Vampire Hunter D

Vampire Hunter D(1985)

Review: I have seen this a number of times. This has aged well. I remember on the original VHS copy on the back saying, The First Animated Movie For Adults! Indeed.

Vampire Hunter D is a classic in it's own regard. The story is straightforward and effective. A village girl has been bitten be Count Magnus Lee and now hires The Dunpeal to take care of him. This movie has the old feel of the modern vampire lore like crosses work as well as garlic. This also takes place in the very distant future.

Here are the basics: The animation: Subpar. Not bad, but could be better, but this is 1985, so I can definitely give them a break. It's still not that bad.

The Voice acting: Pretty good with the exception of Doris' little brother sounding way to much like a girl. I always hated that. Otherwise fine.

The Characters: All not fully developed, but that was not meant to be, but there is some development and it works. Just enough character. Does not suffer from over crowdedness.

The Last Word: The good olé days. This is how the anime genre got it's grand start. Takes me back. This has aged well.

One of the earlier feature-film anime releases to find popularity outside of Japan, "Vampire Hunter D" is also amongst the earliest of its genre to be aimed primarily at adult audiences with its inclusion of Gothic horror, brutal violence and some sexuality. Based on the characters and novels created by Hideyuki Kikuchi, the film is often highly regarded in the world of anime fandom for its important contributions to the art-form, both aesthetic and in terms of broadening its worldwide appeal. Even to this day- more than thirty years after its initial release, it stands tall thanks to these contributions to the entertainment world. And while its quality might not quite measure up to its historical importance, it's very much a fun and engaging piece of Sci-Fi/Horror, and fans of not only anime but film in general should definitely give it a shot.

Thousands of years in the future, the Earth has crumbled into something of a post-apocalyptic dystopian world, with human culture having fallen apart and somewhat regressed while supernatural terrors roam the land. After headstrong teenager Doris Lang is attacked and bitten by the Vampire Lord Mangus Lee while patrolling her property, she seeks the help of a famed and mysterious bounty hunter known only as "D" to protect her and her younger brother Dan- knowing this dark lord of the shadows seeks to make her into his newest bride. And so, the three will have to band together to fight off Lee's mutant assassins, corrupt townsfolk who now fear Doris, and the dreaded count himself to survive!

While the plot line is a bit simple and is comprised of mainly the most basic of cliché and trope, I find it actually works quite well thanks to the wonderful use of atmosphere and the very likable characters. Despite showing its age, this is still very much a beautiful film and the immense talent of all involved (including director Toyo Ashida, original novel illustrator Yoshitaka Amano and composer Noriyoshi Matsuura) is on full display. It's got a great, grand and very captivating mixture of both Gothic and Sci-Fi design philosophy, in addition to keen character and setting design that sets up such a delightfully dreary mood from the opening frames to the end of the climactic battle. It sets just the right tone from which it builds its thrills and chills upon.

The characters are very archetypal and highly enjoyable. D makes for a wonderfully moody anti-hero. His classic design of long flowing black robes and pale skin evoking a wide spectrum of feelings in the viewer. His lack of dialog and crytptic backstory also help us view him as something of a blank slate, where we can put ourselves in his shoes and get sucked into the story. Doris and Dan make for a great sort-of foil to D's simplicity, and both are infectiously likable characters that you just can't help but root for. And Lee makes for a very fun villain. Obviously inspired by a famous actor with the same last name and was famous for playing a certain vampire in a series of films, Lee's just pure, old-fashioned Universal monster-movie cheese and contrasts wonderfully with the Japanese sensibilities of the storytelling and character design.

However, part of both the biggest strength and weakness of the film is its fun but very uneven sort-of episodic approach to storytelling. It both does and does not adhere to traditional three-act structuring, with some sequences (particular in the middle section of the film) that begin to feel more akin to volumes or chapters or even video-game like "levels" than thought-out scenes there to develop the plot line. It's all in the spirit of giving D and the others increasingly fierce opponents to fight, and it is a lot of fun in a sort-of schlocky way. But I find it distracts from the overall narrative. It leads to too much of a disconnect to the story, and eats up a bit too much screen time, making you lose focus of just what's at stake. Yes, it's fun seeing D battling various monsters... but not at the expense of the basic storytelling. I think this style of story structure was a fun experiment here that didn't quite work, but lead to future films perfecting the concept, including notably the second film in this franchise, "Bloodlust", which had more of a "road-trip" quality where the episodic approach worked significantly better.

Still, despite this quite severe blunder to the narrative structure of the film, I can't condemn it too badly. Because it's still great fun. It's still very moody and sometimes spooky. And it's still wild and thrilling entertainment that should leave most audiences satisfied. Not only is it an important film in the grand scheme of anime's history... it's just a really good, solid film in general. I know plenty of non-anime fans who have seen it and enjoyed it for what it is. And I'm still waiting for more feature-length adventures from this character. It may not be a perfect film. But it's perfect entertainment.

I give "Vampire Hunter D" a very good 8 out of 10.

Before the likes of Hellsing and Blood: The Last Vampire, there was "Vampire Hunter D". A haunting tale about a half vampire, half human hybrid named "D" who travels the post apocalyptic wastelands of future earth, hunting down powerful vampires. As this story opens, D is tasked with killing a member of "the nobility" who terrorizes the local populace and in a fit of "I have nothing else better to do" has forced a girl to become his bride.

Wow, what some people would do with too much free time on their hands eh?

The narrative may seem like a jumble of clichés at first, sharing many aspects in common with western vampire novels and movies. Though not the most original of stories, Vampire Hunter D was a great film for its time, combining elements from science fiction, horror, romance, and western genre to create something refreshingly new. The world as realized in this movie is a dark and dangerous place. Monstrous mutants lurk about in the dense jungles and unknown dangers lie along the treacherous mountain paths.

