If you are an anime fan...

[firecat]

...try to get your hands on a copy of the Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust DVD.

It was made in 2000 with a joint American/Japanese crew and originally performed with an English speaking cast. It's a sequel to a classic piece of anime, Vampire Hunter D, made in 1985. The main character is the same and the tone of the movies is the same, but the animation styles are much different; the original anime was done in a very simplified and spare style and the sequel is very lush and detailed. The director is Yoshiaki Kawajiri, who also did Ninja Scroll and several other anime movies that are popular in the US.

Comments

[usqueba.livejournal.com]

We own the original VH D. I loved it. We've seen :Bloodlust at the store, here and there. now that I have a review, I'll be more likely to rent/buy it.

[epi-lj.livejournal.com]

I can't remember VH:D that well anymore other than that I didn't really like it when I first saw it. :/ Are there other titles you would compare the series to? (I didn't really like Ninja Scroll either -- I have a duped copy, but only because someone put it on the same tape as something else I liked and didn't want to erase.)

[firecat]

Pretty much everything that Kawajiri directs is similar. Wicked City Shinjuku, Cyber City Odeo. I don't know of any other directors who have his style. If you have seen the Animatrix, he did the short about the runner.

I didn't like Ninja Scroll either. But I think I'll give it another try.

[epi-lj.livejournal.com]

I think when I saw Wicked City Shinjuku it was titled Demon City Shinjuku, if that's the same thing. (I think it was a fansub, so it may well be the same thing.) I remember *STRONGLY* disliking that one.

I think that my favourites by far as far as anime goes are the Miyazaki films, followed by some of the other things that Studio Ghibli has been involved with. I also like Green Legend Ran and the occasional other movie. I like Ghost in the Shell still and Macross Plus. For series, I really enjoyed Fushigi Yuugi, El Hazard (although only the first series), Dragon Half (all two episodes), what I saw of The Hakkenden although I haven't seen much of it and a few other things. We have all the Cowboy Bebop DVDs also, although that was okoshun's purchase. I like the show enough, but I don't *really* get into highly episodic things. I need a strong continuing plot arc, really.

[firecat]

Yes, Demon City Shinjuku is the same thing.

I can definitely see disliking Kawajiri's style; there's a horror element and lots of gore.

I love Miyazaki, Ghibli, Ghost in the Shell, and Macross Plus. Since we seem to have similar tastes except for Kawajiri, I'll check out Green Legend Ran. I'm trying to avoid series because so many of them go on forfuckingever.

You might try Jubei Chan the Ninja Girl: Secret of the Lovely Eyepatch. It's kinda self-referentially silly, but it also has a good story. And there's very little gore.

[epi-lj.livejournal.com]

Oh, I also quite liked that one series that I'm blanking on the name of, but which wasn't really that many episode. Uhhhhh.

Serial Experiments: Lain.

I'll see if I can find Jubei Chan the Ninja Girl. :) It's been a while since I've found new anime to check out.

Green Legend Ran isn't the best thing ever -- it's overlong and the voice acting is TERRIBLE (in their the dub or the original), but I like it. I'm not entirely sure why. I think the theme appeals to me.

[erin-c-1978.livejournal.com]

Wicked City and Demon City Shinjuku aren't the same film, although practically everybody I know who's seen them confuses the two because they're so visually similar.

Wicked City is about a human male special agent and a "Black World" female special agent trying to create a peace between humans and Black Worlders, all the while shepherding around a little pervert who's supposed to be spearheading the process. In Demon City Shinjuku, a nasty sorcerer has kidnapped someone's (Japan's?) prime minister and made a ruin of the Shinjuku portion of Tokyo. A kid whose father he killed and the prime minister's daughter tromp on in to find her dad/kill Levi Rah.

Short version: Wicked City is the one with the monster sex and the melting prostitute.

If you liked Bebop at all, Wolf's Rain is a fantasy anime by the same team, and it does have an ongoing storyline. (It's playing on Cartoon Network at the moment and I'm enjoying it hugely.)

[firecat]

Thanks for the correction! I now recall I've seen Wicked City and liked it ("monster sex and melting prostitute" helped!). I haven't seen Demon City Shinjuku, though.

[erin-c-1978.livejournal.com]

The melting prostitute was pretty memorable! ^_^ I'm quite fond of Demon City Shinjuku, despite an ending that gave me the impression the budget ran out -- I think at some point they were showing it on one of the cable stations, possibly the Sci-Fi channel. (Probably the dub, though, which was really bad.)

[erin-c-1978.livejournal.com]

Kawajiri directed "Program" in the Animatrix also. I really like his visual style.

[erin-c-1978.livejournal.com]

I know this is way late -- just an alt.poly mostly-lurker who was reading your LJ and was attracted by the to. I'm a big fan of Kawajiri and an even bigger fan of Vampire Hunter D, old version and new version.

[firecat]

Yay! Thanks for dropping in! I actually didn't like "Program" at first, but it improves on rewatching.

[erin-c-1978.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I thought it was a bit emotionally flat -- not Kawajiri's best -- but it sure is pretty.

[geekchick]

I think I liked the original story better, but definitely liked the animation style of Bloodlust. I've never seen any of Ninja Scroll, so far as I know.