Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust | |||||
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Japanese name | |||||
Kanji | 吸血鬼ハンターD ブラッドラスト | ||||
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Directed by | Yoshiaki Kawajiri | ||||
Screenplay by | Yoshiaki Kawajiri | ||||
English adaptation by |
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Based on | Vampire Hunter D Volume 3: Demon Deathchase by Hideyuki Kikuchi | ||||
Produced by |
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Starring | see below | ||||
Cinematography | Hitoshi Yamaguchi | ||||
Edited by |
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Music by | Marco D'Ambrosio | ||||
Production companies |
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Distributed by | |||||
Release dates |
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Running time | 102 minutes[3] | ||||
Countries |
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Language | English | ||||
Box office | $151,086 |
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (吸血鬼ハンターD ブラッドラスト, Banpaia Hantā Dī: Buraddorasuto) is a 2000
The film began production in 1997 and was completed with the intention of being shown in American theaters. It was shown in twelve theaters across the United States and received generally positive reception from American critics.
Plot
In the middle of the night, Charlotte Elbourne, a young human woman, is abducted by Baron Meier Link, a vampire nobleman. Charlotte's wealthy father, John, hires D, a dhampir, to rescue her, dead or alive.
At the same time, Charlotte's older brother Adam hires the Marcus Brothers, composed of their leader Borgoff, the hulking Nolt, the blade master Kyle, the frail/physically bedridden
Meier hires the mutant Barbarois to guard him, consisting of the
Meier's carriage stops to rest during the daytime, and Charlotte wanders out, meeting D and Leila. The two fight against Caroline while Machira escapes with the carriage. D defeats Caroline but is forced to seek shelter after absorbing too much sunlight due to Heat Syndrome-(a condition that is common among dhampirs and vampires). Leila faces a revived Caroline and survives only by chance when lightning strikes the mutant, killing her instantly. She takes shelter with D after and reveals that a vampire back in her childhood kidnapped her mother. This resulted in her being stoned to death by the people of her hometown when she returned as a completely different person and killed her father. Leila joined the Marcus Brothers to avenge her parents' deaths. The two make a pact to visit each other's graves upon who dies first.
The Marcus Brothers trap Meier's carriage on a bridge by bombing it and carjacking Charlotte. However, their trap is foiled by Machira's enhanced senses, resulting in Kyle being killed and Borgoff falling off the bridge but surviving, losing an eye. Meier and Charlotte reach the Castle of Chaythe, where
It is then revealed that Meier and Charlotte had reached out to the Countess, hoping they could fly to the City of the Night, a vampire refuge located in space. However, Carmilla betrays the couple, temporarily slaying Meier and tricking Charlotte into being bitten. Revived by Charlotte's blood, she uses hallucinations to haunt D, Borgoff, and Leila. D is unaffected and saves Leila from her hallucinations depicting her tragic childhood, but Borgoff is tricked and turned. Grove reappears and saves Leila by blowing up the now vampiric Borgoff with an embrace. He then dies as a result. D confronts Carmilla and is able to destroy her spirit whilst a reawakened Meier destroys her physical body. D and Meier then clash for a final time, with D gaining the upper hand. During the fight, Charlotte dies from her wounds, with her ring tossed to D and Meier by Leila. The final battle ends after D spares Meier's life and leaves the castle with Leila while taking Charlotte's ring as proof for her father and brother. As Meier uses the castle's ship to depart to the City of the Night, D and Leila look on, with Leila wishing the vampire success.
Years later, a funeral is held for Leila, with a large crowd attending. Among the crowd is Leila's granddaughter, who recognizes D from a distance and invites him to spend time with her family, but he kindly refuses. D reveals he is glad Leila was wrong about nobody being at her funeral and leaves contentedly.
