Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust

In the wastelands of a future Earth, Vampires were once large in number.  Now they are down to a few, hunted by warriors intent on collecting the heavy price on their heads.  One such Vampire, Baron Meier Link, has just abducted Lady Charlotte, the daughter of an influential businessman.  To get her back, Charlotte’s father puts out the call to Bounty Hunters willing to take on the job and many have answered…including the infamous half Human/half Vampire Dhampir known simply as D.  It should be a simple job that will take D through the deserts of the old world and pit him against foes both human and monster alike.  But there’s more to the tragic romance he’s about to stumble into than D could ever expect.

Happy Halloween everyone and welcome to a special spooky review I try to throw in every year for the occasion.  Since we’ve been spending the last month with Monsters and unlikely heroes hunting monsters, we’re circling back around to the bad ass who kicked off this month of scares, the legendary Vampire Hunter D.  A follow up to the original 1985 Vampire Hunter D OVA, Bloodlust feels like a film from another era when Anime was on the cusp of looking and feeling more like the Anime of today.  It’s not a perfect flick by any means but where the story might falter at times, visually, this is Anime at its finest.
 
It’s funny, looking at Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust I would never guessed it came out before 1997.  This film was released in Japan in the year 2000 but it doesn’t even closely resembled the more Digi Paint productions you’d see coming out around this time (such as fellow Vampire Horror TV Series Hellsing).  If I didn’t know any better I’d say that Bloodlust was made right alongside a similar looking stylish 90’s Anime flicks like X.  And wow, if I haven’t made it clear, this movie looks phenomenal.  Bloodlust has everything you’d expect from a good old fashion Gothic Horror Action Romance Anime film: Incredible creature designs; dark and grandiose interiors of massive castles; a nice dose of non to explicit gory action; plus the presence of the soft spoken but hauntingly handsome D himself.  Every animated scene in Bloodlust feels like an event or just an image that should be paused and studied.  It’s the textbook definition of a “work of art”.
 
Bloodlust juggles several genres as I mentioned above and sometimes that juggling act can be a little, tricky to say the least.  The bare bones story is simple: the retrieval of Charlotte from Meier Link.  But there are several complications along the way and in this complications, D himself occasionally finds himself the secondary character of his own film.  You’ve got the forbidden romance between Meier Link and Charlotte, the danger of a deadly resurrection of a Vampire Goddess, a legion of monster mercenaries and a separate team of Bounty Hunters who feel like they should be in their own movie.  D has his moments, don’t get me wrong, but I wanted to see more, spend more time with the guy.  Probably D’s best non action scene is a tense standoff in a weapons shop where we get a bit of insight into his history via an old man who just so happens to know him.  I’d rather have more scenes like that than watch D’s competition bumble their way into their own deaths via overconfidence.  Heck, Bloodlust could’ve spent a little more time showing us the bond between Meier Link and Charlotte simply because the artstyle of the film made it so inviting whenever they were on screen together (see Twilight, that’s how you do a proper Vampire/Mortal Human love story…or at least make it look prettier).   One thing we certainly could’ve used a lot less of was D’s annoying Right Hand that literally has a mouth of its own.  I had no idea what was up with that but let’s face it, unless youre pestering imaginary friend is voice by Samuel L. Jackson (talking about Ninja Ninja in Afro Samurai), you’re gonna wanna mute the guy.
 
On the action front, Bloodlust certainly delivers.  The film is directed by Yoshiyaki Kawajiri, and we’ve already looked at two films on his filmography this month, plus last Halloween we looked at Ninja Scroll (I couldve done a six degrees of separation with the guy with every review I’ve done this month).  So when D flashes his sword in single, precise and swift strikes, you can tell why Kawajiri was chosen, guys an artist making guys with swords look bad ass.  Meier Link is no slouch either, using claws and a razor sharp cape to match D blow for blow in a couple of stand out and well made action sequences.  D’s competition gets in some fun kills as they face off with Meier Link’s terrifying monster comrades as well, using their Mad Max/Fist of the North Star inspired tech to neat effect.  Every action scene is theatrical and occasionally operatic.  This goes double for the final battles in the last act of the film and I cant help but get a great Castlevania vibe from them (Carmilla’s castle even looks like it could be Dracula’s castle from legend).
 
While the main character gets lost in the shuffle and the story gets a bit more complex than needed, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is a visually amazing Anime title and probably the last of its kind to look like this before Digi Paint took over the Anime scene.  The monsters are genuinely scary, the action is bloody and even elegant at times and there are images in this film that will stay with you long after the credits roll.  What can I say, this movie is considered a classic by many and I can see why.  I’m not too crazy about it but I’m not gonna say I wasn’t entertained either.  They definitely don’t make Anime like this anymore, that’s for sure.
 
8/10