Vampire Hunter D Returning in Live-Action Form

The big news in the anime world is that Hideyuki Kikuchi's ‘Vampire Hunter D’ may be hitting the silver screen soon. Woo!  According to a report in the horror magazine Rue Morgue, Kikuchi is working on a live action ‘Vampire Hunter D’ film in addition to a new anime feature.

The story also says that Hideyuki Kikuchi and a producer from the ‘Biohazard’ (aka 'Resident Evil') video game series will be working with one another on the live-action film.

Originally published in 1983 as series of novels by Kikuchi and illustrator Yoshitaka Amano, ‘Vampire Hunter D’ focuses on lone warrior named "D" in a post-apocalyptic world that combines elements of pulp genres: western, science fiction, horror, high fantasy, folklore and occult science. The planet is overrun by vampires and other supernatural beings, as well as mutants, technological creations and so on. As a dhampir (half-vampire/half-human), D is one of the best vampire hunters out there.

‘Vampire Hunter D’ is probably best known in the U.S. for the popular anime adaptation which was released in 1985. Another animated film — ‘Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust’ — came out in 2000. Additionally, the very long-running novel series has also been adapted into several manga volumes.

And with so many volumes in the series you may want to catch up and pick up the Reader’s Guide once it’s released.

“An international sensation for more than two decades, the now-legendary monster killer known only as "D" has conquered the worlds of movies, comics, and, since the publication of the first novel in English in 2004, is becoming just as popular in America and the English-speaking world as he has been in Japan for more than a dozen novels. Now, for the first time, go behind the scenes of the phenomenon. With rare artwork from Yoshitaka Amano and interviews that shed light on the inspirations for the memorable stories, you'll have a front-row seat at the creation of the two animated adventures of Vampire Hunter D, and learn new secrets about the novels through detailed summaries.”

- Moonlight