Vampire Hunter D

10,000 years in the future, the world has become a very different place; monsters roam the land freely, and people, although equipped with high tech weapons and cybernetic horses, live a humble life more suited to centuries past. The story focuses on a small hamlet plagued by monster attacks and living under the shadow of rule by Count Magnus Lee, a powerful vampire lord who has ruled the land for thousands of years. When a young girl is bitten by the Count and chosen as his current plaything, she seeks out help of a quiet wandering stranger, D. It so happens that D is one of the world's best vampire hunters, and he takes it upon himself to cut through Magnus Lee's many minions, and put an end to the Count's rule.

(Source: AniDB)

D Main

Shiozawa, Kaneto Japanese

Lang, Doris Main

Tomizawa, Michie Japanese

Left Hand Supporting

Nagai, Ichiro Japanese

Rei-Ginsei Supporting

Sogabe, Kazuyuki Japanese

Lee, Ramika Supporting

Kitou, Satoko Japanese

Lang, Dan Supporting

Toda, Keiko Japanese

Lee, Magnus Supporting

Katou, Seizou Japanese

Greco Supporting

Yara, Yuusaku Japanese

Ashida, Toyoo Director

Matsuura, Noriyoshi Sound Director

Wyner, Tom Script

Hirano, Yasushi Script

Reviews

Jan 14, 2015

animan095

Recommended

Exciting, thrilling, mysterious.
This rather old movie, is definitely a masterpiece for it's era. Taking into consideration it's age, you simply can't attempt to compare it to mordern animes, by those standards it falls rather short. But, if you judge it according to the standards of the time it was made, you find a fast-paced filled with action and horror that can easily outmatch many horror movies, be it animated or acted.

You also find in it many aspects of horror, that are fairly common in movies and series following the same genere.
Although to tell the truth, the story had such a fast pace that all ... the critical scenes didn't have much impact; but at this point one can't do much about so it's best to enjoy it.

Visually, it obviously had a very old style of animation, but neverless it was quite appealing according to it's horror genere. Scenes were constanly repeated, but as a necessity rather as of laziness. So mamy chatacters, scenarios, and places were shown in this movie that is one can infer that they would have had a very hard time keeping up with it.

The music score, was just as old as the movie itself, but it sucessfully gave it the ambience needed for a a horror movie. Maybe not memorable, but rather enjoyable.

And as personal comment, I'm surprised that fanservice and panty shots were already present since then XD

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Sep 19, 2014

literaturenerd

Mixed Feelings

Overview:

Time to look at a 1985 classic that made a huge impact on the popularity of anime in the US. It is the height of the Cold War and Reagan is in the White house. This was before Akira and Ghost in the Shell and besides Speed Racer and Astro Boy, Americans had no idea what anime was. All of a sudden we Americans see a cartoon with ultra violence, tits, and crazy steampunk nonsense that is never explained. We take one look at this incoherent acid trip and go...FUCK THIS IS AWESOME! This was the birth of the teen and older anime community in ... the United States. This is Vampire FUCKING D!

Plot and characters: 5/10

The plot is that 10,000 years the future, vampires have taken over the world and human civilization is a mixed up mess of modern technology and 1800s Romanian peasantry. Why? Who the fuck cares!? This is Vampire Hunter D, we don't need no stinkin logic! A powerful vampire lord called Count Lee in reference to Christopher Lee is terrorizing the countryside. A half human half vampire of noble vampire birth has decided to side with the humans and take down the vampires. The plot and cheesy voice acting will immediately remind the viewer of the Castlevania games and especially Symphony of the Night. However, this was actually made before the original Castlevania on NES and actually helped inspire the Castlevania series! One bizarre but funny thing in this film is that D also has a hand with a mouth that eats things (now we know where Deidara gets it), but unlike Deidara's, this hand never shuts the fuck up. D at one point even has to threaten to cut it off if it won't stop talking! In the end, D rescues the damsel of course, kills Dracula/Lee and the castle crumbles exactly like in the end of every Castlevania game. Actually the design of the castle as seen from the outside in Symphony of the Night is based on the castle in this movie!

Art and sound: 5/10

The art was decent for the mid 1980s and there wasn't really a high standard for anime at the time. It looked better than any anime Americans had ever seen to that point, so keep that in mind when watching this from a modern perspective. Saying the animation sucks is like watching Fritz Lang's Metropolis or Sergei Eisenstein's Alexander Nevsky and saying the special effects suck. It simply isn't helpful to compare to modern standards and you have to appreciate how great it looked relative to its own time.

Overall: 6/10

Don't expect amazing story telling or character depth, but this is a must see for people that want to learn more about anime history and for fans of Castlevania! It is nostalgic, cheesy, and a fun way to spend a boring, rainy afternoon.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jul 3, 2015

Luquillo

Not Recommended

Funny

Along with Akira, Vampire Hunter D is one of those old anime titles where its popularity is based pretty much on one thing and that's nostalgia. When nostalgia runs wild it can definitely cloud one's honest judgment. However, Vampire Hunter D does a decent enough job backing up why it's an entertaining film; but to claim it as one of, or even the greatest of all time in terms of sheer quality are heavy exaggerations and thrusts one towards complete madness. The works of Miyazaki and Satoshi Kon are tough as hell to compete against and this is more of a fact than opinion.

The movie ... does have one big thing going for it which is style. I like the mix of sci-fi with the classical Transylvania setting; to include the monsters and flesh eating beast that roam the country sides devouring live stock adds to the horror like feel. The plot is well paced and the movie accomplishes what it sets out to deliver, which is a solid action romp well utilizing its horror setting.

Vampire Hunter D does have its problems though, in which the fans of it love to ignore with a smile; such as undeveloped characters and plot holes big enough to fit the moon through. D is a cool character that screams for more background, but this really isn't a gripe for me any longer because the mystery actually works here for him. However, the characters fill typical vampire roles even for that time, but Count Magnus Lee overshadows D because I like his drive. His craving just seems too realistic. I will go ahead and refrain from detailed plot issues as not to ruin the movie for those whom haven't seen it.

Although effective for that time, the animation is dated and I can think of several old titles that still hold up well until now, with Neo Tokyo being one of them. As well as one that pre-dates it by six years, which happens to be Miyazaki's Castle of Cagliostro. To my experience, those whom favor superior visuals first will more than likely walk away hating this movie. The action scenes can range from just barely ok to brutal, with characters sliced in half to fingers being crushed off. I really don't have a problem with the artwork, but I think the BGM is more hit than miss and wasn't always used properly, because at one point I can think of the music was used at the wrong time. One scene that stands out to me happens to be the first appearance of D. While watching him slowly approach on his horse and completely shrouded with mystery. I think the scene would have been more effective with the complete removal of music, with more focus on the sound effects: such as the whistling of the wind, coupled with the slow, eerie plodding of the horses steps. I believe this method would have only enhanced the style of the movie, instead it just had a rather bland feel to it and D really didn't give off an aura as an intimidating figure; but then again that's just me.

Vampire Hunter D is a title that will always be a part of my collection. Even though I respect its cult classic status and find some enjoyment in it. I can't shower it with praise because it's a very flawed film that I doubt could make a top 50 anime list of mine or even probably 100. I mainly recommend this to die hard anime fans. However, those whom need top notch visuals first are better off skipping it.

Highs: Very good setting, action, lead villain

Lows: Plot holes, story issue, most characters have very little depth, dated animation

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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