Vampire Hunter D (novels) Vol.#01

By: Justin Rich
Review Date: Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Release Date: Wednesday, May 04, 2005



Creative Talent
Writer/Artist:Writer: Hideyuki Kikuchi & Artist: Yoshitaka Amano
Translated by:Kevin Leahy
Adapted by:

What They Say
It is the year 12,090 A.D. The world has ended, ravaged in the firestorm of man’s wars and madness. But from the wreckage a few humans manage to survive. A few humans…and something else.

Doris Lang knew what her fate was when the vampire lord Count Magnus Lee bit her. An agonizing transformation into on of the undead, to be stalked by her fellow villagers or cursed to become the bride of the unholy creature and face an eternity of torment, driven by the thirst for human blood. There was only one chance, and as she watch him ride in from the distance she knew there was hope. Salvation…from the vampire hunter named D.

The Review
The first novel in an ongoing series of the books of the adventures of the half-vampire/half-human vampire hunter D. and his condescending left hand.

Packaging:
The cover is the original from when the book was originally released and this cover was even used in one of the Japanese trailers for the first Vampire Hunter D movie. It is a pale white cover with D with his sword slung over his back on his black horse with his cape draped over Doris. There is a wisp of smoke around the horse that trails off the cover and the Vampire Hunter D logo is centered right above the main picture. The nicest thing about the packaging is that at the end of the book there is an entire chapter of Vampire Hunter D book two: Raiser of Gales.

Art:
The novel contains eight entire page illustrations. The pictures are extremely dark in appearance and contain an large amount of black. All the drawings do add a helpful visual element to the novel so that we can use our imagination to envision the author’s creation a little better. It definitely helped me shape my mental image of Count Lee as well as what Doris looked like as I was reading this book.

Text/SFX:
Dark Horse has a quite a job in translating the large Vampire Hunter D novel saga. The first of novel series is translated well and maintains the original feel of the story so that the reader can enjoy the book as it was meant to be read. Since this is a novel there isn’t sound effects in this.

Contents (Watch out spoilers ahead):
Doris Lang waits each day for riders, hunters, to travel in through town so she can find one that is strong enough to remove her particular infliction, the bite of Count Magnus Lee the vampire. This time her test is passed by the lone rider D, who she offers the job to for three meals a day and what ever pleasures of the flesh he desired. There is many level of hunters but the highest paid, is the vampire hunter for they too must posses unnatural abilities and skills to counter the power of the Nobility (vampires). The best vampire hunters tend to be Dhampirs, children of both a human & vampire, just like D is.


In the house of Lee there was discrepancy on whether a human should be made Count Lee’s bride so his hasty daughter Larmica, went to end the argument and finish off her father’s fancied human before he could finish his union. To her surprise there was a hunter with enough skill waiting for them to stop her fully transformed werewolf driver without breaking a sweat and being able to counter her attacks easily. Taking or slaying Doris Lang will not be an easy job for either vampire.

For the cursed vampires were not the only problem, and in Doris’ case Greco the mayor’s son was more than just a pain in the neck. He had lead the mob to her door with the word of her biting so that she would suffer the same fate as all others that are bitten; being thrown away in the asylum at the edge of town or a fate worst than that: fleeing here as his wife. But, the town’s folk sensed something different when D stated that he was hired to do this job and that he would complete it, for now Doris was left alone.

D knew the best time to slay vampires was when they were at their weakest, and at first light he headed off to Count Lee’s castle. As D approaches the drawbridge drops and he is permitted to enter, normally vampires are ridged and sleeping during the day, but with the use of Time-Bewitching Incense a candle that can reverse the feelings of day and night, both Lee and his daughter were wide awake for their guest’s arrival. D’s blade is stopped short by a Lee who catches the dagger heading for his heart with his hands and drops the floor out from beneath D hurling him into the catacombs beneath his castle.

Unlike many of the genetically engenereed monsters that the nobility had recreated D was going to be facing one of the few real mccoys, the Midwich Sisters, three headed medusa who feed on the lust and excitement of man before consuming everything else. Unlike anyone else their spell never took over D and instead they found themselves under his control as they slipping their necks to his suddenly extended fangs for a quick bite like the power of a true Noble.

