Vampire Hunter D

Vampire Hunter D is a series of light novels written by the renowned horror novelist, Hideyuki Kikuchi. The series also has been turned to anime movies (OVAs), audio drama (drama CDs), manga, live action movie (upcoming) and anime series (upcoming). There are also short story collection, art books and guide books released.

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Plot

The story of Vampire Hunter D sets on 12,090 AD, after the nuclear war, in a civilization built by vampires after their own image of what the world is supposed to be like. Though the civilization enables the coexistence of vampires and humas, the humans grew scared of such imbalanced power of the vampires, demons and other genetically engeneered monsters resulting to them needing hired hunters to overthrow the noble vampires. And in this world, D, a dhamphir, comes in as a perfect vampire hunter.

 

D

D is a dhamphir - born of a vampire father and a human mother. He is well known for his skills but people despise him for his unusual lineage. His physical and magical abilities are top-notch, but he prefers to use his magical abilities only in times of great need. D's only known weakness is his sun-sickness (some severe type of sun-stroke) that only occurs once every 5 years. Personality-wise, D is a bit of a stoic character and often avoids chit-chat as much as possible. D has a symbiote Left Hand, unlike him, is a bit of a talkative character. The left hand as the ability to suck in massive amounts of matter – earth, fire, wind, water – and is able to turn their energy into life force. D is often seen riding a cybernetic horse with a mysterious blue pendant hanging around his neck.

 

Novels

The novels were first published in 1983 where there are 20 volumes released as the main series and was originally published by Asahi Sonorama. In 1993, a special hard cover edition was released by the same publisher to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Vampire Hunter D. Dark Horse Comics then published the English traslation of the first volume of the novel on May 2005. To date, the English translations of the novels are still on going. On September 2007, Asahi Sonorama closed down and D - Throng of Heretics was then published by Asahi Shimbun Publishing following a complete reprint of the entire Vampire Hunter catalogue.

List of Novels

  1. Vampire Hunter D
  2. Raiser of Gales
  3. Demon Deathchase
  4. Tale of the Dead Town
  5. The Stuff of Dreams
  6. Pilgrimage of the Sacred
  7. Mysterious Journey to the North Sea (Part 1)
  8. Mysterious Journey to the North Sea (Part 2)
  9. The Rose Princess
  10. Dark Nocturne
  11. Pale Fallen Angels (Parts 1 & 2)
  12. Pale Fallen Angels (Parts 3 & 4)
  13. Twin-Shadowed Knight (Parts 1 and 2)
  14. Dark Road (Parts 1 and 2)
  15. Dark Road Part 3
  16. Tyrant's Stars part 1 and 2
  17. Tyrant's Stars Parts 3 and 4
  18. Fortress of the Elder God
  19. Mercenary Road (Novel)
  20. Scenes of an Unholy War
  21. Record of the Blood Battle
  22. White Devil Mountain Parts 1 and 2
  23. Iriya the Berserker
  24. Throng of Heretics
  25. Undead Island (Publication Date: February 22, 2017)

 

Movies/OVAs

  • Vampire Hunter D (1985)
  • Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2000)

 

Manga

Media Factory first publish Vampire Hunter D manga on November 14, 2007. The illustrations was drawn by Saiko Takaki, a doujinshi artist who Hideyuki Kikuchi personally selected.

 

Audio Drama

The Vampire Hunter D audio drama were adaptions of the earlier novels. They were released by Asashi Sonorama and was originally released in cassette tapes. Later, it was re-released in a Drama CD box set including a small art book and a short story.

 

Anime and Live Action

In the January 2010 issue of Rue Morgue Magazine, Hideyuki Kikuchi stated that there will be an anime series and a live action movie coming.

 

Other

Art Books

Guide Book

-- found at Beyond Eternal.