YBFREE.comIn Pursuit of Human Interests
| YBFREE.com In Pursuit of Human Interests |
Archives | BLOG | Auctions | Shoppe | Message Board | Company Info | Search |
Vampire Hunter D has taken the world by storm. One of the most brilliant pieces of animation to ever hit U.S. theatres, Vampire Hunter D: 
Bloodlust, the second movie featuring the half-human, half-vampire, has further increased Anime's standing in America. Considered for an Oscar nomination, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust has finished its rampage through American theatres and is now ready to make a bigger splash on the home video market with the special release of the Bloodlust on video and DVD.
For those unfamilar with D here is a little history on one of the world's most intriguing Vampires. Class is now in session.
Vampires have always been popular with audiences of all countries. Their dark, romantic lifestyles attract people of all walks of life to varying extremes. From Dracula to Lestat, viewers have flocked to movie theatres, their television sets and to the bookstores to satisfy their thirst for vampire tales. One inspired author, Hideyuki Kikuchi, took the romantic themes of vampirism one step further. Already considered one of the most established science fiction writers in Japan, Kikuchi created a new hero in the world of gothic, romanticism: Vampire Hunter D.
The first novel was published in 1983 and enjoyed so much success that 22 additional novels were eventually published, including several special editions, many of which made the best-sellers list with more than ten million readers. The success in the books soon translated to success in the movies, when in 1985, the original Vampire Hunter D was released to video in Japan. A huge hit with fans, the anime movie eventually found its way to the U.S. where the film quickly grew into a cult classic.
The original movie explored futuristic elements transplanted into a gothic world and became such a big hit in the U.S. that the film eventually was re-released in 2000, re-mastered and newly translated for anime aficionados. However, this was not enough. Fans clamored for more Vampire Hunter D, requesting English translated versions of the books to be released in the states and more movies to be made about the popular character. One of their wishes was granted.
The new theatrical film, entitled Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is actually based on volume three of Kikuchi's novels. The movie, directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Wicked City) and produced by Mata Yamamoto (American Violence), further expands the universe of Vampire Hunter D introducing new characters, new landscapes, different forms of action and more layers of storytelling than in the first film.
The film starts with a young woman named Charlotte, the lovely daughter of an affluent family, being kidnapped by Meier Link; a notoriously cruel vampire, who takes her away in the dead of night. Her father, scared to death of the vampire menace that plagues their town, call on a vampire hunter they are just as scared of, D. The Vampire Hunter rides into town on his trusty horse and with his ever-demonic talking hand in tow, looking to collect an enormous sum of money to bring Charlotte back.
For the first time, D has competition in the form of the Markus Brothers. The four men and one tough woman are highly trained bounty hunters with plenty of guts and an arsenal of state-of-the-art weaponry and some supernatural trickery of their own. Vampire Hunter D has been around for a hundred years, hunting vampires down and trying to suppress his own bloodlust. He was not about to let some "rank amateurs" get in his way. On the same hand, The Markus Brothers don't have that many chances left to make money since D has destroyed most of the vampires inhabiting the world.
The conflict between D and the other vampire hunters make for intense action, dramatic scenes between the female bounty hunter Leila and D and some really cool death scenes. Vampires are hunted with an assortment of weapons, from D's sword to the Markus Brothers twirling blades and stealth arrows. In the rivalry, both hunters save one another from certain doom and Leila develops a strange bond with D. The two form a pact and pledge a promise to the other that one of them makes sure to keep in the end. However, not all goes well for the Markus Brothers, who find new ways of getting killed, one way occurring when one brother's shadow is stabbed, resulting in the real man's surprising, yet gruesome death. There is just so much going on here, it is easy to see why when watching the movie in theatres, everyone seemed to clap at every scene.