Now, I don't really know a whole lot about "Vampire Hunter D", other than what little information I did look up. I know that it is based on a novel series that was published in 1983, but the books never got released in the U.S. until 2005. So the only thing fans in the U.S. had to go on, until the first volume got released, was this movie.
I also know that this movie has a bit of an odd history. You see, the movie was only shown several times on TV in the U.S. It was aired on Cartoon Network, the Sci-Fi channel, and TBS. The first two makes sense. Cartoon Network being...well, Cartoon Network. The Sci-Fi channel, because they were cashing in on the massive late 80's anime boom. Though TBS is a rather strange choice, considering that it would be one of the last networks I would ever think of that would air anything anime-related.
I don't know anything about the plot to this movie, but I'm going to take a wild guess and say that it's about a guy who is hunting vampires for unknown reasons. Taking a wild guess on that one, don't ask why.
I also know one other thing about this movie. Now, this movie has two different English dubs. The first one is the original dub that was recorded in 1992, which is the one I'm going to be watching tonight. The second dub was released in 2015 by Sentai Filmworks when they re-released the movie on DVD and Blu-ray. For those that are not familiar, Sentai is known for releasing some, sometimes, questionable English dubs. One example I can think of is the English dub of "Parasyte." Mind you, I sorta enjoyed the dub of "Parasyte", but that's besides the point.
I am certainly hoping for this movie to be good, and I have heard good things about this movie and it's English dub, well the original dub. The Sentai dub, not so much. But anyway, I'm just stalling at this point. The only way I'm going to know if I will enjoy this movie or not, is if I shut up, and I push play, and I'm going to do that right now. So, without further ado, it's time to kick back, relax, and check out "Vampire Hunter D".
3 minutes later
Well guys, the movie just started, and I just saw some chick blast, what I'm assuming is suppose to be half of a dinosaur's head clean off. Well, clean I guess isn't the right word to describe it, but it was certainly was rather cool.
30 seconds later
OK. Never mind, NOW it's dead. Well, I guess after three shots to it's torn off neck, you can never be too sure. At least, she had the common sense to check to make sure it was dead, though....now I'm seeing a werewolf snatch her dead horse away. So far guys, this movie's already off to an interesting start.
11 minutes later
You know guys, I am really loving Doris' whip. And she herself has been pretty badass, too. But seriously, I kinda want that whip.
10 minutes later
So one of these vampires that's after Doris has the ability warp space and time by just making D stab himself? OK. That is certainly different and creative. I kinda like that.
8 minutes later
OK, this is kinda bothering me a bit. I certainly hope we get an explanation about who this strange voice is that's talking to D. We've gotten no context as to who he his, and it's kinda bothering me a little.
4 minutes later
So let me see if I understand this, Rei is willing to let the doctor and Doris' brother go as long as Doris doesn't use her tongue to kill herself...I hope she had some sort of backup plan on how to do that, otherwise, these vampires are pretty stupid.
16 minutes later
So this Time Bewitching Incense is basically just like a giant flashlight that has the power to knock out vampires. OK. I was kinda expecting something more out of it, but I guess it gets the job done.
The Review
Well guys, that was "Vampire Hunter D" let's shut that off...OK. Um, where to even start? Well, I guess I should start by saying this. After watching this, I'm more inclined to pick up the books because this movie was actually pretty good. Though I guess I should start by talking about the writing.
Writing in this movie is fairly decent. Because we have our main character, D, who is a vampire hunter who gets hired by Doris. The reason being is that she was bitten by a vampire lord by the name of Count Lee Magus, who has lived for over 10,000 years. And because that she is infected by Magus' bite, she hires D to kill the Count so that the curse can be lifted off of her. I should mention that in this movie, the world is set in the future where mutants and other demonic creatures live in the world. Which is why we also saw a dinosaur getting it's head blasted off at the start of the movie, because that's the first thing I think of when I think of a future with demons and such, but it's honestly not a complaint. Just found it a little odd.
Now there are a couple of issues I do have with writing. One of them has to with D's left hand. You might've noticed during the reaction portion that I was hoping for the movie to give some kind of explanation as to who or what the voice was that talks to D. And...we don't really get that. In fact, now that I think about it, I don't think it even gets a name. Not only that, but we don't really get a ton of depth on D himself. The best we get is that during the movie, D is revealed to be a dhampir. Which, according to this movie, is a vampire that has human blood within him. OK. That sounds awesome. But I kinda wish we got more depth and backstory on how D became a vampire hunter. Or how he even got his powers.
