Anime: Vampire Hunter D (2001)

Rate me! I'm taking an excursion from my usual "be one of three reviews" because there is a lot that hasn't yet been said about Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust. However, I do so with the knowledge few will see this review, so I ask you to rate me!
This review is based on the "original Japanese version" (note: the English version came out first, and the Japanese is a translation of the English version, not vice versa). This is a DVD9 R2J fansub, and it's a lovely transfer with anamorphic wide-screen at a high bitrate, and quite recommended. Disclosure: some of the thoughts in the "story" section are not original, and were made first by Allen Divers in his Apr 3rd 2002 review at ANN. They are acknowledged because he said it best, first, but the correction and changes are mine.

Quick Take: VHD:B is a dark, bloody and gothic sequel that is part western, part samurai film, part horror film, and part romance. You do not need to have seen it's predecessor to enjoy this movie, and there is no plot dependency in evidence. To me, I'm reminded of A Fistful of Dollars and I suspect it influenced the more recent Van Helsing. It is the story of D, a dhampir (half-human, half-vampire) who hunts vampires. He is commissioned by the father of Charlotte Elbourne to return her, dead or alive, from the clutches of a "noble," the vampire Meier Link. He has competition in the form of the brothers Markus, a family of vampire hunters.

There is a considerable amount of blood, horror, and theatrical violence, so this is a movie that isn't for the kiddies (age 16 and up recommended). However, it's one of the best vampire anime movies around, and in the R2J DTS Japanese-language version that is the subject of this review, it's an excellent watch and highly recommended, especially for fans of the genre.

Animation: Directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Demon City Shinjuku, Ninja Scroll, X), this movie is quite cinematic in style and form. It's also an improvement on the original, both in style, pacing, color palette, and camera movement and placement. There are some difficulties, however, in character development that are due to animation choices. As in A Fistful of Dollars, D is rarely seen in direct face, and more often is hidden by his hat, his cape, or in profile. This limits the amount of character development you can see in D. The romance between Meier Link and Charlotte Elbourne is not well-developed in the animation, so it limits the amount of investment the viewer has in the romantic tension of their relationship. However, loving care is given to animation of Leila, and she is the emotional hinge of the story. It's a small quibble.

In-betweens are excellent (mostly done by Korean animators); hair really flows, and action scenes are fluid. It really is an action film, with chase scenes, fighting scenes and lots of arrows and explosions. The secondary themes are that of a monster struggling with his inner demons and a couple locked in a forbidden romance. These various subplots and almost contradictory storylines actually work well to produce a stirring action movie.

The character design by Yutaka Minowa (Highlander: The Search for Vengeance, Ninja Scroll) is fascinating for the morphological stereotypes and comicbook muscles in evidence. If you've seen Spriggan, you have the general idea; beefy overmuscled human hunters, lithe women with huge eyes, twisted evil opponents, etc . Backgrounds are excellent in both detail and variety, and there is a good mix of excellent 2D coordinated by Masao Maruyama and his animation company, Madhouse, and good to great CG 3D by Satelight. I was quite impressed, but it was made in 2001, and by that time, computers had taken over most of the job of animation.

The total animation is on the level of Barefoot Gen, so I would rate this outing at a 9, with the few misses for me being in the character design for Charlotte Elbourne; she's a bit doll-like, distant, and lacking in emotional depth both in design and animation. Leila, however, is nicely rounded and given lots of emotional notes for the seiyuu to flesh out. This movie has style! It's a lovely show, animation-wise.

Sound: The music for this outing is by Marco D'Ambrosio (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Souten no Ken) and is both effective and haunting. Bloodlust takes a different direction by having the English soundtrack used as the base for music and sound with the Japanese track a translation of the English original. The soundstage is full and directional, and in 5.1 DTS it's an immersive experience. Hoofbeats fairly thud into the floor, and arrows whiz by.

