Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Necrobiose
It is 2026, and your favorite Instagram pages are likely still flooding your feed with AI-generated "Dark Fantasy" slideshows making your wettest dream wet. These accounts capitalize on a specific, grainy, gothic atmosphere because they are too lazy to actually pick up a pen. If you want to see the actual blueprint—the raw, hand-drawn data that your favorite "whimsical" 808 artists are slapping onto their album covers—look no further. Vampire Hunter D is the peak. It is the definitive achievement of dark fantasy art.
Every frame of this film serves as a reminder of what human craftsmanship can achieve. The gothic architecture, the haunting character designs by Yoshitaka Amano, and the oppressive atmosphere aren't just "vibes" you moron. While modern social media tries to mimic this aest…
Read at the sourceTheCompletionist
Animation can be such a wonderful medium of entertainment because as long as the effort is put into it, it will always retain the permanent ability to be timeless. What I'm often surprised in the world of animation is sometimes the most beautiful pieces of animation can come from the most unexpected of sources. This is definitely the case when it comes to Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust because even though work for the film started back in 1997, the finished product never got released until the year 2000. To this day, from my personal opinion it is still one of most beautiful animated films you'll ever watch even though it's 25 years old. It's artistic style and quality of animation certainly rivals some of the most beautiful anime films from the 1980's all the way up to the 2020's with it's b…
Read at the sourceHaustlaufivindi
What would happen if Sergio Leone, in collaboration with Luis Bunuel, filmed in animation form a book by Stephen King, written by him in the mid-1980s (during the period of Stephen’s severe drug intoxication), where the main character would be Zorro, fighting vampires in the Wild West? The result would be surreal trash, but decadent, aesthetic trash. It would be "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust", or something very close to it. As much as I, to put it mildly, am not close to the stories of Kikuchi Hideyuki, how secondary the plot is, how vulgar the characters are, how intellectually and morally powerless the narrative is, so much captivating the decadent aesthetics of this anime are. Just as sweetness can be found in pain, so in the destruction of ethical and aesthetic beauty, in decay, one can…
Read at the sourceToxico95
Kawajiri's Masterpiece!
Bloodlust is a sequel to the '85 OVA and is based on the third VHD novel but you don't have to watch nor read any of the earlier releases to enjoy this one.
Young lady Charlotte gets kidnapped by the Noble vampire Meier Link because he wants to marry her. D, the half vampire half human vampire hunter accepts a deal to find Charlotte and bring her back home for a lot of money and because of personal reasons as well. What D doesn't realize is that the Marcus Brothers, a group of human vampire hunters, are also hired to bring Lady Charlotte back and thus we have a rivalry between the two vampire hunters.
The animation is what you'd expect from Madhouse + Kawajiri... Perfection, the aestethic is exactly what i associate with good anime. It's very colorful and very si…
Read at the sourceBobSamurai
(Spoiler Free)
Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust is one of the rare anime movies wich is capable of delivering everything you'd expect and then some.
What you're probably expecting:
Vampires, swordfights, monsters, blood, well animated and exciting fights
What you're not expecting:
Character development, romance, gray morality, tragedy, high quality orchestral score, beautifully detailed hand painted parallax backgrounds, highly detailed character animations which depict hair moving in the wind and ripples of water as rain splashes down on a pond.
This anime was created by many of the same members who worked on Ninja Scroll so if you set your expectations at this level, then you won't be disappointed. Just be sure to watch the HD version, sub or dub is fine.
Read at the sourcekekekeKaj
The original "Vampire Hunter D" OVA from 1985 can best be described as mediocre. In 2000, Madhouse demonstrated how it should be done with "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust", a movie gleaming with polish and brimming with gothic beauty.
And that's the main strength of the movie - it's a beautiful one, filled with striking artwork, smooth animation and a unique sense of style. I found much of the designs "Bloodlust" breath taking, especially the architecture of the gothic castle. The characters designs are also distinctive, coupling delicate, porcelain features with an almost elven elegance.
Curiously, the sense of beauty found in such abundance elsewhere in the artwork doesn't extend to the faces of the female characters. While the men's faces are blessed with a feminine grace, the women's…
Read at the sourceAssthete
Bloodlust is a weird title. I like it, but it can feel tepid. It neither embraces spectacle nor offers any insight, so I'm left wondering what to make of it. It has this air of sophistication resulting from its fairly tight writing; the antagonists aren't far from understandable, the heroes aren't far from empathetic, and the events aren't far from believable. D is still a lovable quasi-badass who behaves like he has autism, even more this time around. I don't know, it just feels rather monotonous for a title about a vampire chasing monsters for money, all presented quite superbly by the way. I suppose it has to do with this commitment to seriousness that, although is exactly what the original novels strive for, feels misplaced. Such approach is definitely not my cup of tea. Given its tone…
Read at the sourceDubOverSub1oo1
The Pros:
The Story
Though this film's story is simple on the surface , it has the benefit of being filled with interesting, well written characters that have believable relationships, and all have character development. The film's villain is also one of the more complex I have seen in anime.
