SOURCES Vampire Hunter D Fist of The Northstar Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust Horror of Dracula Dracula Prince of Darkness Die Nibelungen 1001 Nights (1999) www.awn.com/animationworld/vampire-hunter-d-comes-america www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2015-10-30/the-resurrection-of-vampire-hunter-d-part-ii-yoshiaki-kawajiri/.94823 www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2015-10-30/the-resurrection-of-vampire-hunter-d-part-i-hideyuki-kikuchi/.94794 www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2015-10-30/the-resurrection-of-vampire-hunter-d-part-ii-yoshiaki-kawajiri/.94823 bloody-disgusting.com/interviews/3356919/hideyuki-kikuchi-talks-upcoming-cgi-vampire-hunter-d/ www.matrixfans.net/the-animatrix/world-record/interview-with-writer-yoshiaki-kawajiri/ ruclips.net/video/wL5TYcUw1P8/видео.html Bloodlust ruclips.net/video/WLTRiruh3jw/видео.html ruclips.net/video/kx7ROrWIZf4/видео.html www.animenewsnetwork.com/convention/2012/sakura-con/4 cartoonresearch.com/index.php/streamline-pictures-part-15-vampire-hunter-d/
The Vampire Hunter D (1985) dub you show clips of in this Video has completely different voices than the dub I had when I was a kid on VHS and have now (I'm in America). I think the voice acting in the American dub I have is a lot better, in fact the dub you're showing clips of seems really bad
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust always blows me away with how impressive the animation and attention to detail there is. It's in my top favorite anime films for sure.
I was in my Bloodborne maniacally state about 2/3 years ago. Bloodlust was on DVD originally owned by my brother in law, he would let me and my wife keep it. The night my wife and I watched it we both loved it so much. There is no doubt in my mind that Bloodborne did take some influence from D I mean he really looks like a Yharnam hunter. Edit- Fun fact; That story the old man told the cops, the story about D saving children from vampires and then being banished as a reward. That is literally the second novel of the Hunter D book series.
Bro my grandpa JUST showed me bloodlust this past thanksgiving and I was absolutely blown away by it, I was completely entranced in in every way with its world and lore
@@pastfutureart my dad is the one really into anime in my family, he's in his 50s. (his interest mainly in scifi stuff ala Patlabor, Ghost in the Shell, Akira etc) The 80s-90s anime dorks are probably all pushing at least 40 if not older now.
Thank you for bringing up the scene with the old man helping D, every video I watch about Bloodlust doesn’t even bring it up. It has to be one of my favorite scenes in anime, I love the story of D and it adds so much to his story in just a few minutes.
In either the 4th or 5th book, D visits a grave on a thriving farm and a little kid sees him cry. As he leaves, it's revealed that it's the grave of Doris Lang
I think you’re thinking of a later one. In the 4th book (Tales of the Dead Town), D meets a doctor who knows Doris and Dan. The doctor even tried to establish a romantic relationship with Doris, but she turned him down because of her feeling for D
I think that’s a later book because I read the first 7 novels, I remember them fairly well and I don’t recall D shedding tears. Also, in the fourth book D meets a Doctor who knows Doris and he tells D that she and her brother are doing well, showing him a picture of them as proof. She’s not dead, at least not by that point.
I personally love Bloodlust more, mainly because it was the first of the two I saw. Over the last few years I've been collecting the books and as I've read them, it's made me wish more and more that someone would make a proper animated series of it. There's so much to explore, and I feel it would be very fitting to have it as a "monster of the week" style with an overarching plot throughout a season.
Lots of good memories. The ill guy is probably ecstatic when projecting his astral self because tha's the only time he's free, going from constantly in bed to flying, it's not "just cool" it actually makes a lot of sense.
Well that comment was about injecting fluids into a random guy so he can create a "magical"? astral projection that shoots lasers but each time weakens his body. Since there was no actual explanation why that can happen, it's just cool ya know the reaction he has could totally be for that reason or it could be because he's "doping up". It's left up in the air which is fine in a movie this tight really
@@Stevem Grove can astral project but in order to do so I imagine he needs to separate himself from his material body so in a rather crude way the Markus Brothers use drugs to stimulate his body into seizures which allows him to astral project it’s also why he dies at the end because nobody is around help him after his projection disappears and he returns to a body that’s just suffered a stroke hence why Leila is seen stabilizing him after D cuts his apparition at Barbaroi Most of this is from the Demon Deathchase novel so I won’t deny it can look strange to a person watching Bloodlust and the visual language not being enough to convey methodology of Groves abilities
Just randomly found this video. Excellent discussion. I watched Vampire Hunter D in the early 1990s on TNT, a cable network here in the US, at around 2 in the morning, and it blew me away. It was all of my favorite things coming together at once. I've followed Yoshitaka Amano's art work for years since. When I was in the military, I was stationed in Japan in the late 90s and went to see an exhibition of his artwork. How is it possible that D is not a major franchise character? He should have more movies and a decent video game. I understand he's a derivative character, but his world is unique and asks more questions than it answers. Thanks for the walk down nostalgia lane.
I think Bloodlust is one of the greatest anime achievements in history. The first film is merely a good B film. The way I like to describe the detail in Bloodlust (which is by the way the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life), is that it looks like every single frame has had people slaving over it for thousands of hours and it has probably destroyed thousands of households just because the animators, couldn't go home since they had to pour that many hours into ensuring that every single frame was commensurate to any painting that is held in the higheat of regards throughout human history. I still can't get over how beautiful Bloodlust looks.
Bloodlust is my favorite. The artwork and sense of style are incredible. I also really like its approach to lore. It's fascinating how the vampires are aliens and how it is normal for a vampire to have a rocket in their castle for traveling amongst the stars.
enjoyed the detailed discussion of the filmic elements immensely here. also just a great editing job with the audio and clip selection, even going so far as to put the editing in the foreground sometimes. that's an impressive feat to do on such a large video and on the tight scedule you are on at the moment!
Maaan Bloodlust is so cool. As soon as the movie ended it made me want more. And then we got Netflix Castelvania. Lets just say i was dissapointed lol.
