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TechnoTV - Vampire Hunter D - Bloodlust
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List Price: $29.95
Our Price: $15.25
Your Save: $ 14.70 ( 49% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Urban Vision
Directed By: Yoshiaki Kawajiri
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9781890603939
Format: Anamorphic
ISBN: 1890603937
Label: Urban Vision
Manufacturer: Urban Vision
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Urban Vision
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2002-02-12
Running Time: 105
Studio: Urban Vision
Theatrical Release Date: 2001-09-28
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: One of the few new anime films i actually enjoyed
Comment: Theres been a lot of anime films i wanted to watch, and unfortunatly they never seem to keep my interest, even ones that are suppost to be real good, and i watch it, and its just boring.
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, kept me attentive. From the great animation, and decent performances from the voice actors, i was impressed by how it all unfolded. Though i have yet to see the the first film ( the orginal strangly enough bored me and i couldnt watch it for long, but after seeing this i'll watch the first one)
This was made by the man that brought us Ninja Scroll, and i cant think of anyone more appropriate to helm such a story as this. His style and direction suits a vampire tale so well i think. From the gothic atmosphere to the bloody and violent moments, Yoshiaki Kawajiri does a fine job.
The main character, D, isnt annoying, thank God, he has a stoic way about him and some personality. The only thing about him that is at all irritating is probubly the parasitic friend he has on the palm of his hand, who helps him out and situations and cracks cheesy one liners, but thats easily over looked, becouse he isnt all that dumb.
The enemies in the film are interesting, they all have their own special powers ( reminiscent of Ninja Scrolls eight devils) but they are not as impressive or likable ). And the competition D has with finding a kidnapped girl, a band of mercenaries, they are hunters that kill vampires and collect money, being payed to find a girl that Baron Meier Link swept away in the night. Those guys are alright, and the leader of the group, Bargoff, is a pretty decent voice actor.
Out of all the villians though, the Baron is puts on the best performance in voice acting and how his character was done. Though i wish i saw more of the Camilla character, who appears now and then, behind the scenes of things.
This film is kinda straight forward, theres not much intrigue, not much twists, but theres enough adventure and action and fine animation. The animation is some of the best ive seen in modern anime films. I just love the style. Lots of rich elaborate detail and exquisite art, especially when we entering the castle where the girl is held captive. From stairways, to melting candles....and bats lol.
The remember the music was pretty good. Like your in a haunted grave yard, or haunted castle. If your at fimilar with the castelvania games, sometimes it reminds you of that type of music. Its inspired and sets a very urgent and creepy mood to the film.
One little thing to point out here, is that the girl that was kidnapped, Charlotte, is voiced by Wendee Lee, who had also voiced the ninja girl in Ninja Scroll, so it was nice to hear her in this, she has a strong experienced voice and does a good job.
All in all the movie was good, i found little fault in it, and it kept me involved in the story all the way though. It might even end up becoming a regular movie ill watch for the Halloween season, joining Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, Anne Rices Interview With The Vampire , among others, as a halloween tradition.
So ya, i enjoyed this movie, it felt like Castlevania, it was pretty cool. Id like to see more quality work from Yoshiaki Kawajiri.
Definatly worth watching on Halloween!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Spaghetti Western Vampire Anime
Comment: I had never encountered Vampire Hunter D before watching this movie and I found myself enthralled by the sophisticated animation. The plot kept reminding me of the spaghetti westerns that my father used to love.
Somewhere in a future dystrophic world, a rich rancher's daughter was kidnapped by a vampire. An iconic figure in black is summoned to either rescue her, or if she has been turned, kill her. But there is also a second party of people competing for the reward, a group of siblings who are traveling in an armored vehicle.
Between bursts of extreme violence and action shots that remind me of high quality video game moves, the viewer learns a little bit about the stranger D, who either ages very slowly or not at all, and has to struggle against a craving for blood. The chatty parasite attached to his hand actually provides comic relief and some of the back ground information.
This is highly recommended as both animation and plot.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Really got to know D, here...
Comment: Though brilliant and original in it's art, the first Vampire Hunter D was over, and I was still waiting for it to begin, rather. But in this movie there was some character development lacking in the first. It was not bloody at all, to my mind, and I go to exteme lengths to avoid stepping on an ant. The only fault was perhaps that the romantic vampire lover subplot was kind of sappy and over-used, but Vampire D was even more cool and enigmatic than before. The whole vampire thing has been flogged to death by popular culture, but if it's done well it's still good. They obviously spent more time thinking about it this time. I can't wait for VH3! You gotta love the possessed talking hand... Also, the dvd lacked any extras like subtitles, for the hard of hearing, or alternate languages, but now I'm just whining. ;) P.S. The sword-lazer gun mix makes it a good gift for lovers of history or science fiction...
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best anime movie I have seen!
Comment: Way better than the first. The quality of animation is incredible as is the action. The characters are very cool as well. This movie has gotten me and a few of my friends interested in watching anime but none seem to compare with this movie.
Customer Rating:
Summary: ...the life right out of you...
Comment: Based on the third novel of Hideyuki Kikuchi's popular series, this film evokes the milieu of its source material with greater accuracy than Toyoo Ashida's 1985 adaptation of the first novel. Herein, the titular character is commissioned by an affluent family to eliminate a powerful vampire, and to return a young woman who he's kidnapped. D's activities are complicated by a society of monsters hired by his prey for protection and a group of bounty hunters with whom he's competing for the same objective.
