Posted by john on December 21, 2001 at 11:39:28:
For those who like anime, the new Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is playing at Channelside. At least it was last night.
If you've heard of the first one, this is the same title character in an entirely different story. Not to mention that the art, soundtrack, and ambiance are all FAR superior to the classic version. And the whole movie is closer to the original character designs of Yoshtaka Amano, one of Japan's famous gothic artists.
For those who don't know this is a movie based on a series of Japanese novels about a world in the far distant future where vampires rule territories of monsters and humans. The humans often hire hunters to kill these powerful vampires. D is a mysterious dunpeal (half vampire, half human) and a hunter. In the 1985 movie he is hired to kill a vampire that bit a young girl, thus saving her. In the new movie set later in time, vampires are almost extinct and he is hired alongside competing hunters to bring back a kidnapped girl. But does she want to be rescued?
Just in case your wondering, D is the initial of his Father's name... that's right the most famous vampire himself.
If you like gothic horror, this is excellent. It's cool to see the Japanese spin on a genre many of us are so familiar with in the West.
For one, did you know that not everyone in the world views Vlad the Impaler as such a monster? It's all how you spin it. In his home country he's a national hero.