In a distant future only some small civilizations are left on earth and are controlled by supernatural creatures. A young woman named Doris trespasses into Count Magnus Lee's domain when she's out hunting for demons that threatens her home. The Count bites her and she fears that her life will be controlled by the evil Count so she hires a man that goes under the name D to hunt down and destroy they him.
I'm not a huge fan of anime, but once in a while it can be quite fun to watch some. I used to watch a lot long ago and Vampire Hunter D is sure one of those that stands out and is definitely worth a watch even if you're not really into anime.
Considering the fact that Vampire Hunter D was made as early as in 1985, it still looks brilliant today and is visually stunning at times. That combined with a good story about vampires sure makes for a great flick.
It's a simple but a very good story that makes for 80 minutes of great entertainment. It of course doesn't look as good as the newer movie which is Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, but still I think this movie is better than the newer one and this one sure looks terrific as well.
It has really good storytelling and is aimed for the adult audience since we get treated to tons of blood, guts and some minor nudity. So children, stay away.
 
Vampire Hunter D has some fantastic characters in it, especially D himself. Also the movie is not all black and white (I'm not talking about the colors of the screen). That is, there are not just those who are evil and the rest that are good, everyone has two sides. This makes it feel more realistic and more natural and of course makes the movie itself more interesting.
D is somewhat of a anti-hero, being half vampire, half human and descendent of the legendary Count Dracula, he does not belong with the humans nor the vampires. He's a quiet man with a cruel profession that many seem to dislike, and is for sure not the kind of guy that show his emotions very openly. All this makes him a really cool and interesting character to watch.
Stay clear from the English dubbed version and go with the Japanese speaking one with subtitles instead, otherwise the whole movie is kinda ruined. Highly recommended.
Back to Asian Review Archive
|
ALTERNATIVE TITLE: Kyűketsuki Hunter D
MOVIE YEAR: 1985
DIRECTOR: Toyoo Ashida, Carl Macek
WRITING CREDITS: Yasushi Hirano, Hideyuki Kikuchi
GENRE: Anime, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
CAST: Kaneto Shiozawa, Seiz˘ Kat˘, Satoko Kifuji
COUNTRY: Japan
RUNTIME: 80 min
RATING: 9/10
Vampire Hunter D Website/IMDB Click here
Vampire Hunter D Trailer Click here
|
