Rating: Summary: Outstanding anime Review: Wow. This is what great anime is all about. Great story, memorable characters, exciting scenes, beautiful animation, and mind-blow imagination. Finally, I am starting to see anime with visuals that beat Akira on a regular basis. I couldn't believe they could maintain such a high level of detail consistantly throughout the movie, but they did. Characters, effects, clothing, locations - every shot is a feast for the eyes. This movie captures that wonderful "sequel" feeling, in which everything is increased, the bad guys are stronger, the action faster, and the heroes make grand entrances. The story here is much different from the first film: set in some undetermined holocaustic future, the half-human, half-vampire "D" is now hunting a vampire on the run, who is traveling in a cool gothic stagecoach with a team of strange demons protecting it during daylight hours. A competing team of vampire hunters is also in pursuit, a strange group of human freaks who travel inside a huge tank and share some touching family tenderness. The chase leads them into all kinds of trouble, different towns and cities with allegences that vary greatly, and enemies show up when you never expect them. The characters in this film are some of my favorite in ANY movie. They are the great strength of this film, and in fact the plot is really just a series of character studies strung together via the rather weak "chase" tie-in. Each person is visually and personally distinct, and they add enough to the picture that it wouldn't be as good without even the minor characters. The best sub-plot is the romance between the vampire and his captured hostage, and we never really know if she wants to leave her captor or not, or whether D will leave the lovers in peace. Voice acting is outstanding. I was disappointed that a literal english translation subtitles, ala Princess Monanoke, were not included, but this is a minor complaint. The extras on this dvd are rather sparce, just a making-of documentary of OK quality. However, this is the norm for most anime DVDs, so I'm not complaining.
Rating: Summary: No japan track!! Review: I payed full retail price instead of picking up a pirated copy (with japan) track at graywhale because I wanted extra features (like on Princess Mononoke) (the whole point of DVD anime). Of course you get lots of reviews but on the english side. Even though I don't know japanese I love the way they sound and how much more comical some things are. I felt [unsatisfied] by paying more and with no japan track. But it's still a great work of art.
Rating: Summary: There Isn't an Option for 4 1/2 Stars, but 5 will do..... Review: The original Vampire Hunter D was one of the first movies that got me hooked onto anime, Akira being the first. I hold it in a warm spot near my heart, for numerous reasons. Sure, the animation isn't that great, but I believe the original Vampire Hunter D is about more than stunning good looks. It is a tale of overcoming social boundaries, doing what is right and struggling to find out what 'right' truly is. Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust draws more on these themes than the original. This may have something to do with the fact that this movie is based on the 7th(?) book where the first one was based on the 4th(?), I am not entirely too sure. But the characters are much more mature as well as the way the story is told. Vampires aren't portrayed in the stereotypical manner of complete bloodsucking evil monsters but as beings who do have feelings and act according to them. There are a plethora of monsters in the film, though, the henchman of Link being a few, the Barbarois, and to an extent, the Markus Brothers are more monstruous than Meier Link. Meier Link is portrayed elegantly and carefully. The viewer never really sees him act dastardly(until the end), but instead relies on the other character's hatred of him to promote his villainy. As I said before, the character design and development is strong in this film. The plot is also more sophisticated. Instead of just hunting down and killing the vampire for the reward, competition is added, friendships are formed along the way, and more of society in general is shown. Prejudices are displayed in a way that resembles modern society. Also, the creators have made an extremely interesting world that is based in part on reality and part on imagination. It is truly a wonder to behold. The artistic and technical staff is brilliant and the animation is superb. The dvd is beautiful and contains many extras that will please fans as well as artists. It gets 4 1/2 stars because the dub isn't as well as it could be. There are a few sentences that run together and some dialogue that is a bit forced, but for the most part, this is a good dub. But as a whole, it is a monumental film, I recommend it to everyone, even to those who are not interested in anime.
Rating: Summary: A REAL MASTERPIECE OF ANIME Review: I just have to say that this is absolutely one of the best anime-movies I have ever seen! The storyline is brilliant, and the graphics is really outstanding. If you are a fan of anime, I strongly advise you to add this masterpiece of film to your collection. "D" has been hired to track down Meier Link, a powerful vampire who has abducted a human woman. D's orders are strict - find Charlotte, at any cost. But he gets some competition. The Markus brothers are also hired for the same bounty. D must intercept Meier and conquer hostile forces in a deadly race against time.
Rating: Summary: D Review: After playing the video game Vampire Hunter D, I was curious as to the actual anime. I bought it, watched it and needless to say it follows the game pretty closely. Of course, it wasn't as cool as the game but it was ok.
Rating: Summary: You can't help but love it... Review: I can't say that I am the biggest fan of anime, but I can say this... If you love vampires, action, love, blood and a good story then bloodlust is just for you. For those who have seen the first of Vampire Hunter D, there was more action then there was plot. In this movie there is now a more in depth look at the characters and it actually involves a love story! Even if you are not into all of that blood and gore I still strongly suggest that you see this movie at least once. There is never a dull moment and it has a very detailed plot line. Just watch it, you may be surprised( I was).
Rating: Summary: Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust Review: To sum the movie up in two words: Nothing Better! The animation is spectacular, the storyline not hard to understand, and the characters are just perfect. For those of you who want a movie that will fill that empty spot for action buy it now, you won't regret it.
Rating: Summary: Makes the original look like a Disney cartoon Review: I just realized the original Vampire Hunter D was made in 1985, thats almost 20 years ago! And sweet Jesus has animation evolved since then. The first thing you'll notice about Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is the clean, crisp, and beautiful animation, not to mention the close attention to detail you'll notice in different scenes. I'll tell you now that this isn't called Bloodlust for nothing, blood flows like water and if you like your anime with buckets of blood and gore you'll love this. Anyway, the story revolves around our hero D who takes a bounty to find a vampire named Meier Link who has kidnapped a girl named Charlotte, only D also has to contend with a group of vampire hunters called the Markus Brothers who are also after Meier Link. What develops however is that all is not what it seems, and some revelations are revealed leading to one last bloody battle that fans of the original Vampire Hunter D will either love or hate. All in all, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust may not be as good as the original, but it is a great anime nontheless. Also recommended is Jin-Roh The Wolf Brigade, which is another great anime worth owning.
Rating: Summary: Wow, what an improvement over part I Review: If you have seen the first Vampire Hunter D, then you are probably wondering if this is any better than the first one... Overall this movie is really, really good: Pros: 1) The dark animation of the movie is amazing and much better with respect to the first movie. I was really impressed. 2) In the story, D was not the only character focused on. There were other characters that took some of the spotlight. 3) The movie is independant on its own and you don't need to see the first Vampire Hunter D to see this one. (although if you saw part I you'd enjoy the character more, in my opinion.) 4) The story in the movie was very exciting equally along it's length. I never felt myself get bored at any point throughout the movie. The gothic hint in the story really gave more color to the movie characters. 5) There is no full nudity in it, so kids can actually watch it (well if you are okay with the violence). Cons: 1) D,... never really had a challange, he was more like pressured to take moral decisions. Overall, a must have.... Almost to the level of Ninja Scrolls but still beneath it in story. Definately above Princess Mononoke level.
Rating: Summary: Crisp Animation, Inadequate DVD Features... Review: Its a good movie with an average plot, awsome fight scenes and some really cool characters, but my only gripe is that the DVD didn't come with any special features besides some previous... You couldn't even change the language if you wanted to watch it in subtitles... I understand that supposedly this was partly made by Americans too but wasn't the original language Japanese? i just prefer subtitles thats all... Others, this is a good viewing and will keep you watching throughout the entire thing.
|