Vampire Hunter D

Your general non-gaming entertainment thread.
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Dark_Fairy
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Vampire Hunter D

Post by Dark_Fairy »

So, my newest obsession lately has been the lovely series named Vampire Hunter D. I've always been interested in checking out Vampire Hunter D, however, I wasn't able to track down the animes until recently. I picked up VHD: Bloodlust roughly a month or so ago. I immediately fell in love with it and had to get more! So, I ordered the first anime (simply titled Vampire Hunter D, lol) along with the first four novels literally the day after I watched Bloodlust. Once I got Vampire Hunter D, I watched it. I was sort of disappointed in it, but then I cut it slack after seeing it originally came out in 1985. However, after I read the first novel...the anime doesn't do the first novel justice at all. So, Vampire Hunter D the anime gets no good points for me.

I just finished the 3rd novel today (the one that Bloodlust was based on), and it's tons better than the anime too. However, Bloodlust is still awesome in my opinion, even if there are significant changes in the novels compared to the anime.

I can't wait to start the 4th novel (I've have all the way up to the 9th novel in my possession, lol). I also just picked up the 2nd and 3rd volumes of the manga today. I plan to get the 1st manga sometime this weekend. My bookstore didn't have, but the next closest town did the last time I looked. ^_^

I haven't read the 2nd or 3rd manga yet, but I flipped through them. They look sort of faithful to the novels (I hope). At least I get pretty pictures nonetheless. ^^

Anyway, any other Vampire Hunter D fans here?

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Guild_Premier_Ghaleon
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Re: Vampire Hunter D

Post by Guild_Premier_Ghaleon »

Yeah, I have the original on VHS and the Bloodlust DVD in my collection, and I just started collecting the newer manga adaptations. I have the first three so far, the first follows the original novel's storyline with Doris, the second a story concerning a village with missing children, and the third the Bloodlust plot with Meier Link and the Markus brothers. But I'm definitely a fan, the original movie was one of my first anime's. :D
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Dark_Fairy
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Re: Vampire Hunter D

Post by Dark_Fairy »

I'm glad to see there's another fan here. ^_^

Yeah, the I have all 3 of the manga now too, I just still need to read them. The 4th one is suppose to come out in December (at least according to Amazon). Hopefully by then I'll have the first 3 manga read and the 4th novel. @_@

The only problem with loving VHD, it's expensive! Too many books to buy, lol. At least I have most of the novels that are in English now. All I need is Volume 12. Then October 21st the 13th one comes out. >_<;

I love Bloodlust. It may not follow the novel entirely, but it was a remarkable anime.

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brightshield
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Re: Vampire Hunter D

Post by brightshield »

The first film was very good. The plot wasn't super complex or anything. Just the typical save the girl from the evil vampire. It worked really well though. The fights were good for their time, but haven't aged well. Still, this film kind of created it's own genre, so I'll always respect it for that.

The second film was a gothy love story, and came across as fairly ridiculous(quit falling for emo vampires ladies, actual HUMANS are much better). Certain plot points came out of nowhere as well(the actual main villain only appeared at the very end). Still, the action scenes were very well done, as were many scenes.

Overall, I love the first film. It was definitely better and far more important to the industry. The second one was alright, but not nearly as good as 1.

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Re: Vampire Hunter D

Post by Alan_Geitz »

I loved both films, though I tend to lean toward Bloodlust for its character designs and, above everything else, its soundtrack!
Oh, how I LOVE the freakin' music in Bloodlust! XD

The first film was still iconic to the anime industry and had the advantage of having D's big reveal (executed much better here than Bloodlust, IMO), but I loved the story in the sequel.