Seiyuu are actually having to voice translations from the English version, and the mouth movements match fairly well (for something produced for English). Voicing D is veteran voice actor Hideyuki Tanaka (Hellsing as Enrico Maxwell, Magic Knight Rayearth as Rayearth), and he provides considerable weight and depth to his character. I was also mightily impressed with Leila's voice as provided by Megumi Hayashibara (Ai Haibara in Detective Conan, Faye Valentine in Cowboy Bebop) and she is most touching when she's vulnerable.

The end result of the sound is to be an exceptional watch in the Japanese DTS version. I would rate this area a 9, losing points for the tendency to sound somewhat comically cartoonish by the secondary characters.

Story: Based on the 3rd book in the Vampire Hunter light novel series written by Hideyuki Kikuchi and art by Yoshitaka Amano, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust takes parts of many popular genres to create an exciting sequel to an original OVA released over a decade ago. It's part chase, part action-adventure, part romance, and all spagetti western with horror elements. It takes place in a distant future, a dystopian world that is greatly fallen from former glory. D is a vampire hunter, and is commissioned to return the daughter of a wealthy landowner, alive if human, dead if vampire. She has been abducted by the noble vampire Meier Link, and he is headed toward sanctuary among the devilish Barbarois and eventually to an evil and ancient castle. He has competition in the form of the Borgoff brothers (Kyle, Nolt, Grove and Borgoff) and they have a head start. Part of the tension of the story comes from the competition, part of the tension comes from the battles between the Barbarois and the Borgoffs and D, and the remaining tension comes from an unlikely relationship with Leila, the adopted younger sister of the Borgoffs. D is heroic, but struggling with inner demons; Leila is struggling with her past. The secondary plot of the romance between Meier Link and Charlotte is not fully developed, and is used more as a plot device than for character development. The story works on the action department, and only mildly as a romance. I would rate the story a 7.5-8.

Character: The topic of much debate, D is a strong-silent type that is iconically similar to Clint Eastwood in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly , and Leila is similar to Faye Valentine in Cowboy Bebop; she has some more vulnerablilties than she shows at first. Usually, character development is difficult in a short OVA or movies, but this outing has enough development for a short series; D struggles with his monstrous nature, and Leila struggles with her earlier losses. I felt it ended well and satisfying, and the use of flashbacks and time dilation is evident thruout the narrative. I only complain that the side-characters (mainly the brothers Borgoff) are somewhat cartoonish, and the main lovers are not given enough "face time" to allow us to invest in the trials they must overcome in the movie. I'd rate this a 7-7.5.

Value and Enjoyment: I hugely enjoyed this DVD, and would highly recommend it to viewers, especially who have not yet seen the Japanese language version. The DTS is effective, and there are some nice extras (including interviews with voice actors and BTS of the opening night). I would re-watch this version and think that it's worth owning in this version. Since there isn't a version with both English and Japanese DTS language versions, it's worth collecting even if you already have it in English. I'd rate this section an 8 and a 9, respectively, losing points only because it's missing both languages for comparison purposes.

Conclusion: Bloodlust is an excellent vampire movie and an improvement on an already great original. It's only a fair romance. But it is a thrilling action movie, and a stylish outing worthy of the vampire genre. Worth collecting.

This is one of my few above 9 anime and my very first anime film on the PC, and thus far, un-toped by any other.
I'm not writing anything in the overall this time so read further if you are interested.

Animation
As usual there are 2 factors to keep in mind here: movement and drawing style.
The characters are animated in what I would call a stunning way. I was extremely impressed with the general motion of the characters, beautifully rendered and presented. I distinctly remember one of the battles between D and Meyer which was sublime to say the least. All fights are short, intense and beautiful...that's a major plus in my book.
The drawing style was unique. Although it looked extremely good, the combination of light and shadow could get a bit annoying at times. The characters look very good and, most of all, detailed. There are few anime out there in which such a great amount of effort was put into details.
The backgrounds are mostly computer generated BUT they are hidden in the 2D sphere very well. The use of CG was modeled in such a way that it wouldn't become troublesome and to perfectly integrate in the style of the film...the gothic style that is.


