15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The book vs. the movie . . ., Mar 7 2006
By MildCritter "the critter" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Vampire Hunter D Volume 3: Demon Deathchase (Paperback)
Having seen "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust" long before this book became available, I have found it difficult to judge the book on its own merits without comparison to the anime. "Bloodlust" was a masterpiece: great characters, artwork and animation among the best ever, tremendous action, tragedy, pathos, imagination; it had it all.
Not unexpectedly, the book contains quite a number of differences from the film. Quite a number of scenes from the movie simply are not there: the confrontation on the bridge is missing; the scene where the father asks D to find his daughter is radically different, but much creepier; the ending is different and more tragic. Much of the book would not have worked as well visually and much of the movie would have been less effective in print.
The book, though, was the original, and it deserves primacy. It is a bit more lurid, creepier, and perverse in places. The movie is more of an adventure story with horror elements, but it is more true to the air of Kikuchi's series, steeped foremost in the horror tradition. As with the first book, many questions are answered that were never quite explained in the movie, including the nature and origin of the face in D's hand.
Comapared to the other VHD books, this one is an easier read; the translator is doing a good job, and seems to have a better grip on how to handle Kikuchi's sometimes overrich descriptions and mood-setting. The first book was not an easy read, but there were many connections to the first movie that made it easier to follow; in fact, the book cleared up a huge number of ambiguities and questions left over from the movie. The second book was lurid and dense; it took a fair amount of effort to read, and the pure horror quotient was stronger. Even so, it was still a good read.
This third installment is worthwhile both for its connection to the movie and for its differences. You get much more of the true mindset of its author, and it's definitely more of a pure supernatural horror story. Differences from the movie aside, it's simply an excellent horror novel and is unquestionably worth the time and effort. The excerpt from the fourth book at the end already has me anxiously waiting for its August release; it looks like quite a different story tack and has a very different style of opening than any of the other stories.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I prefered the movie, Nov 29 2011
By VampireNovelFan "VampireNovelFan" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Vampire Hunter D Volume 3: Demon Deathchase (Paperback)
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is a much looser adaptation of this book. There are numerous plot changes and character personality shifts.
D has been hired by a wealthy ailing man to find his daughter whose been kidnapped by vampire, MeierLink. We soon learn that the two are actually in love and want to escape together to a planet leaving the planet.
D isn't the only one on their tail. The father's also hired the mercenary Marcus brothers (with 3 brothers and a sister) for the same mission. It's a race to the finish for who will rescue her first.
Normally, I prefer the books to the movie, but for this series it was the opposite. The movie was visually stunning a the time with great action. I also much preferred the family dynamic of the Marcus brothers compared to the book as well. In the movie, they at least come off as somewhat likable. I didn't feel MeierLink and Charlotte's (though she is unnamed here) love shine through quite as much compared to the movie. Leila's not quite as badass as she was in the movie and feelings for D are more pronounced here. She does come off as more sympathetic though.
Overall these books are fairly short read. If you've seen Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, I would recommend reading the book. It's very interesting to see what the movie changed.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yay!, Sep 19 2011
By Kayleigh - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Vampire Hunter D Volume 3: Demon Deathchase (Paperback)
YEs!!! This book was in great shape when i got it and it got here pretty fast to. Very nice!! Would buy from this person again!!