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Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D #5
Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D, Volume 05
In a world where even the smallest and most remote village is being terrorized by the monsters that stalk the night, there is a hamlet, prosperous and peaceful, where mortals and vampires have lived in peace for years. It is there that sleeping beauty, Sheavil Schmidt, has slept, neither waking nor aging, for thirty years since first receiving the vampire's immortal kiss. The mysterious Vampire Hunter D is lured to the tranquil oasis by recurrent dreams of the beautiful, undying girl bathed in an eerie blue light and dancing in a ghostly chateau.
240 pages, Paperback
First published October 20, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 2, 2020
A dream within a dream.
It is the best way to explain the premise of this book. In so many other Vampire Hunter D mangas, the way forward is usually easy to follow. However, in this installment, eventhough it was enjoyable throughout with its amazing art work and typical chock full of D’s amazing cold one liners, there was a persistent state of confusion that quite frankly made me turn back a few pages every so often to understand what the hell was going on. Like taking a hit of acid, the reader is transported into a realm of “other” and everyone he encounters in the town has dreams about the beautiful vampire hunter (himself). D becomes “trapped” within the town, which is either reality or surreal. Honestly, I didn’t know who was who, even as the characters were described and named, because of this dream like state that seemed to entrap the entire town. But getting away from all the confusion, the manga still redeemed itself with its horror roots. Always will vampire hunter d be scifi- fantasy horror and the many different types of creatures and beasts always adds a nice flare to any of the volumes. Such is the case for volume 5. Despite the negative aspect of confounded memories, I felt there could have been a bit more character depth. One example of how shallow some of the characters were was when D finally encountered the mysterious Bio Brothers. It wasn’t long after their cameo appearance that they left novel, with no explanation of their purpose and who they were. Hmmm. I have to wonder about the direction with that. Regardless, this particular installment won’t deter me from reading the rest...
3 out of 5 stars.
F. D. Gross
It is the best way to explain the premise of this book. In so many other Vampire Hunter D mangas, the way forward is usually easy to follow. However, in this installment, eventhough it was enjoyable throughout with its amazing art work and typical chock full of D’s amazing cold one liners, there was a persistent state of confusion that quite frankly made me turn back a few pages every so often to understand what the hell was going on. Like taking a hit of acid, the reader is transported into a realm of “other” and everyone he encounters in the town has dreams about the beautiful vampire hunter (himself). D becomes “trapped” within the town, which is either reality or surreal. Honestly, I didn’t know who was who, even as the characters were described and named, because of this dream like state that seemed to entrap the entire town. But getting away from all the confusion, the manga still redeemed itself with its horror roots. Always will vampire hunter d be scifi- fantasy horror and the many different types of creatures and beasts always adds a nice flare to any of the volumes. Such is the case for volume 5. Despite the negative aspect of confounded memories, I felt there could have been a bit more character depth. One example of how shallow some of the characters were was when D finally encountered the mysterious Bio Brothers. It wasn’t long after their cameo appearance that they left novel, with no explanation of their purpose and who they were. Hmmm. I have to wonder about the direction with that. Regardless, this particular installment won’t deter me from reading the rest...
3 out of 5 stars.
F. D. Gross
August 5, 2019
So far, this is the best volume of Vampire Hunter D. D winds up in a village where everyone has dreamed of him. He is directed to the hospital. Once there the director takes him to a young woman. She has been bitten by a vampire, the twist she has been in a coma for 30 years!
February 8, 2021
Vampire Hunter D takes place in an alternate version of Earth where Dr. Van Helsing failed to kill Dracula and save Mina Harker; which resulted in Dracula killing the cast of Bram Stoker’s original novel, enslaving humanity and ruling the world with an army of scientifically manufactured demons at his disposal for thousands of years.
The year is now 12,090 A.D. The world has ended, ravaged in a firestorm of man’s wars and madness. But from the wreckage a few humans manage to survive, and a race of forgotten creatures rose up from the ashes. The vampires and their legions of bloodthirsty demons.
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, the sacred ancestor who created him and everyone of his kind: Dracula.
Fun fact: Vampire Hunter D inspired the Castlevania series of video games in the same way the manga Berserk inspired the Dark Souls franchise.
