Based on a series of fantasy novels by Hideyuki Kikuchi,Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlustis 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.Bloodlustlooks 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 asSword for TruthandNinja Resurrectionwill 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 SolomonCombining romance, gothic horror, science fiction, and bloody action into a dazzling anime production, VAMPIRE HUNTER D (2000) takes the vampire mythos to a new level. This movie is not a remake or a continuation of the 1985 movie of the same title. That movie was loosely based on the first of Kikuchi Hideyuki's VAMPIRE HUNTER D books, set 10,000 years in the future. VAMPIRE HUNTER D (2000) takes its cue from the third book in the series, though there are significant deviations in plot. Here, the charismatic vampire, Meier Link, arrives in town in the middle of the night and spirits away a beautiful woman. D, the child of a human and a vampire, is hired to retrieve her. Racing against time and against another group of bounty hunters who were also contracted to perform the rescue, D fights a bizarre cast of Meier's henchmen, each of whom has his own unique and horrific way of killing. Both of the VAMPIRE HUNTER D films benefit from the participation of fantasy artist Yoshitaka Amano, whose character desig...Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is a 2000 Japanese anime film, written and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, with characters designed by Yutaka Minowa. It is the sequel to 1985's Vampire Hunter D, and is based on the third of Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D novels, D - Demon Deathchase.
