A review by readerbot_lu
Vampire Hunter D by Hideyuki Kikuchi, Yoshitaka Amano

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

Did I like it? Yes
Do I recommend it? Yes

Favorite Quote

"Transient guests are we." (25%)

“It would be so easy for me to send you into the hereafter but I fear dispatching you so quickly would leave you ill-equipped to testify to my infamy in the afterlife.” (Rei-Ginsei, 45%)

Positives

This book entertained me, mostly through my problematic fave, Rei-Ginsei. There were a couple of really intense scenes with him and D. I also enjoyed how the story tried to build up suspense for the hand face (which didn’t work for me because I’ve watched both Vampire Hunter D anime). Part of my enjoyment was comparing the book with the anime and considering the changes made.

Negatives

Some of my gripes with this volume are craft-related and some are character-related. In terms of craft, there is a lot of flowery word choice (which could be due to the translation or just the atmosphere of the original) and the occasional jarring narrative jump to post-apocalyptic history lessons. As for the characters, it got irritating really fast how D and Doris were described as attractive whenever they had a new character interact with them. Also, despite Doris’ “hunter training” from her father, she still constantly needed to be saved by D.