Vampire Hunter D

Vampire Hunter D

Release Date - 12/21/1985

Country of Origin - Japan

Directed by Toyoo Ashida

Starring - Michael McConnohie, Barbara Goodson, Jeff Winkless, Edie Mirman, and Kerrigan Mahan

Anime has a very long history, one which we will not be divulging into. However it is rather interesting to note that today’s review, and thus the first review of Hell-O-Ween 3 is an anime based upon a series of novels and not a comic series, video game, or drama. I highly doubt it is the only one to do so, or even the first for that matter. But it is the one that clearly always comes to mind to me and a couple of others. Yet this isn’t the only (possible) first for today’s subject. So what is this inaugural movie? Well the mystery was never there due to the title. With that; Vampire Hunter D medusas and lycans.

Vampire Hunter D began life as a light novel series written by Hideyuki Kikuchi, the novels a journey through an apocalyptic world with all of the monsters that classic horror is made of. The original novel was published in 1983 and a follow up came in 1984. Due to the popularity of the novels the title was picked up to be animated. However it wouldn’t be as an actual show. Vampire Hunter D was produced seen as the animation equivalent of a mini-series, they going direct to video. OVAs were still a fledgling business in 1985, as video hadn’t been big within the country for that long. Yet OVAs would come to make video big in Japan. Vampire Hunter D almost seems tailor made for this market with its themes (I have never read a novel, so don’t quote me on a lot of the novel talk) of horror, the apocalypse, and sexuality. In fact the creators of the OVA blatantly marketed it towards the teenage and adult audience due to this and the violence it held, this making Vampire D cited as many to be one of the first animes (OVA or not) to target the product directly towards that market. This all proved to be quite the success as Vampire Hunter D has become a classic of the anime genre and has spawned a sequel film, more novels, a comic, a video game, and an anime series that was reported to be in production earlier this year. Needless to say, Vampire Hunter D has had a lasting impact since it first arrived on the scene.

Yet within all of this it is the film that most people remember or know of. I certainly didn’t know that the film was based on a book until my teenage years and have never seen the sequel. Obviously the film holds a lasting power and has left quite the memory for fans. So then how does it fair? Well we’ll find out. As I mentioned before I have never read the novel, so I will not be comparing and contrasting the two. Also while I have seen the movie subbed the release I won is the old English dubbed VHS, so that is the cast (and thus script) we’ll be examining. With all of that out of the way let’s mount our robot horses and head out to take on this vampire (film).

The year is 12,090 AD and the world has been ravaged by nuclear war. Humans have survived and do the best they can to continue on with their lives. But they aren’t the only creatures roaming the world, as this world is inhabited by monsters. None more fearsome than the vampire.

Doris Lang (played by Barbara Goodson) is out on a hunt one night when she is bitten by the fearsome Count Magnus Lee, he marking her as his next bride. Facing a future of either being hunted by the villagers or being in a marriage of bloodlust and sadism, Doris hires a vampire hunter known as D (played by Michael McConnohie) as he strolls into town to slay the count, paying him with a place to stay in her home. But this is no easy task, as D must face off against the Count’s daughter and soldier while trying to keep Doris and her brother safe. However D is no ordinary hunter, for he is a dampeil, a half human half vampire hybrid.

Using his skills as a hunter, his ferocity as a vampire, and the aid of his talking left hand, D sets off on his mission to defeat this dreadful vampire lord before it is too late.

Vampire Hunter D, being an 80 minute OVA definitely doesn’t have the time to sit around and draw things out like most OVAs do, especially with this one being a movie.

