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Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Urban Vision // R // February 12, 2002
List Price: $29.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is the sequel to a 1985 Japanese animation (called anime from here on out) movie. The main character, D (voiced by Andrew Philpot), is a Dunpeal, a half human/half vampire. He rides the line between his vampire and human side, never really fitting into either and denying both at the same time. D was born from the union of the Vampire King and a human woman a long time ago. Unlike most vampires, D can survive out in the sun, but not for extended periods of time. D also has a parasite in his body that forms a human face on his left hand. The parasite (voiced by Michael McShane) has a great wealth of knowledge and helps D only because if D dies he also dies. D has taken up to being a bounty hunter of vampires. At the beginning of the movie his services are requested by a father and son who want their daughter/sister, Charlotte (voiced by Wendee Lee), back from the clutches of the local powerful vampire, Meier Link (voiced by John Rafter Lee). The father and son also hired another group of people to find Charlotte, so D has some competition.
From here on out, D and the other group follow Meier's carriage as he goes toward the vampire Carmilla's castle. Supposedly she has a ship that can take Meier and his love Charlotte to a star where they can live in peace. Charlotte loves Meier back and no one can understand that…she willingly went with Meier when he came to get her. Meier does not bite Charlotte on the trip even though his bloodlust wants him to. He wants her to stay as a human and not be cursed to living in eternal darkness. D tries to reach Meier before the sun goes down and Meier wakes up and becomes powerful, but he is unable to do so. He and Meier have a fight on top of the carriage. This fight is very exciting, but it ends too quickly. That seems to be a big problem with the movie in that most of the fights seem to end too soon.
The other group's whole reason for being there it seems is to make the movie longer. Only one person in the whole group is important to the overall story and that is Leila (Pamela Segall). The others are pretty worthless and only serve as stopgaps for D to catch up to the carriage in my opinion. I even think this movie would have worked if it was just D that was going after Charlotte, but I digress. Eventually we get to Carmilla's abode and Meier is somewhat double-crossed by Carmilla. However D thwarts the plans and Meier and Charlotte go into the ship and into the sky. No real resolution about Meier and Charlotte is realized. However D got what he needed in Charlotte's ring to get his money from her father and brother. Job is done and everyone's ok.
The epilogue seems a bit out of place other than showing us that D is forever young thanks to his vampire self. It also wraps up a promise that D made earlier in the movie. Overall the voices are very good and D's left hand and Meier are the outstanding ones. This is one anime that does not have a Japanese language option as the movie was originally dubbed in English.
The DVD
Video: This film is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The visuals outside of the characters themselves, who are quite bland, is excellent. The Japanese release of this movie was digital and this one seemed to have gotten a film treatment to it. The visuals are not as sharp but the presentation is still great.
Sound: Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 only. From a score and non-voice sound side, the sound is excellent. From the voices side it is horrible. I often had to turn up the volume on my DD5.1 receiver to be able to hear the voices, but as soon as the music and other sounds hit the speakers are full of life and too loud. The whole experience minus the voices is great.
Menus: The menu is pretty bland on this movie. Some small silhouettes come up as you go over the options. They are usually either a bat or the left hand with the face on it. The menus are easy to navigate though as there is not much here.
Extras:
Behind the Scenes: This is a 22 minute behind the scenes of the movie. Much of it is subtitled in English as the makers were Japanese.
Storyboard to Feature comparison: This is a lot like Unbreakable's train station sequence extra. You can compare the original storyboards to their final feature. It is always interesting to watch storyboards and see what came of them.
Fan's Favorite Picks: This is not at all what I thought it would be. It is actually the top 10, and I have no idea where or when this was voted on, scenes in this movie. I figured it would be a top 10 encompassing both movies much like American Pie 2 did. I would really like to know when they did the survey on this as the #1 moment is certainly not the one I would pick.
Trailer and TV spots: This shows the American and Japanese trailers for the movie along with the Korean TV spot for the movie. It is interesting to see a different logo for the Korean broadcast than in the American or Japanese logos.
Final Thoughts: A great movie in the action parts and a poor movie in the slow parts, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust can be recommended. I wish there were a little more sword action and a little more about D's Left Hand's powers though. When characters speak the sound is abysmal, but when the music and sound effects are on the sound is fantastic. I guess this movie is much like D in that it is half good and half bad. Recommended.
