In 1983, Hideyuki Kukichi created a series of horror novels set in a post apocalyptic future, where in the ashes of World War III, as humanity tried to rebuild, horror from folklore re-emerged to assert themselves on mankind – Vampires. Under the guise of “The Nobility”, they made themselves humanity’s new masters. They rebuilt the world, but at the price of humanity’s subservience. Humanity chafed under their yoke, and rose up – shaking themselves free from those who would treat them as slaves and food. In this world came vampire hunters who would try to hunt down and destroy the Nobility. Among them was a dunpeal, half vampire, half human, seeking to hunt down the race that created him. A man known only as D.

This series became incredibly popular in Japan, due to the creepy but stylish setting, as well as the illustrations by up and coming artist Yoshitaka Amano. The series received a movie in 1985, which was one of the first anime films to be released outside of Japan, and it achieved a cult following in the US. Thus, when Yoshiaki Kawajiri directed a second film in 2000, based on the novel Demon Deathchase, a US release was certain… Continue reading →