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Dark_Fairy
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Re: Vampire Hunter D

Post by Dark_Fairy »

I forgot I even made this thread. o_o;
Alan_Geitz wrote:I loved both films, though I tend to lean toward Bloodlust for its character designs and, above everything else, its soundtrack!
Oh, how I LOVE the freakin' music in Bloodlust! XD

The first film was still iconic to the anime industry and had the advantage of having D's big reveal (executed much better here than Bloodlust, IMO), but I loved the story in the sequel.
Bloodlust had awesome character designs. I agree about the soundtrack! I need to get my hands on both the artbook and the soundtrack! I've seen both floating around on Ebay, I just haven't gotten them yet.

If you liked the animes, you'd probably like the novels. Speaking of which, I still need to finish the 10th novel. @_@

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brightshield
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Re: Vampire Hunter D

Post by brightshield »

I agree about the soundtrack, but I'd say the art style was fairly ugly. Granted the scenery, animation, and effects were beautiful. The characters were almost painful to look at though... especially Leila...

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Silver Phoenix
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Re: Vampire Hunter D

Post by Silver Phoenix »

You know Amano of FF fame did the art for Vampire Hunter D, but I'm not sure about Bloodlust. When you watch the original and then the second they seem worlds apart in every possible way. I also have the first on VHS and Bloodlust on DVD.

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brightshield
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Re: Vampire Hunter D

Post by brightshield »

I've got no problem with the character designs in the first first film. I don't think Amano worked on the sequel, but I could be wrong.

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Dark_Fairy
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Re: Vampire Hunter D

Post by Dark_Fairy »

brightshield wrote:I agree about the soundtrack, but I'd say the art style was fairly ugly. Granted the scenery, animation, and effects were beautiful. The characters were almost painful to look at though... especially Leila...
I loved the art minus Leila. She was kind of...ick. She is more pretty in the novel and manga anyway.
Silver Phoenix wrote:You know Amano of FF fame did the art for Vampire Hunter D, but I'm not sure about Bloodlust. When you watch the original and then the second they seem worlds apart in every possible way. I also have the first on VHS and Bloodlust on DVD.
I knew Amano did the art for the novels, but I had no idea Amano helped with the anime. I don't particularly care for the art from the first movie, but then again, it's old, so I cut it a bit of slack.

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Re: Vampire Hunter D

Post by Shiva Indis »

Dark_Fairy wrote:I knew Amano did the art for the novels, but I had no idea Amano helped with the anime. I don't particularly care for the art from the first movie, but then again, it's old, so I cut it a bit of slack.
He worked for Tatsunoko from the late '60s to the early '80s, where he did character designs for lot of shows, including Gatchaman and Mospeada (a.k.a. Robotech series 3). I haven't found any indication that he was personally involved with the more recent movie.
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brightshield
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Re: Vampire Hunter D

Post by brightshield »

I loved the art minus Leila. She was kind of...ick. She is more pretty in the novel and manga anyway.

I hated it all. Leila was just the worst one. I especially hate what they did to D. Granted, I don't know how he looked in the novels, but he was far more masculine looking in the first film. He looks way too much like an extremely frail girl now. In the first film he was much bigger and wider.

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Re: Vampire Hunter D

Post by Alan_Geitz »

I always thought Bloodlust's D resembled Amano's artwork compared to the first film.
The soundtrack was beautiful and I thought the character designs were quite nice, especially Leila because, apparently, this thread currently has no love for this character.
Sadly, I haven't read the novels, though I seen a bit of the manga.
All in all, Vampire Hunter D is a pretty good series...
...Sadly, in an age of either the sparkly or the downright psychotic, I doubt most people know about this one. :(

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Vyse of Arcadia
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Re: Vampire Hunter D

Post by Vyse of Arcadia »

Oh, wow. I haven't seen either movie since I rented them on VHS nineish years ago. There used to be an anime place run by a grad student at a nearby university. I really quite liked them both, but that may just be the nostalgia talking. Sadly I've never read the novels or the manga.

What I remember about the first one is the main antagonist vampire looks (and sounds in the English dub) just like my grandfather, accent and all.
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