Vampire Hunter D
Vampire Hunter D (吸血鬼ハンターD) 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
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 four novels are now available in English from the prose division of
Dark Horse Comics, with two more scheduled for release. 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.
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 partly to the decadence that brought about the vampires' downfall as a race, to the continued stubbornness of frontier dwellers and the rise of a caste of independent hunters-for-hire who eliminate supernatural threats.
The year is approximately 12,000 AD. Somewhere in the 20th or 21st century a nuclear war occurred nearly ending 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 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 overthown 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.
As a
dhampir (incorrectly transliterated in the films first as
dampiel, and later as
dunpeal) or half-breed child of a vampire (
Noble) father and human (
peasant) 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 extremely pale skin, 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 dhampires, possessing an imposing supernatural aura to his opponents and godlike reflexes surpassing even vampires.
D is the host for a sentient symbiote,
Left Hand, a wise-cracking shrivelled old 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 coverting 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, howevever, some of its nature is revealed in the third book, which features a similar creature.
D rides a
cybernetic horse with mechanical legs and other enhancements, wields a long-bladed
sword 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 is in fact several thousand years old, and his beauty is mesmerizing (often wooing women unintentionally and sometimes even making men fluster).
Very little is known of D's mother, or his past. However, the Vampires whisper dark rumours about the Sacred Ancestor,
Count Dracula, and a human...
Dracula's role in the novels is very mixed, appearing both as bane and savior to isolated towns, and as an ancestral god-king to the vampires, many of whom never even met him. D is granted some respect by those who recognize his birth, known to Left Hand, even though he himself refuses to acknowledge it, and quotes his father's precepts 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. Like D, he is also a mysterious and handsome young wanderer, who deals out both life and death.
Vampire Hunter D
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 a vampiric Nobility terrorizes human peasants.
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
The second film,
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, character designed by
Yutaka Minowa, directed by
Yoshiaki Kawajiri, is widely regarded as the cinematic superior of the two due to advanced animation techniques, voice-acting originally recorded in English (English voice casting/direction by
Jack Fletcher), and a more sophisticated orchestral
soundtrack. It's also far more faithful to the art style of the illustrator and original character designer of the first movie,
Yoshitaka Amano.
The storyline is more thoroughly developed, with a larger cast and more characterization, echoing the flair 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).
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.
Some material is paraphrased from the notes included in the original Vampire Hunter D laser disk, fan-subtitled by the Dayton Anime Club.
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 horrormovies.
"D" is also a product of my eccentricity. It started as an ideaabout letting a vampire be a hero instead of a villain. My firstimage of "D" was the gunfighter video of Phil Collins. In thisvideo, Phil was wearing American Western gunfighter clothing withJapanese Samurai gear; the background had a red sun burning in the sky.For some reason, my image shifted to a character like that wearing ahalf-moon sword and a cloak. Also, his face is changed from my imageof a handsome man to a rough, gunfighter look. When I saw Amano'spaintings of the character, it was beyond my expectations. (YoshitakaAmano worked on the character and production design for this movie aswell as for "Ninja Team Gatchaman" and many other animations.)
D's personality is shifting between two different modes. He is nota man or a vampire, yet his personality constantly shifts between manand vampire.
I hope that everyone enjoys this movie.:-Hideuki KikuchiKikuchi 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.
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 prerendered 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.
*
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust Official Website*
The Vampire Hunter D Archives*
DHpress Books*
Urban Vision - The company that licensed both Vampire Hunter D movies