Loved this as a kid. Most impressive is how it packs so much into just 80 minutes. So evocative and economical, well paced and uses tone and atmosphere brilliantly. And the 80s feel to it sends me back to another place. Believe this was the same director as the Fist of the North Star movie (which crammed in about 80 episodes worth of story into less than two hours). Very impressive
The beginning of this video with the discord dialing noise freaked me out so bad. I paused youtube and was trying to get my discord to show who had called, but I couldn't find the source! It was madness. Utter chaos. Other than making me think I had finally lost it, this video was great!
Excellent commentary. At the risk of being 'that person', I do need to say that Vampire Hunter D predates Castlevania, so it's the game franchise potentially borrowing from Kikuchi's novels and the '85 OVA, not the other way around. Rumor in the geek community has it that some of the aesthetics of the Castlevania Netflix series may have been inspired to some extent by Bloodlust, too, though it's not been confirmed. The two vampire franchises definitely look like they could share creative DNA.
Personally, I prefer the first movie as it better represents the setting of the far-distant future in its post-apocalyptic world whereas the second movie is essentially just a vampire movie with the standard trope of forbidden love and chase scenes. In terms of quality, well, Bloodlust was released 15 years after the first movie so needless to say, it has better production value. The stories of both are rather played out even at their time so that's not really a strong point but the action is great in both movies despite the first movie being made in 1985 and of lesser quality due to lack of technology and technique.
The 85 movie is cheaply made for a 80s anime movie. It's not about it being old. For example Akira, Wicked city, Patlabor movies and Char's counter attack all have way more detailed animation and have less cost cutting measures.
The first one is better. Nuff Said. The second is GORGEOUSLY animated, and I will give it that, but the first is less baroque and it's more of D's story. I also like the mutants portion better as it's a bit more creative, and overall, the second seems more like a "retelling" of the first without a lot of the elements that made the first so great, rather than adding anything to the story.
The first film changed a bit from the book. The mutants don't start working with the count they team up with him latter. Thats why there was all the back and forth. Also it was count lee that turned the doctor.
@@Stevem In the book the mutants dont start teamed up with lee they go after Dolores because she kills the witch in their group. They team up with Lee later after D shows up. Lee changes the doctor in to a vampire to break Dolores trust in the people around her. After the Doctor save her from him the night before.
I love bloodlust more. It's weaknesses for me was it had a few unanswered questions. Did Charlotte die or was she turned. Why would Leila cheer for them to make if she was dead? The last Barbaroi, the wolf, it seemed like the whole fight was cut. I still, loved it more
The best thing about Vampire Hunter D is that it avoids all the tropes of anime I hate.... Giggling girls with big eyes, weird goofy shit, and every other non-serious element that's in anime. Im very particular about what anime I like, it has to be completely serious the entire time, and there's only a handful that fulfill that... Vampire Hunter D, Ninja Scroll, Berserk, Wicked City.... I've tried to look for other anime as serious as these but have not been able to find any
First film over Bloodlust because it’s the closest adaptation to the novel it’s based on. Where as Bloodlust completely drifts away from its novel counterpart to include the Blood Countess,who really wasn’t needed, weaken the Marcus brothers, who’s fighting skills were extraordinary and put up a good fight against their foes,and took out the more tragic ending of Count Meyer Link and Charlotte in place of a more happier ending.
Soooo glad to see this review/criticism/talk about the two Vampire Hunter D movies! As a huge Amano fan, I could NOT WAIT for Bloodlust to come out. Even got my sister (who worked at a print/copy center) to make copies of screencaps that were in an anime magazine, so I could put them on my wall and/or in my 3-ring binder.
I like the stylization of 80s D. Yes they are often done as shortcuts or for budget reasons, but the ambiguity often adds an element of cool to the visuals imo.
Of the two, I prefer bloodlust because I prefer the main female fighter Lelia’s outfit. Dores’s outfit is too distracting because of how showy it is. If she wore an outfit similar to Lelia, I would like the movie more. This is just me, but as a woman, you can be a strong woman without giving fan service as long as your character has a balanced personality.
56:05 - How DARE you besmirch my giant hammer wielding bro! His Day of the Dead cross facepaint and giant stakehammer are, IMHO, pretty fun. I mean, c'mon, everyone who isn't a villager is rocking leather and spandex. In hot desert areas, swampy marsh areas, etc. We know practicality is out the window as soon was we have D's impossibly chafing outfit and magic hat of always stay on head. Just saying, the bros ain't anymore extra than anyone else. On the broader note: thank you both for this pretty dang cool video. Took me down memory lane for sure. Had both the VHS back in they day. In fact, when I got Bloodlust, both my buddy and I were late to high school because we stayed and watched that magnificent intro. Got us detention. No regrets. EDIT: Pardon, forgot. One note I think you both missed regarding the harshness of the world is that the vampires are DIRECTLY participating in making a shitehole for humans. They are called nobles because they set themselves up in a brutal feuadal-esque hierarchy with themselves at the top and humans wayyyy at the bottom. We are barely chattel to them. Meiyer Link (spelling?) might be saint vampire but even he had no qualms murdering the family and friends of the humans coming to save the presumably abducted lady. Hell, despite parts of the fluff saying he hadn't drained the blood of humans in the japanese version, there is an entire village of bloodsuckers left in his wake. And we dont see any other vampires around. In short, the people of this world are hardened for a reason. The reason the old man says "one way or the other" is because being a blood sucking parody of your former existence, where you will actively devour those you loved in life, is a VERY REAL nightmare scenario for the people of this world. He wants his daughter to have peace, one way or another. Same with the brothers. They might assholes, but they battle absolute monsters. They see horrors untold night after night. I'd be cheering a vampire burning, not to mention the one whose minions killed one of my closest amigos, and I sure as hell wouldn't miss a human traitor who desperately wanted to fang bang the undead and become another blood sucking abomination that preys upon humans. There was very well established reasons for the humans in this world to say "Fuck 'em" to vampires and vampire sympathizers.
"D" WAS MY INTRO TO ANIME!! OUR LOCAL PUBLIC ACCESS PERSON THAT WORKED 3RD SHIFT I'M GUESSING WAS TOLD TO JUST PLAY WHATEVER TO FILL TIME CUZ HE'D JUST PLAY RANDOM ANIME AT LIKE MIDNIGHT WHEN I WAS GROWING UP AND THIS WAS THE 1ST ANIME I'VE EVER SEEN!!!
