"Vampire Hunter D" is one of those REALLY long-running franchises in Japan, consisting mainly as a series of novels from 1983 to the present day (2019). It's an iconic character and mythology, made manifest to our eyes thanks to the cover art by Yoshitaka Amano, the same celebrated concept artist for most of the early "Final Fantasy" games. Aside from "Final Fantasy," D's black cape and wide-brimmed hat might be one of Amano's most famous designs. Strangely, the series never got a proper television anime adaptation (although one is reportedly in production), instead settling for two separate feature films. The first, simply called "Vampire Hunter D," was released in 1985.Even without reading the novels, the film's plot is relatively straight-forward, said to be based on the first novel. A young woman and hunter named Doris is attacked at night by a vampire, respected and feared as a Noble of the countryside. Fearing the effects and the Noble's intentions for her, she seeks the help of a wandering stranger that she recognizes as a skilled hunter that specializes in vampires. This hunter happens to be "D," a "dhampir" (human and vampire half-breed) with a dark history. But the quiet and stoic D agrees to help Doris for virtually nothing in return, acting as her body-guard and single-handedly storming the Noble's castle.It's a fascinating world that "Vampire Hunter D" is set in, although it suffers for a confusing mix of elements. It can't seem to decide if it is set in a cowboy-western setting, an old European town, or a Japanese village with children singing songs in the background. The plot is made a bit more complicated by having the townspeople react to Doris being chosen by the Noble, shunning her for their own safety, and by introducing a couple minions to the Noble with their own abilities and alterior motives. One such minion is the Noble's daughter, who is horrified with the idea of a impure human becoming the Noble's bride (and therefore, her mother). D's past is mostly kept secret, but we get a glimpse of his internal demons as he refuses any romantic advances by Doris, having lost too much before. Speaking of which, Doris is an odd character, switching between a strong independent woman to a frail object of attraction a little too quickly. While not a great story or filled with great characters, there at least IS a story in this movie, and D himself is fascinating enough to carry it, as well as make us interested in any future adventures.Unfotunately, the production values are poor, even for 1985 anime. Animation is limited, and whenever a character moves or when grass blows in the wind, I can't help but compare it to what a high-school novice might make for class: it isn't much better. Visuals still hold up a bit better, especially with great designs for the castle or moonlit sky, and a wide variety of grotesque monsters (most of whom have neat but impractical designs). On the other hand, the world is also very much empty, with large plains of grass and rock and not much in between. The character designs are the most divisive element: they are clearly adapted straight from Amano's illustrations, and very much feel like something he would draw, a great accomplishment. But in reality, most of his figure and costume designs really don't look great outside his abstract fashion-like sketches. Women have round faces and small mouths that make them feel instantly dated. Doris wears a blue dress that looks like a nighttime teddy gown, and villain Lamika wears a leotard, which isn't exactly intimidating. Only D himself looks at all cool.
The English dub is an example of how bad some dubs could be decades ago, so I would highly recommend the Japanese instead. Music is appropriately atmospheric, and the type of soundtrack I would listen to, not because I necessarily like it, but because it invokes the movie well, even allowing one to follow the entire story with just the music alone. "Vampire Hunter D" is considered to be one of those classic anime films that, if seeking something pre-2000, continues to come up in discussion. It's a shame that age hasn't been kind to it, but fans of vintage horror titles will still want to add it to their own collection.