This is a list of the major characters featured in Trinity Blood; a series of twelve Japanese light novels written by Sunao Yoshida, that has been adapted into both manga and anime series. The characters here have been grouped by their affiliation with the major political powers in the series. In addition to providing a quick view of each character's personality and role in the series, any important differences between the novel, manga, and anime appearances of that character will be noted. All character names are written using the official English spellings.
The Vatican The Vatican stands in Rome as the centre of human existence after the Armageddon. In light of the devastation, people sought refuge and protection in the Church, giving the Vatican responsibility and leadership over the humans. Despite its once supreme authority, humans have begun to put their faith in local leaders and nobles, taking authority away from the Vatican. Despite its weakening hold over the nations, the Vatican still stands as the greatest form of human leadership.
Leaders Alessandro XVIII Voiced by: Yoshinori Fujita (Japanese); Greg Ayres (English)
His Holiness, Alessandro XVIII, is the 399th Pope of Rome, and the son of the former pope, Gregorio XXX. After the death of his father, Alessandro's siblings made sure he was given the title of Pope over his uncle, Archbishop Alfonso d'Este. Alessandro did not choose the position himself and is a nervous and easily frightened teenager who lacks conviction and self-confidence. He cannot handle shouting, especially when it is directed towards him. Despite him holding the highest position in the Vatican, Alessandro is a puppet ruler who feels unable to make decisions on his own, usually deferring to his older brother's views in important matters.
After being kidnapped, Alessandro must seek refuge with The Methuselah in Albion. This experience opens his eyes and paves the way for him to gain more confidence in himself and his leadership, and to learn that not all Methuselah are evil. Now able to stand up on his own, Alessandro pledges to direct his efforts toward a new world of peaceful coexistence.
Francesco di Medici
The Duke of Florence, Duke of Tuscany, and a Cardinal of the Vatican, Francesco is a tall and intimidating man. As he is a bastard son, he could not be elected Pope and may harbor some bitterness over it. Using intimidation and loud vocal displays, he frequently attempts to pressure his younger brother to bend to his way of thinking. Harboring a strong hatred for vampires, he frequently clashes with his younger sister, Cardinal Caterina, in her pursuits for negotiation and diplomacy. As the head of the Department of Inquisition, Francesco does not believe in compromise, preferring to respond to situations with violence and force. He has no compunctions about making decisions that might kill innocent bystanders claiming his actions are done "in the name of God", and would gladly sacrifice his brother to further his own cause.
Caterina Sforza
Cardinal Caterina Sforza (by a historical personality, Caterina Sforza, Lady of Forlì and Imola), the Duchess of Milan, is a strong willed, determined woman who shows no fear and has a strong resolve in anything she believes in. She is the head of the Ministry of Holy Affairs and leads the department's special operations group, the AX Agency.
Caterina first met Abel Nightroad when he saved her from a group of vampires who attempted to kill her by order of the Contra Mundi. After she was safe, he promised that he would always protect humans. They have been close friends ever since. Caterina greatly loves her brother Alessandro, the current Pope, and has shown herself to be willing to die to protect him. Caterina frequently clashes with her other brother, Cardinal Francesco, who abhors the idea of peace with vampires and has little regard for the life of Alessandro.
Despite her past experiences, Caterina strongly believes in the need for peace between humans and vampires. Though discovery of her actions could result in her execution, Caterina secretly works to form diplomatic relations with the Empire, knowing they both have a much more deadly enemy in the Rosenkreuz Orden. She has used the AX Agency towards this goal, including arranging a joint operation that teamed Abel Nightroad with Empire representative Astharoshe Asran to capture a vampire mass murderer at large in Venice.
Alfonso d'Este
Archbishop of Cologne, he is uncle to Alessandro XVIII, Francesco and Caterina. After losing the papal elections to his child nephew, his hatred and a desire for revenge caused him to hire the Rosenkreuz Orden to create an ultimate weapon which he could use to destroy Rome and kill his niece and nephews. Unsatisfied with the first test of the Silent Noise machine, he has Isaak Fernand von Kämpfer test on the city of Barcelona. Abel Nightroad and Sister Noélle Bor learn of the plot, but are unable stop it. The machine levels the city and Noélle is killed during the attack. Satisfied with the test, Alfonso d'Este delivers the machine to Rome under the guise of a goodwill reunion with his family. The AX agents, suspicious of his sudden about face in light of recent events, are able to stop the city from being completely destroyed and arrest Alfonso. In the novels, however, he is allowed to escape.Trinity Blood Rage Against the Moons II: Silent Noise, Chapter Overcount
In the novels, it is revealed that his master plan was to purge the church of the unworthy, by destroying Rome. He planned to rebuild the Vatican in Cologne, with a newly appointed clergy chosen personally by him. He later resurfaces in the city of Brno, having convinced many church workers to join his new organization, named "Neue Vatican". Having taken Alessandro hostage, the Archbishop attempts to crown himself as Pope of his "Neue Vatican" but his plans are eventually thwarted by the AX.
