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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 |
 "Anime at its best."When I was first getting into anime, I had heard of Vampire Hunter D. So, one day in the video store I rented it. And hated it. So when I heard of Bloodlust, I was less than enthusiastic to see it. Then one day my friends forced me to watch it. Boy, am I glad they did. Everything that I hated about the original was corrected. The animation was exellent, better than most other anime out there. Also, the story was superb, not being too straight forward and never getting dragged out or boring. The characters were wonderful, and the voice acting was great. One of the best parts of the movie was the music, which was wonderfully orchestrated and always fit the scene. Altogether, this is one of the best anime ever, in my personal top five. This is one that all anime fans should see. And don't worry if you haven't seen the first one, the two stories are not related. So, unless you really want to, don't bother with watching the original.  "An exquisite visual improvement over the original."The original Vampire Hunter became a cult classic back in the early 1980's, thanks to a dark ambiance, a very cool hero, and a strong content of sex and violence. The sequel,"Bloodlust", is even better. Director Yoshiaki Kawajiri (from the excellent "Ninja Scroll") sacrifices the sexual side of the first movie in favor of more violence, therefore losing a little bit of D's struggle to resist his vampire impulses, but that doesn't keep him from showing many weird creatures that will fight him on the way to rescue a girl, who has been kidnapped by a vampire called Meier Link. Now, the story is much more complicated than that, and by following them, D will find out about something that may change the conflict between vampires and humans forever. The best thing about this movie is, by far, the visuals. If you ever read the original novels, then you'll recognize the style of the illustrations right here on the movie. The characters are stylized, exaggerated, and the scenarios (specially when it comes to the vampire's castle) are made of a very detailed gothic style, which is common when it comes to the Japanese portrayal of vampires (video-games fans who have played "Castlevania" know exactly what I'm talking about). Also, unlike most cases, I really recommend the English dub in this movie, the best I've heard so far. No remarkable extra features, but "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust" is sure to satisfy anime fans. Comparisons to the original are inevitable, but even then the movie comes out victorious. A sure hit.  "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust"When I first learned that this movie was coming out I was extreamly happy. The trailer was cool, and I loved the original. But this movie was more cheese than I could hold down. I hated it. Spaceship Castle? Give me a break. If you loved the original VHD [though it is old, and a little cheesey it is all together more enjoyable for me] you my find yourself in horror as the plot to this unfolds. I suggest checking out something else. "Great dark action"When VHD: Bloodlust came out, I wasn't too very interested. Having recently got the chance to watch the film though, I know now I should have been. VHD:B is top notch so far as dark anime goes. From the opening scene, watching the crosses twist and crumble as the dark carriage passes by, you know you're in for something good. VHD:B doesn't disappoint. First off, D has been given a major upgrade. He looks more vampire like, he looks stronger and badder than ever before. The new art helps much, of course. D is hired to find a girl named Charlotte, dead or alive, who has been taken by a vampire from her home. Adding to the mix is a bounty team already has a head start on D, and each member of this team could well have his/her own anime. These are no second rate fill-ins, these folks are every bit as interesting as D. The vampire in question doesn't disappoint either, showing the full force of his powers from the very first scenes. All in all, if you're looking for something darker and blood filled, watch this show. It looks dang good, the english voices are much better than you'd expect, and things just simply click. It's well worthy of the VHD name, and surpasses the original in nearly every way. - Rirath_com "Awesome"Yes it is Awesome, in the traditional sense of the word. The animation is very well done, but the thing that really caught me off guard was the enthralling story. It wasn't your run of the mill hack and slash. In short, at the end of the movie I shed a tear. I definetly recommend this for fans of anime. . .but most importantly, anyone who loves great movie making. |
