Anime Review: Vampire Hunter D

Review Vampire Hunter D

In the post apocalyptic future vampires rule the night. One such vampire the illustrious Count Magnus Lee has cast his bloodsucking eye on a girl named Doris. Since she doesn't want to join the children of the night she enlists the help of a vampire hunter. This is no ordinary Vampire hunter. He goes only by the name D and he is half vampire himself. Just as D is no ordinary vampire Magnus Lee is not the garden variety vampire either. This promises to be a grand fight to the finish.

Vampire hunter D is a very compact and action filled movie. Instead of just fighting vampires D faces off against more monsters than a castlevania game. There is little time for deep character development the movie goes along at a brisk pace so there is little time to care. In fact the constant violence that permeates the movie in an odd way adds to D's dour personality without his angst grating on the viewer. The other characters are also interesting, even with their small amount of screen time.

Vampire hunter D was made in the mid eighties and the animation style clearly reflects this. While the style is retro it isn't as big a deal as you would think it would be. Nothing spectacular but still good enough for a good evening of popcorn munching.

Vampire Hunter D has been a staple of anime fans for many years. Although it has lost some of it's shine over the years it still manages to be a fun movie. Since it has been so long Vampire hunter D has made it to the majority of video rental stands and is shown occasionally on television so finding it should be no problem. I give Vampire hunter D a rating of good/ very good.