Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3873 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-10-18
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Synopsis
Combining romance, gothic horror, science fiction, and bloody action into a dazzling Anime production, VAMPIRE HUNTER D (2000) takes the vampire mythos to a new level. This movie is not a remake or a continuation of the 1985 movie of the same title. That movie was loosely based on the first of Kikuchi Hideyuki's VAMPIRE HUNTER D books, set 10,000 years in the future. VAMPIRE HUNTER D (2000) takes its cue from the third book in the series, though there are significant deviations in plot. Here, the charismatic vampire, Meier Link, arrives in town in the middle of the night and spirits away a beautiful woman. D, the child of a human and a vampire, is hired to retrieve her. Racing against time and against another group of bounty hunters who were also contracted to perform the rescue, D fights a bizarre cast of Meier's henchmen, each of whom has his own unique and horrific way of killing. Both of the VAMPIRE HUNTER D films benefit from the participation of fantasy artist Yoshitaka Amano, whose character designs for both films drip with the eroticism and decadence of a Gustav Klimt painting. Director Yoshiaki Kawajiri adds his talent at dreaming up gruesome enemies, which was also evidenced in his previous work, NINJA SCROLL.

Customer Reviews

Loooong overdue
It only took 15 years but hey, its worth the wait .... this second vampire D film rockz!!!

The basic story for this is some powerful guyz daughter gets 'kidnapped' by a vampire and taken off into the dead of night and he hires D to hunt them both down ... return his daughter and kill his daughters kidnapper. The truth of it is the vampire and this girl are lovers and whilst trying to find her D comes up against rival vampire hunters, werewolves and even an armed mob lead by the local sherrif of a sleepy town D had buisness in a few years ago.

This film is varied, good graphics and alot of that gothic style you know you love..... def worth a look!!!

Breathtaking
This is amazing.
The animation in this film is incredible; it's rich, detailed and suitably dark.
The plot is brilliant and the action scenes outstanding, making this a great addition to any anime fan's collection.
It is fantastic.
The only criticism that I have to share is that the parasite on D's left hand is rather annoying and silly at times, but all in all another great anime by Yoshiaki Kawajiri.

A dhampir's sorrow
With his postapocalyptic world and medieval cowboy look, Vampire Hunter D is undeniably one of the coolest vampire-slaying antiheroes out there.

And the cool fact gets ramped up in "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust," which is loosely based on Hideyuki Kikuchi's third novel about this half-vampire hunter. This one is a dark amalgam of loneliness, tragic romance, spectacularly gory action scenes, and some glorious post-"Ghost in the Shell" animation. Not to mention a wonderfully horrible villain.

The vampire Meier Link has abducted a wealthy young girl named Charlotte, and her desperate family hires D to bring her back -- or kill her if she has been turned into a vampire.

But D has competition, as the rough'n'ready Marcus Brothers (and hard-bitten "sister" Leila) have also been hired to catch Link. But when D catches up to Link, he finds that apparently the vampire and the girl are in love -- and Link has his own trio of lethal mutant bodyguards, who do their best to decimate the Marcus Brothers' numbers. And he unwittingly earns the anger of Leila, who is annoyed that a hated dhampir saved her backside.

But even knowing the facts -- and threatened by the Mutant Barbarois -- D won't give up. He and Leila follow the lovers to Castle Chaythe, an enormous fortress ruled by an ancient vampire named Carmilla. But in this castle of shadows, blood and nightmares, D's true power begins to shine when Carmilla attempts to destroy him... but what of those around him?

The two "Vampire Hunter D" movies were made fifteen years apart, so don't expect "Bloodlust" to resemble the first movie. This one is sort of "Ghost in the Shell" with a bizarre sci-fi vampire/gothic twist, and a somewhat bleaker storyline -- although nowhere near as dark as the original book.

In fact, it cranks the gothic grandeur up to the max -- dark crosses, enormous gilded palaces, dark pillared halls, sweeping capes, blood-soaked dreams and somnolent music. Even the scenes in a futuristic Western town (complete with yokel sheriff), airborne mantas and a startlingly green forest with a ruined palace can't stifle the darker dimensions of this story.

The plot of "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust" unfolds rather slowly, with different motives being unveiled as the story goes on. But along the way, Yoshiaki Kawajiri peppers the story with kinetic, blood-soaked fight scenes (with iron capes, killer vines, astral projection and a giant wolf-face on a guy's stomach), building up slowly to the gruesome battle with Carmilla. Her final duel with D is stomach-turning, much like her red barbell hair.

But it's not all action and zombie attacks -- Kawajiri sprinkles in some dark humor ("My NOSE!") and some poignant scenes for the tragic lovers, like Meier's daytime attempt to rescue Charlotte.

D himself gets fleshed out nicely in here, despite being a dhampir of few words -- we get to see his loneliness, discrimination, his mommy issues, and his fondness for small children. And despite all his powerful fight scenes, we get to see his more vulnerable moments as well. Even if he does look a bit silly buried up to his neck as he carries on a conversation.

Since he rarely talks, most of the conversation comes from Left Hand, who provides sporadic comic relief ("You're not really bad. You just dress bad") and insights into D's mind. And Leila is a pretty brilliant female lead -- tough, rough, hard-bitten, but still able to reluctantly befriend D when she realizes that they're not that different.

"Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust" is a dark portrait of postapocalyptic horror, done with beautiful animation and lots of blood'n'crosses. Definitely a must-see.