Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D, Volume 01

Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D #1

by Saiko Takaki (Adapter), Hideyuki Kikuchi (Creator), Saiko Takaki (Illustrator)

The year is 12,090 A.D., and what little is left of humanity has finally crawled out from the ashes of war and destruction. From the darkness of fallout, mutants and a race of vampires known as the Nobility have spawned. They rule the weak with no remorse. Once bitten by a Nobility, one is cursed to become a member of the undead. Villagers cower in fear, hoping and praying for a savior to rid them of their undying nightmare. All they have to battle this danger is a different kind of danger -- a Vampire Hunter.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Vampires, Horror, Graphic Novels, Comics, Science Fiction

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had read the first installment before. I think I had to start it a couple times. Another iconic series I'm just not into. The impossibly giant boobs and constant rape threats, and how dumb Doris and Dan are, really prevented me enjoying this, even though the background set-up was interesting. Needs more post-apocalyptic supernatural worldbuilding and less fan service.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 1 out of 5]

That's a fist full of dollars I'll never see again.

Sorry all of you who like these....just not for me.

[Xilks · Rating 4 out of 5]

After re-reading, I decided to lower the star count by one. This is very wonderfully done art, but the strong "damsel in distress" motif really started to rub me the wrong way. I found myself trying to make excuses for the story, saying that it was and older book and that it could be forgiven for being so sexist, but in the end... I can't. It's an interesting story, and I liked it and the characters--but I can't forgive the over the top sexualizing of women, the "women are weak" stereotype, the lack of character depth for the leading female, as well as the lack of females in the book itself. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Vampire Hunter D, but not the way the author and illustrator chose to depict females.

[Adam M · Rating 3 out of 5]

So there are several conceits out of the gate: It is 12,090 A.D., there was a gigantic war that basically blocked out the sun. Mutants and a race of vampires known as the Nobility rose out of this as the ruling class. "Once bitten by a Nobility, one is cursed to become a member of the undead. Villagers cower in fear, hoping and praying for a savior to rid them of their undying nightmare." Enter a Vampire Hunter, known as D. He kicks ass and takes names and somehow this is both a Western, Gothic, neo-futuristic story. It's juggling a lot for reasons I don't totally understand. It only sometimes cares that there is futuristic technology in a world where forms of magic also exist.

I am slightly conflicted with this one and some of it isn't the books fault. I read this through the Overdrive site/app and the formatting was terrible. I blame the eReader for that, but it really did color my enjoyment of this. Some of the panels were too small to really see what was going on and some of the art was seemingly just brush strokes back and forth across the page to show movement, but that really means it was just a panel of nothing.
-My introduction to this world was through the 2000 film "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust" and that a pretty indelible impression. This book certainly gave me a lot of the hallmarks of that story/world, but I think I'm going to need to get my hands on a physical copy of the next in the series to have a better idea if this is actually good or I just want it to be good.

[Angharad · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art is rather pretty and it follows the first book pretty well. If you prefer manga to reading text, this series is nice. I'd rather read the books personally but both are good in their own way.

reread 2016: the art is still pretty but the anatomy is a bit weird. especially for women.
I still agree with everything I said in my former review. the books are better but for people that prefer manga these are rather good.

reread 2025: I just recently re-read and listened to the audio for the first Vampire Hunter D light novel, so I have a really good memory of what happens here. I've also read that first book a few times, I'm actually grateful for that because this artist's art style is extremely busy and hard to parse at times.

I think if you were ONLY going to engage with Vampire Hunter D via this manga, it would be very confusing. There's some panels I say to myself, "Oh wait, what's happening, oh yea that's the part where he comes out of the mist." Not having a lot of the exposition that's in the text also makes it difficult to understand why certain things are even happening or important details like what a dhampir is or what its limitations on D are. D is especially strong for a dhampir because of who his father is, and that's not alluded to that well here. Strong, memorable moments from the original novel like "What transient guests are we" lose their teeth without being able to really understand who said that originally so many thousands of years ago, and why it even matters.