I just finished my second watch of this video, I really like it a lot. Vampire Hunter D is often dismissed as just pulp and violence (and it's not UNtrue, but...), I'm glad you guys gave this an honest review, especially the world and setting that the story takes place in.
I finally got around to watching these again this Halloween season after a long time. The original still felt like a great time watching it like it was for me in the '90s when it was on TV, except now I can watch it in Japanese with subtitles. Bloodlust is interesting, because it does many things well, but also has me scratching my head in spots. Some of the digital stuff is jarring to me, but that's a matter of taste. Leaving that aside, I am glad to hear I'm not alone in questioning the way the film disposes of the green shapeshifter character(Caroline). They went through the trouble of having her survive D beheading her(very cool), which led me to believe she would be important. Then two minutes later, she's dead from a random lightning strike. And it's not like it accomplished anything because it doesn't make the character of Leila any better or more capable. My reaction there was "That was stupid." So Bloodlust is definitely more uneven than the original for me. On the flip side, when the old man revealed that he was one of the kids D saved decades earlier, I thought that was brilliant as others seem to think, so that was really well done.
Random note, but the evil cloud monsters that eat the sheep VH-D, always reminded me of the "Will-o-Wisps" from Castlevania. Maybe another inspiration!
1:09:00 I wouldn't describe the world as an "individualist society". I'd describe the world more akin to a very tribalist/in-group society that is constantly facing threats left, right and center. So if you aren't part of the in-group well then the level of trust plummets because the world painted by this movie is very brutal, rough and bleak. It's a world where humans are preyed upon so much that people have reverted to clustering around very close knit communities, and groups, which they trust implicitly because "stranger danger" is very much a real thing in this world. Especially if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time which can include areas that people would consider to be somewhat "safe". Hence why outsiders, especially a half-breed like D, are looked upon with supreme suspicion.
Yo, STEVEM... Have you read the origin of D’s world? In the preface for the first novel, it is described. Good stuff. Thanks for the coverage of this incredible character. The Japanese take on Vampires is Fantastic. Western creators should take note of the imagination used to pump these older characters to God levels of Goodness.
I loved "Vampire Hunter D" Absolutely loved it, even to this day. I saw it when I was 16 (it premiered on Sci-Fi, I want to say 1993?). Watching it, in its way was a rite of passage. It was provocative, it was unapologetically gory, at times it was campy as Hell. I know its style is different, as someone pointed out its predecessor "Bloodlust" is more baroque, and I just didn't gravitate to "baroque" (and mind you I saw the sequel when I was in my 20's). "Vampire Hunter D" blended in with the whole video gaming phase in a way. I might have had a fonder spot for "Bloodlust" if the original voice actors had come back, but I get it, it was its own vision, and I will watch it from time to time.
One of the interesting moments for me was when the Marcus Brothers make the squirrel metaphor. In english, he explains it as the squirrel gathering food for the winter, but gets caught by an owl. The squirrel’s last thought being “What a shame, what’s gonna happen to all that good food?” In japanese, it’s about a squirrel and a snake. The squirrel gathers food for the winter, but then the snake takes the opportunity to swallow both the squirrel and the food he gathered after all the hard work the squirrel did. The squirrel’s last thought ends up being “In my next life, I wanna be a snake!” I think the japanese version communicates a lot more clearly the opportunistic ideas the Marcus Brothers had in using D to further their goals in getting to Charlotte first. Basically, having D do a lot of the heavy lifting in killing the most dangerous threats ahead, then swooping in to grab Charlotte without having to endanger themselves. I think there’s also a bit of an interesting imagery of the squirrel wanting to be a snake in it’s next life. It’s fitting that Borgoff ends up getting killed by Carmila, and becomes a “snake” himself, fangs and all. Overall, I felt like the japanese script ended up being more enjoyable because of it’s clarity in the dialogue and execution. The english version felt they were trying a bit to hard to punch up the script in that very typical “americanized” way? It ends up feeling a touch forced and contrived.
I loved this video, but there was one huge detail missing from your breakdown of the movies. 'Vampire Hunter D.', the first movie, is essentially a re-imagining of the 1953 western 'Shane.' If you've never seen it and you're interested its worth checking out. After understanding that, the wild west imagery in the stories starts to make a lot more sense. The first movie is like an anime homage to Shane an the wild west.
Love the elongated male characters and bubble head big baby faced female characters in the first one. The second one featured some ground breaking art and animation. Especially on the stage couch fight scene.
I'm going to have to go with the 1985 original because it's the version that I knew off first and I just love it's 80's style about it of that era here. Without "D" there would be no "Bloodlust" but each to their own here...
At 41:50...thank you! I nearly forgot about that scene in Bloodlust. Now I wish Bloodlust had a prequel, where we could actually see that event happen!
I remember watching this on the sci Fi channel as a kid. The mutant reminded me a lot of Sting's character from Dune and that sub rivalry between the main character and a charismatic subordinate.
I think the first movie is fine in that it follows the book pretty closely and doesn't stray from the source much at all which is fine except when it leaves some world building out and leaves the view a little confused Bloodlust is good in that the world feels more fleshed out because it doesn't glue itself to the book
LOL, I watched both of these movies two days ago. Bloodlust is outstanding, the scene in which D buys the horse and the old man revealed that personal backstory and backed him up was really touching. Apart from Tenshi no Tamago, do you know any other anime with character designs by Yoshitaka Amano?
lots of early tatsunoko shows, then things like 1001 Nights (1999) , Gibiate, Amon Saga etc not all adaptations of his designs are equal Angels Egg's still the best
Had the first one on VHS back in the day. One of my first Anime along with, Akira, Fist of The North Star, Ninjas of The Magic Wind( Ninja Scroll), and Golgo 13: The Professional. I didn’t see Bloodlust until quite some time later. The first one has such a nostalgic feel to it. My second motion picture anime. It holds a great deal of sentimental value to me.
