Vampire Hunter D (2000)

This movie gripped me from the opening sequence, that set the tone for the movie. Flawlessly artistic animation, the way the camera pans on Iron Crosses being bent out of shape, the shadowy cape of a *whisper* vampire, a woman screaming then the opening credits. Suspense, action, great animation. I was hooked. The story seems simple on the face of it, but couched in the plot are beautiful layers of character development. A vampire hunter, D (a dunpeal or vampire/human half breed) is commissioned to recover a rich man's daughter, Charlotte, who has been kidnapped by a vampire. She is wanted dead (if turned) or alive(if still human). D meets up with a band of bounty hunters, all of whom have their own special powers, and personal demons. Against them are an array of gypsy monster/vampires. The animation and sound are so good that one feels compelled to watch and rewatch the fight scenes just because they are so well done. Each character is different and their story comes through, the only fault is the minor villains' motivations could have been made more clear. The pacing of this movie is excellent, and it is definitely theater quality in all respects. I've introduced my friends to anime by showing them this movie, a few have become fans. The only drawback is after viewing this masterpiece, some of them complain it is hard to get other anime of this caliber quality (plot, action, animation, character, sound). Unlike the original Vampire Hunter D, the Bloodlust movie is gothic, gory, beautiful and touching. Highly recommended to be watched on a big screen, preferably with surround sound. You won't be disappointed if you rent/download this. It's so good you'll want to own a copy to add to your anime collection, as the rewatch value is very high.

i love vampires and i always seek movies that tell a good vampire story ... and i think this is my favorite one ... i don't know how to write a proper review since i never read any of the reviews on this site .. they're too long and opinions may differ so am only writing this so that more people know about this hidden gem and get to watch , it is that great .. The story is amazing .. the art is the best thing you'll ever watch .. basically everything here is just amazing .. do yourself a favor andwatch this movie if you want a mature , dark movie and of course if you love vampires like me :) sorry for my English ... it's my second language

Other than the magnificent turd-like mass that was the first Vampire Hunter D movie, this one managed to take the first one, pulverise it, and make a nice hat for itself to strut about it. Because it deserves to strut around, really. D is a half-vampire, half-Mexican--er, wait. Anyway, D is not human but he's not exactly a vampire. His powers allow him to hunt most other evil vampires and he takes up a mission to save some stupid human girl who wants to get it on with the undead, and so runs away with her vampire lover. While D tries to get the hussy back,a rival gang who also hunts vampires compete with him. This movie was excellence. Watching all the action, the fabulous choreography of the fights were simply jizz-in-your pants worthy. Art and sound were pure amazing. It looks beautiful, and D can make the straightest of men drool over his beauty, really. He was hotter than the chicks, believe it or not. Sound was cool, felt like I was listening to an epic horror flick. Which I was. Characters weren't so hot except for D who we've established is walking, delectable man-meat for the ladies and just the sort of guy folks like myself just wanna hang around and kill things with. Anyway, D's just cool and aloof and can kick all types of behind. The rest of the characters were cool as well, I didn't have a problem with them, since most knew when to die anyway. All in all, Bloodlust is the best Vampire Hunter D movie ever. And it is better than you, too.

Vampire Hunter D. I read the book as the first "anime" thing I ever did. And now I own this movie and most of the books, I'm going to be ordering Coffin as well. This anime is definitely great but it does have it's flaws. The dvd available in North America (at least in Canada) is only available in the english dub. For elitetists this is a huge problem, but the dub isn't terrible, it's pretty good as far as dubs go. The theme for this, doomed love, is played so beautifully in this. There were a few scenes thatalmost moved me to tears. I loved the way the story progressed, they adapt it quite well from the book. The Markus Brothers and Leila also keep the pacing of the story quite well. There are a few scenes with them that really add alot to the story. There aren't alot of loose-ends, and it ends semi-ambigously but they add a very comforting scene right at the end. The art in D is good. It's very distinctive, there are some beautiful subtleties to it. They put alot of time into some of the scenery which really show off the skills of some of these artists. Some of the character designs bug me, villagers all seem to have the same kind of frame and all moved very similarly. But they play a small part in the movie and the Markus brothers have some nice designs. The gothic soundtrack in this is very nicely composed. It definitely suits everything that happens in this. It greatly heightens all the emotions you would feel anway. It conveys the hope and the hopelessness of it, as well as the darkness of the time. The characters have changed slightly from the novel. These changes are for the most part quite nice. As far as progression of the story the characters pull them off quite nicely. I had a few problems with the changes that were made, but the changes they made push the anime in a completely different direction. D is how D always is, they don't change him at all...and they don't need to. As far as vampire anime go this one is quite good. They show vampires in both ways, both as super-powerful as well as being weak zombies. So people who like both style of vampire won't be dissapointed. If you've seen the first movie and were highly dissapointed then you definitely need to watch this. It's a great movie, but if you can't find the jap audio don't sweat it too much, the dub is decent.

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