THAT being said, it is a TREAT to see Vampire Hunter D in any format and the artist's art is really good when in stand still. The action panels are difficult to understand what's going on without the original material in your mind, but still panels of characters talking to each other or shots of Magnus's castle are really good. I'm interested to know if Saiko Takaki's art has gotten better in the 20 years since this was first published and what they're up to now.

[VampireNovelFan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the novel, I thoroughly enjoyed the manga portrayal of the first Vampire Hunter D book. Considering how dated the first movie was, I was sort of eager to see how it matched up to the modern manga art style. D's definitely better looking than the illustrations in the novel which is great. Unlike the film, Doris is a brunette and she is D have a bit more romance than the film leads us to believe.

The manga is filled with vivid details, explanations, vivid action scenes, character development, romance, and just all out entertainment. I ended up liking the characters much more compared to their movie counterparts, even D himself. Most that have read the book and manga have probably seen the movie. Since there are more visuals than the book, the manga is even more fun to try to compare to the movie. There are so many drastic character design changes that you have to remember everyone's names to make sure they're the right characters.

The manga is easy on the eyes, as is D. You wonder if he will ever find piece, and you hope he does. I definitely recommend trying this series out if you're into vampires.

*Review also posted to Amazon

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 4 out of 5]

After humanity nearly wiped itself out during a brutal nuclear war that ravaged the world, vampires rose up from their shadowy tombs to enslave the last of mankind. In the year 12,090 A.D, humanity has led many uprisings against their vampire masters and are close to being on equal footing once more. In an apocalyptic wasteland where scientifically manufactured monsters, demons, aliens and all manner of horrifying creatures roam, neither human nor vampire is safe. A lone half-human vampire hunter named D journeys across the world, taking on deadly tasks for money while searching for the creator of his kind: Dracula.

This book is absolutely bonkers. It combines almost every genre of fiction that’s ever existed. It's pulpy vampire action with a badass, unstoppable protagonist against evil monsters. The descriptions of the setting are amazing if a bit excessive, the descriptions of characters are some of the most vivid I've ever seen. The battle scenes are phenomenal, written in the style of action-packed, over the top light novels. The dialogue can be very awkward and stilted at times, but as someone that grew up reading pulp, graphic novels and cheesy classic fantasy, I honestly tend to enjoy things like that.

Over-the-top violence and flashy action scenes, a blend of every monster in the history of fiction and folklore pulled from every culture imaginable, an insane mashup of dark fantasy, science fiction, dystopian horror, sword & sorcery, spaghetti western, detective mystery and gothic drama. Vampire Hunter D is pulp fiction in its purest form, an orgy of every hammer film production and cheesy 70’s fantasy and horror novel you can think of.

Each book chronicles D traveling to a new location to solve a mystery and take down a tyrant vampire lord terrorizing the locals. It’s very formulaic and that’s not such a bad thing. If you’ve read anything by Robert E. Howard, Michael Moorcock or Arthur Conan Doyle, you’ll have some idea of what to expect. Travel to a new place, hunt some monsters, uncover long forgotten lore, solve mysteries, save pretty girls, big climactic battles between powerful warriors and bloodthirsty beasts. Rinse and repeat. Each monster vanquished brings D closer to facing his arch nemesis.

[Crystal Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

First I would like to say this manga is an "adaption" to the first Vampire Hunter D novel. It's not excately like the novel. It bit different. For me it seem to be a mixture of the novel and the movie. It was good, but not as good as the novels.

There was some parts that I got lost on. As the part with the satittle looking down on earth from space. That didn't make sense to me. D in the manga isn't like the D completely like in the novel or the movie. He doesn't deny himself blood or himself, but manga shows that annoying hatred of his vampire side just like in the movies. I was little disappointed that the manga didn't show the sarcastic humor that D has. I hope it shows more in the up-coming mangas. I miss seeing D's wicked grin when Doris says to him he could sleep with her if he wanted too. But I was happy to see that manga shows, he wouldn't say no, if a woman wanted to sleep with him. I was so happy for that. Because I was really afarid D was going to be like the D in the movies. Which isn't the D in the novels. The D in the novel is much cooler.

