Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, released in 2000, is rightly regarded as one of the great anime movies and certainly one of the most visually stylish and flamboyant anime films ever made. In fact it’s one of the most visually stylish and flamboyant movies of any type ever made. It is a sequel to the 1985 film.
When approaching the 1985 film you do have to take that fifteen-year gap into consideration. This was several years before Akira established anime’s first firm foothold in English-speaking markets. Even in Japan in 1985 the idea of anime aimed at adult audiences was fairly new. Anime film-makers were just starting to explore the thematic and aesthetic possibilities this would open up.
Vampire Hunter D was made as an OVA (basically direct-to-video but without the negative connotations this has in western countries) and later released theatrically. Director Toyoo Ashida did not have anywhere near the budget of the 2000 film. The 1985 movie simply cannot match the visual magnificence of the 2000 sequel.
On the other hand, given its budgetary limitations, the 1985 film is visually quite impressive. At the time it was certainly visually impressive. There are some striking images and the first appearance of D is memorable.
Like the 2000 film this one mixes familiar gothic horror tropes with Wild West elements. It is however not quite the Wild West of American westerns. It’s closer to old Mexico, or perhaps to Spanish California. In fact it’s set 10,000 years in the future so this qualifies as a post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie as well as a horror movie. The hints of the Wild West are there to add coolness, which they do.
Doris Ran is a formidable young lady who is quite prepared to take on werewolves. Vampires however are out of her league. Only a specialised vampire hunter can hope to take on a vampire.
And Doris has a problem. She was bitten by Count Magnus Lee, a vampire. This means that henceforth she will be regarded with fear and suspicion by the other villagers. It seems to her to be an extraordinary piece of good fortune when she encounters a vampire hunter, known only as D.
She knows she will have to pay him. She has no money but she hopes that he will accept the use of her body as payment (the incorporation of such adult concepts in anime was still quite ground-breaking in 1985). D does not take her up on her offer but he agrees to work for her anyway.
Before he even gets near the Count D will have to battle his terrifying supernatural minions.
The Count is not simply out for victims for the sake of their blood. He is 10,000 years old. He gets bored. He needs amusement. Marrying a human girl should provide plenty of amusement. It’s not specifically stated but it is implied that vampires are very attracted to human women. He has chosen Doris to be his bride. Doris is of course horrified. She would choose death rather than succumb to the embraces of a vampire. That’s why she hired D - to save her from such a fate.
There are some twists that make this more than just a conventional vampire tale. D is a dampiel, the offspring of a vampire father and a human mother. He has a vampire side to his nature, which sometimes asserts itself in disturbing ways. There is another dampiel in this story but I’m not going to give away a spoiler.
There are conflicts with the aristocratic vampiric Lee family. There is tension between the Count and his vampire daughter Ramica. There are conflicts within the human population of the village as well.
These conflicts and divided loyalties will pose problems for D, and he has his inner conflict between his human and vampire sides to worry about as well.
Interestingly this movie was based not on a manga but on a series of novels by Hideyuki Kikuchi. It was later adapted into a manga. The character design for D was retained almost exactly for the 2000 movie.
One fascinating thing about this movie is that it deals with a subject that is a crucial ingredient of Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel but which is often rather glossed over in western vampire movies - the class issue. In Stoker’s novel Dracula is seen as a particular threat because he represents the power, glamour and seductiveness of the decadent aristocracy. Dracula’s opponents are solidly bourgeois. In Vampire Hunter D the vampires represent a decadent oppressive (but glamorous) aristocracy which preys on the poor and the middle class.
There’s plenty of violence and gore and there’s some nudity. There’s no shortage of adult concepts. Vampirism in fiction and movies is usually a metaphor for sex but in this case the sexual motivations of vampires are made much more overt.
The overall concept is brilliant, the world-building is done effectively and economically, there’s lots of mayhem and for a low-budget production the visuals are stylish and imaginative. Highly recommended.
Happily the Urban Vision DVD includes the Japanese language version with English subtitles. In general the English-dubbed versions of 80s and 90s anime should be avoided like the plague. There’s also been a Blu-Ray release. One thing that should be noted is that some of the character names are totally different in the subtitled version compared to the English dub.
There are conflicts with the aristocratic vampiric Lee family. There is tension between the Count and his vampire daughter Ramica. There are conflicts within the human population of the village as well.
These conflicts and divided loyalties will pose problems for D, and he has his inner conflict between his human and vampire sides to worry about as well.
Interestingly this movie was based not on a manga but on a series of novels by Hideyuki Kikuchi. It was later adapted into a manga. The character design for D was retained almost exactly for the 2000 movie.
One fascinating thing about this movie is that it deals with a subject that is a crucial ingredient of Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel but which is often rather glossed over in western vampire movies - the class issue. In Stoker’s novel Dracula is seen as a particular threat because he represents the power, glamour and seductiveness of the decadent aristocracy. Dracula’s opponents are solidly bourgeois. In Vampire Hunter D the vampires represent a decadent oppressive (but glamorous) aristocracy which preys on the poor and the middle class.
There’s plenty of violence and gore and there’s some nudity. There’s no shortage of adult concepts. Vampirism in fiction and movies is usually a metaphor for sex but in this case the sexual motivations of vampires are made much more overt.
The overall concept is brilliant, the world-building is done effectively and economically, there’s lots of mayhem and for a low-budget production the visuals are stylish and imaginative. Highly recommended.
Happily the Urban Vision DVD includes the Japanese language version with English subtitles. In general the English-dubbed versions of 80s and 90s anime should be avoided like the plague. There’s also been a Blu-Ray release. One thing that should be noted is that some of the character names are totally different in the subtitled version compared to the English dub.
2 comments:
A good film, and it is kind of a shame that it's forever overshadowed by its admittedly superior sequel. I feel like Bloodlust was for a while easier to find in the UK/USA which probably hasn't helped. Possibly that's me misremembering though.
Morgan said...
it is kind of a shame that it's forever overshadowed by its admittedly superior sequel.
Which reminds me that I really need to revisit Bloodlust. I haven't seen it for years.
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