The story is paced pretty quickly and it hits all of its major beats in good time. Now rather this is a good thing or bad thing is up to the viewer. Personally I think the story could use a longer runtime, as it runs the gambit of action, plot twists, inner struggling within the vampire community, it simply has a little too much for a simple 80 minute plot movie. Yet I’ll admit that while it could use more time to fully be explored and developed that the film does give you an adrenaline rush due to how quickly the story goes. Never once does it feel slow or boring and for those simply looking for a nice little film with plenty of action than it delivers at 100 percent. Considering that the director was quoted as saying that his intent was for the film to be for those who were tired from tiring or working, something which would make them feel energize. I suppose you could say that the plot is a mixed bag then; it could probably use a bit more development and a longer running time, yet it delivers enough to make you feel a rush of excitement.

Our casts of characters are small and compact in number and offer…not a whole lot to be honest. D is the prototypical strong, silent type protagonist. He’s presented as a cool bad ass who only gets bothered when his vampire urges kick in, which isn’t a whole lot unless he is under great stress. Being that he is a hunter this isn’t too shocking of a way of presenting the character. To be frank his talking hand delivers more personality than D does throughout the whole film. Doris is just really there and doesn’t really do anything. Early on we see here as this strong warrior, but when the main plot gets going she just sits around as the Count tries to get her. The rest sort of fall into the same area as the rest; they’re very prototypical and stereotypical and don’t really amount to nothing. As for the acting it’s what you would expect from the late 80s and early 90s in terms of an anime dub. It isn’t all that bad considering the age to be honest and the cast do a good job of using accents to help (try) and give the characters more personality. Though I’ll admit some lines come off as really clunky and quickly stitched together. All together I found the characters in the movie to be really unimpressive with the voice acting adequate for the time.

That brings us to the production aspect of the movie. Starting with the animation it is what you’d expect from the time, however due to it being both an OVA its animation is a bit better than most animated TV shows, though it doesn’t really come close to matching the quality of theatrical films. Yet it holds up pretty well, some aspects of it being really stunning still to this day. I’ll admit that it does have that dated 80s look to it, however this is a case where, while it is obvious, I find that it doesn’t look all that bad. Plus it puts a lot of 90s anime *showscoughcoughcoughgundamwingcoughcoughcough* to shame. Not to mention the medieval aspect combined with some science fiction ones aren’t half bad, heck the Count’s castle is a mix of Hammer Horror and Death Star. The music isn’t present most of the time, but when it shows itself it is rather great. Dark, eerie, borderline dark wave, it helps create the perfect atmosphere for the flick. Where the story is a mixed bag depending on how you view it and the characters are just bad, the production aspect hits on all cylinders. Truly this is some great stuff in this department.

This is another case where we examine a film with a rather big pedigree. Vampire Hunter D is considered a classic of the anime genre and of Japanese fiction in general. It has spawned a long running franchise that is beloved to this day and continues to grow. However while its contributions to the genre of anime does gain the film praise from me, the film itself is lacking in two major areas and due to this is not a classic in my opinion.

The story while ambitious just doesn’t really work in the time it is given. Yes it does achieve the goal of producing one fun rush of adrenaline, but examining it simply as a story shows that it leaves stuff needing to be developed and some things just unexplained (such as how D survived a stake through the heart and than a sword through the heart, vampire rules usually mean he dies from that). However the worst part of all of this is the characters, they’re simply cardboard cutouts of characters we’ve seen countless times and don’t bring anything new to the table. It really is a shame since with the right writing they could be pretty interesting and provide a way to become more invested with the story. If there is any true good in the movie than it’s the animation and music. True the animation is a little dated looking, but it has a classic feel to it and in some aspects holds up really well. Not to mention the music is superb.

Whereas a film like Gundam F91 had some miffy parts but could still be viewed as a rather nice movie, Vampire Hunter D fails to come even close to having the pros outweigh the cons. The lack of any real substance to the characters is just disappointing and is the main crime the film commits. Toss in a thrilling, yet under developed story and it is hard to think of it as a classic. I like the lore of Vampire Hunter D and I do plan on someday reading the novels to see more of the lore. But if the only thing that existed of this series was this film, than I’d either hope for a remake or just leave it in the dust.

C -