The setting:
Though film is set in the far distant future the world is very gothic and dark in nature from the character design, environments, and creature design. There are swords and horse drawn carriages, but also crazy guns, and awesome robot horses. The setting and animation style really make this film feel unique.
The animation:
It is gorgeous. The action scenes are all beautiful to look at.
The Cons:
The climax. I won't get into specifics and spoil anything, but I personally felt some aspects…
Read at the sourceJTurner
Based on a horror book by Japanese author Hideyuki Kikuchi and with character designs by FINAL FANTASY's Yoshitaka Amano, 1985's VAMPIRE HUNTER D was a low-budget, B-grade direct-to-video release was criticized by many for its cheap production values and simplistic story. Even so, it still managed to find an audience that was gradually garnering interest in Anime thanks to being exposed to edgier, more violent works than one would expect from the West, such as AKIRA, WICKED CITY, etc. Sixteen years later, a second film was made, helmed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, the man behind the aforementioned WICKED CITY as well as the similarly popular NINJA SCROLL. It's also very loosely based on the third book Kikuchi has written, called "Demon DeathChase." Not having read that book in question, my review…
Read at the sourceLuquillo
Based on the third novel Vampire Hunter D: Demon Deathchase written by Hideyuki Kikuchi. Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is the sequel to the 1985 cult classic Vampire Hunter D. The sequel is directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, director of Ninja Scroll, Wicked City, Cyber City Oedo 808, and several others. I have followed a majority of Kawajiri's work, and I will say this still stands as his best. Now, I'll be the first to admit that when it comes down to his trademark ultra violence. This film ranks somewhere in the bottom. However, I feel it outshines his earlier works and later work when concerning story. Therefore, those whom are use to seeing the Ninja Scroll like violence along with that gratuitous sex found in the aforementioned film as well as Wicked City, should eliminate that from their l…
Read at the sourceBassem
i love vampires and i always seek movies that tell a good vampire story ... and i think this is my favorite one ... i don't know how to write a proper review since i never read any of the reviews on this site .. they're too long and opinions may differ so am only writing this so that more people know about this hidden gem and get to watch , it is that great ..
The story is amazing .. the art is the best thing you'll ever watch .. basically everything here is just amazing .. do yourself a favor and watch this movie if you want a mature , dark movie and of course if you love vampires like me :)
sorry for my English ... it's my second language
Read at the sourceLucena
For as long as the medium of visual storytelling has existed, vampires have continued to be a subject of interest for many artists for a seemingly infinite amount of reasons. Perhaps it’s the elegant and ethereal nature of aristocratic vampires, the ones who lure anyone who falls for them into their grasp, only to feast upon them when the time comes, or the more sub-human vampires who stalk the night as barbaric creatures looking for their next meal. Whatever the case, the subject of vampires has presented itself with a number of ways to reinterpret, and sometimes question, the mythos surrounding these characters, and anime is no exception. This is where Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust comes it. While it might not necessarily be the first anime to involve vampires, it certainly presents them i…
Read at the sourceglisteningsunset
I was planning to watch this movie if I had the time. I was watching YouTube videos and saw this in the related bar. I decided "Why not?"
and pressed play.
Story 8/10:
The story is very cool. You have two sides of the story you can enjoy. You have the love story and you have the vampire hunting story. You can root for either side. (D or Myir)
Characters 9/10:
I think the characters are one of the strong points of the movie. Each main character has an interesting past. At first, I hated certain characters, but as their past was revealed, I understood why they acted that way.
Art 9/10:
The art was another high point of the movie. The backgrounds are drawn well and so are the characters. When you see a character up close, their face is outlined nicely. The movie is greatly animated…
Read at the sourceAbs0
Art: Detailed designs, vivid colors, nicely shaded. For example the werewolf-like creature on the bridge jumping around. The level of detail on each frame is good enough to stand on its own, even though the scene is so short and fast that you probably can't notice it.
Animation: Fluid, which is very impressive given the level of detail as mentioned earlier about the scene of the werewolf jumping on the bridge.