As I said it was good, but not as good as the novel. But I am still planing on buying the second manga.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stating right up front: This series is kind of my guilty pleasure series except it's not so guilty. I just really enjoy it because it's really interesting and I like the world and the characters. The art is a little rough at first, but I really love its style and it gets much smoother by the time of the second volume. The art style really suits the subject matter and it's all over a very strong and enjoyable read.

[libraryofthecrypt · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

This honestly might be the only manga series I’ve rated so high that I don’t really care to continue. It wasn’t bad and I was interested in the world but I could go without picking up another volume for a couple months.

[Anthonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great manga to read. Very excellent details in scenes and characters. A really enjoyed reading this hunter's journey in this book.

[Adriana · Rating 5 out of 5]

My aunt got me reading this comic because she loves comics. I really enjoyed this comic and I want to read the other ones. :)

[Rei ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

i'm gay and i love vampires

[mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joa war okay… Doris war zwischendurch schon echt dumm muss man sagen 😂 und einige Sachen waren echt unpassend (wie dass ihr eigener (Nachtrag: 8-jähriger!) Bruder sie lüstern angeguckt hat, nachdem sie ein bestimmtes Outfit angezogen hatte - SEEEEHR strange…)

Ich kann verstehen dass Doris D so gut findet - wer tut das nicht… ich hätte mich genauso an ihn rangemacht und ihm alles angeboten lol ich liebe ihn einfach

Abgesehen davon mag ich den Zeichenstil sehr, er ist sehr speziell und ich liebe es (vor allem auf die Gesichter und Körper (ohne das sexuelle) der Charaktere bezogen - dieses langgezogene, was so ein wenig ethereal aussieht, ich mags echt)
Ist sehr oft nur leider echt messy, und dadurch dass alles dunkel gezeichnet ist, mit seeeehr viel schwarz, erkennt man manchmal einfach nicht was passiert, lol. Gerade bei den Kampfszenen war ich wirklich ziemlich verwirrt… klar macht das auch irgendwo den Stil aus, aber ein biiiissl cleaner wäre nice gewesen.

Alles in allem i.O. - kann man machen. (Fand den Bloodlust-Film aber vieel besser heh)

Nachtrag 1 (hab die Review während des Lesens der letzten Seiten geschrieben lol):
WARUM muss Doris 17 sein??? Also passt zu ihrer gelegentlichen Dummheit/Naivität, aber so wie sie gezeichnet wird??? Da hätte man doch ruhig 25 draus machen können oder so… digga… sie ist schon si übertrieben sexualisiert, aber dann auch noch als 17-jährige???

Nachtrag 2: D SOLL AUCH 17 ODER 18 SEIN???? also immerhin ist er nicht creepyhaft älter als Doris, dann passt ja der altersunterscheid zwischen den beiden - aber die sind beide viel zu jung dafür wie sie dargestellt werden!!!!!! Broooo

Nö, sehe ich nicht ein - für mich sind die beiden Mitte 20, habe ich jetzt so entschieden - die hätten einfach nicht das Alter der beiden erwähnen sollen, das hat zum Ende hin nochmal reingeschissen hahaha

So oder so liebe ich D als Figur aber weiterhin tho

[Genevieve Tan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ended up reading 6 volumes from this series yesterday.

I would give D's story overall a 4 for enjoyment, a 5 for art, a 4 for the existentialism and grounded optimism in the face of the post-apocalypse, a 3 for the Gothic sci fi (it was cool but not enough world building for me), and a 2 for the repetitive damsel in distress trope.

I enjoyed the characterization and mysterious ambitions of D. The story reminded me of Kino's Journey but more violent, with a more explicitly harsh environment for women. I understand that the violence and assault scenes would be gratuitous fan service for many, but my personal opinion is that those gruesome details are what solidify this story under the horror genre.

Overall 3.6 stars.

