Vampire Hunter D

Vampire Hunter D (バンパイアハンターD Banpaia Hantā Dī) is a 1985 Japanese original video animation produced by Ashi Productions, based on the novels written by Hideyuki Kikuchi and illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano. It was one of the first OVAs released outside of Japan and remains a cult classic in the English-speaking world.

Synopsis

In the year 12,090 A.D technology and the supernatural have overtaken the world. But thanks to the overzealous ambitions of man, the world remains desolate and despotic. What's left of the human race is divided into various towns and cities living in fear of vampires who compose and exist as the Nobility, fending off the monsters and mutants as a result of their existence. On a night five days after the Count Magnus Lee had harmlessly tasted the blood of Doris Lang and chosen her to be his next wife, she hires a vampire hunter by the name of 'D' to rid her of such an ill-gotten fate. As a dhampir (half human, half vampire), there exists a distinct resentment between the hunter and his prey. But as the Count finds out, there is also a peculiar secret behind the past of the Vampire Hunter D.

Dubbing History[]

The film was originally released in English by Streamline Pictures, and was shown on the fine-arts theatrical circuit in the US in August 1992 and later released on VHS on March 26, 1993. The film was also shown several times on American television during the 1990s, including on TBS, Cartoon Network and the Sci-Fi Channel. Vampire Hunter D is considered a flagship title for Streamline, and was marketed in the US as ‘the first animated horror film for adults.’

In 2000, Urban Vision Entertainment, the US production partner and distributor of Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, re-released the OVA on a ‘Special Edition’ bilingual DVD on October 17 containing the original Japanese audio and a Dolby Digital 5.1 remix of the Streamline dub, as well as releasing dubbed and subtitled versions of the film on VHS.

On April 16, 2015, Sentai Filmworks announced their license to the film in North America for digital and home video release. The film was released on August 25, 2015 on Blu-ray and DVD with a new English dub. Unlike most Sentai redubs, the original dub is not included on their release.

Cast[]

Character	Seiyū	Streamline Dub	Sentai Dub
D	Kaneto Shiozawa	Michael McConnohie	John Gremillion
Doris Lang	Michie Tomizawa	Barbara Goodson	Luci Christian
Count Magnus Lee	Seizō Katō	Jeff Winkless	David Wald
Dan Lang	Keiko Toda	Lara Cody	Shannon Emerick
Greco Roman	Yūsaku Yara	Steve Bulen	Jay Hickman
Countess Lamika Lee	Satoko Kitō	Edie Mirman	Brittney Karbowski
Rei Ginsei	Kazuyuki Sogabe	Kerrigan Mahan	Andy McAvin
D's Left Hand	Ichirō Nagai	Michael McConnohie	Andy McAvin
Dr. Ferringo	Motomu Kiyokawa	Steve Kramer	John Swasey
Mayor Roman	Yasuo Muramatsu	Tom Wyner	David Wald
Sheriff Dalton	Kan Tokumaru	Kirk Thornton	Mark X. Laskowski
Snake Women	Kazuko Yanaga	Joyce Kurtz	Tiffany Grant
Snake Women	Yoshiko Sakakibara	Joyce Kurtz	Tiffany Grant

Additional Voices[]

Streamline Dub

Sentai Dub

Transmission[]

Date(s)	Channel	Country
1994	TBS	United States
1995	Cartoon Network
1996	Sci-Fi Channel

Video Releases[]

Distributor	Year	Dub	Region	Country
Streamline Pictures	1993	Streamline	NTSC	United States
Urban Vision	2000		NTSC
Urban Vision	2000		1 NTSC
Manga Entertainment	2004		2 PAL	United Kingdom
Madman Entertainment	2005		4 PAL	Australia
Madman Entertainment	2014		4 PAL	Australia
Sentai Filmworks	2015	Sentai	1 NTSC	United States
Sentai Filmworks	2015	Sentai	A DVB-T	United States