato gets as a guy who's "almost sickeningly pretty" (Roderick Gang Members, Trigun Chapter 17). 

Despite this emphasis on femininity from other character's, though, Legato himself attempts to push an idealized masculinity into his personal appearance through his general silhouette and the accessories he wears, ultimately tying back into the experiences of his childhood.

Due to his abuse at the hands of the people in his village and especially the abuse of his old master, a large, rich man, it's likely to assume that there are certain traits Legato either subconsciously or consciously associates with being masculine, threatening, and considered a danger: being visibly larger than your opponent, masculinity, and sharp objects—the sharpness coming from his time with Knives, especially after being "saved" by the independent plant that wields blades. All of these things come to meet at once in one area.

Legato's body.

Legato's design itself, when you acknowledge his silhouette. is very much akin to that of an upside-down triangle with emphasis put on broad shoulders, a thin waist, and with his chest being visible to some extent. Much like the stereotypical v-taper physique that is described commonly as an idealized masculine form.

Additionally, there are frequent sharp and spiky metallic motifs placed around his body—most notably his spiky shoulder, the spikes on his gloves, the strap around his thigh, and the spikes coming from his left arm. Not only do the placement of these objects allow for Legato to physically shape himself into someone more menacing, but they also function as a second skin and a protective layer to sensitive parts of himself.

His shoulders and arms are primarily how he uses his abilities, his main object of offense and defense that, even after his disablement at the hands of Knives, allows him to remain useful and keep his sense of self-worth that prompted Knives to originally keep him around. His hands tie into the same reason, though it also allows him symbolically to hide parts of himself and keep control over situations, as hands themselves typically represent control and connection. His thigh is more up for interpretation, though connecting it to his sexual abuse it makes more sense as a spiky, threatening placement. When Legato is being sexually abused in the manga panel we see,

the hand of Legato's old master is placed in that exact spot on his inner thigh when maneuvering Legato's legs to open him for his abuse. By placing a section of defense in that spot, Legato blocks off the ability for someone to grab him in that spot and repeat his abuse, even if the accessory was placed there by pure subconscious nature. 

When it comes to the placement of the spikes in the skull on his shoulder, especially, it also ties back into Legato's backstory by emphasizing his subconscious believe of penetration equaling power, an almost direct parallel to the sexual abuse he faced—though now in a much more direct and deadly format. The skulls attached to his clothing are quite literally cracked with the force of the spikes put through them, mirroring not only the physical injury that can occur especially with repetitive childhood sexual abuse, but highlighting his viewpoint that it puts him at a place of power that can allow him to avoid that same abuse now that he is older. 

When it comes to Legato's expression through the format of his clothes as well, the general composition of how he wears things brings into question the actual necessity of these things and in the end the genuine lack of necessity of any of his accessories. Earlier on, I mentioned how the feminine expression of himself when he was younger was tied to his former-master and the flowing, dress-like garment he wore as he was being abused. It's very loose, has no real form, and ultimately is one garment that allows for easy access to Legato's body if desired. In contrast, Legato's current outfit and appearance have a significant amount of layering and form—fabric wrapped around his arms, long pants and shirt covered by an even longer jacket, belts and gloves, and obviously his multiple human bones. Not only do these things cover Legato, but they function as a direct contrast to his appearance when he was being abused and work as that defensive second skin that protects him and portrays him as stronger.

In general, Legato's design evolution goes from an unwilling femininity to sadistic masculinity as a form of self-defense, Legato himself using his appearance as a way to protect himself even through subconscious need in the way many victims who are physically stronger now-compared-to-then tend to do. He uses his clothing as a way of expression and as a reflection of his mental state that parallels his backstory, yes, but also his current motivations and ties as a "human weapon" for Knives.

Special thanks to millionsroses_ on Twitter for inspiring this post in it's entirely!