Vampire Hunter D is considered a classic in Japanese animation. It was one of the first anime movies to be released here in the states and it is still very popular today. May I ask, why? Don't get me wrong. Vampire Hunter D is a pretty enjoyable movie, but it certainly is nothing special.

The story goes like this; we have D, who must save a young girl named Doris, as a nasty vampire named Count Magnus bites her. Since she is bitten, she now has to be Magnus' new wife. As you can imagine, people get mad, and a lot of bloody fights ensue. Ok, where to start?

Well, Vampire Hunter D is an old anime, so I didn't expect it to be technically impressive, but this movie really shows it's age. To put it nicely, this movie is ugly. The characters look hideous, the monsters are pretty lame, hair and clothes don't flow right and oh my, just wait until you see how wind is drawn. (5 black lines coming into the camera does not look like wind!) The characters themselves are pretty lame too. Doris is ugly. Her little brother is a huge pain. D is a very stereotypical loner. Magnus is your typical godfather-like Italian vampire. Even the enemies were pretty bad. Magnus' henchmen are lame and the serpent ladies that try to seduce D, are equally as lame. I sometimes wished that Magnus would just kill Doris to stop her whining. The only characters I did like were D's talking hand, (What would you do if I wasn't around, wait, don't answer that.) and Count Magnus' daughter, Lamika, who I actually felt bad for.

The story is pretty stereotypical too. I mean, man saves damsel in distress from big mean guy. That hasn't been done before... The plot and the whole movie sinks into corniness levels, far beyond what should be allowed. It's like one of those sad little horror flicks from the 80's with a 500 dollar budget, that can be find for 2.00 dollars in a bargain bin at a discount store. The dubbing is a no-no. Everyone's voices just didn't do anything. Everyone lacked emotion, or overacted or was just really annoying.

Another thing, why are there a whole bunch of monsters in this movie. (Wait, am I in Wicked City again, or have I mysteriously landed in Demon City Shinjuku?) Ok, it is a vampire movie, so I do expect monsters in this movie called, vampires, I don't expect demons and hideous monster creatures, that have nothing to do with anything. The monsters are just there so we have an excuse to put more action into the movie. If I wanted to see hideous monsters and demons, I can watch Gundam (Wuu Fei is scary... ::shiver::) or I can watch Wicked City, Demon City Shinjuku or movies along those lines.

Another thing, the gothic atmosphere is severely underused. One thing that really could've saved this movie was the atmosphere, but even that disappoints. Where are the cool vampire castles and awesome gothic stained glass windows etc?

On the upside, this movie does have quite a bit of bloody action and some really good fights. The last fight with Magnus, while not all that it could've been (are they ever?), still satisfies and gives the movie an excellent climax. All in all, Vampire Hunter D is a mindless action movie, with lots of blood, stereotyped characters, and ugly animation. It certainly isn't thought provoking, but it is still an enjoyable watch. I wouldn't recommend a buy, but it is a classic and if you haven't seen it, then you should at least rent it once. You might want to buy it if you are an anime collector, just to say that you have it. (I'm tepid on the movie but I still bought it because it's a classic. I know, I'm so lame.) My final verdict is to wait for the new Vampire Hunter D movie, which will be released sometime in late 2001. It's got updated animation, hopefully a better story and better character designs. I hope the new D movie succeeds in the areas where this movie failed.