"This hatred won't leave me after I die. It will even follow me into the afterlife. If you think that's something to be sad about, put a flower on my grave." That's the main reason I love Bloodlust more. It's just such good writing that uses moods more than a lot of dialog.
Whilst Bloodlust is much more visually appealing as far as the animation goes I would have to say the first one has a darker grittier feeling to it. I enjoy them both immensely but I lean towards the first as best, just my opinion.
Can I ask where you got the footage for Bloodlust? I'm thinking of buying the bluray, but it's 70 bucks. I got the torrent of the bluray to see how the image quality was before buying, and the colors were very washed out, but I dunno if it's the bluray or just the rip that looks like that.
Grand video. You've got some good analytical skills. I've only seen bloodlust. The hand is indeed annoying and undercuts the drama. Visuals and imagination is fantastic in that film.
I love both versions. There's no debate with me. Great movies. Total masterpieces. I can't give which one is better I love both equally but for different reasons.
What helped Lia in going a to a normal life is the brothers being killed off, Shelia could also being tricked into loving the Vampire who is so lonely he might not know he's tricking her?
there's some stuff like that as i said camilla's naked blood body and the shapeshifter but overall its more mature in terms of fan service, but there's plenty of other stuff which makes bloodlust great
@@Stevem of course, the animation, music etc are more than awesome, but no matter how great an anime is I simply can't watch it if its full of porn scenes and unnecessary violence, in my humble opinion.
In terms of animation quality, depth of story and world building, Bloodlust is objectively a better film. But you can't really deny the lo fi charm of the original, which is in some ways helped by the reduced scope of the setting and story. And while it's not anime, a worthy addition to the doomed romance of vampirism is the 90's TV show Forever Knight, which hits a lot of the same beats.
1985 is best because its world building was superior. It felt lived in. All the characters are similar enough between the two movies but the atmosphere is just better in the first.
Best vampire? Not sure he technically really is one, but he sure convinced himself enough... Nicholas Cage in Vampire's Kiss. No I am being serious... ... And please don't call me Shirley.
I remember watching the 1985 film on VHS in 1994 or so when I was about 11. I loved it, I loved Transformers and such so I was familiar with Japanese animation, but it was like nothing I'd ever seen before. You guys make me feel old though! DVD? Lol...
While I like the story of the first novel/movie best I like the animation/visuals and voice acting of the Bloodlust movie better. (I prefer how the story plays out in the 3rd novel better than Bloodlust though.) But they’re both great in their own ways. In the novel & manga Count Magnus Lee’s daughter Larmika is a pureblood. For some reason the anime, or at least the English version to my knowledge, said she a was a dhampir. Never understood why. I always thought Alucard’s character in the Castlevania games was heavily D inspired, they’re just too alike. (Just like how in the books where it’s always describing D’s beautiful appearance the Castlevania games do that with Alucard.)
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SOURCES
Vampire Hunter D
Fist of The Northstar
Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust
Horror of Dracula
Dracula Prince of Darkness
Die Nibelungen
1001 Nights (1999)
www.awn.com/animationworld/vampire-hunter-d-comes-america
www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2015-10-30/the-resurrection-of-vampire-hunter-d-part-ii-yoshiaki-kawajiri/.94823
www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2015-10-30/the-resurrection-of-vampire-hunter-d-part-i-hideyuki-kikuchi/.94794
www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2015-10-30/the-resurrection-of-vampire-hunter-d-part-ii-yoshiaki-kawajiri/.94823
bloody-disgusting.com/interviews/3356919/hideyuki-kikuchi-talks-upcoming-cgi-vampire-hunter-d/
www.matrixfans.net/the-animatrix/world-record/interview-with-writer-yoshiaki-kawajiri/
ruclips.net/video/wL5TYcUw1P8/видео.html
Bloodlust
ruclips.net/video/WLTRiruh3jw/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/kx7ROrWIZf4/видео.html
www.animenewsnetwork.com/convention/2012/sakura-con/4
cartoonresearch.com/index.php/streamline-pictures-part-15-vampire-hunter-d/
Thanks for always making an effort to site your sources and references. I can respect a youtuber 10x more when they do that.
The Vampire Hunter D (1985) dub you show clips of in this Video has completely different voices than the dub I had when I was a kid on VHS and have now (I'm in America). I think the voice acting in the American dub I have is a lot better, in fact the dub you're showing clips of seems really bad
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust always blows me away with how impressive the animation and attention to detail there is. It's in my top favorite anime films for sure.
Same
1000% agree same goes to NGE
They just stare at each other and talk, though. 🤭
I would love a Witcher type game for the Vampire Hunter D Universe.
D has a lack of games set in the universe for sure
Yessss
Toss a coin to your dhampire....
Know anyone with game experience. I also really love the manga more with the art.
The universe needs a proper comeback
I was in my Bloodborne maniacally state about 2/3 years ago. Bloodlust was on DVD originally owned by my brother in law, he would let me and my wife keep it.
The night my wife and I watched it we both loved it so much. There is no doubt in my mind that Bloodborne did take some influence from D I mean he really looks like a Yharnam hunter.
Edit- Fun fact; That story the old man told the cops, the story about D saving children from vampires and then being banished as a reward. That is literally the second novel of the Hunter D book series.
now that's very cool
Check out Angel's Egg; it's one of the anime movies that strongly influenced Dark Souls and Bloodborne
@@LinkageAX Thanks for telling me about this. Definitely gonna check it out
Check out Brotherhood of the Wolf, it's a 2001 film, it heavily inspired Bloodborne and literally has the whip cane weapon and the Yharnam Hunter set.
Bro my grandpa JUST showed me bloodlust this past thanksgiving and I was absolutely blown away by it, I was completely entranced in in every way with its world and lore
that's very coool , based grandpa
jfc how old is your grandpa?
You have a very cool grandfather.
@@pastfutureart my dad is the one really into anime in my family, he's in his 50s. (his interest mainly in scifi stuff ala Patlabor, Ghost in the Shell, Akira etc) The 80s-90s anime dorks are probably all pushing at least 40 if not older now.
@@dndboy13 I can relate, as I am in that bracket. But man, you gotta be young if your granddad is the one showing Bloodlust to you -- just sayin'.