Voice cast
Character | Japanese | English |
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D | Hideyuki Tanaka | Andy Philpot |
Meier Link | Kōichi Yamadera |
John Rafter Lee |
Leila | Megumi Hayashibara Akiko Yajima (Young) |
Pamela Segall |
Charlotte Elbourne | Emi Shinohara | Wendee Lee |
D's Left Hand | Ichirō Nagai | Mike McShane |
Carmilla | Bibari Maeda | Julia Fletcher |
Borgoff Marcus | Yūsaku Yara |
Matt McKenzie |
Nolt Marcus | Ryūzaburō Ōtomo | John DiMaggio |
Kyle Marcus | Houchu Ohtsuka |
Alex Fernandez |
Grove Marcus | Toshihiko Seki | Jack Fletcher |
Polk | Takeshi Aono | John Hostetter |
Sheriff | Rikiya Koyama | John DiMaggio |
Benge | Keiji Fujiwara | Dwight Schultz |
Caroline | Yōko Sōmi |
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn |
Machira | Rintarou Nishi |
John DiMaggio |
John Elbourne | Motomu Kiyokawa | |
Alan Elbourne | Koji Tsujitani |
John DeMita |
Priest | Unshō Ishizuka | |
Leila's Granddaughter | Mika Kanai | Debi Derryberry |
Old Man of Barbarois | Chikao Ōtsuka |
Dwight Schultz |
D's Mother | Chiharu Suzuka | Julia Fletcher |
Production
The idea for a new Vampire Hunter D film came after there was a fan demand to make a follow-up to
The story of Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is based on the third novel in Kikuchi's series D - Demon Deathchase.[7] The main character's design is by artist Yoshitaka Amano.[2] Amano's art style was matched for the rest of the characters in the film by animation director Yutaka Minowa.[2] The animation for the film was created in the Madhouse Studios in Tokyo while the post-production work was done in California. The English soundtrack for the film was recorded in 1999 before the Japanese dialogue was finished.[2] The film's title of Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust was a last-minute decision to distinguish it from the first film.[8]
Release
Theatrical
To promote the film, a two-and-a-half-minute-long trailer was finished in 1998 and was shown at American anime
The completed version of the film was only released theatrically in an English-language version. On its Japanese theatrical release, it was subtitled in Japanese.[8] It premiered on September 23, 2001, in America where it played in six theaters. It grossed $25,521 in this run and $151,086 in total, making it the highest-grossing Japanese film ever in a language other than Japanese.[8]
Home video
In Japan, the film was released on DVD on December 19, 2001, by
Reception
The film received generally favorable reviews from American critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 72% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Vampire Hunter D's gothic charms may be lost on those unfamiliar with the anime series that spawned it, but the crisp action and nightmarish style will satiate horror aficionados' bloodlust."[13] It received a rating of 62 on the website Metacritic based on 15 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[14] The Chicago Reader gave a favorable review of the film, referring to it as a "gorgeously animated surrealist adventure".[4] The New York Daily News referred to the film as "Beautiful, witty and provocative" and that it should "appeal to fans and non-fans alike".[14] The San Francisco Chronicle praised the director Yoshiaki Kawajiri stating that he "has a gift for striking visuals" but also noted that "his story manages to be simultaneously thin and chaotic."[15]
See also
- Japanese films of 2000
- List of anime theatrically released in the United States
- List of horror films of 2000
Notes
- ^ a b バンパイアハンターD (in Japanese). Japanese Cinema Database. Retrieved July 6, 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d e f Patten, 2004. p.344
- ^ a b Browning, 2010. p.26
- ^ a b Alspector, Lisa (26 October 1985). "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust". Chicago Reader. Archived from the original on 29 December 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ Høgset, Stig. "Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust". THEM Anime Reviews. Archived from the original on December 3, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
- ^ a b c Patten, 2004. p.342
- ^ a b c Patten, 2004. p.343
- ^ a b c Patten, 2004. p.341
- Amazon.com. 12 February 2002. Archivedfrom the original on 2002-10-01. Retrieved 2015-02-03.
- from the original on 8 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust". Facebook. 2015-02-03. Archived from the original on 2022-02-26.
- ASIN B00005R6AB. Retrieved 2015-02-03.
- ^ "Vampire Hunter D". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. 28 September 2001. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ a b "Critic Reviews for Vampire Hunter D". Metacritic. Archived from the original on August 27, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ Guthmann, Edward (October 5, 2001). "FILM CLIPS". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
References
- Patten, Fred (2004). Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews. ISBN 1-880656-92-2.
- Browning, John Edgar (2010). Dracula in Visual Media: Film, Television, Comic Book, and Electronic Game Appearances, 1921-2010. ISBN 978-0-7864-3365-0.
External links
- Official Website at the Wayback Machine (archived May 29, 2002)
- Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust at IMDb
- Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust at Metacritic
- Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Vampire Hunter D - Bloodlust (2001) at Rotten Tomatoes
- Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust at Box Office Mojo