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%%
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* AdaptationalHeroism: The Marcus Brothers are ''much'' nicer guys in the movie version, being TheRival at most to D, and friendly rivals at that, especially Borgoff and Leila. In the original novel, the brothers were almost as vile as their opponents, particularly in how they treated Leila. For that matter, their counterparts in the Barberois bodyguards are, while still antagonists to the heroes, are not as vile as they were in the novel- Mashira and Caroline remain completely loyal to Meier, rather than betraying him for their own selfish interests as they originally did, and Mashira in particular is reimagined as a dignified NobleDemon rather than a crazed rapist.
to:
* AdaptationalHeroism: The Marcus Brothers are ''much'' nicer guys in the movie version, being TheRival at most to D, and friendly rivals at that, especially Borgoff and Leila. In the original novel, the brothers were almost as vile as their opponents, particularly in how they treated Leila. For that matter, their counterparts in the Barberois bodyguards are, while still antagonists to the heroes, are not as vile as they were in the novel- Mashira novel--Mashira and Caroline remain completely loyal to Meier, rather than betraying him for their own selfish interests as they originally did, and Mashira in particular is reimagined as a dignified NobleDemon rather than a crazed rapist.
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Not an example of Exaggeration, and it's covered elsewhere.
Changed line(s) 71 (click to see context) from:
* AdaptationalHeroism: The Marcus Brothers are ''much'' nicer guys in the movie version, being TheRival at most to D, and friendly rivals at that, especially Borgoff and Leila. In the original novel, the brothers were almost as vile as their opponents, particularly in how they treated Leila. For that matter, their counterparts in the Barberois bodyguards are, while still not ''heroic,'' not as villainous as they were in the novel- Mashira and Caroline remain completely loyal to Meier, rather than betraying him for their own selfish interests as they originally did, and Mashira in particular is reimagined as a dignified NobleDemon rather than a crazed rapist.
to:
* AdaptationalHeroism: The Marcus Brothers are ''much'' nicer guys in the movie version, being TheRival at most to D, and friendly rivals at that, especially Borgoff and Leila. In the original novel, the brothers were almost as vile as their opponents, particularly in how they treated Leila. For that matter, their counterparts in the Barberois bodyguards are, while still not ''heroic,'' antagonists to the heroes, are not as villainous vile as they were in the novel- Mashira and Caroline remain completely loyal to Meier, rather than betraying him for their own selfish interests as they originally did, and Mashira in particular is reimagined as a dignified NobleDemon rather than a crazed rapist.
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* CharacterExaggeration: Inverted with the Marcus Brothers in ''Bloodlust''. In the original story, they are as much the villains as the Barbarois; they are vicious, murderous, and [[MoralEventHorizon regularly rape Leila]] (even the invalid Grove). In ''Bloodlust'', the evil aspects of their personalities are removed. And in the novel, the Marcus Brothers are genetically enhanced super humans with a wide range of powers. In the movie, they are BadassNormal. This arguably makes the movie versions, despite being significantly weaker than their novel counterparts, more impressive because normal humans tend to be very ineffective in this setting with a few exceptions. Even the weakest Dhampir is significantly more physically powerful, faster, and has better reflexes than a normal human.
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** Consequently, in the second movie the Barberois bodyguard Mashira is changed from a parasite creature from the same species as D's left hand to a werewolf, driving Meier Link's coach and remaining loyal rather than betraying Meier as he does in the book, making him ''another'' composite with Garou and basically adapting the character back in again.
to:
** Consequently, Then in the second movie ''Bloodlust'' the Barberois bodyguard Mashira is changed from a parasite creature from of the same species as D's left hand to a werewolf, driving Meier Link's coach and remaining loyal rather than betraying Meier as he does in the book, making him ''another'' composite with Garou and basically adapting the character back in again.
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* {{Dhampyr}}: It's worth noting that the dhampirs of this series have radically different powers (if ANY powers); there's, like, no baseline.