Thank you for bringing up the scene with the old man helping D, every video I watch about Bloodlust doesn’t even bring it up. It has to be one of my favorite scenes in anime, I love the story of D and it adds so much to his story in just a few minutes.
In either the 4th or 5th book, D visits a grave on a thriving farm and a little kid sees him cry.
As he leaves, it's revealed that it's the grave of Doris Lang
I think you’re thinking of a later one. In the 4th book (Tales of the Dead Town), D meets a doctor who knows Doris and Dan. The doctor even tried to establish a romantic relationship with Doris, but she turned him down because of her feeling for D
I think that’s a later book because I read the first 7 novels, I remember them fairly well and I don’t recall D shedding tears.
Also, in the fourth book D meets a Doctor who knows Doris and he tells D that she and her brother are doing well, showing him a picture of them as proof. She’s not dead, at least not by that point.
I personally love Bloodlust more, mainly because it was the first of the two I saw.
Over the last few years I've been collecting the books and as I've read them, it's made me wish more and more that someone would make a proper animated series of it. There's so much to explore, and I feel it would be very fitting to have it as a "monster of the week" style with an overarching plot throughout a season.
Lots of good memories. The ill guy is probably ecstatic when projecting his astral self because tha's the only time he's free, going from constantly in bed to flying, it's not "just cool" it actually makes a lot of sense.
Well that comment was about injecting fluids into a random guy so he can create a "magical"? astral projection that shoots lasers but each time weakens his body. Since there was no actual explanation why that can happen, it's just cool ya know the reaction he has could totally be for that reason or it could be because he's "doping up". It's left up in the air which is fine in a movie this tight really
@@Stevem Grove can astral project but in order to do so I imagine he needs to separate himself from his material body so in a rather crude way the Markus Brothers use drugs to stimulate his body into seizures which allows him to astral project it’s also why he dies at the end because nobody is around help him after his projection disappears and he returns to a body that’s just suffered a stroke hence why Leila is seen stabilizing him after D cuts his apparition at Barbaroi
Most of this is from the Demon Deathchase novel so I won’t deny it can look strange to a person watching Bloodlust and the visual language not being enough to convey methodology of Groves abilities
Both of you are incredibly well-spoken, and your chemistry elevates this commentary of D above every other. This was a gorgeous watch.
thank you :)
Just randomly found this video. Excellent discussion.
I watched Vampire Hunter D in the early 1990s on TNT, a cable network here in the US, at around 2 in the morning, and it blew me away. It was all of my favorite things coming together at once.
I've followed Yoshitaka Amano's art work for years since. When I was in the military, I was stationed in Japan in the late 90s and went to see an exhibition of his artwork.
How is it possible that D is not a major franchise character? He should have more movies and a decent video game. I understand he's a derivative character, but his world is unique and asks more questions than it answers.
Thanks for the walk down nostalgia lane.
No probs :)
I'd love to see an Amano exhibition myself
It does really well in japan so many novella's , hopefully tv show in the future
I KNEW it was TNT I saw it first on! I remember it vividly. It was my first time seeing anime
"Is....is there a lore to it?" made me laugh way too hard.
Bloodlust is too beautiful. No contest.
Nothing happens in it, though. 🤭 And the non-Japanese OST is just terrible.
I think Bloodlust is one of the greatest anime achievements in history. The first film is merely a good B film.
The way I like to describe the detail in Bloodlust (which is by the way the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life), is that it looks like every single frame has had people slaving over it for thousands of hours and it has probably destroyed thousands of households just because the animators, couldn't go home since they had to pour that many hours into ensuring that every single frame was commensurate to any painting that is held in the higheat of regards throughout human history. I still can't get over how beautiful Bloodlust looks.
WHICH IS BETTER VAMPIRE HUNTER D(1985) OR VAMPIRE HUNTER BLOODLUST (2000)
Bloodlust is my favorite. The artwork and sense of style are incredible. I also really like its approach to lore. It's fascinating how the vampires are aliens and how it is normal for a vampire to have a rocket in their castle for traveling amongst the stars.
I really didn't like the first but Bloodlust is divine.
Bloodlust babyyyy!
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. Artstyle, locations, music and characters win out.
All about the 85 version babyyyyy!!!
enjoyed the detailed discussion of the filmic elements immensely here.
also just a great editing job with the audio and clip selection, even going so far as to put the editing in the foreground sometimes. that's an impressive feat to do on such a large video and on the tight scedule you are on at the moment!
just flexing but now im out of good video juice for the month
Maaan Bloodlust is so cool.
As soon as the movie ended it made me want more. And then we got Netflix Castelvania.
Lets just say i was dissapointed lol.
maybe one day we'll get more D
Same.
I think the art of Bloodlust elevates it so high for me that it's probably my favorite anime film. It's so good!!!
I love Vampire D so completely enjoyed this conversation.
Loved this as a kid. Most impressive is how it packs so much into just 80 minutes. So evocative and economical, well paced and uses tone and atmosphere brilliantly. And the 80s feel to it sends me back to another place.
Believe this was the same director as the Fist of the North Star movie (which crammed in about 80 episodes worth of story into less than two hours). Very impressive
Big connection with spaghetti westerns and Kurosawa films
The beginning of this video with the discord dialing noise freaked me out so bad.
I paused youtube and was trying to get my discord to show who had called, but I couldn't find the source! It was madness. Utter chaos.
Other than making me think I had finally lost it, this video was great!
Lol gottem
Excellent commentary.
At the risk of being 'that person', I do need to say that Vampire Hunter D predates Castlevania, so it's the game franchise potentially borrowing from Kikuchi's novels and the '85 OVA, not the other way around. Rumor in the geek community has it that some of the aesthetics of the Castlevania Netflix series may have been inspired to some extent by Bloodlust, too, though it's not been confirmed. The two vampire franchises definitely look like they could share creative DNA.
Asking questions like this is criminal. They're both masterpieces!
Personally, I prefer the first movie as it better represents the setting of the far-distant future in its post-apocalyptic world whereas the second movie is essentially just a vampire movie with the standard trope of forbidden love and chase scenes.
In terms of quality, well, Bloodlust was released 15 years after the first movie so needless to say, it has better production value. The stories of both are rather played out even at their time so that's not really a strong point but the action is great in both movies despite the first movie being made in 1985 and of lesser quality due to lack of technology and technique.
The 85 movie is cheaply made for a 80s anime movie. It's not about it being old. For example Akira, Wicked city, Patlabor movies and Char's counter attack all have way more detailed animation and have less cost cutting measures.
The first one is better. Nuff Said.
The second is GORGEOUSLY animated, and I will give it that, but the first is less baroque and it's more of D's story. I also like the mutants portion better as it's a bit more creative, and overall, the second seems more like a "retelling" of the first without a lot of the elements that made the first so great, rather than adding anything to the story.
Bloodlust is boring beyond belief. They just look at each other and talk, there's not even any violence.
The first film changed a bit from the book. The mutants don't start working with the count they team up with him latter. Thats why there was all the back and forth. Also it was count lee that turned the doctor.
as in the book or the film
@@Stevem In the book the mutants dont start teamed up with lee they go after Dolores because she kills the witch in their group. They team up with Lee later after D shows up.
Lee changes the doctor in to a vampire to break Dolores trust in the people around her. After the Doctor save her from him the night before.
Bloodlust is probably better, certainly better animation. Both are kinda flawed to be honest. They're fun though.
The Novel is still ongoing so giving a satisfying story with ending in a Movie was pretty hard for them
Try The Castlevania Show on Netflix it's almost the same universe
What flaws?
@@maverickslastoddworld6476 Did you skip the ending to Bloodlust? That rocket scene was hilariously bad and tonally jarring af.
I love bloodlust more. It's weaknesses for me was it had a few unanswered questions. Did Charlotte die or was she turned. Why would Leila cheer for them to make if she was dead? The last Barbaroi, the wolf, it seemed like the whole fight was cut. I still, loved it more
That's weird, I didn't expect to manly cry at the end of Bloodlust.
I think D's left hand in bloodlust is a pretty good comic-relief character in my opinion.
Just watched Bloodlust a year ago.
its goooood
Bloodlust is one of the beautiful films ever. It’s in my top 10 films of all time. A masterpiece
“At an older persons house”?!?!? I feel very attacked
The best thing about Vampire Hunter D is that it avoids all the tropes of anime I hate.... Giggling girls with big eyes, weird goofy shit, and every other non-serious element that's in anime. Im very particular about what anime I like, it has to be completely serious the entire time, and there's only a handful that fulfill that... Vampire Hunter D, Ninja Scroll, Berserk, Wicked City.... I've tried to look for other anime as serious as these but have not been able to find any
Good video and good cat! xDD
First film over Bloodlust because it’s the closest adaptation to the novel it’s based on. Where as Bloodlust completely drifts away from its novel counterpart to include the Blood Countess,who really wasn’t needed, weaken the Marcus brothers, who’s fighting skills were extraordinary and put up a good fight against their foes,and took out the more tragic ending of Count Meyer Link and Charlotte in place of a more happier ending.
I first saw VHD in the mid 90s. It has a quality to it that I find myself continuously searching for.
It's the dramatic shading. 😬 The way the shadows were designed is frightening and disturbing.
Soooo glad to see this review/criticism/talk about the two Vampire Hunter D movies! As a huge Amano fan, I could NOT WAIT for Bloodlust to come out. Even got my sister (who worked at a print/copy center) to make copies of screencaps that were in an anime magazine, so I could put them on my wall and/or in my 3-ring binder.
I like the stylization of 80s D. Yes they are often done as shortcuts or for budget reasons, but the ambiguity often adds an element of cool to the visuals imo.
Both are great but I prefer the original. Love 80s anime and the character designs, coloring, music etc of that era.
Of the two, I prefer bloodlust because I prefer the main female fighter Lelia’s outfit. Dores’s outfit is too distracting because of how showy it is. If she wore an outfit similar to Lelia, I would like the movie more. This is just me, but as a woman, you can be a strong woman without giving fan service as long as your character has a balanced personality.
56:05 - How DARE you besmirch my giant hammer wielding bro! His Day of the Dead cross facepaint and giant stakehammer are, IMHO, pretty fun. I mean, c'mon, everyone who isn't a villager is rocking leather and spandex. In hot desert areas, swampy marsh areas, etc. We know practicality is out the window as soon was we have D's impossibly chafing outfit and magic hat of always stay on head. Just saying, the bros ain't anymore extra than anyone else.
On the broader note: thank you both for this pretty dang cool video. Took me down memory lane for sure. Had both the VHS back in they day. In fact, when I got Bloodlust, both my buddy and I were late to high school because we stayed and watched that magnificent intro. Got us detention. No regrets.
EDIT: Pardon, forgot. One note I think you both missed regarding the harshness of the world is that the vampires are DIRECTLY participating in making a shitehole for humans. They are called nobles because they set themselves up in a brutal feuadal-esque hierarchy with themselves at the top and humans wayyyy at the bottom. We are barely chattel to them.
Meiyer Link (spelling?) might be saint vampire but even he had no qualms murdering the family and friends of the humans coming to save the presumably abducted lady. Hell, despite parts of the fluff saying he hadn't drained the blood of humans in the japanese version, there is an entire village of bloodsuckers left in his wake. And we dont see any other vampires around.
In short, the people of this world are hardened for a reason. The reason the old man says "one way or the other" is because being a blood sucking parody of your former existence, where you will actively devour those you loved in life, is a VERY REAL nightmare scenario for the people of this world. He wants his daughter to have peace, one way or another.
Same with the brothers. They might assholes, but they battle absolute monsters. They see horrors untold night after night. I'd be cheering a vampire burning, not to mention the one whose minions killed one of my closest amigos, and I sure as hell wouldn't miss a human traitor who desperately wanted to fang bang the undead and become another blood sucking abomination that preys upon humans.
There was very well established reasons for the humans in this world to say "Fuck 'em" to vampires and vampire sympathizers.
Personally I don't feel like the Fox guy comments add much to the overall video. Still superb video thanks !!!
this video is a conversation so it wouldn't have happened without that "Fox guy"
These are 2 of my favorite anime’s movies of all time. The world they build is exceptional. I don’t know why there aren’t more of these.