I never had an opportunity to see this in the theater upon its initial release. I assumed that the result would be an adaptation of Kikuchi's work colored by the rapid, severe action sequences and brisk pace typical of other Kawajiri features like "Wicked City" and "Ninja Scroll." My guess was accurate only in regard to the former element; while the violence of this movie is as stylized and impressive in its execution as that of Kawajiri's other directorial efforts, this is surely as measured as it was in print, a story that develops slowly and for good reason.
The visuals of this film cannot be faulted. CGI is implemented seamlessly with cel animation to great effect. But the finest accomplishments of this movie's production are an array of magnificent backgrounds that depict vivid pastoral settings of numerous environments and extraordinary, sprawling interiors in which Gothic and Victorian design are rendered with impossibly ornate detail. I've seen a lot of animated features, and this is probably the most beautiful among them. Character designer Yutaka Minowa must be credited for his efforts: while his D is quite similar in appearance to the magnificent illustrations by Yoshitaka Amano found in the novels, the other characters are not dissimilar to those seen in other Kawajiri films. In particular, Borgoff Marcus bears more than a passing resemblance to Himuro Gemma of "Ninja Scroll." The elaborateness of the characters almost equals that of their surroundings.
"Bloodlust" is unique among anime in that its original language track was English (the Japanese-language track was actually recorded third, after a Cantonese-language version!). The quality of the vocal performances are very mixed. Andrew Philpot's D is comparable to Kaneto Shiozawa's voicing of the 1985 film: subdued, with an undercurrent of intensity. It's praiseworthy, though it really doesn't compare to the authoritative baritone that Michael McConnohie used to reinforce D's commanding presence in the first movie. Michael McShane provides the sentient parasite of D's left hand with a nervous swagger that compliments the character's comic relief. Most of the other voice actors are certainly competent. In fact, John Rafter Lee voices Meier Link with an imperial menace that's subtly impressive. But much of the dialogue sounds rushed and clumsy, which may have more to do with the difficulties common to English translations than the failings of the performers. It's often difficult to translate, paraphrase and speak an English phrase properly in the same amount of time as a Japanese equivalent, something that longtime viewers of English-dubbed anime or jidaigeki are well aware of. Put simply: for common speech, English is usually the more verbose and Japanese the more efficient of the two languages.
While "Bloodlust" is surely as attractive and exciting as could be expected, it isn't as fun as I expected it to be. The moral ambiguity of the film is refreshing. There is only one protagonist and one antagonist, and the integrity of the other characters is not easily delineated. The film's conclusion is aptly sober, and surely not to all tastes. Technically, this feature is as fine a technical accomplishment as any that Kawajiri's produced and as downcast as many of his other movies. While I came away from this satisfied, it's ultimately one of the more depressing fantasies that I've seen in a while.
As DVDs come, this one is just fine. The picture is rendered with excellent clarity, thankfully presented in 1.85:1. I'm not a videophile, so I can't reliably comment on the peculiar merits of this disc's imaging, but it looks great to me. However, the sound mix is definitely lacking. Dialogue is sometimes almost inaudible in contrast to the louder score and (excellent) sound effects, something that often frustrates me about Dolby 5.1 mixes. The menus and introduction are as attractive as the film requires.
The included featurette is better than most in that it's watchable; its most interesting portions consist of commentary on the film's story and production by Kawajiri and Minowa. Another feature compares rough storyboards to their corresponding finished scenes, which is of mild interest. The least of the extra materials is a "Top Ten" compilation of favorite scenes resulting from an online vote; if you didn't participate in this exercise years ago, I can't imagine that this would interest you.
Several trailers and TV spots for the film are also included. The Korean theatrical trailer is the best edited and most effective of the lot; oddly, it features English-language narration accompanied by Hangul subtitles in lieu of Korean-language narration! Trailers for numerous other Urban Vision releases are included for perusal; those who have seen the trailers for "Golgo 13" and "Wicked City" before on Streamline Pictures VHS releases will note that Urban Vision acquired the rights to both the features and the defunct company's advertisement materials!
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Editorial Reviews:
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Based on a series of fantasy novels by Hideyuki Kikuchi, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is a bloody anime adventure. Set in the distant future, the story focuses on D (voice by Andrew Philpot), the son of a vampire and a mortal who has dedicated his life to exterminating vampires. D is pursuing Charlotte (Wendee Lee), who has been carried off by vampire Meier Link (John Rafter Lee). The bounty-hunting Markus brothers and tough-talking Leila (Pamela Segall) are also on the trail. A long, violent chase brings them to the Castle of Carmila the Bloody Countess (Julia Fletcher), where the narrative founders in a series of confusing illusions that lead to an inconclusive ending. Bloodlust looks better in still images that evoke Yoshitaka Amano's intricate illustrations than it does in motion. The very limited drawn animation clashes visually with the more fluid computer-generated imagery--D's cape billows dramatically, but his expression rarely changes. Fans of such violent anime features as Sword for Truth and Ninja Resurrection will enjoy the no-holds-barred action sequences, but more squeamish viewers will be put off by the beheadings, impalements, disembowelments, etc. Vampire Hunter D, an earlier, more modest feature based on the same material, is a better adaptation. --Charles Solomon
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