There have been quite a few “sons of Dracula” in pop culture. Castlevania’s Alucard for example is preparing to return in a little over a week’s time on Netflix but there is another “vampeel” that fans have been dying to see make a comeback. D has long been one of the most recognizable vampire hunters in the anime world but for far too long, no new anime projects have hit the scene. Luckily, the Vampire Hunter D franchise has not forgotten its fans and to celebrate D’s first time hitting the screen, the supernatural franchise has a surprise for fans as it prepares to turn forty in 2025.
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Vampire Hunter D, for those who might be unfamiliar, first hit the scene in a series of novels thanks to both authro Hideyuki Kikuchi and artist Yoshitaka Amano. The dystopian future sees the son of Dracula fighting the undead and placed into various scenarios as he attempts to fight back against his legacy. Alongside the unique aesthetic of the series, D also had something that many other vampire hunters didn’t have, aka “a right hand man” on his left hand. Harboring a horrifying visage on his hand, the enigmatic face routinely helps out D in a pinch while adding hilarious, and annoying, commentary on the threats that D faces.
[RELATED: Vampire Hunter D Announces New Manga After 10 Years]
Vampire Hunter D Turns 40
To ring in forty years of hunting creatures of the night, Japan has released the first manga chapter of Vampire Hunter D – Rose Princess. The manga release is an adaptation of the ninth novel of the series, pitting D against a deadly vampire princess and the village she rules over. While set to release on a bi-weekly basis in Japan, the new manga has yet to announce if it will receive a worldwide release. If you want a further breakdown of Rose Princess, here’s an official description of D’s latest manga tale,
“In Sakuri, a young woman is about to be sacrificed to the vampiric Noblewoman who reigns over the village. But before the princess can drain the life from the woman, a young man tries to slay the vampire. He fails and manages to escape, but in doing so incurs the wrath of the entire town. The citizens of Sakuri have entered into a pact with the Undead princess and her monstrous bodyguards. With the ritual offering disrupted, the vampire’s armored bodyguards vow to murder the villagers one by one until the would-be hero is captured. When Vampire Hunter D learns of the villagers’ bargain he knows he faces several almost impossible challenges – can he rid the town of the parasitic demons that plague it? What if Sakuri’s inhabitants don’t want to be rescued? And can he uncover the secret that even the vampire Noble is afraid to speak?”
Will We Ever Get a New Anime?
Vampire Hunter D as a franchise has been frustrating in the fact that it has never received a television series to date. Both the original 1985 movie and 2000’s Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust remain the pinnacle of “vampire anime” to this day. The latest movie was animated by none other than Studio Madhouse, the production house responsible for anime such as One-Punch Man, Trigun, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, and many more. Fingers crossed that one studio decides to bring back the son of Dracula in a brand new way.
Want to see if D ever makes a glorious comeback to the anime world? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for all the latest updates on Vampire Hunter D and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.
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