"D" WAS MY INTRO TO ANIME!!
OUR LOCAL PUBLIC ACCESS PERSON THAT WORKED 3RD SHIFT I'M GUESSING WAS TOLD TO JUST PLAY WHATEVER TO FILL TIME CUZ HE'D JUST PLAY RANDOM ANIME AT LIKE MIDNIGHT WHEN I WAS GROWING UP AND THIS WAS THE 1ST ANIME I'VE EVER SEEN!!!
I just finished my second watch of this video, I really like it a lot. Vampire Hunter D is often dismissed as just pulp and violence (and it's not UNtrue, but...), I'm glad you guys gave this an honest review, especially the world and setting that the story takes place in.
I finally got around to watching these again this Halloween season after a long time. The original still felt like a great time watching it like it was for me in the '90s when it was on TV, except now I can watch it in Japanese with subtitles. Bloodlust is interesting, because it does many things well, but also has me scratching my head in spots. Some of the digital stuff is jarring to me, but that's a matter of taste. Leaving that aside, I am glad to hear I'm not alone in questioning the way the film disposes of the green shapeshifter character(Caroline). They went through the trouble of having her survive D beheading her(very cool), which led me to believe she would be important. Then two minutes later, she's dead from a random lightning strike. And it's not like it accomplished anything because it doesn't make the character of Leila any better or more capable. My reaction there was "That was stupid." So Bloodlust is definitely more uneven than the original for me. On the flip side, when the old man revealed that he was one of the kids D saved decades earlier, I thought that was brilliant as others seem to think, so that was really well done.
Truly, the best Vampire Hunter D Film, is us talking about Vampire Hunter D Films for an Hour and 24 minutes.
TRUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeee
I know the history of the Netflix Castlevanaia but I still won't forgive them for not getting Kawajiri to head up that project.
Man you channel is so good you are like a wikipedia for anime lol
Random note, but the evil cloud monsters that eat the sheep VH-D, always reminded me of the "Will-o-Wisps" from Castlevania. Maybe another inspiration!
Highly underrated channel
1:09:00
I wouldn't describe the world as an "individualist society". I'd describe the world more akin to a very tribalist/in-group society that is constantly facing threats left, right and center. So if you aren't part of the in-group well then the level of trust plummets because the world painted by this movie is very brutal, rough and bleak. It's a world where humans are preyed upon so much that people have reverted to clustering around very close knit communities, and groups, which they trust implicitly because "stranger danger" is very much a real thing in this world. Especially if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time which can include areas that people would consider to be somewhat "safe". Hence why outsiders, especially a half-breed like D, are looked upon with supreme suspicion.
To save everyone an hour and a half of video: the books are the best.
I dont mind about the hand much in English . But, I could say that Japanese version had much more calmer tone than in English.
this is indeed true although the japanese dub was never released outside japan
@@Stevem I think someone uploaded the Japanese version to RUclips a while back, along with both English versions.
i remember watching this when i was like 9 years old change everything for me been a fan of anime since then
Yo, STEVEM... Have you read the origin of D’s world? In the preface for the first novel, it is described. Good stuff.
Thanks for the coverage of this incredible character. The Japanese take on Vampires is Fantastic. Western creators should take note of the imagination used to pump these older characters to God levels of Goodness.
I loved "Vampire Hunter D" Absolutely loved it, even to this day. I saw it when I was 16 (it premiered on Sci-Fi, I want to say 1993?). Watching it, in its way was a rite of passage. It was provocative, it was unapologetically gory, at times it was campy as Hell. I know its style is different, as someone pointed out its predecessor "Bloodlust" is more baroque, and I just didn't gravitate to "baroque" (and mind you I saw the sequel when I was in my 20's). "Vampire Hunter D" blended in with the whole video gaming phase in a way. I might have had a fonder spot for "Bloodlust" if the original voice actors had come back, but I get it, it was its own vision, and I will watch it from time to time.
The Japanese dub for Bloodlust is so much better. Not only is the left hand much less annoying, but in general the dialogue makes much more sense.
One of the interesting moments for me was when the Marcus Brothers make the squirrel metaphor.
In english, he explains it as the squirrel gathering food for the winter, but gets caught by an owl. The squirrel’s last thought being “What a shame, what’s gonna happen to all that good food?”
In japanese, it’s about a squirrel and a snake. The squirrel gathers food for the winter, but then the snake takes the opportunity to swallow both the squirrel and the food he gathered after all the hard work the squirrel did. The squirrel’s last thought ends up being “In my next life, I wanna be a snake!”
I think the japanese version communicates a lot more clearly the opportunistic ideas the Marcus Brothers had in using D to further their goals in getting to Charlotte first. Basically, having D do a lot of the heavy lifting in killing the most dangerous threats ahead, then swooping in to grab Charlotte without having to endanger themselves.
I think there’s also a bit of an interesting imagery of the squirrel wanting to be a snake in it’s next life. It’s fitting that Borgoff ends up getting killed by Carmila, and becomes a “snake” himself, fangs and all.
Overall, I felt like the japanese script ended up being more enjoyable because of it’s clarity in the dialogue and execution. The english version felt they were trying a bit to hard to punch up the script in that very typical “americanized” way? It ends up feeling a touch forced and contrived.
I loved this video, but there was one huge detail missing from your breakdown of the movies. 'Vampire Hunter D.', the first movie, is essentially a re-imagining of the 1953 western 'Shane.' If you've never seen it and you're interested its worth checking out. After understanding that, the wild west imagery in the stories starts to make a lot more sense. The first movie is like an anime homage to Shane an the wild west.
Love the elongated male characters and bubble head big baby faced female characters in the first one. The second one featured some ground breaking art and animation. Especially on the stage couch fight scene.
I'm going to have to go with the 1985 original because it's the version that I knew off first and I just love it's 80's style about it of that era here. Without "D" there would be no "Bloodlust" but each to their own here...
bloodlust looks great just like anything from Madhouse does, but it lacks the atmosphere of the original IMO, especially in regards to the soundtrack.
Not only the OST, but the way the shadows and dark colors are used in the original is *extremely* evocative. Bloodlust has nothing on that.