***
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The year is now 12,090 A.D. The world has ended, ravaged in a firestorm of man’s wars and madness. But from the wreckage a few humans manage to survive, and a race of forgotten creatures rose up from the ashes. The vampires and their legions of bloodthirsty demons.
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, the sacred ancestor who created him and everyone of his kind: Dracula.
Fun fact: Vampire Hunter D inspired the Castlevania series of video games in the same way the manga Berserk inspired the Dark Souls franchise.
***
My Social Media
My YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPs...
My Instagram Account: https://www.instagram.com/michael_sor...
My Wattpad Account: https://www.wattpad.com/user/Michael-...
April 25, 2024
Although D is still gorgeous and amazing, I couldn't really catch the story of this one. It's a dream within a dream that's clear, but how and why and what were the motivations of certain characters here...?
Everyone was made up by the sleeping girl and they had realised they're only exist in her dream so they tried to take control over her dream to save themselves. Is that the case? Maybe, I don't know. It lacked some depth which would have been crucial to understand the story.
I still enjoyed it. This world fires my imagination every time.
Everyone was made up by the sleeping girl and they had realised they're only exist in her dream so they tried to take control over her dream to save themselves. Is that the case? Maybe, I don't know. It lacked some depth which would have been crucial to understand the story.
I still enjoyed it. This world fires my imagination every time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2025
I get it now
April 30, 2011
The only reason this is getting 3 stars is because Saiko Takaki's art is so amazing the book is a piece of art. And also because at the end there's a little extra of what it takes him to make the book and it's so much work and pressure.
Besides that I rarely knew what the heck was going on in this volume. I don't know if it's a problem with the original novel or the adaptation, but it often seemed to jump from one thing to another without any seeming connection. Besides D I didn't really care about any of the other characters unlike other volumes. And even as the story was wrapping up and you get answers I was still left slightly confused.
Besides that I rarely knew what the heck was going on in this volume. I don't know if it's a problem with the original novel or the adaptation, but it often seemed to jump from one thing to another without any seeming connection. Besides D I didn't really care about any of the other characters unlike other volumes. And even as the story was wrapping up and you get answers I was still left slightly confused.
November 18, 2016
I read volumes 5, 6, and 7 of the manga and this one had the best story.
While still confusing, the scenario was dreamy and strange and had a lot more atmosphere that the other two volumes. The characters were interesting, and despite many surreal occurrences, I was not as confused and was able to hang onto my suspension of disbelief, which was not as easy in volume 6.
The whole story reminds my of an English mystery set in a small happy town best by thick mists, where you know there is something sinister going on despite the perfect first appearances and the glib reassurances of the townsfolk.
While still confusing, the scenario was dreamy and strange and had a lot more atmosphere that the other two volumes. The characters were interesting, and despite many surreal occurrences, I was not as confused and was able to hang onto my suspension of disbelief, which was not as easy in volume 6.
The whole story reminds my of an English mystery set in a small happy town best by thick mists, where you know there is something sinister going on despite the perfect first appearances and the glib reassurances of the townsfolk.
April 19, 2016
D keeps getting prettier and prettier the further I read in this manga and it's great. The plot in this volume is a little difficult to follow (really, I recommend you read the novel first just because it helps you understand things a little more) because it's about a dream, within a dream, within a dream. It's basically Inception except the plot predates it by a decade at least. Still, it's good.
January 27, 2012
As usual Saiko Takaki draws an amazing book, but the story just haven't lived up to being as good as, say, volume one. And, again, I found many storytelling sequences quite awkward and clunky. The way scenes shift and how times moves was too puzzling for this reader and manga shouldn't take that much effort to propel story and pull a reader along.
January 6, 2015
Amazing artwork. The story had certain qualities that was similar to the movie "Inception" which was interesting. However, other then that, it did not grab my interest like some stories did. I just continued the story to see where it would lead. Hopefully, the other Mangas turn out better in terms of storyline.
February 20, 2011
Reviewed for Manga Village
July 14, 2012
It wasn't as good as the other ones, but the art is, as always, wonderful.
April 29, 2015
I enjoyed it, but I was honestly super confused until the very end as to what the heck was happening, but I'm not much of a mystery person...
November 15, 2013
Vampire Hunter D is the best!!!
June 22, 2014
A whole town that is just the dream of a girl bit by a noble 30 years ago. Great artwork and a very deep plot in this one.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews