Vampire Hunter D (吸血鬼ハンターD) is a character developed in 1983 by Japanese author Hideyuki Kikuchi (菊地 秀行), who eventually wrote 12 novels based on him, illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano. Two have been turned into anime movies.

The character of D is a dhampir (mistranslated in the films first as vampeal, and later as dunpeal), a child of a vampiric father and a human mother. He is the host of a sentient parasite, which appears as a face in his left palm, enjoys annoying D to no end, and can suck in massive amounts of matter. D rides a horse with mechanical legs and wields a long-bladed sword. He hides his face with long hair and a wide-brimmed hat.

The first film is set some 10,000 years in the future, where a vampiric nobility terrorizes human peasants. A young girl, Doris Lang, is attacked by Count Magnus Lee, and later encounters a mysterious horseman, D, whom she hires to protect her farm from the vampires' predations. Unable to provide monetary recompense, she offers her body to do with as he pleases, but he refuses because not only is he a Dhampire, he is a gentleman to boot.

When Doris is kidnapped by Count Lee, D and Doris' little brother Dan travel to Lee's gigantic fortress to rescue her. During the rescue, it is revealed that D is a descendant of Dracula.

The second film, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, is set 2000 years after the first film, and is widely regarded as being the cinematic superior of the two due to advanced animation techniques, better voice-acting, and a better soundtrack. In this film, vampires are a dwindling breed, and one of the last, Meier Link, has kidnapped a human girl, Charlotte. Her father hires D to find her, but he has also hired the Markus brothers, Borgoff, Nolt, Kyle, and Grove. The two parties race inexorably toward a final confrontation with Link, but not before battling a vampiric zombie horde, mutant Barberoy bodyguards with mystical powers, and Carmilla; the ghost of a long-dead vampire Countess. It is based on the third novel of the series (殺妖行).

External link

• Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust Official Website (http://www.vampirehunterdbloodlust.com/)

ja:吸血鬼ハンターD