I knew of this movie several years before I decided to buy it on video. Firstly, this anime single handely is a landmark in Japanese animation. Not because it has a brilliant plot, infact the plot is quite basic, and is nothing that hasn't been brought onto the screen prior to this video's release...but what this film does hold is the honor of it being the first animated horror film ever, Never before has Japan produced a horror featuring scenes of bizzare fungi-like demon ozzing through tunnels, demons tearing through horses necks, etc.
Being one of the very first anime to have a western release, Vampire Hunter D was dubbed by Streamline pictures for American in 1988, and then appeared in Europe in early 1993 via agreed distribuition by Manga Entertainment. The story is quite basic and low bass, basically; a young girl finds herself fighting through a forrest of demons, and it isn't long beofre she realises that she is trespassing on the Count. Magnus Lee's land, and involuntarily teh Count takes her blood as compensation (i.e. passing on the Vampire infection). She seeks out the aid of a Vampire Hunter on the open road, who goes soley by the name of "D." The girl hires D to storm the castle and seek kill the Count so that she may be cured of her vampirism, what the girl doesn't know that D is half Vampire Himself. But the Count sends out his minions to intervine, alongside his Daughter and her Mutant hentchman, who are sercetly trying to kill the girl, rather than bring her to the Count, as they feel that she will disgrace the Lee Family.
Origionally, Vapire hUnter D started out as a novel by animator Yoshitaka Amano, then later progressed into art. The interest of his concepts grew so much that an agreement was made between him and SONY to animate the film, Amano being the chief animator and character designer. The film achieved audiable success in it's time, being many of the first wave of anime to be introduced to the highly expensive "VCRs" at the time, and remains a classic in the West, marked out for it's originality. The character's hero, D, is the main interest, ebing a dark almost emotionaless hunter, dedicated to the oblivion of the darkside, and those who dominate with supernatural powers, forever tormented by thebickering of his own left hand who lives to remind him of what he is. It's this that draws the viewer into focuss on the film.
I recomend this to any anime viewer who can appreciate "old skhool" efforts, yet many people who watch anime are beging to forget this film, due to the anticpated release of the modern superior "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust." I haven't seen this film as of yet with it been only so cinematicaly released in Asia, but considering it's directed by the renouned Kawajiri, I expet the plot and animation to be something else. Though that is no excuse to discard this film as trash, just because it is some 17 years old, and is "retro." It's obvious that modern times will progress further in animation, but people shouldn't regard any film as crap purely because it's pre-decessors have become superior to it.
Overall a worth a watch film if you like anime, particularly Yoshitaka Amano artwork, but if you hate anime, dont bother,and stick to George Clooney films***7/10***
This film went onto inspire the style of other animated horror films from this decade such as the aimated adaption of Go Nagai's Devilman, and Toshio Maeda's controversial Urotsukidoji: Legend Of The Overfiend.
