Review: Vampire Hunter D - Hideyuki Kikuchi

Book Vampire Hunter D
Author Hideyuki Kikuchi
Pages 238
Year 1983
Publisher Dark Horse
Reading time 5 days
Rating 9 / 10

I expected much from this book. I've being buying these books since the first time they were published and not reading... Sometimes I am afraid to ruin a book by reading. I idealize something on my mind and I am afraid by reading it I will destroy it. But the time was up and I promised my girlfriend that it would be the first book of the year... It was. I start reading on new year's eve and finish while staying, again, at the hospital. It was a good read and I enjoyed throughouly. It was very interesting to read about the character that I had seen a couple years back on a manga movie. I am anxious to read another book...
The plot is identical to the movie but the book is better I guess... The mysticism of the character is superbly done. Who is he? The only thing that I was a little apprehensive is the all un-defeated character he creates. How can this man, sorry dhampir dies? How can he be defeated? How is this going to affect the other books? What can he bring more interesting in the second to twentieth book? It's something we shall find out.
The plot is simple... Some girl was bitten by a Noble (Vampire) and now someone has to kill or else she will become one of them. She enlists the aid of D, an usually vampire hunter, with unique characteristics. There are many adversaries and many twists. Humans ploting against humans and vampires and vampires plotting against humans and vampires. Family betrayal, Mutants monsters with interesting techniques and so on.
Another good thing is the all background thing that he creates... Why are the vampires in power (or were), why the humans can't defeated them, what the humans are doing and so on...
The setting could be better, the all landscapes... I read somewhere he was inspires by all those 50/60 horror movies... I have some of them... I really want to enter the mood... Maybe I have to watch them as well...
Well, let us hope for a review of the second book...
The cover below is the Manga adaptation of the first book. It's all there. If you don't want to read the book see the manga. Even if it's not that good... The only good thing is the big breasted girl to be rescued but besides that I really would advice the book. Oh and another thing... The manga is not Amano. It's not even remotely similar to it. Being a fan of Amano you would expect that they would find someone to capture it's mood... Well it does not.


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