** There's really no baseline for anyone else, either. Vampire, human, mutant, construct, anything can range from minimal threat to insanely powerful. Though vampires are a bit scarier, on average, due to having spent the past ten thousand years dominating the planet.
** The problem with assessing the powers of dhampirs is that, outside D, almost no actual dhampir actually show up in the novels, and the few that do almost never really show off their abilities. Most of the comments about dhampir could qualify as UnreliableNarrator and in a few instances are heavily implied to actually be [[spoiler:D, who is much older than he appears.]] Even then, some of the dhampir that do show up, [[spoiler:including D]], are either artificially created, genetically enhanced or in some non-descript way modified.
** There's really no baseline for anyone else, either. Vampire, human, mutant, construct, anything can range from minimal threat to insanely powerful. Though vampires are a bit scarier, on average, due to having spent the past ten thousand years dominating the planet.
** The problem with assessing the powers of dhampirs is that, outside D, almost no actual dhampir actually show up in the novels, and the few that do almost never really show off their abilities. Most of the comments about dhampir could qualify as UnreliableNarrator and in a few instances are heavily implied to actually be [[spoiler:D, who is much older than he appears.]] Even then, some of the dhampir that do show up, [[spoiler:including D]], are either artificially created, genetically enhanced or in some non-descript way modified.
to:
* {{Dhampyr}}: It's worth noting that D and a few others are children of vampires and the living. The dhampirs of this series have radically different powers (if ANY powers); there's, like, no baseline.
** There's really no baseline for anyone else, either. Vampire, human, mutant, construct, anything can range from minimal threat to insanely powerful. Though vampires are a bit scarier, on average, due to having spent the past ten thousand years dominating the planet.
** The problem with assessing the powers of dhampirs is that, outside D,powers, if any. Then again, almost no actual dhampir beside D actually show up in the novels, shows up, and the few that do almost never really show off their abilities. Most of the comments about dhampir could qualify as UnreliableNarrator and in a few instances are heavily implied to actually be [[spoiler:D, who is much older than he appears.]] Even then, some of the dhampir that do show up, [[spoiler:including D]], are either artificially created, genetically enhanced or in some non-descript way modified.otherwise modified.
%% ** There's really no baseline for anyone else, either. Vampire, human, mutant, construct, anything can range from minimal threat to insanely powerful. Though vampires are a bit scarier, on average, due to having spent the past ten thousand years dominating the planet.
** There's really no baseline for anyone else, either. Vampire, human, mutant, construct, anything can range from minimal threat to insanely powerful. Though vampires are a bit scarier, on average, due to having spent the past ten thousand years dominating the planet.
** The problem with assessing the powers of dhampirs is that, outside D,
%% ** There's really no baseline for anyone else, either. Vampire, human, mutant, construct, anything can range from minimal threat to insanely powerful. Though vampires are a bit scarier, on average, due to having spent the past ten thousand years dominating the planet.
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* VillainRevealsTheSecret: [[spoiler: Just before his death]] in ''Bloodlust'', Mashira reveals to D who really hired the Barbarois to protect Meier Link. [[spoiler: It's justified because even though he's about to die, Mashira fulfilled the terms of the Barbarois' contract by delaying D long enough for Meier and Charlotte to make it to the Castle of Chaythe. D knowing the client was Carmilla won't make a difference now . Plus, given the reputation of the Castle and Carmilla, Mashira almost certainly knows that if D goes in there, odds are good he won't be coming out.]]
** [[spoiler: Mashira's reveal is also somewhat subverted in that the preceding two scenes had already revealed who Carmilla was and her role in the whole affair. D essentially had figured this out, but he just needed final confirmation. That said, D and the audience only at this point know the ''who'' of the mystery; we yet don't know the ''why''.]]