Sound
VHDB IS the definition of perfect in manner of sound and music. I wouldn't know about the voices because I haven't seen the original...the dub is decent compared to a lot of other series out there.
The music is perfect as stated above...the themes are chosen to accommodate the atmosphere and are there to enhance the feeling that this anime emanated. The gothic sound is something to remember...
Even if I wanted to, I couldn't praise the sound from this film even more.


Story
We are talking about a romance story here...a very good one I might add. Whilst the focus should be D and his persona, throughout the film you mostly get the impression that that focus is moved towards the girl and Meyer...
One of the reasons this anime scored so high in my books is because of the world it portrays. Although it is a typical chase anime, throughout that chase it manages to give out bits and pieces of the wonderful universe that the story inhabits. It is an apocalyptic world, beautifully crafted and showed to us. As the movie shows, there is an immense palette of creatures that roam about and that would make a very good premise for developing this piece into a full length 13 ep series. But since that's not going to happen, what it offers is quite enough. I found myself staring at the details instead of watching the action and that is a rare thing for me.
The way the story evolves is a bit predictable...bad guys as guardians, beat them all, watch some weaklings die, and reach the point of maximum intensity - the destination. But that doesn't stop it from being a nice gothic story, with great details and a lot of development for the background world.

Character
VHDB has quite a great cast of characters, certainly not the most original bunch but greatly enjoyable.
First there is D which is by far one of the best characters I have seen. There are characters out there which are quiet, secretive, powerful...don't think I'm some newcomer to anime and I throw words in the wind. D is great through the fact that he is humane, not grossly exaggerated...rage burns within him; he has a human part which is showed precisely and with great style. I found myself more pleased with the ending scene than the whole film. There is a moment in both film in which D looses control and explodes in anger...he has weaknesses, limits. In my own opinion he surpasses most of the gothic characters with similar construction just through his flaws.
Meyer the vampire was another good char...the Markus family, Carmila...they are representative for the gothic genre but not annoyingly so.
There is little development unfortunately...Meyer being the one with the least background of all...strong fellow and that's about all...like most of the others.

Value
Rewatched it about 5 times...for the music, for the details, for the story...it's one of the few anime that I enjoy the whole rather than bits and pieces. It's just my cup of tea...it is a true masterpiece from any collection.

Sound: I watched the English translation, but soon became to engrossed to bother with the English voiceactors. Even though I dare say they do not make a bad job, my personal interests are always towards Japanese voiceactors (the voice of the protagonist is not what I'd expected though).

Animation: Animation is realistic (no stereotypical anime expressions for all you Shonen lovers!), well suited towards this movie and contributes greatly to the mood of seriousness that always lingers. I was quite impressed with how well they conveyed the mood with this drawing style. Quite often the subtle expressions were much better to convey feelings than words.

Story: You want to know the story? Watch the movie! I don't want to spoil it for you. Suffice to say, it's creative and doesn't follow ordinary storylines.

Value: I want to watch this anime again, in Japanese now of course. There are a lot of details that I am sure to have missed out on. When even the minor characters seem to have a rich personality of their own, it is a sure thing they have been thinking things through carefully.

Enjoyment/summary: In short, Vampire Hunter D is a refreshing breeze that breathes superior story content and character composition as well as a much appreciated creativity. I was literally on the edge of my seat through the movie and can with clear conscience recommend it to anyone.

Note: The grade of this review is so far based on the English translation. This will pull down the rating due to English voice acting, but I'll try to grade it based on the Japanese voice actors as soon as possible.

A huge improvement on its predeccessor, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is better in every single category than its 1985 brethren.

The animation is good, and the use of dark colors and dreary backgrounds accentuates the whole gothic and spooky feel of the anime to really get you creeped out and wary of any dark creatures in the night ready to pounce.

The sound is very fitting, especially when combined with the animation, and adds to the mood of the film. However, there isn't anything that really sticks out in the soundtrack and the voice actors are only decent.

The story is somewhat mediocre and unoriginal; you won't find may surprises here, just a tragic romance mixed with some action. The plot is easily the worst part of the aime.

