Customer Reviews

Vampire Hunter D, Vol. 3: Demon Deathchase

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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!!

Great read!! Mr. Kikuchi most certainly did not disappoint.
I am a big fan of the movie Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust, which was inspired by this book. Although the plots somewhat differ from one another, they both held me in suspense. I immediately became attached to the heroine of the tale Leila Marcus, the sister of the infamous Marcus clan. Believe me when I say, this chick had it rough. Being the only female in the clan, she suffered emotionally, from lost relationships, and physically by the hands and manly needs of her brothers. Of course when she crosses the path of the beautiful Vampire Hunter D, who was hired to seize the same target as the Marcus clan, she falls for him big-time and gives into the urge to protect him, just as he protects her. As usual, D is cool and unmoved, but it becomes very clear throughout the story that he has a certain fascination with Leila. But don't get it twisted, this is not a romance tale.
The horror aspect of the tale made it all the enjoyable. God, I can't help but love Kikuchi's wild imagination!
There are scenes in the story that are greatly drawn out, but this happens to be a unique writing style of Kikuchi's that I happen to enjoy. It just pulls me deeper into the scene. There's some serious head-hopping, which is a little jarring if you're not used to it. However, the story is so intriguing that the head hopping is easy to overlook.
Fabulous job Mr. Kikuchi. I can't wait to read the next one!

I like the Vampire Hunter D series and it's a solid title, some of the differences between character powers/abilities seems kind of odd but overall i like the series and if you liked the first two books you will enjoy this one as well.

If you have seen Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, then you may wish to pick up this volume. It is this book that the movie is based on. Of course, the movie is not just a copy of the novel, there are certain twists and turns that make them different. In fact the ending in the movie seems to be brighter than the one in the book, just slightly. The Marcus Clan are not people I would want to hire or even meet in a coffee shop. And vampire Noble Mayerling, while not the good guy, still comes off as more honorable and interesting than many of the humans in the book.
Well, he is a vampire. A must for any vampire library.

I first watched Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust before picking up this novel, and I am glad I did because it makes me respect this book even more! At first I thought it was going to be a hard read after reading some reviews... so I watched the movie (which I loved) so I bought the book. As is in most cases, the book trumps the movie by far. There really is much deeper story to the book than the movie. I was unable to put down this book for days. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the movie(s) and/or Vampire Tales.

This is the book that the second Vampire Hunter D movie is based on. If you thought the movie was good: this is WAY better. Some of the scenes that might not have made much sense in the movie are better explained in the original story, and there are pleny of shocking elements in here (probably considered too much for the movie) to keep you turning each page. Definately worth the money!

So far I love all the Vampire Hunter D Novles. It was a lot better than the movie. It was nothing like the movie. It was very different from the movie. Hopefully next time they make another Vampire Hunter D Movie (I hope they do.) I hope they follow it more closely to the book. D as a twisted, cold sense of humor. I love the book and I can't wait to read the next one.

I bought this book from Barnes and Nobles a few weeks ago, along with the first volume of the series. I was really excited to get started on them and found the first volume, simply titled "Vampire Hunter D" a very entertaining book. After reading that, I immeadiately snatched the third book off of my bedside table, beginning to devour the words. The opening was interesting, but it didn't really capture me the way the first book did.
Well, I didn't enjoy this as much as I enjoyed the movie. The book had scenes that were WAY different from the movie. Leila actually expresses her feelings for D, Meir Link is known as Mayerling in the book, Charlotte isn't called Charlotte in the book but is an unnamed girl instead. But this book should be appreciated since it IS the original version that inspired the movie. But there were parts where I went, "Oh man, when is this chapter gonna finish?" and got sort of bored, but I just kept on reading, nonetheless. When I finished, well, I didn't feel the satisfaction I had when I read the first book. This version is somewhat creepier (not that it's bad) but boring. Some of the characters use the f-word throughout the book, which really annoys me! I mean, hello! Kids at a high level of reading could be reading this!
But don't skip this book if you're gonna watch the movie. It's still worth your time.