** [[spoiler: Mashira's reveal is also somewhat subverted in that the preceding two scenes had already revealed who Carmilla was and her role in the whole affair. D essentially had figured this out, but he just needed final confirmation. That said, D and the audience only at this point know the ''who'' of the mystery; we yet don't know the ''why''.]]
to:
* VillainRevealsTheSecret: [[spoiler: Just [[spoiler:Just before his death]] in ''Bloodlust'', Mashira reveals to D who really hired the Barbarois to protect Meier Link. [[spoiler: It's [[spoiler:It's justified because even though he's about to die, Mashira fulfilled the terms of the Barbarois' contract by delaying D long enough for Meier and Charlotte to make it to the Castle of Chaythe. D knowing the client was Carmilla won't make a difference now . Plus, given the reputation of the Castle now, and Carmilla, Mashira almost certainly knows that if D goes in there, odds are good he won't be coming out.]]
** [[spoiler: Mashira's reveal is also somewhat subverted in that the preceding two scenes had already revealed who Carmilla was and her role in the whole affair. D essentially had figured this out, but he just needed final confirmation. That said, D and the audience only atby this point know has a good idea who is behind things, only the ''who'' of the mystery; we yet don't know the ''why''.]]motive is still mystery.
** [[spoiler: Mashira's reveal is also somewhat subverted in that the preceding two scenes had already revealed who Carmilla was and her role in the whole affair. D essentially had figured this out, but he just needed final confirmation. That said, D and the audience only at
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* AdaptationalHeroism: The Marcus Brothers are ''much'' nicer guys in the movie version, being TheRival at most to D, and friendly rivals at that, especially Borgoff and Leila. In the original novel, the brothers were almost as vile as their opponents, particularly in how they treated Leila. For that matter, their counterparts in the Barberois bodyguards are, while still not ''heroic,'' not as villainous as they were in the novel- Mashira and Caroline remain completely loyal to Meier, rather than betraying him for their own selfish interests as they did in the novel.
to:
* AdaptationalHeroism: The Marcus Brothers are ''much'' nicer guys in the movie version, being TheRival at most to D, and friendly rivals at that, especially Borgoff and Leila. In the original novel, the brothers were almost as vile as their opponents, particularly in how they treated Leila. For that matter, their counterparts in the Barberois bodyguards are, while still not ''heroic,'' not as villainous as they were in the novel- Mashira and Caroline remain completely loyal to Meier, rather than betraying him for their own selfish interests as they did originally did, and Mashira in the novel.particular is reimagined as a dignified NobleDemon rather than a crazed rapist.
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* ShootTheShaggyDog: ''Demon Deathchase'' ended up being one of these. [[spoiler:[[KillEmAll EVERY character]] except D & Leila [[DroppedABridgeOnHim died a pointless and unpleasant death]] and Mayerling's entire journey [[ShaggyDogStory was meaningless from the start]], as the spaceport he'd been heading to had been ruined for centuries. There was no real BigBad and there were almost no sympathetic characters (especially the Marcus Brothers, who are complete scumbags in the book).]]
to:
* ShootTheShaggyDog: ''Demon Deathchase'' ended up being one of these. [[spoiler:[[KillEmAll EVERY character]] [[spoiler:EVERY character except D & Leila [[DroppedABridgeOnHim died a pointless and unpleasant death]] and Mayerling's entire journey [[ShaggyDogStory was meaningless from the start]], as the spaceport he'd been heading to had been ruined for centuries. There was no real BigBad and there were almost no sympathetic characters (especially the Marcus Brothers, who are complete scumbags in the book).]]
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* TheArtifact: The climactic scene of Meier Link walking in sunlight to recover Charlotte as the Marcus brother sadistically mock and torture him, even joking about letting Charlotte kill herself since they get paid whether they bring her back dead or alive, made sense in the original novel, where the Marcus brothers were sadistic rapists and glorified bandits, as bad as their prey and worse. It’s a lot less fitting in the film, where they’re [[AdaptationalHeroism stand up guys who generally don’t play with their food and don’t have a grudge against Meier personally compared to the henchman who killed their brother that they've already dealt with]].
to:
* TheArtifact: The climactic scene of Meier Link walking in sunlight to recover Charlotte as the Marcus brother brothers sadistically mock and torture him, even joking about letting Charlotte kill herself since they get paid whether they bring her back dead or alive, made sense in the original novel, where the Marcus brothers were sadistic rapists and glorified bandits, as bad as their prey and worse. It’s a lot less fitting in the film, where they’re [[AdaptationalHeroism stand up guys who generally don’t play with their food and don’t have a grudge against Meier personally compared to the henchman who killed their brother that they've already dealt with]].
