2/5 Decidedly Average
  by Ana Mardoll (United States)
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust / 638652109309

I'm very surprised to see that this film is rated so highly and by so many users - I must be in the minority, so take this review for whatever you think it's worth. That said, I felt that this anime was extremely average - not really bad, but definitely nothing good or worth seeing a second time.

First of all, the plot of the movie is exceedingly cliched - or rather, it feels like a bunch of cliches thrown together into a huge, lumpy mess. The "futuristic western" setting (where everything is complete spaghetti western except the better guns and shiny spaceships) works well in, say, Firefly, but just comes off as tired and unnecessary here, except as a deus ex for the climactic ending. Then there's the "kidnapped girl who really isn't" that we've seen so many times before, as well as the enemy that the hero comes to respect in the end. And as for the main characters, there's the standard anime stereotype pick-and-mix - the angry woman who lacks basic reasoning skills but comes around to the pretty-faced hero in the end, and the pretty-faced hero himself who lacks any flaws, personality, or interesting characteristics.

Maybe it's because I'm a woman, or maybe it's because I've seen anime females handled so much *better* (Princess Mononoke, Nausicaa), but the woman hunter in this movie is just completely unlikable and unrealistic. After having sustained an upper chest wound and awakened to find that her half-vampire rival has bandaged her wound, she isn't guardedly polite with a cold 'thank you' or realistically worried with a 'what did you do to me' query (the stoic 'I dressed your wound - that is all' response, called from over the shoulder as he rides away, practically writes itself) or cautiously suspicious with a simple 'what do you want from me', oh no. Somehow the writers thought it was realistic for her to start screaming irately "Oh, I guess you think you can take people's tops off whenever you please!!!" which just isn't realistic for the situation - if *nothing* else, it's a basic human survival mechanism to be at least minimally polite to a powerful adversary in hopes of escaping a situation where you are at a disadvantage.

But, then again, *none* of the hunters seem to have much in the way of a survival mechanism - they're more than willing to suicidally fling their lives away because "no one will ever fear us again if we give up now"......an odd statement, considering that no one has feared them YET in the entire movie, largely due to their massive incompetence.

As for "D" himself, he's lacking in anything interesting. He's half human, but has no humanity - he rarely speaks, he never makes a single mistake in the *entire* movie, he has no personality or flaws, and therefore he is uninteresting. I would bet any money that the actual backstory this movie evolved out of probably featured a D who was conflicted by his past, tormented by his hunger, and mourning his loneliness, but none of that comes over into the movie and all we have is a bland, androgynous hero who is so perfect that the fight scenes lack any tension because D not only never loses - he never even gets scratched.

Speaking of the fight scenes, the fights in "Bloodlust" are so brief and perfunctory they might as well not even be there at all. Ninja Scroll featured some nicely animated, reasonable length fights - often with interesting or clever dialogue, but the fights in "Bloodlust" feel rushed. One interesting villain - a woman who can change the elemental makeup of her body - is so overpowered (mere decapitation doesn't faze her) that the only way they could think to kill her was to have her struck down by lightning in the middle of a rainstorm, which is a bit disappointing - villains should die because of fatal mistakes or clever strategy on the part of the heroes and not because Thor was feeling helpful that day.

In the end, much of the movie felt like a slow grind to the finish. Main characters die off in predictable intervals, far too many coincidences occur to aid the heroes out of tight spaces, the doomed couple make enough stupid mistakes to choke a donkey, and the angry immature woman finally comes around because she's charmed by D's propensity to sound like a fortune cookie dispenser (when he talks at all) and because the movie needs her to in order to wrap things up. It's all pretty bland and standard affair, although I was amused that everyone was able to get past the fact that the poor, maligned boyfriend vampire had killed an entire town in an attempt to slow the heroes down. Those wacky love-struck vampires!

It's worth noting that the production quality of this movie seems extremely poor. The graphics seem washed out and bland, and not in a savvy gloomy deliberate way. The sound mix is terrible - characters practically whisper their lines but the sound effects shriek so loudly the windows shake. We were constantly having to adjust the volume up to hear the dialogue, while then scrambling to turn it back down when the sound effects kicked in. To make matters *worse*, there are no English subtitles included, and I can't remember the last time I saw a movie (anime or otherwise) that didn't offer subs for the hearing impaired. Coupled with the propensity of the characters to whisper and mutter most of their lines, it almost seemed that the movie didn't *want* to be heard, which might have been a prudent decision, all told.

