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Vampire Hunter D - Bloodlust Directors: Tai Kit Mak, Yoshiaki Kawajiri Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen Format: Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Running Time: 106 minutes Studio: Urban Vision Enterta Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2002-02-12 Buy from Amazon |
 "Good movie."I'm not a huge anime expert or anything, but I own a fair set of movies and series dvds. I like Bloodlust. It's a standard-length movie, lasting only a few hours, but it's easy to get into. It's got decent music and nice artwork. The characters are really interesting, but I won't reveal anything since the movie is so short. Overall, it may or may not be worth your money. This the only English release anime dvd that I own, mostly because it costs a lot less for the Japanese version from places like animetoysonline.com. I like it and consider it worthwhile, because the english cast is pretty good and the dubbing is very well done. It never looks like a godzilla movie.  "No Japanese Language Track!"Ignoring the film, I'm commenting on the DVD presentation. It's not available with any kind of subtitles, and the only language track is in English. Maybe I'm a bit of a snob, but I hate watching foreign films dubbed. Couldn't they have spent a few extra bucks and thrown the original laguage track on here? "Bloodlusting for More"Following in the footsteps of such invincible characters as Vash The Stampede (Trigun) and Alucard (Hellsing), comes D, a dunpeal (half vampire) bounty hunter. This is the second installment chronicling the adventures of D (the first being the original Vampire Hunter D). D is a killer of few words and even fewer friends, though he is not without a sense of honor and goodness. Initially, the plot is relatively mundane; Charlotte, your typical damsel in distress, is abducted by a powerful aristocratic vampire named Meyer. D is commissioned by Charlotte's family to bring back Charlotte, either dead or alive. At this point, this anime distinguishes itself from the pack when this seemingly predictable plot churns out a few signficant surprises that keeps the story running at a smooth, enthralling clip. As to what makes the movie so smooth and engrossing can be directly attributed to Vampire hunter D: Bloodlust's superb animation. I cannot reiterate enough how beautifully Bloodlust plays out on DVD. Bloodlust's rich deep colors and sharp angles are reminiscient of Batman: The Animated Series. This being a full-feature movie, each cell of animation is meticulously drawn out. Such attention to detail brings to life the story's dark, supernatural setting in addition to highlighting the "realistically" drawn style of the characters (no cartoony, big heads here). Overall, the story won't lull you into a preliminary coma, while the great action and animation are sure to impress. Be sure to watch the ending, as it is my favorite part in the entire movie. It serves to reinforce the existence of D as something timeless and more than merely mortal. People come and go, kingdoms rise and fall, but D will always be there, brooding and silent as usual.  "A very good vampire movie"I picked this up because I'm a horror fan - and was very pleased. It's actually a sequel, but can stand alone. Our hero, D, is a half-human son of the Big Bat himself who hunts dad's kind accompanied by a possessed, sentient left hand (yes, you read that right!). His latest mission - rescue Charlotte Elbourne, the daughter of a billionaire, from the vampire Meier Link. For extra insurance, Elbourne has also hired a tight-knit family of vampire hunters named the Markus brothers - Borgoff, the head of the family; Kyle, the clan jokemeister; Nolt, the brawn of the operation and Grove, a frail but strong-willed young invalid who can launch a ridiculously powerful attack from the astral plane - but only briefly and in the most dire straits, as the resulting effects on his health are horrible (flatlining semi-regularly is NOT a good thing...) Also working with the Markus' is the story's heroine - Leila, a tough-acting young huntress with a soft side that she generally only shows openly to Grove (whether he's her best friend or actually in love with her is subject to your speculation). It's Leila who meets D and finds that he's actually quite a good sort. The twist comes when D discovers that Charlotte doesn't actually want to be rescued... From there, matters become more desperate as all parties converge on the castle of Carmilla the Bloody Countess - the most notorious vampiress who ever existed. Chaos and the climax ensue. The artwork is a gorgeous feast - the only complaint might be that some of D's horseback scenes are slightly stilted (less than a minute combined). The resolution of the Meier-Charlotte subplot is a bit over the top, but other than that the story's fantastic. Finally, the characters are fascinating. Everything isn't black and white - Meier sometimes seems such a decent sort that you wish everyone would just leave him alone, and ALL the brothers enjoy what they do a bit too much. In the end, you care about what happens to everyone. It's D who's always the moral compass, always intent upon doing the right thing and even taking time to have a frank discussion with Charlotte to make sure she understands what she's really getting into or try to urge Leila, in his taciturn way, not to live by choice the hard life that he himself is trapped in. As D hasn't had a family reunion with daddy dearest, one would imagine there has to be at least one more entry in the series. I'll be there. "A supreme gothic feast of Anime eye candy"Yep, I think that that title would easily say it all. This movie far outclasses anything else save Miyazaki that I've seen before, and I am a huge anime freak. In fact, I'd have to put it easily above Princess Mononoke, and that's saying alot. If you've seen the original, forget all about it. This movie will blow you away. Bloodlust is sleak and dark, with beautiful character designs, scenes and music. The plotline will leave you reaching for tissues more than once, with it's fated love and tragic heros. My favourite scene is either when D and Leila are in the rain together, or when Meier and Charlotte are on the bridge at sunset... oh, but the "sand manta's" are awesome too.. None of this movie is cheap "filler" animation. The producers squeezed every bit of gorgeous stuff they could into it, and the english voice actors do a fantastic job. I especially appreciated D's voice, it was a perfect fit. PLot: The dunpeal, or half vampire, D, is hired to rescue the character Charlotte, who has been kidnapped by the vampire Meier Link. He must compete with the Marcus brothers, however, who are also on the case. D will soon find out that not is all what it seems with Meier and Charlotte, as everyone races to the castle of Countess Carmilla for the final battle. |
