The 5 best animated films you must see!! part 2 of 5

This issue is about the forth movie in our count down of the best animated movies which is the 1985 Japanese classic Anime Vampire Hunter D

No.4 Vampire Hunter D

VAMPIRE HUNTER D

 

Year released: 1985

Run time: 80 minutes

Director: Toyoo Ashida

Budget: N/A

Box office take in approx: N/A

Vampire Hunter D is a Japanese animated film which was based on Hideyuki Kikuchi’s classic serialised novels which at the time of release in 1985 had never seen light outside of Japan. This particular movie of Vampire Hunter D was based on the first book of the series which was published in Japan in 1983, and gained mass popularity in Japan, where today Vampire Hunter D is part of Japanese popular culture.

This film when it was first released was only distributed to theatres around Japan and was not seen by the western world until 1992, where it was released by Streamline Pictures between the years of 1992 to 1999, it was then later distributed among the western world in 2000 onwards by the creators of the second Vampire Hunter D film, Urban Vision.

This film is one of the most recognised Anime films in the English speaking world due to it being one of the first solely adult animated films to hit western cultures but also the subject matter attracted a lot of attention as the producers of the film billed it as a “dark future science fiction romance”.

This started Vampire Hunter D to rise in popularity in the western world which eventually led to the books, which also had only been previously available in Japanese in Japan, was officially translated and sold to the western English speaking world, on May 11^th 2005.

The film was also restored in 2003 by German Anime distributor OVA films, this was due to the fact that all previous western releases of the film were just transfers from the old VHS version, thus the film suffered from grainy and muzzy sound and picture quality. OVA also changed the frame rate of the film from 24 frames per second to 25 frames per second thus marginally making the film have a shorter run time. The audio was also improved by being pitched up by 4%, thus improving it’s cinematic qualities.

Spoliers warning, story plot ahead!!!

The films storyline revolves around that of a woman who owns a ranch named Doris Lang who on one night while doing her daily work she strays into the Vampire Count’s territory and thus he attacks her and sucks her blood.

The Vampire count, Magnus Lee whom is based on legendary Hammer horror star Christopher Lee, who was famous for his portrayals of Dracula, becomes smitten with Doris and wishes to make her his bride. With this fear Doris finds a Vampire hunter named only D to protect her from count Lee.

D travels to the castle the next morning upon meeting Doris the previous night to warn Count Lee not to pursue Doris any longer, but D is instead led into a trap and is made to fight the three sisters of Midwich, who D vanquishes with ease showing his vampire tendencies in the battle and thus revealing that he is a dhampir, or half Vampire half human.

While this fight ensues Doris is kidnapped by Count Lee and is taken to the castle to be prepared for their marriage, but soon enough D saves her from the castle and kills many of Lee’s monstrous beast’s in the process.

The morning after, Rei-Gisei one of the Counts henchmen whom is a mutant who can shift time and space within his body abducts Doris’s smaller brother Dan, and asks for D to come and rescue him, D goes to Rei-Ginsei, even though he knows it is a ruse so that the count can separate Doris from D.

Rei-Ginsei tries to kill D with some time bewitching incense, but instead it is a normal candle and hence D cuts Rei-Ginsei’s hand off. While this is going on a good friend of Doris, Dr. Fehring visits Doris and tells her of a holy sanctuary where she would be safe from the count and takes her there, but instead the doctor turns out to be a vampire and he was taking Doris to the Count all along.

However the Counts daughter Larmica kills the Doctor and then plans to kill Doris, until Greco the mayor’s son saves Doris with the time Bewitching incense he stole off Rei-Ginsei earlier, Greco tells Doris of his plans to marry Doris and to take Larmica and hold her for ransom to the count and then kill the count aswell.

Greco is then shot by Dan and falls into the chasm below where he later meets Rei-Ginsei and is killed by him for stealing the incense. D takes Doris back to her ranch, but then in the middle of the night Rei-Ginsei comes to the ranch with the real incense and kill’s D and also cuts of his hand in retaliation to doing it to him earlier that day.

D though has a parasite in his hand which revives him, he then finds out that the Rei-Ginsei has taken Doris to the count and the marriage ceremony has begun. D then confronts the count and kills him by impaling the count with a broken off shard of his sword, the castle collapses as the count dies and Doris is finally safe once more.

With his job completed D travels to other distant lands for more adventures.

Spoliers over!!

The film itself pays homage to spaghetti westerns like the film shane as it pays homage to the mysterious lone rider very much like Clint Eastwood.

Join me next time for Part 3 of the best Animated movies ever!!

~ by waldow on July 28, 2007.