[Ali Park · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehhhh I lost complete interest in this and started listening at 2x speed lol. Maybe I’ll give it another go some time but it did not fit my mood this go-around. Nextttt.

[Brian McCullar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't typically add manga/graphic novels to my Goodreads because the majority of them take many volumes to tell a single story, however, some manga manage to contain standalone stories that are part of a great story within the confines of a single-volume, much like what a novel in a novel series does, and I'm perfectly content adding those. This is one such manga series.

The 8 volumes of the Vampire Hunter D manga series are graphic novel adaptations of the first 8 Vampire Hunter D light novels, keeping the same overall story, but showing rather than describing the world, fights, and environments, albeit in a somewhat abridged manner, so if you enjoy reading the manga, definitely consider checking out the novels they're adapting as well, as they tell the more lengthy and complete version of the events.

A little backstory, Vampire Hunter D takes place in a post-apocalyptic world set in the year 12,090 AD, the world was ruined by war and radiation creating a large variety of mutants, including, but not limited to, werewolves, werespiders, dragons, humans with various mutations and most notably, vampires. The vampires themselves were born from their god, The Sacred Ancestor, also known as Dracula, and consider themselves to be the world's rightful rulers and don the title of "Nobility". As a result of the horrors the world faces, some have risen to the challenge and become Hunters. Hunters do exactly what it sounds like they would do, they hunt supernatural beings, oftentimes specializing in one specific type of threat to maximize their efficiency at taking them down, our main protagonist, D, is a Vampire Hunter. But more than that, he's also a dhampir, the offspring of a vampire and a human.

With all of that now explained, I'll try to discuss the plot in as spoiler-free a manner as I can. A young lady living on a farm confronts D, in need of his services to slay a powerful and ancient vampire by the name of Magnus Lee who bit her. D accepts but finds his tasks met with a number of obstacles along the way, beyond just the vampire family, including mutant criminals and angry townsfolk.

The artwork in the manga is beautiful and reminds me of the art style in series like Berserk and Bastard!!, so fans of those series would likely enjoy the visuals of this one. However, I didn't always feel the art panels fully explained the series of events taking place from one panel to the next based on the dialogue of each panel. I wouldn't go as far as to say it was a poor visual adaptation, but it wasn't as clear and easy to follow as I feel a graphic novel needs to be to properly convey a story.

The characters themselves were fine, but not exceptional. D is your typical stoic superpowered swordsman, he doesn't say much, fights with a proficiency far exceeding any normal human and, and tends to dominate in his fights. Doris Lang is fairly one-dimensional and honestly felt like the worst part of the story, she flops between being a competent fighter, to being easily taken hostage, to being defiant, to offering sex in exchange for dealing with her problem, and falls in love far too quickly to be believable, I honestly felt the writer had no idea how to properly write a female character, which is all too common of a problem in fantasy. Magnus Lee was a decent but now exceptional portrayal of the cocky elder vampire/villain-type character, largely staying out of the spotlight until the end and letting his lackeys handle things, and ultimately, in the end, suffering for his hubris. And the other cast of minor characters wasn't bad, but also weren't memorable, with the doctor probably being the best of the bunch.

I enjoyed the overall story, loved the art and I liked the premise quite a bit. I think it has a lot of potential and hope the later volumes improve on the issues I had with it, but it's far from perfect.

For manga fans, if you enjoy Hellsing, Berserk, Trinity Blood, or Bastard!!, then you'll probably find this one worth a read.

For novel fans, I'd recommend this book to fans of classic vampire horror, The Witcher, and the Supernatural series novels.

Overall, it's a 3 out of 5 read for me, not bad, not great, but intriguing.

[Alysses · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember watching Vampire Hunter D when it first came out as an anime. I remember loving it so much that I decided to read the manga all these years later. I didn't like it as much. I understand that some of the panels were drawn in such a way to convey lots of action and movement/speed but for me it was too busy and messy.

Grain of salt type of sitch.