Which leads me to my biggest problem with this movie, which is the film's runtime. The movie clocks in about an hour and 21 minutes long. Well, less than that, if you don't count the 2 or 3 minutes of credits. Because we have a short runtime, the movie doesn't have a lot of time to give a ton development to our characters. Now, for some characters like Doris and her little brother, Dan, it's perfectly fine. Because Doris has a reason to do the things she does, while Dan is basically there to give support to his sister and staying strong not to cry, because his sister has been infected and runs the risk of turning into a vampire herself.
Now, one could make an argument that there is more depth and backstory about D in the books, but that only reinforces my point that the movie could've expanded upon it a little more, so that we wouldn't have to rush through it with such a short runtime. Now technically, there is a somewhat of a twist towards the end of the film, but I can't talk about it due to spoilers. I will say that while it does reveal more about D, it still feels a little bit weak, at least to me. If this movie had gotten, say, 20 minutes longer to give a little bit of backstory, then I think the movie would've been great. However, we are stuck with what we got. So it is what it is.
One other minor issue I do have with writing has to do with the Time Bewitching Incense. Now, I'm not going to complain about the weapon itself, because after thinking about it again, it does make some level of sense. But what I can complain about is a small plot-hole, possibly lack thereof, but still worth mentioning, nonetheless. Now, one of the vampires in the movie, Rei, is given something known as the Time Bewitching Incense from the Count. It is said that it is a weapon that is helpful in killing D. During the second fight between Rei and D, Rei manages to swing the weapon at D, but it doesn't work, which results in Rei's arm getting sliced off. He then realizes that the weapon was a fake and that it must've been switched. OK. So...when did that happen? If it happened during the fight, then Greco, whom was the one that did have the real Time Bewitching Incense, must've switched it during that fight. Or did he steal it before the fight? It wasn't entirely explained very well on how he got his hands on it, so it seemed a little odd to me.
Mind you, now. The movie is still really good. Because we have a story that really is fascinating on it's own. Our characters here are developed decently enough, even with the short runtime. So it's not like you're going to get bored by it, because there's always something happening. So you will have our fight scenes with D and the various monsters as he is storming the Count's castle and all of it's done very, very well.
The acting. Now, as I stated earlier, I was watching the English Dub that was originally dubbed in 1992. And, the dub here, is actually pretty good. Mind you, there might a few people who probably never saw this dub because it was only aired several times back in the 90's. Now, I don't know if Sental Filmworks, when they re-released the movie on DVD and Blu-ray, gave an option in where you can pick which of the two English dubs you want to watch it with. If not, then most people who are getting into this movie for the first time are probably going to get the one English dub that was redone. Which would be a shame, because I remember when another Japanese film, "Akira", got a Blu-ray release, it gave you the option to watch with the older dub or the new dub, so that they can satisfy both fans. But I'm getting a bit off topic. The dub, as I said, is pretty good. Granted there are a couple of characters who give off some questionable accents, such as one of the other vampires, Lamika, who gives off a noticeable fake British accent. Or Dan, who gives off a bit southern accent, which is strange because his sister doesn't give off any kind of accent at all, but oh well. Beyond that, the acting in this dub is rather good, and does hold up pretty well today, at least it does, to me.
The animation is really good, especially considering that this movie came out in 1985. The characters designs are well done, especially on the monsters in the Count's castle. Because you do get a different variety each time, minus the cloaked druids, who as far as I know, don't really fight at all. The artistry is good. Overall, the animation is fantastic and it is definitely one of the high points of this movie.
The sound-mix is done very well, and the music does a decent job enough to set the mood during certain scenes. Though there are like one or two moments where the music sorta gets cut off very quickly during scene transitions, but those are very rare to find, and you'd have to be actively looking out for them. In which no one is going to notice it or even care, because it doesn't take you of the movie in any way.
So, ultimately guys, am I able to recommend "Vampire Hunter D"? Sure. I can totally recommend it. Especially for horror fans, because I know they will get a kick out of this. However, if you are not into horror themed films even if it's tied into anime, then you're probably going to want to avoid this. However, if you're able to look past all of that, then you have, what is essentially, a very good animated horror movie. I should also mention that there are two copies of this movie on YouTube, both with the original dub. So if you want to go ahead and check it out, it's on YouTube right now, at least by the time I have written this Reaction & Review that is.
As for me, I'm going to do something else. I think I'm going to watch my DVD copy of the first "Puppet Master" movie, because I'm kind in the mood for a a pretty good horror film.
Anyway guys, we come to the close of another Reaction & Review. Until next time, ladies and gentlemen, take care, and I will see you all in the near future. Peace.
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