Vampire Hunter D

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vampire Hunter D
吸血鬼ハンターD (Vampire Hunter D)
Genre	Action, Drama, Horror
Novel
Authored by	Hideyuki Kikuchi
Artist	Yoshitaka Amano
Publisher	Asahi Sonorama
Publish date	1983
No. of volumes	17
Movie: Vampire Hunter D (1985 film)
Directed by	Toyoo Ashida
Studio	MOVIC
Released	1985
Runtime	80 minutes
Movie: Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Directed by	Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Studio	Madhouse Studios
Released	2000-08-25
Runtime	102 minutes
Manga: Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D
Authored by	Hideyuki Kikuchi
Publisher	Digital Manga Publishing
Serialized in	{{{serialized}}}
Original run	2007 – (ongoing)
No. of volumes	1
Game
Developer	Victor Interactive Software
Publisher	Jaleco
Genre	Single player Survival horror
Platform	PlayStation
Released

Vampire Hunter D (吸血鬼ハンターD, Banpaiā Hantā Dī^?) is the title character of a series of novels by Japanese horror and pulp author Hideyuki Kikuchi.

Beginning in 1983, Kikuchi has so far written 17 "D" novels, illustrated by Final Fantasy series designer Yoshitaka Amano. The first and third books were adapted into internationally released anime movies (licensed in the USA by Urban Vision), reaching a minor cult status in the U.S.; the first seven novels are now available in English from DH Press, the prose division of Dark Horse Comics, with one more scheduled for release in May of 2007. At least two art books, a survival-horror video game, Japanese-language audio dramas, and various other official (as well as fan-based) memorabilia exist based upon the Vampire Hunter D series.

Contents 1 The Premise 2 Animated movies 2.1 Vampire Hunter D 2.2 Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust 3 The Novels 4 The Manga 5 Notes 5.1 A Message From Hideyuki Kikuchi, The Author Of Vampire Hunter D. 5.2 Tale of the Dead Town postscript 6 Video game 7 Audio Drama 8 External links

[edit] The Premise

D, a sort of lonely knight-errant, wanders through a far-future post-nuclear Earth that combines the best of pulp genres: western, science fiction, horror and high fantasy with a good dash of Lovecraftian mythos, folklore and occult science. The planet, once terrified by the elegant but cruel Nobles (vampires), ancient demons, mutants and their technological creations, is now slowly returning to a semblance of order and human control — thanks in part to the decadence that brought about the downfall of the vampire race, to the continued stubbornness of frontier dwellers and, to the rise of a caste of independent hunters-for-hire who eliminate supernatural threats.

The year is approximately 12,090 AD. Sometime in 1999, a nuclear war occurred and nearly ended all life on earth. The Nobility were vampires that planned for a possible nuclear war and sequestered all that was needed to rebuild civilization in their shelters. They use their science combined with magic to restore the world in their image. Nearly all magical creatures are engineered, with a very small number being demons who survived the holocaust. Despite their technology being great enough to create a blood substitute, they still prefer humans. As such they create a vampire-human civilization, eventually reducing the planet to parklands and cities. The society eventually stagnates when vampire technology perfects prophesy and determines they are at their zenith and are doomed to fall, and be overthrown by humans. The human race was also transformed at this time, with fear for the vampires being woven into the genetic level, and the inability to remember vampire weaknesses like garlic and crucifixes.

Unlike vampires from traditional lore, the Nobility have the ability to reproduce sexually, although their offspring will permanently cease aging after reaching physical maturity, in keeping with their immortality. This parallels the lifecycle of vampires in Blood+ and Karin.

As a dhampir (incorrectly transliterated in the films first as dampiel, and later as dunpeal) or half-breed child of a vampire father and human mother, D makes the ideal vampire hunter. He is renowned for his consummate skill and unearthly grace, but feared and despised for his mixed lineage: born of both races but belonging to neither. Often underestimated by his opponents, D has surprising power and resourcefulness, possessing most of the strengths and only mild levels of vampiric weaknesses. Unlike most dhampirs, D is able to live as a "normal" human, though marked by his unearthly beauty and powerful aura, and thus rarely accepted by humans. His only notable weaknesses are that he is, while not unfeeling, emotionally remote. He is also (far more rarely than other dhampirs) randomly susceptible to sun-sickness, a severe type of sunstroke, about once every five years. Otherwise, D does not suffer from vampiric weaknesses usual to dhampirs, possessing an imposing supernatural aura to his opponents and godlike reflexes surpassing even vampires.