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is the sequel to a 1985 Japanese animation (called anime from here on out) movie. The main character, D (voiced by Andrew Philpot), is a Dunpeal, a half human/half vampire. He rides the line between his vampire and human side, never really fitting into either and denying both at the same time. D was born from the union of the Vampire King and a human woman a long time ago. Unlike most vampires, D can survive out in the sun, but not for extended periods of time. D also has a parasite in his body that forms a human face on his left hand. The parasite (voiced by Michael McShane) has a great wealth of knowledge and helps D only because if D dies he also dies. D has taken up to being a bounty hunter of vampires. At the beginning of the movie his services are requested by a father and son who want their daughter/sister, Charlotte (voiced by Wendee Lee), back from the clutches of the local powerful vampire, Meier Link (voiced by John Rafter Lee). The father and son also hired another group of people to find Charlotte, so D has some competition.
From here on out, D and the other group follow Meier's carriage as he goes toward the vampire Carmilla's castle. Supposedly she has a ship that can take Meier and his love Charlotte to a star where they can live in peace. Charlotte loves Meier back and no one can understand that…she willingly went with Meier when he came to get her. Meier does not bite Charlotte on the trip even though his bloodlust wants him to. He wants her to stay as a human and not be cursed to living in eternal darkness. D tries to reach Meier before the sun goes down and Meier wakes up and becomes powerful, but he is unable to do so. He and Meier have a fight on top of the carriage. This fight is very exciting, but it ends too quickly. That seems to be a big problem with the movie in that most of the fights seem to end too soon.
The other group's whole reason for being there it seems is to make the movie longer. Only one person in the whole group is important to the overall story and that is Leila (Pamela Segall). The others are pretty worthless and only serve as stopgaps for D to catch up to the carriage in my opinion. I even think this movie would have worked if it was just D that was going after Charlotte, but I digress. Eventually we get to Carmilla's abode and Meier is somewhat double-crossed by Carmilla. However D thwarts the plans and Meier and Charlotte go into the ship and into the sky. No real resolution about Meier and Charlotte is realized. However D got what he needed in Charlotte's ring to get his money from her father and brother. Job is done and everyone's ok.
The epilogue seems a bit out of place other than showing us that D is forever young thanks to his vampire self. It also wraps up a promise that D made earlier in the movie. Overall the voices are very good and D's left hand and Meier are the outstanding ones. This is one anime that does not have a Japanese language option as the movie was originally dubbed in English.
The DVD
Video: This film is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The visuals outside of the characters themselves, who are quite bland, is excellent. The Japanese release of this movie was digital and this one seemed to have gotten a film treatment to it. The visuals are not as sharp but the presentation is still great.
Sound: Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 only. From a score and non-voice sound side, the sound is excellent. From the voices side it is horrible. I often had to turn up the volume on my DD5.1 receiver to be able to hear the voices, but as soon as the music and other sounds hit the speakers are full of life and too loud. The whole experience minus the voices is great.
Menus: The menu is pretty bland on this movie. Some small silhouettes come up as you go over the options. They are usually either a bat or the left hand with the face on it. The menus are easy to navigate though as there is not much here.
Extras:
Behind the Scenes: This is a 22 minute behind the scenes of the movie. Much of it is subtitled in English as the makers were Japanese.
Storyboard to Feature comparison: This is a lot like Unbreakable's train station sequence extra. You can compare the original storyboards to their final feature. It is always interesting to watch storyboards and see what came of them.
Fan's Favorite Picks: This is not at all what I thought it would be. It is actually the top 10, and I have no idea where or when this was voted on, scenes in this movie. I figured it would be a top 10 encompassing both movies much like American Pie 2 did. I would really like to know when they did the survey on this as the #1 moment is certainly not the one I would pick.
Trailer and TV spots: This shows the American and Japanese trailers for the movie along with the Korean TV spot for the movie. It is interesting to see a different logo for the Korean broadcast than in the American or Japanese logos.
Final Thoughts: A great movie in the action parts and a poor movie in the slow parts, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust can be recommended. I wish there were a little more sword action and a little more about D's Left Hand's powers though. When characters speak the sound is abysmal, but when the music and sound effects are on the sound is fantastic. I guess this movie is much like D in that it is half good and half bad. Recommended.
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