The Second Vampire Hunter D Movie

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VHD2000 picture gallery   VHD:B info file   VHD:B English/Japanese version differences
Transliteration page   Translation of "Tooku Made" by Akiko

The second Vampire Hunter D movie (VHD2000; Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust in the USA) is based on Hideyuki Kikuchi's third Vampire Hunter D novel, D—Yousatsukou, a title that Kevin Leahy translates as D—Demon Deathchase. (Reviewed here.) However, there have been extensive changes to the plot. The director is Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Ninja Scroll, Wicked City, BioHunter). The character designs by Yutaka Minowa are inspired by the work of Yoshitaka Amano, who invented the "look" of D for the novels. (The character designs for the 1985 movie were also based on the work of Mr. Amano, but the artists working for Indri Goya took great liberties in converting them to animated form.)

The official web site for Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust includes a mini-synopsis of the movie, gallery, cast and crew info, production notes, list of characters, downloads, a link to a discussion forum, and more.

Hideyuki Kikuchi, author of the Vampire Hunter D novels, had the opportunity to watch voice actors laying down the tracks for the Japanese dub of VHD2000 and wrote about it at the end of D—Jaoh Seidan part 3. Voices, with some of their earlier credits, include:

D: Tanaka Hideyuki (Makishima Akito/Guyver 3 in Guyver; Bean Bandit)
Left hand: Nagai Ichirou (repeating his role in the first film)
Meier Link: Yamadera Kouichi (Zabel in Vampire Hunters, Ryouga in Ranma 1/2, Kaji in Neon Genesis, Spike Spiegel in Cowboy Beebop)
Charlotte: Shinohara Emi (Sailor Jupiter in Sailor Moon, Presea in Rayearth)
Leila: Hayashibara Megumi (Saotome Ranma in Ranma 1/2)
Carmila: Maeda Bibari (once a famous Takarazuka star)
Narrator: Ishizuka Unshou (Donovan in Vampire Hunters)
Grove: Seki Toshihiko (Asuka's father in Evangelion)
Borgoff: Yara Yuusaku
Kyle: Ohtsuka Hidenori
Nolt: Ootomo Yusaburou
Leila as a girl: Yajima Akiko (Yugi in Shin Tenchi Muyo)
Barbarois leader: Ohtsuka Chikao
Mashira: Nishi Rintarou
Caroline: Soumi Yohko

(Some credits added by Morgan B.; corrections from a post to the VHD ezboards forum by MsStranger.)

VHD2000 chronology:

• 1998 September 12-17. USA: "Masters of Fantasy—The Anime Filmmakers" broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel. The program included five clips from the VHD2000 trailer.
  
• 1999 December 9. Japan. VHD Playstation game released by Victor Interactive Software.
  
• Early 2000. Japan. Official world premiere of VHD2000 at the Yuubari Fantasy Film Festival in Hokkaido. Throughout 2000, a preliminary version of VHD2000 was screened at film festivals in Japan, Canada, Australia, South Korea, New York, and California.
  
• 2000 September. USA. VHD game released by Jaleco.
  
• 2001 January 25-29. Japan. Recording of Japanese-language dialogue for the movie.
  
• 2001 April 19. Japan. Movie release pre-opening event.
  
• 2001 April 21. Japan. Japanese theatrical release opens in about 50 Warner/Mycal theaters around the country.
  
• 2001 August 24. USA. Theatrical premiere of Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust at The Egyptian Theatre, Los Angeles, California.
  
• 2001 October 17. Japan. Release for rental on VHS, with both English-language and Japanese-language versions available.
  
• 2001 December 19. Japan. Theater version DVD (English-language only) released.
  
• 2002 February 12. USA release to home video (VHS and DVD formats) by Urban Vision. English-language only.
  
• 2002 June. Japan. Japanese-language version released on DVD.
  
• 2004 February 4. Japan. "Vampire Hunter D Perfect Collection" boxed set released. The set includes three DVDs (Region 2 NTSC) and one CD, boxed with a booklet; the initial limited release also included a poster. Available from CD Japan.

Urban Vision plans to release a Japanese-language version of this movie in 2006.

Trailers and clips

A trailer is available at the VHD: Bloodlust site Fan Stuff page under Downloads.

Projects at Marco Co. Studios includes a 3.4 MB Quicktime movie of Leila scrapping with Caroline. You can also reach this through links at the VHD: Bloodlust site.

Here are screen captures from the trailer in "film comic" format (sort of), along with the script of the first RealVideo version. The Japanese bits are the narration translated by Kevin Leahy! You don't need a Japanese-friendly browser to view these Japanese characters. The shots are split over several pages so those on slow modems won't have to wait so very long for any one page to load.

Art from the new movie can also be seen at Anime Link, which has offered a number of cels from the new movie for sale, and various fan-owned sites: check the links and more links pages.

In theaters

Ren Manalang attended the U.S. premiere. You can read his writeup (which inclues a review with possible minor spoilers) in MS Word format or text format. He has also posted it to the VHD: Bloodlust forum in the reviews section.

More info

Rotten Tomatoes has links to reviews of the new movie. (And check the site for links to merchandise.)

The December 2000 issue of Animation World has an article by Fred Patten on the new movie; this mentions release plans as well as giving a little background on the making of the movie. Articles on the movie have also appeared in the paper publications Animerica vol. 9, no. 1 and Protoculture Addicts 63.

Merchandise associated with the new movie is described on the VHD2000 Merchandise page. Information on the Playstation game is on the the Miscellaneous Merchandise page. Information on the Victor Horror Collection version of the game is on the VHD2000 Merchandise page.