Antonio Borgia Appears in novels and manga only
Antonio is described as an impressive young man with long hair, and a rather undignified appearance for someone of his position. The Prince of Hispania and a top student of the University of Cologne, Antonio is a genius who received seven doctorates by the age of twenty-three. Being of noble blood, Antonio comes from a powerful family with valuable connections both inside and outside of the Vatican. Although somewhat vain, he appears to be outwardly cheerful at all times, even in the midst of dangerous situations.
When first introduced into the series, Antonio is portrayed as a vain and cowardly individual, even referring to Abel Nightroad as his "bullet shield" while they were under attack. Although the reluctant priest remained unsure of Antonio's intentions throughout the mission, the young nobleman managed to lead their attackers into a devious trap, ironically saving them both. Upon his return to Rome, Abel expressed great surprise when Antonio joined the clergy as a priest.
Despite his young age, Antonio is later seen serving as a Cardinal, as well as the Minister of Vatican Public Relations. While having obtained a high position, he shows an obvious lack of formality when speaking with his fellow church officials, often referring to Caterina as "honey". As a consequence, his behavior is looked down upon by both Caterina and Francesco, both of whom appear to share a certain sense of disgust and intolerance for the younger Cardinal's behavior. He also appears alongside Cardinal Francesco after Radu Barvon's first attack on Carthage, requesting that the church send members from the Inquisitorial Department to assist in the defense of the city.
AX Agents AX, short for Arcanum Cella Ex Dono Dei (Latin for Papal State Affairs Special Operations Section), serves as the special division of the Ministry of Holy Affairs. The agents are all elite priests and nuns, trained in different arts of combat, many of whom have special abilities granted to them by lost technologies. The members of the AX unit serve under Cardinal Caterina Sforza, and are often referred to as deputy enforcers. They are often sent to investigate issues relating to or involving vampires.
Abel Nightroad
Satoshi Hino (young Abel - ep. 24) Kazuya Ichijō (drama CD)
The main protagonist of the series. On the surface, Abel appears to be a goofy, clumsy, absent-minded, devout, and very compassionate Catholic priest who has bad luck with money and is always hungry. In reality, this surface is a facade for a far more solemn, sober personality, in which his compassion is retained but his other personality traits vanish. Additionally, he is a Crusnik, a vampiric being with extraordinary powers that feed on other vampires. Nearly a millennium in age, Abel was created in 2088 A.D. as one of four test tube babies whose bodies were infused with Crusnik nanomachines by the Mars human colonists. Abel once had a hatred for humanity and joined the Methuselah in the war against humans after Armageddon. This prejudice was presumably the result of an unexplained betrayal by a person or persons dear to him that was mentioned by a holo-recording by Lilith. During the war between the humans and Methuselah, Abel Nightroad killed seven million humans. Lilith's murder by Cain caused him to abandon the war. He spent 900 years mourning in Lilith's crypt at the Vatican until a young Caterina Sforza fled there to escape Methuselah's assassins. Abel, deciding then that it was his task to continue Lilith's work and defend the humans, saved the young Caterina and chose to live on. He joined the AX at its foundation in May 3055 A.D. He is described as looking around 20 years old in the manga (though in the anime, he appears to be closer to his early 30s), and has long silver hair, and blue eyes.
In penance for his earlier sins, Abel now adheres to a strict principle of pacifism and has taken a vow not to kill unless he absolutely must (anime only). Though accepting of his Crusnik form, he will generally only use it as a very last resort. After meeting Esther, he is reluctant to use his Crusnik form in a battle for fear of her seeing it and frightening her, and after she does see it for the first time, Abel is extremely distraught. Later he tells her it is the mark of his sins. Notably, in regards to Esther, in the novels and manga, Abel first reveals his Crusnik form during the Star of Sorrow arc, not long after he meets her,Trinity Blood-Reborn on Mars: The Star of Sorrow (pg 160-165) and, in the manga, part of her reasons for joining AX is to find out more about Abel (also in the novels and manga, he is nowhere near as distraught for showing her as in the anime). In the anime and novel, he seems to be oblivious to Esther's romantic feelings for him. seems to have noticed, though, and calls him a dunce for not being bothered by Ion's affections for Esther. While he mostly responds to her with fatherly affection, when he thought she had been killed, he lost control of himself and went into Crusnik form, seeming to delight in killing the Methuselah Radu who he thought had killed Esther. It is Esther that helps him return to normal. Abel eventually learns from Seth that Lilith's killer and their brother, Cain, is still alive and swears to find and kill him, once and for all. After Abel finds and confronts him, Cain defeats Abel and sends him into a near death state. While Esther mourns at Abel's grave, Cardinal Caterina retrieves the nanomachines from Lilith's body and sends Father Tres to take them to Abel in order to revive him. Tres delivers them to Abel's grave, both reviving him and allowing him to achieve 100% Crusnik fusion without the insanity that manifested in Cain. Immediately afterwards, Cain arrives, and Abel battles him again, but the fight ends in a draw and Abel must continue his quest to destroy his brother, now joined by Ion Fortuna.