Vampire Hunter D (* out of four). Made in 1985. Directed by Toyoo Ashida
Thereıs nothing quite like a gory anime. Really, and this is the truth, no other genre in film gets away with such violence without a word being said in the media about it. With anime, a common shot is watching a body getting quickly cut in two, and the rest of the insides falling out seconds afterword. This is a standard practice in anime, or at least the half dozen or so titles that Iıve seen.
Vampire Hunter D is a gory, gory film. If they ever made a live version of the film, it would be banned in several countries and given a rating somewhere below XXX. Itıs not that itıs gore is unique - itıs just like other gory animes - but this one was supposed to stand out because of the complexity itıs story, characters, animation, etc... It really didnıt. It was disgusting and gruesome, which overshadowed the story, what little of it there was.
It seems that in the not too distant future vampires and evil control the world, because God knows that our local police force just canıt seem to get a handle on vampires in the movies. One evening, a blond peasant girl, drawn to look 17 and innocent (a foreshadow that we will see her naked, I guessed early on it would be in the shower or in a rape scene) is out fighting evil in her local forest preserve when she stumbles onto the private property of a ten thousand year old vampire (insert Strom Thurmand joke here.) Of course, he never put a ³no trespassing² sign on his yard, so one canıt really blame her, but heıs upset anyway and demands retribution. She gets the obligatory bite on the neck (arenıt there other places to get blood from? It seems like a bite in the elbow would do well enough. If it's good enough for doctors to draw blood from, then why do vampires stray from that sight?) To fight the spell, she enlists the help of a mysteriously tall, dark and handsome vampire hunter (you guessed it, his name is D). The vampire hunter is torn between fighting vampires, being attracted to the 17 year old peasant girl and finding reasons not to talk too much. You see, like all heroes in these kinds of stories, heıs a brooder, whoıs sole purpose in life is to remain really, really silent. When he speaks, itıs in cliches. Heroes like this are bad when theyıre live, even worse when animated.
Later the vampire hunter storms the castle to meet the big bad vampire, who wants to marry the peasant girl because heıs bored after 10,000 years of living (the only clever vampire insight made in the movie), Will Vampire Hunter D rush to save her in time? Will we see blood and intestines spattering on every place imaginable?
In itıs defense, the animation, when focusing on being original rather than recycling anime slicing, could at times be original. The talking hand was clever - and I think the inspiration for a skateboard-related logo. And thatıs the best defense I can think of.
I understand that Vampire Hunter D is supposed to be a fave among anime fans, but I really donıt see it. Itıs an excuse to watch blood dripping from teeth, blood exploding out of eye sockets and horses necks, and most importantly, like all violent anime, it is an excuse to see animated breasts. Why? What is the point of that? Maybe I have to understand the genre and look past the obsessive gore and mysogny. Iım not a prude, I just donıt think itıs warranted. It puts itself so far out in front of the movie that everything else gets lost. Is there a neccesity in seeing a 17 year old in the shower? Of course not itıs done for shock. Itıs tasteless and despicable.
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