[Mekatill · Rating 1 out of 5]

Vampire Hunter D is considered a classic vampire manga, but I found it tedious. Just a few pages in and we have a female character stripping down to distract D and then offering her body as payment. Also telling a little boy he should never show his feelings was a bit much, even for a manga from the 80s'.
The story itself is boring, lacks any real flow and the main character seems to exist only to look cool. Maybe it gets better in the later volumes, but I don’t care enough to find out.

[Francine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning is hard to follow, with a lot of black filling the page and not a lot of room to breathe (and no screentone!). However, towards the middle I noticed that I was getting excited and I wanted to know what would happen to the characters.
D is pretty emotionless, which isn't something I am drawn to personally; but once he starts to develop feelings for Doris and her kid brother Dan is when I also started to like D more as a character.
The twist as to D's identity was a little cliché.

[F.D. Gross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in the way distant future of a war torn world. All mannerisms of creatures roam the earth. New powers. New abilities. And a new hierarchy. Vampires, otherwise known as Nobles, now rule the land. D, the enigmatic vampire hunter journeys across the land slaying the undead where and when he can...for a price. This manga, an adaptation of the original novel and anime movie, is a stellar new take on the genre, and it couldn’t be more inspiring for fellow writers like myself. Taking a break from reading so many words all the time, it’s nice to kick back and relax and enjoy the wonderful art this new manga series provides. Staying somewhat true to cannon law in the vampire hunter D world, the manga version testers only slightly from the original story, and the new takes and ending is actually refreshing. As in most of all the stories of this vampire hunter, his hand seems to always bring back the humor in any situation, and it’s a nice reminder to not take life so serious all the time. And as always, I am always impressed with this series artist. Well done. 5 out of 5 stars. Now it’s off to read Volume 2.

F. D. Gross

[MissAnnThrope · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, I knew I was in for some major cheese when I read the opening scene and it involved a nude fighting tactic. Even though it's silly and the female lead is a hopeless damsel in distress, I had fun reading Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D, Volume 01.

The art is really "busy" and confusing, but very good when it's not exaggerated. The story can be a little spotty, making me check a few times if I had accidentally skipped a page. I couldn't stand Doris and all her boobaliciousness (who is only 17! Skank.), but it doesn't look like she'll be in the next volume. I did like D enough to continue with the series, so I'm looking forward to what he encounters in the future.

[Annemary Noble · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the only D book I couldn't find for years at the stores, but finally I got it.
And I guess this is the most put-together volume of the VHD series but the most nonsensical one as well. Like, of the 4 volumes I've read so far, this one was the first where I felt like it was a whole story, with a beginning an end and a middle. But yet the conversations make zero sense and there's a page where D is milking a cow. But honestly, what did I expect?
It's sad tho that the other books are not available in print in Hungary :(

[Heather Cain · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first found this book, I was too young to understand that it was a manga. I'm glad that I kept this title in my memory for so long to finally read it thoroughly. Loved the story plot and structure. I do wish there was more information about the Lee family though because it would have given me more insight to their family background and more about Larmica's change of heart at the end. More information on D would have been great too, considering his mysterious background.

[L.L. Tibbetts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soooo good.

Lots of action and mystery.
Set in the future with an interesting twist on Vampires. Loved it!
Art style is different from what I'm used to.

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed in this manga. First, the story seemed to be way too compressed for one volume. I felt like we were missing huge chunks of narrative and character development. Secondly, the artwork was sub-par. It was very hard to tell what was happening in many panels. I am not sure I will read the rest of the series.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

This manga series is based on a popular novel series of the same name. Ugh. Not my thing. Big breasted women in compromising situations, with vampires and other bizarre characters floating around. No more of this for me, thank you...

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the whole thing at the library (my first manga btw). I have to admit it was very good. The illustrations were great. The plot was good. If you’re looking for a good vampire manga story, I’d recommend this one.

[Nicole Bannister · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 stars

I gave it 4 stars because it was a good book but it just didn't wow me like I thought it would.
The only thing I didn't like was it didn't pull me into the story enough.
I would still recommend it to anyone.

[simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

dude, just read the novel, save yourself the awkward designs and facial features that are all over this manga