The characters are what makes this anime interesting. D is cool, and is the epitome of the cool, calm, indifferent vampire-type character. Side characters are also interesting, especially the Markus Brothers' crew of hunters, and the villians are very sinister while still having a depth and complexity to their characters to make them more than just your typical villians.

I have rewatched this anime a few times, and I would say this anime has great value just for being such an original work; much more so than the original Vampire Hunter D, this edition takes everything that was good about the original and improves upon it, while simultaneously reworking all that was bad about the first one. Truly a great among vampire animes.

I probably would have enjoyed this anime more if the story had been more complex and interesting, but as it stands it is still an above-average anime in terms of enjoyment.

There's little to add after the two present reviews... except a thrid angle on this movie.

I've just finnished watching this one and must say I'm a little dissapointed after reading the high review scores.

- visual -
The discrepancies lie very much in the quality of the animation and visuals.
Whilst this movie is pretty nicely done in parts, it's by no means anything special.
In places, it seems as though only minimalist animation was used to tied you over. The fight scenes are the same. There are only a few of them, and I would be hard pushed to name a memorable fight scene - bar the one with the tree-woman.
The overall style though, is very well set and the locations are often well thought out and implemented. The settings are often drawn really intricately with lots of frills and lines. The backgrounds are often very impressive. You will notice a lack of CGi - which, is not a bad thing.

- story -
Again, the other two reviews pretty much say it all (without giving away too much).
I was pleasantly surprised by the storyline which keeps you guessing as to whom is really evil and who is good and adds a nice angle on the worn out vampire theme.

- character -
Another strong point I felt, were the characters.
They are well thought out, and all seem to have their character traits.
As many animes tend to do nowadays, theres a wierd mix of futuristic and historical styles, that merge to make some really appealing characters, vehicles and settings.
The main protagonists are really stylish and the vampires and Ghouls/Barbaroy are implemented in a very imaginitive way.


- overall -
I did enjoy this movie (even if I've never been specially drawn towards vampire-esque movies).
But I felt that overall, it was maybe a touch hollow.
I'd recommend this to pretty much anyone who enjoys animes for a watch - but don't go expecting much out of the ordinary. It's a good story - well told - with decent visuals. I personally felt that some scenes were a bit static. Nothing more and nothing less.
At this time I don't feel like theres much of a replay value here, though.

I am here to fill in to poor souls that havent seen this movie. Also for the people who have read my other reviews, I don't give tens without justification, contrary to beliefs. Anyways enjoy my review of this fantastic movie. Warning, I have included a couple plot references, but I would not consider them spoilers.

Animation- Done by the guys who did Ninja Scroll, it has a very hectic, yet smooth look to it.This movie really does have amazing animation. Its definately a huge step up from the prequel, but continues with the style of the previous film. The monsters and demons in the world have a very creepy style to them that pervades the whole show.

Sound- The sound is great in this one. I have seen both the dub and the Japanese version and both are excellent. No matter which one you choose, the music and sound effects are great. Also the voices go well with the characters. I never questioned their choices on voice work at all and the music fits the settings.

Story- The story in this is good but not perfect. It revolves around the scorned upon love between a master vampire and a fair young girl. D goes after the master vampire, but by the end he questions whether he should be. I loved how the story fit in with the previous movie. I won't ruin it, but if you have seen the other one, then you will get it.
The vampire hunters are a fun bunch and have cool powers and even cooler equipment to fight evil with. I thought the dream of the main vampire to fly away in a space-ship to some vampire haven was kinda weak but that was the only point in the movie that I felt was pretty lame.

Character- I love the characters. The vampires and ghoulies are fun and imaginative. They fit well with the setting and keep you guessing. D shines as the master pimp that he is, but the vampire master is cool too, with nice effects on his cape. D's parisitic hand also provides some comical relief now and again. Great characters in this one, make the story better.

Value- Probably one of the best vampire movie out there. In my opinion it surpasses the original. It has great animation and is a fun movie. It never drags and keeps you guessing. A good watch for sure.

Enjoyment- Awesome movie, definately my favorite vampire film. If you like violence and action and the undead, this is your cup-o-tea.