As I say, I did not enjoy this movie - a rarity when I like most anime and nearly every vampire and half-vampire movie I've seen. But you might still want to give it a try (or a rental), since so many people do seem to like it - tastes vary, after all.

5/5 BloodLust
  by Nathan Kraft
Vampire Hunter D: BloodLust is one of the best anime movies that I have ever seen. It has a great story, lots of action, and beautiful animation. If you loved the first Vampire Hunter D, then BloodLust is the anime for you.

4/5 Cool Movie
  by T. Meziane (Cleveland, Ohio)
This movie was pretty good, but it only had a portion of the essence that makes a lot of Anime instant classics and that make you want to watch them over and over. The art-work was fantastic and the scenes were pretty cool as far as action goes. But it is on no level like Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Ninja Scroll, or even the Dragon Ball Z movies. I guess it was story line. It was a good movie, but unless your a Vampire Hunter D fan, this is just a one-watch and done.

5/5 LOVE IT AS MUCH AS THE FIRST
  by fmwaalex (Austin, TX USA)
VAMPIRE HUNTER D
BLOODLUST

The Vampire Hunter D films have always been some of my favorite animes ever; there is no doubt about it I am a huge fan of these stories. I have bought all of the books and such and while I have not read them yet rest assured I will and will most likely review those as well. But that aside I have loved this series since well before it was a series [the films I mean, I know the books are a series]. The first one just blew me away the first time I had the pleasure of viewing it so you know the second this was released I went straight out and bought it. Like I thought I enjoyed this one just as much as the first film, I don't know what it is but I just love this series.

D is back and this time he is hired to go after a vampire by the name of Meier Link, who has kidnapped the daughter of a wealthy man who has hired all the help he can get to get her back. So D id off and running [or riding, what ever] to catch up with them and get her back to her family. Little does he know that another group of hunters are already on Link's trail and do not appreciate D, it makes sense since he is the competition. This group is a bunch of guys and one girl called the Marcus brothers, a interesting bunch but none have any thing on D. even if that wasn't bad enough Link has a group of nasties of his own like Benge who can travel threw shadows, Caroline who is just as evil, and Machira the werewolf [real interesting guy here]. And if that wasn't enough there is also a place were Link will be protected by the world's rejects the Barbarois. Add the bloody Countess Carmila and you have a big test for D.

This is fun follow up to the classic first film and in my eyes is just as good, I love both no matter what any one else thinks. Like I said about the first animation has played a big factor for a lot of people but to me the better production values fit the romance story of this one, because that is really what this film is. The first film was about the evil of this world while this one is about the beauty that could be, a vampire and human in love. I like that the first film is mainly about D were as this one seems more like an ensemble piece. I mean sure it can get a little over done but hey I look at it like the more characters there are the bigger the body count, that just may be me though.

I also like that while brief there is a little e history to D in this one, when the old man remembers being rescued by D as a child. Perhaps that will be in a later film And if so that sounds like it could be a good tale, it might be one of the books that I have, I really need to read them. As for D you all know that he is insanely cool and mysterious and not one for talking that much. Meier Link is a cool enough looking vampire but he is one of those old school looking vampires, he can get vicious over his girl though. His girl Charlotte Elbourne is totally in love with his vampiric self and even wants him to bite her, crazy. They plan to fly away to the stars to a place were their love won't be forbidden.

The brothers Marcus are an intriguing bunch with one being the tough guy leader, one the hot shot, another wielding a huge weapon and one that while deathly ill can take an interesting course of action [check it out]. Then of course there is the female Leila who kinda plays [but not really, does that make sense] as the love interest to D even after various run ins with him, love the ending. Then we have the villains of the film like the Barbarois who are a bunch of crazy looking fellows who have vowed to help Link. And then of course there is Link's personal guard like Benge, Caroline, and of course our werewolf friend Machira. Still when it all comes down to it none of these characters are the bad guys, at least in a way because each is doing what they are doing for a noble cause [at least in their eyes]. It is the Bloody Countess Carmila who is the real evil of this film, see for yourself.

I recommend this film to any and all in fact you don't even have to watch the first one [even though you should] to enjoy this one. They both make for good stand alones but I recommend you buy both. This is an excellent anime and worth every penny.


5/5 Awesome
  by Montana S. Dugger (OKC, OK)
I recieved the movie in a timely manner in the shape that is said it was in which was great. I have no complaints at all it was a great transaction