(Note that in the first film this is described a bit differently. Dhampirs are actually much weaker than pure breed vampires. Thus they are not that common nor feared by vampires. When D killed the powerful vampire, Count Lee, at the end, it is suspected that he is the offspring of the Great Ancestor, Dracula.)

D is the host for a sentient symbiont, Left Hand (also referred to as "Lefty" and the "countenanced carbuncle"), a wise-cracking human face residing in his left palm, who can suck in massive amounts of matter through a wind void or vacuum tunnel. Left Hand enjoys needling the poker-faced D, but only appears as needed, rarely witnessed or heard by anyone other than D, yet aware of many of D's thoughts and actions. At all other times, D's left hand appears normal. Besides providing a contrast to D's reserved demeanor, Left Hand is incredibly useful, possessing many mysterious powers such as psychometry, inducing sleep, determining the medical condition of a victim, and the ability to size up the supernatural powers or prowess of an enemy, even beyond D's keen senses. In the first and second novels, Left Hand can also revive D when his physical condition is suffering, by consuming the four elements and converting the resulting energy into life force. This ability even saved D from the usually fatal stake through the heart he received from Rei-Ginsei in the first novel. Left Hand has its own mind and will, and acts as D's guide and sole permanent companion, providing a reservoir of knowledge pertaining to the lost Noble culture. So far, Left Hand's origins are unknown, and it is unclear how they came to be joined. However, some of its nature is revealed in the third book, which features a similar creature; it is implied he was one of the Barbarois (human/monster hybrids) who served in the personal retinue of Dracula.

D rides a cybernetic horse with mechanical legs and other enhancements, wields a crescent longsword which looks somewhat similar to the nodachi, and always wears a mystical blue pendant. The pendant cancels many automatic defenses, such as laser fields and small nuclear blasts, produced by vampire technology, and will allow him to enter their sealed castles. In the novels and game, he also uses wooden needles which he can throw with super speed. He protects his milk-white face from the noonday sun with long black hair, flowing black clothing and cape, and the shadow of a wide-brimmed hat. Though he appears to be only 17 or 18, D's age is unknown (although he is implied to be at least hundreds of years old, and possibly over ten thousand years old). His beauty is mesmerizing, usually wooing women unintentionally and sometimes even making men flustered.

Very little is known of D's mother, or his past. However, the Vampires whisper dark rumours about the Sacred Ancestor, Count Dracula, falling in love with a human woman. In actuality, Dracula conducted bizarre crossbreeding experiments (involving himself and countless human women), the only successful product of the experiments being D. This concept was later used in the unrelated series Blood: The Last Vampire, which features a half-vampire protagonist with remarkably similar origins (the only difference is that said experiments were conducted by humans seeking immortality, willing to capture and rape vampires in order to achieve those ends).

Dracula's role in the novels is very mixed, appearing both as bane and savior to isolated towns, and deified as an ancestral god-king to the vampires, many of whom never even met him. D quotes Dracula's precepts ("Transient guests are we" — implied to refer to the Nobility, obviously) in the first novel. Dracula appears both as a lawgiver honored for his intelligence, who showed some interest in preserving humans, and as a ruthless scientist in the second novel, conducting hybrid breeding experiments with humans in order to perpetuate his own dwindling species. D appears to have encountered his father on at least one occasion, as when at times D reaches a place where the imprint of Dracula's power remains, D remembers Dracula telling him that "You are my only success." Like D, Dracula is portrayed as a mysterious and handsome young wanderer, who deals out both life and death.

[edit] Animated movies

[edit] Vampire Hunter D

Main article: Vampire Hunter D (1985 film)

One of the first anime films released outside of Japan, Vampire Hunter D remains a cult classic in the English-speaking world. Billed by the Japanese producers as a "dark future science-fiction romance" Vampire Hunter D is set in the year 12,090 A.D., in a post-nuclear holocaust world where vampires, mutants and demons "slither through a world of darkness"(in the words of the film's opening introduction).

