Spend one night out with a couple of mates, get yourself completely pissed, meet up with a tall dark handsome stranger and what happens to you? You wake up with a pain in the neck, major stomach cramps, food makes you sick and your have a mouth like the french sewers. Seems like any normal day after a night out really, except that you now have those new set of fangs and you can see through the clothes that your cute housemate is wearing. Hmm... something isn't right and it's not because you haven't brushed yet...
This DVD really brings out the old memories you know. Vampire Hunter D (sometimes sub-titled Bloodlust) is the sequel to the original Vampire Hunter D and a worthy sequel it is as well. The story this time around is set in the distant future where Vampires still rule the night with their fanging about, but their numbers are dwindling all thanks to the massive bounties on their heads. D returns with the same clothes, the same really long sword and the same annoying parasitic head in his left palm that has a really sarcastic streak. This time around D is hired by a wealthy man to rescue
his daughter from the clutches of a very old and lonely (yet undeniably powerful) Vampire called Meyer. Along for the ride are the Marcus brothers, Vampire Hunters, who are also after the rich man's money. A girl called Leila who is working with the Marcus brothers is the lead actress in this animation and grows (unsurprisingly) an attraction towards our D man. Whilst they are all trying to capture Meyer, he is fleeing to his friend's castle with the girl he kidnapped and 3 hired bodyguards. Why do Vampires love castles that much?
Well in any case the story is a very clichéd and overused. The old 'damsel in distress and a knight comes to rescue her' formula is just a bit crusty. However the story's play on trust and betrayal play a central part on the nature of people and monsters and how things shouldn't be judged based on first impressions. There's a twist at the end that may or may not shock you (it didn't for me really, I saw it coming) but it is all carried off in style.
Much of the world is the future is portrayed as a desert wasteland making it very difficult for Vampires to survive during daytime (since desert = alot of daylight and nowhere to hide). This really makes the future seem really isolated and desolate compared to the previous feature animation that had plenty of greenland. Introduced to us are new monsters that D and co have to battle including a freaky guy who can hide in your shadow, a fusion woman who can fuse into anything and use it to her advantage and a werewolf kind of man that has an extra big mouth on his stomach. Watching these guys in action is really exhilarating as they perform some crazy feats that give them a huge advantage over humans.
D hasn't changed at all, still evil looking and bares his vampiric heritage whenever the situation calls for it (he is a dhampil afterall, half vamp half human). But somehow he does show the occasional compassion and this changed Leila, the cold and cynical killer, into revealing her more vulnerable and sensitive side.
The animation is top notch, much better than it's previous incarnation. Fluid motions, usage of dark colours and special effects really make this animation stand out. I have to admit, D looks a bit too skinny to my liking and his skintone could of been a bit more peachy since he is half human, but all in all a fantastic masterpiece. The animators and all their efforts are appreciated by me even if others look at it and shun it's beauty.
Audio used in this movie really make the impact that the movie wouldn't have been able to produce on it's own. Fantastic orchestrated music for the castle scenes to the dramatic (yet slightly cheesy) 'I am D and I can do really cool things' parts of the movie. One part of the movie is when the fusion woman merges into a tree and fights D whilst D is weakened. She is relentless in her attacks shooting wooden spears at D and moving around the tree effortlessly. The music here conveys build up in tension exceptionally as D fights for his life.
Lasting 1 hour 40 minutes this is longer than the usual feature length japanese animations that have ever been released. But in my opinion this movie does a great job and I was very entertained by it. One thing that I thought was a bit silly (small spoiler here) was that the spaceship used at the end is part of the castle and takes off like a rocket. Who would ever use a castle designed rocket spacecraft? I recommend this movie to Vampire fans everywhere, you have not seen an animated Vampire movie until you have watched this. Even Vampire fans who don't like animation that much should check it out for the Vampiric theme. For those who dislike this type of thing altogether, better steer clear!
Other info: Rated 15, Japanese Animation, DVD region 2, extras on DVD are crap get it for the movie only.
Pictures of Vampire Hunter D (Dubbed) (DVD)
ARGH!!
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Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
Advantages: Easy to follow, good English-dub, great central character, nifty fight sequences Disadvantages: Simple storyline, basic animation when compared to the competition, not particularly original
Advantages: Easy to follow, good English-dub, great central character, nifty fight sequences Disadvantages: Simple storyline, basic animation when compared to the competition, not particularly original
Feb 7th, 2005
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