Choreography: Stylish, though not entirely to my liking. I prefer to watch fights rather than one-sided killings, although it is more realistic that way since this is a movie about monsters. The detailed drawings of monsters, their fluid movements and the special effects are what makes this movie really outstanding.
Conclusion: To be fair, the choreography in this movie is lack…
Read at the source5camp
Vampire Hunter D is a really long running novel series, starting way back in 1983, about a half-vampire who hunts other vampires in his ridiculously wide-brimmed hat. It had a movie adaptation way back in 1985, which was a cult hit back in the day (or so Wikipedia says) but has been all but forgotten nowadays. The 2000 adaptation Bloodlust is generally considered to be far better. It has 15 years advantage in animation technology. It has the acclaimed director Yoshiaki Kawajiri being given an absolute monster budget with Madhouse doing the animation, who were on serious top form in this period. And it shows. Oh boy does it ever show.
Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust is gorgeous. When it comes to sheer detail, I can't think of a single other anime that matches it. Maybe Akira? For all the detail…
Read at the sourcektulu007
Bloodlust is a movie about a half vampire who hunts vampires. The basic setup is that a young woman from a wealthy family has been taken from her room by a vampire. The family responds by hiring vampire hunters to go after her. That's where D, a half vampire, enters the picture. The movie primarily focuses on D and a second group of vampire hunters going after the vampire and trying to bring the young woman back. It's pretty well constructed and there are a lot of references to traditional vampire lore. So it's pretty obvious that a good deal of research went into this. That being said, it does have a lot of original ideas and it's presented very creatively. The action scenes are very intense, although a few end very anti-climactically, and interesting to watch. My only issue with the stor…
Read at the sourceJDodds
Vampire Hunter D – Bloodlust (2000) is a Japanese animated film directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. He has also directed big hit films such as ‘Ninja Scroll’. This sequel was created to the previous film in 1985 called ‘Vampire Hunter D’ as well as being based on the third of the Vampire Hunter D novels by Hideyuki Kikuchi.
The story follows a mysterious man torn between his allegiances as a Dunpeal, half vampire and half human. He travels as a vampire hunter and is employed by a family to track down their daughter whom was kidnapped the night before. But as he gets closer to reaching her more obstacles and problems arise in his way.
Characters
D – The son of the Vampire King and a human, he possesses the advantages of vampirism, as well as the weaknesses. He can control his bloodlust but suf…
Read at the sourceiamjoe
Other than the magnificent turd-like mass that was the first Vampire Hunter D movie, this one managed to take the first one, pulverise it, and make a nice hat for itself to strut about it. Because it deserves to strut around, really.
D is a half-vampire, half-Mexican--er, wait. Anyway, D is not human but he's not exactly a vampire. His powers allow him to hunt most other evil vampires and he takes up a mission to save some stupid human girl who wants to get it on with the undead, and so runs away with her vampire lover. While D tries to get the hussy back, a rival gang who also hunts vampires compete with him. This movie was excellence. Watching all the action, the fabulous choreography of the fights were simply jizz-in-your pants worthy.
Art and sound were pure amazing. It looks beauti…
Read at the sourcePhill-z
Vampire Hunter D. I read the book as the first "anime" thing I ever did. And now I own this movie and most of the books, I'm going to be ordering Coffin as well. This anime is definitely great but it does have it's flaws.
The dvd available in North America (at least in Canada) is only available in the english dub. For elitetists this is a huge problem, but the dub isn't terrible, it's pretty good as far as dubs go.
The theme for this, doomed love, is played so beautifully in this. There were a few scenes that almost moved me to tears. I loved the way the story progressed, they adapt it quite well from the book. The Markus Brothers and Leila also keep the pacing of the story quite well. There are a few scenes with them that really add alot to the story. There aren't alot of loose-ends, a…
Read at the sourceStormy_77
This movie gripped me from the opening sequence, that set the tone for the movie. Flawlessly artistic animation, the way the camera pans on Iron Crosses being bent out of shape, the shadowy cape of a *whisper* vampire, a woman screaming then the opening credits. Suspense, action, great animation. I was hooked.
The story seems simple on the face of it, but couched in the plot are beautiful layers of character development. A vampire hunter, D (a dunpeal or vampire/human half breed) is commissioned to recover a rich man's daughter, Charlotte, who has been kidnapped by a vampire. She is wanted dead (if turned) or alive (if still human).
D meets up with a band of bounty hunters, all of whom have their own special powers, and personal demons. Against them are an array of gypsy monster/vampires…
Read at the source