For criminals with bounties on their heads the Frontier Defense Force (FDF) was sent out to rid the countryside of their kind. The FDF had finally caught up with Rei-Ginsei and his three fellow bandits, but unfortunately for them their information was incorrect, for three fellows was not accurate. A witch, was the fourth member following Rei-Ginsei and would conjure up horrible images that would shred the psyches of their opponents and she did that until on the final FDF member her apperation vanished for Doris on her way to Lee’s castle inadvertently entered into battle and killed her.

After the ghost vanished Rei-Ginsei went to investigate way the witch hadn’t finished her job only to find the girl he rescued the day before with her corpse. He decides that he can’t let her get away since she now knew everything and using his extremely deadly shrike-blades attempts to kill her, but when he cuts a statue in half he opens a door that D and the Midwich sisters walk through. The sisters returned to their dungeon but D took Doris and left as Rei-Ginsei and his men stood paralyzed by their fear of the demonic aura that surrounded D.

Now that D had embarrassed Rei-Ginsei Count Lee decided to strike a deal; nobility for Rei-Ginsei if he killed D for good. So Dan, Doris’ younger brother, is kidnapped and D heads to get him back. When he arrive he tells them that it will take 60 seconds to beat them all, and he does that with only Rei-Ginsei surviving to flee, but with his left arm gone from the elbow down. Dan and D then take off to save Doris from Count Lee, only to find Larmica and Greco had gotten to her first and that the carriage was surrounded by Lee and his minions. Once again D’s presence was enough to get his enemies to back away and got the carriage far enough away that he could let both Larmica and Greco run off for their own freedom and D, Dan and Doris headed back to the farm.

Once again the mob was back as three of the townspeople had been attacked by Lee and during this time Greco and Rei-Ginsei unleashed their plan with the end result being a stake through D’s heart! Not even a dhampir can survive that and just for good measure Rei-Ginsei cuts off D’s left hand to even the score as they leave. Doris is taken by the mob to the asylum for trade bait with the Count. Suddenly D’s left hand begins moving on its own! D’s hand reattaches itself and begins to bring his partner back to life before they get eaten.

Greco tries to break out Doris for his own evil needs, only to be foiled by Larmica who tries to repay the favor from D and she in turn is foiled by her father who has come for his prize. Finally, he would have Doris with D out of the way. Dan takes off to escape Count Lee’s pet werewolf only to run into the recently resurrected D who slays the werewolf and takes off with Dan to Count Lee’s castle to stop the proceeding nuptials.

Waiting for Dan and D is Rei-Ginsei for their final confrontation where D’s master of the blade is able to finish off his opponent once and for all. He gives Dan the horse and tells him to wait for him in the courtyard as he goes to rescue Doris. Downstairs Lee is waiting for D since he realizes his wedding will never conclude as long as D breathes and that D will not be stopped by anyone other than a Noble of his power.

Using his ultimate weapon, his cape, Lee and D begin to battle. The cape can stretch and rearrange to fit it’s master’s will and it goes to attack D. D is able to cut it and avoid the first attack, but the fight between him and Lee will not be a fair fight; for he uses his hold on Doris to distract his enemy for a split second. D is more worried about Doris than his own safety pushes her out of the way, but is encaged by Lee’s web. Lee goes for the kill with D’s sword when he is shocked, for D performed the same secret maneuver that he had used on the dhampir in their first battle. A technique that was the secret of the sacred ancestor, Dracula! He looks up at the painting on the wall and Lee cannot help but notice the uncanny resembles of D and Dracula, this dhampir is the son that was long rumored to exist. D then slays Lee and completes his contract. During the collapsing of the castle he takes Doris and gives her to Dan so that they can escape as he too rides off in a different direction for another tale.

Comments
D is a character you can relate with as he battles his own destiny and inner demons as he relentlessly attempts to finish off the Nobility. This novel allows us to get to see what D’s life is like as he must fight his feelings and urges around the people he cares for to make sure that he full fills his contractual duty. The masterful blend of sci-fi and horror brings a real original feel to the story. The feudal system placed with the Nobility (vampires) subjugating their human serfs is a wonderful combination of history and future. Mutants, angry mobs, monsters of all varieties and vampires; is there nothing that the Vampire Hunter D can’t handle? This is definitely a book to curl up to in the wee hours of the evening and enjoy.