Dunpeal's life is that of torture and loneliness. Years ago, D saved ten children from the clutches of a vampire. When he returned with the kids unharmed, the villagers became angry. They hated Dunpeal becuase of his vampire blood, and proceeded to torture him. D spends his life alone becuase of this hate. His vampire brethren hate hims as well, becuase he is half human and a bounty hunter.

Sadly, Dunpeal's only real friend is a head that has been cursed to remain in his body, more specifically, his hand. This hand is voiced by one of the villagers from Princess Mononoke, and provides most of the movies comic relief. In fact, he has one of the funniest movie-ending lines I have ever heard.

The first thing that viewers should notice, especially on the DVD, is how stunning the visuals are in Bloodlust. The opening sequence is particularly nice. In this sequence, we are flown above the city, with crosses whizzing past us on all sides. Then, the view shifts, and we see that every building is decorated with crosses. All the buildings reflect art based on Gothic architecture. Even the carriages and horses, although futuristic, reflect well within the art of Bloodlust. Urban Vision paid special attention to this aspect of the film. One thing I noticed; when D walks in front of a mirror, the viewer sees partially through him since he is half man, half vampire.

This attention to detail is reflected throughout the entirety of the film. D looks different from the original movie, but his art stayed relatively the same. Avid viewers will notice only minor changes, while the hardcore will notice an increase in muscle mass. In other words, D has worked out and become cut. In the original Vampire Hunter D, I thought that D looked a bit on the skinny side. This sequel quickly dispelled that opinion.

Becuase this story is set in the distant future, the creators were allowede to use any weapon they wanted. This is where the team scores high for originality. Rocket launches and visors blend surprisingly well with the Gothic motif carried in the film. The team does not score points for originality in setting. Although this is the future, viewers see landmarks and cities that resemble the "Old West" rather than the future. This cliche has been used in various animes such as Trigun. I applaud the efforts of originality on the castle near the end. That is definetly something not seen in every other anime.

Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust is definetly one to buy. This sequel gives us more background on D, while introducing new characters. This move was risky, but proved successful, becuase none of them take away from the overall story and feel of Bloodlust. Bloodlust retains the look and design of the original D, while introducing new elements that keep Bloodlust feeling fresh and new.