What stands out for me is the ability of the director to stick close to the horror aspects of the original novel and produce a movie with a hauntingly eerie atmosphere. The watercolor backgrounds, stylish character designs, heavy black shadings, creative lighting and block shadows all lend themselves to a very surreal and other-worldly feel. The opening scene with Count Magnus Lee shrouded in darkness, his silhouette lit only by flashes of lightning and his two glowing eyes, is only the first of many sinister and creepy scenes. An Omnious and unearthly synthesizer musical score permeates the entire movie and adds to the distinct atmosphere that truly makes Vampire Hunter D earn its "horror" status.

I had the pleasure of listening to both the English and Japanese vocal track and I personally recommend the English one. Both are just as well acted but seeing as how most of the characters have western names and Caucasian appearances, hearing them in English gave a more realistic viewing experience. Whats more, the English actors saw it fit to give the various characters different accents. British for some of the townsfolk and eastern European for the nobility.

As much as i like Vampire Hunter D as a classic anime, I would admit that it clearly shows its age. The animation style is severely dated and may come across as a little bit on the "cheap" side even for a 1985 OVA production. There are a number of animation short cuts like looping a conversation over a single still shot and long lingering close up shots to save on the number of cels that would have to be drawn. With its limitations in the animation department, the action scenes naturally suffer. Fights are generally quite stylish but the animation, or rather, LACK OF animation is painful to watch. Characters pause in weird stances as colorful streaks zip about behind them to give the illusion of motion. Normally I would criticize a movie that has too many long slow camera pans across a background, but this style just builds up the ominous atmosphere and thanks to the musical score, helps to increase the suspense.

Another flaw is its story pacing. The narrative tends to drag at times and the story seems to "jump" from setting to setting. There also seems to be a eschewing of character development in favor of advancing the plot. Each of the characters are more or less stuck in their pre-set mold of stereotypical archetypes. Only D comes across as mildly interesting due to his mysterious nature and the unknown limits of his powers. Though the voice actors do a great job at trying to flesh out the characters, a generally uninspired script hamper their best efforts. I actually found myself feeling bored during couple of dialog scenes.

Vampire Hunter D is a fine example of how an animated movie can enthrall its audience by its atmosphere and feel alone. There are few anime that manage to capture the actual "feel" of the horror genre and Vampire Hunter D is one exceptional exceptional example of an anime that can. If you have an open mind for a good story and a unique style in an anime movie, Vampire Hunter D is highly recommended.

I personally encourage newer fans who are more used to the glossy pastel colored modern day anime to give this "grand old horse" a chance. Immerse yourself in the grim, gritty world of Vampire Hunter D and find out what made this the cult classic that it is today.

Vampire Hunter D is the kind of stuff that Manga Entertainment built their business on: old school, action heavy anime with buckets of style. The animation, whilst heavily stylised and nowhere near as crisp as todays fare, works perfectly with the material. Compare the 2000 sequel, 'Bloodlust': the animation in the latter is incredibly slick and the action comes thick and fast, but it might as well be robots fighting in outer space or samurai battling on a mountaintop. What the original does, with its dirty, old fashioned animation is create a decidedly other-worldly and eerie feel, perfectly encapsulated in the strange, mutated beings that roam the hostile countryside, glowing and sidling in a sinister fashion. The overall colour scheme, as well, is very Dario Argento: dark blues and browns prevail over the modern, Akira and Ghost in the Shell inspired trend for green overkill. Character design is, as said, very stylised, but perfectly acceptable, and D himself looks as cool as all hell.

As for the plot, there are no problems there, although there are a few cliché moments. The counts boredom, as opposed to the angst that seems to be all the rage in vampire flicks nowadays, is a nice touch, and at no point do characters motives seem unbelievable. The setting is a nicely realised far future post-apocalyptic landscape full of the standard juxtapositions (horse riders with laser rifles) bought to life by the supernatural element, which seems to have taken monsters and critters from anywhere and everywhere, to no detriment. The voice acting is competent, much better than some eighties dubs I could mention (unfortunately I only have this film on VHS, so I can't compare to the original Japanese).

Overall, not the best of 80's anime. It lacks the sophistication of Akira or the sheer camp hyperviolence of Fist of the North Star, but it's still a very enjoyable film, and a solid part of the collection of any anime connoisseur.

In the 13 years before Wesley Snipes would pick up a sword and proceed to slice and dice the undead that frequented blood-soaked raves in 1998's ultra-cool "Blade," the eponymous character "D" of "Vampire Hunter D" was slicing up vampires and other horrors on the Japanese countryside.

"Vampire Hunter D" is certainly one of the better Anime' flicks to be released during the 1980s, when most Japanese animation films were either relentless bloodbaths, borderline pornography, or both. "D" fits in with the eldest category: it's not short of graphic violence and gore, and there's some explicit nudity to boot.

As a fan of Anime', I know that Japanese animation is not all that welcome in American mainstream cinema because of the stigmas that are attached to it. Because "Vampire Hunter D" was released amidst a blossoming season of bloody, sexy Anime' films, it has earned a small cult following in America.

It is sort of slow in the beginning, but gets going once D makes his appearance, riding into town on a cyborg horse and wrapped in a long black cape. His eyes are partially obscured by his over-sized brim hat. He's hired by a local girl to exterminate the vampire that bit her and because she's been bitten, people have grown fearful of her since they believe that she is contaminated. So D goes to work, taking on the Count's legion of ghastly demons and other hideous creatures.

"Vampire Hunter D" is not the greatest Anime' ever made, but it was one of the first that I ever saw growing up. It's one of my personal favorite Anime' flicks and it definitely ranks within my top ten Japanese animation films.

8/10