At 41:50...thank you! I nearly forgot about that scene in Bloodlust. Now I wish Bloodlust had a prequel, where we could actually see that event happen!
I love the Demon hand 🙏
I remember watching this on the sci Fi channel as a kid. The mutant reminded me a lot of Sting's character from Dune and that sub rivalry between the main character and a charismatic subordinate.
I think the first movie is fine in that it follows the book pretty closely and doesn't stray from the source much at all which is fine except when it leaves some world building out and leaves the view a little confused
Bloodlust is good in that the world feels more fleshed out because it doesn't glue itself to the book
This movie and Ninja scroll my favorite of the 80's, then Ghost In The Shell. My favorite 80's vampire game is Legacy Of Kain: Soul Reavor.
I love Bloodlust is one of my fav piece of media of all times :)
One looks like a Hanna-Barbera cartoon and the other holds its own against animated spectacles like Akira and Redline.
bloodlust has the most beautiful art and animation i have ever laid as on in an anime
LOL, I watched both of these movies two days ago. Bloodlust is outstanding, the scene in which D buys the horse and the old man revealed that personal backstory and backed him up was really touching. Apart from Tenshi no Tamago, do you know any other anime with character designs by Yoshitaka Amano?
lots of early tatsunoko shows, then things like 1001 Nights (1999) , Gibiate, Amon Saga etc
not all adaptations of his designs are equal Angels Egg's still the best
Why were there two moons? I've read the books and they are set on Earth as far as I remember.
Had the first one on VHS back in the day. One of my first Anime along with, Akira, Fist of The North Star, Ninjas of The Magic Wind( Ninja Scroll), and Golgo 13: The Professional. I didn’t see Bloodlust until quite some time later. The first one has such a nostalgic feel to it. My second motion picture anime. It holds a great deal of sentimental value to me.
"This hatred won't leave me after I die. It will even follow me into the afterlife. If you think that's something to be sad about, put a flower on my grave."
That's the main reason I love Bloodlust more. It's just such good writing that uses moods more than a lot of dialog.
Whilst Bloodlust is much more visually appealing as far as the animation goes I would have to say the first one has a darker grittier feeling to it. I enjoy them both immensely but I lean towards the first as best, just my opinion.
Can I ask where you got the footage for Bloodlust? I'm thinking of buying the bluray, but it's 70 bucks. I got the torrent of the bluray to see how the image quality was before buying, and the colors were very washed out, but I dunno if it's the bluray or just the rip that looks like that.
mines from a rip ive heard mixed things about the blurays from my country so i never bought it, it also didnt come with the JP audio
All Underworld films were made after Bloodlust so that doesn´t track.
Grand video. You've got some good analytical skills. I've only seen bloodlust. The hand is indeed annoying and undercuts the drama. Visuals and imagination is fantastic in that film.
try it in japanese he's a lot more subtle in there
Bloodlust. Now and Forever.
imagine a vampire hunter d video game that plays like castlevania
I love both versions. There's no debate with me. Great movies. Total masterpieces. I can't give which one is better I love both equally but for different reasons.
"That's my purse! I don't know you!!!"
*kicks D in the crotch*
well my pick for best is Vampire Assassin
YOU’RE THE DEVIL’S SON!!!!
I wish the OG dub would be on the blu ray it's the only way to watch it
What helped Lia in going a to a normal life is the brothers being killed off, Shelia could also being tricked into loving the Vampire who is so lonely he might not know he's tricking her?
Personally, I believe the lack of porn bullshit is what made Bloodlust an alltime classic masterpiece. Just sayin'.
there's some stuff like that as i said camilla's naked blood body and the shapeshifter but overall its more mature in terms of fan service, but there's plenty of other stuff which makes bloodlust great
@@Stevem of course, the animation, music etc are more than awesome, but no matter how great an anime is I simply can't watch it if its full of porn scenes and unnecessary violence, in my humble opinion.
@@marylab7101 that's fair , bloodlust is the most pulled back of kawajiris main movies for sure
both? both
Bloodlust is a true animation masterpiece. The atmosphere and world-building is entirely unique.
In terms of animation quality, depth of story and world building, Bloodlust is objectively a better film.
But you can't really deny the lo fi charm of the original, which is in some ways helped by the reduced scope of the setting and story.
And while it's not anime, a worthy addition to the doomed romance of vampirism is the 90's TV show Forever Knight, which hits a lot of the same beats.
Bloodlust is one of the greatest anime films ever made period. MASTERPIECE.
Started this thinking it was 13 minutes... sat through the whole thing because I like Vampire Hunter D
1985 is best because its world building was superior. It felt lived in. All the characters are similar enough between the two movies but the atmosphere is just better in the first.
Initial d is my favourite drifting vampire hunter.
Best vampire?
Not sure he technically really is one, but he sure convinced himself enough... Nicholas Cage in Vampire's Kiss.
No I am being serious...
... And please don't call me Shirley.
vampire kiss is something else
Hell , you can't just make me choose like that!
Also not for the first time (or I imagine the last) that thumbnail is beautiful
might be the first mention so far of the thumbnail!
I remember watching the 1985 film on VHS in 1994 or so when I was about 11. I loved it, I loved Transformers and such so I was familiar with Japanese animation, but it was like nothing I'd ever seen before. You guys make me feel old though! DVD? Lol...
Did the video's title change? (to the more popular, but inferior one? just guessing ;-))
I changed it to something which i thought described the video better since the original title was popping off or anything
MADHOUSE PLAYLIST
ruclips.net/p/PLyhSewr7iiMRliPUR6qKRYED0WV7QsMIo
While I like the story of the first novel/movie best I like the animation/visuals and voice acting of the Bloodlust movie better.
(I prefer how the story plays out in the 3rd novel better than Bloodlust though.)
But they’re both great in their own ways.
In the novel & manga Count Magnus Lee’s daughter Larmika is a pureblood.
For some reason the anime, or at least the English version to my knowledge, said she a was a dhampir. Never understood why.
I always thought Alucard’s character in the Castlevania games was heavily D inspired, they’re just too alike.
(Just like how in the books where it’s always describing D’s beautiful appearance the Castlevania games do that with Alucard.)