The film features strong classical Western overtones and memorable voice-acting performances in both English and Japanese, most especially in regards to the title character, D. It was ground-breaking in that it effectively brought together elements of Gothic horror and dystopian post-apocalyptic science fiction in a Western framework that some have argued appears to be largely a homage to the film Shane.

[edit] Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust

Main article: Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust

The second film, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, character designed by Yutaka Minowa, directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, has garnered respect for its advanced animation techniques, voice-acting originally recorded in English (English voice casting/direction by Jack Fletcher), and its sophisticated orchestral soundtrack composed, arranged and conducted by Marco D'Ambrosio. Its art style closely mirrored that of the illustrator and original character designer of the first movie, Yoshitaka Amano.

The storyline features a larger cast than the first film and some believe that the film echoes more of Kikuchi's writing. The second Vampire Hunter D movie (VHD2000; Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust in the USA) is based on the third of Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D novels (Demon Deathchase in English). The movie is rated R for Violence/Gore.

[edit] The Novels

Main article: Vampire Hunter D (Novels)

Despite the popularity worldwide of the Vampire Hunter D movies, English translations of the books only emerged in 2005, from Dark Horse Press and Digital Manga, with translation by Kevin Leahy.

[edit] The Manga

Main article: Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D

Although Vampire Hunter D has been adapted to a wide variety of media, it has never seen a manga adaptation. At Anime Expo 2006, Digital Manga Publishing announced that a manga project was currently underway in Japan in collaboration with Hideyuki Kikuchi. The manga series is currently slated for release in late 2007 or early 2008 and will be released in English first. Kikuchi, who has always had a close relationship with his fans, has personally selected doujinshi artist Saiko Takaki as illustrator for the project.

[edit] Notes

Some material is paraphrased from the notes included in the original Vampire Hunter D laser disk, fan-subtitled by the Dayton Anime Club.

[edit] A Message From Hideyuki Kikuchi, The Author Of Vampire Hunter D.

"D" originated from the fact that I wanted to write a horror story. I based my story on ancient traveler folk tales and on Western horror movies.

"D" is also a product of my eccentricity. It started as an idea about letting a vampire be a hero instead of a villain. My first image of "D" was the gunfighter video of Phil Collins. In this video, Phil was wearing American Western gunfighter clothing with Japanese Samurai gear; the background had a red sun burning in the sky. For some reason, my image shifted to a character like that wearing a half-moon sword and a cloak. Also, his face is changed from my image of a handsome man to a rough, gunfighter look. When I saw Amano's paintings of the character, it was beyond my expectations. (Yoshitaka Amano worked on the character and production design for this movie as well as for "Ninja Team Gatchaman" and many other animations.)

D's personality is shifting between two different modes. He is not a man or a vampire, yet his personality constantly shifts between man and vampire.

I hope that everyone enjoys this movie.

-Hideuki Kikuchi

[edit] Tale of the Dead Town postscript

Kikuchi has also revealed that "a Hollywood debut and American comic version are progressing nicely." This is found in the postscript of the English translation of the fourth novel.

[edit] Video game

Main article: Vampire Hunter D (video game)

A video game based on Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust was also made for the PlayStation game console, titled Vampire Hunter D. It is a survival horror game, but also similar to a standard adventure title. The player can see D from different pre-rendered angles throughout the game, and allow D to attack enemies with his sword. D can also use magic, Left Hand's abilities, and items. The story of the game is similar to that of Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust, although it takes place entirely within the castle as D fights all the enemies. Only two of the Barbarois mutants appear as enemies. There are 3 endings, 1 of which is similar to the end of the anime.

[edit] Audio Drama

Over the years, Asashi Sonorama has created a handful of audio drama adaptations of the earlier novels, in which the seiyuu for the original OVA reprized their roles. Though the audio dramas, originally released on cassette tape, became increasingly rare, they were recently re-released as a CD Drama box set, including a small artbook and a new short story by Kikuchi.

[edit] External links

• Vampire Hunter D at the Internet Movie Database
• Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust at the Internet Movie Database
• Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust Official Website
• The Vampire Hunter D Archives
• DHpress Books
• Digital Manga Publishing
• Urban Vision - The company that licensed both Vampire Hunter D movies
• Asashi Sonorama - Japanese publisher of the Vampire Hunter D series books and audio dramas.
• Hideyuki Kikuichi Official Fan Club (Japanese)