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* TalkingToYourself: Dwight Schultz in ''Bloodlust''. He voices both the Elder of the Barbarois and Benge during the Barbarois sequence (and the two characters briefly interact).
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* TheArtifact: The climactic scene of Meier Link walking in sunlight to recover Charlotte as the Marcus brother sadistically mock and torture him made sense in the original novel, where the Marcus brothers were sadistic rapists and glorified bandits, as bad and worse than their prey. It’s a lot less fitting in the film, where they’re [[AdaptationalHeroism stand up guys who generally don’t play with their food and don’t have a grudge against Meier personally compared to the henchman who killed their brother]].
to:
* TheArtifact: The climactic scene of Meier Link walking in sunlight to recover Charlotte as the Marcus brother sadistically mock and torture him him, even joking about letting Charlotte kill herself since they get paid whether they bring her back dead or alive, made sense in the original novel, where the Marcus brothers were sadistic rapists and glorified bandits, as bad and worse than as their prey. prey and worse. It’s a lot less fitting in the film, where they’re [[AdaptationalHeroism stand up guys who generally don’t play with their food and don’t have a grudge against Meier personally compared to the henchman who killed their brother]].brother that they've already dealt with]].
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* TheArtifact: The climactic scene of Meier Link walking in sunlight to recover Charlotte as the Marcus brother sadistically mock and torture him made sense in the original novel, where the Marcus brothers were sadistic rapists and glorified bandits, as bad and worse than their prey. It’s a lot less fitting in the film, where they’re [[AdaptationalHeroism stand up guys who generally don’t play with their food and don’t have a grudge against Meier personally compared to the henchman who killed their brother]].
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* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: This is what gets [[spoiler: Kyle]] killed in ''Bloodlust'' [[spoiler: after he and Borgoff corner Meier's carriage on the bridge. Rather than just killing Meier and getting it over with, the brothers keep toying with him and torturing him (though it's arguably justified because the pursuit of Meier was what got Nolt killed earlier in the film). The delay kills Mashira enough time to not only scale the bridge (after having been shot over the side earlier), but to remove Borgoff's explosives before killing Kyle just as he's about to finally deliver the ''coup de grace'' against Meier.]]
to:
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: This is what gets [[spoiler: Kyle]] killed in ''Bloodlust'' [[spoiler: after he and Borgoff corner Meier's carriage on the bridge. Rather than just killing Meier and getting it over with, the brothers keep toying with him and torturing him (though it's arguably justified because the pursuit of Meier was what got Nolt killed earlier in the film). The Their delay kills gives Mashira enough time to not only scale the bridge (after having been shot over the side earlier), but to remove Borgoff's explosives before killing Kyle just as he's about to finally deliver the ''coup de grace'' against *finally* kill Meier.]]
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trope def-only
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* PantyShot: Frequently from Doris, due to her very short skirt.
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Foe Yay has been cut.
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* HoYay: [[invoked]] This often happens with several male characters who encounter D. Some are subtle, while others say things that require BrainBleach. There's also a bit of FoeYay tossed around from time to time.
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* HoYay: [[invoked]] This often happens with several male characters who encounter D. Some are subtle, while others say things that require BrainBleach. There's also a bit of FoeYay tossed around from time to time.
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new trope
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* PublicDomainCanonWelding: ''Bloodlust'' has the BigBad revealed to be ''Literature/{{Carmilla}}'', who attacks Meir Link and then drains and kills his LoveInterest, Charolette, to revive herself.
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** [[{{Dhampyr}} D]], thanks to Dracula's constant experiments.
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** [[{{Dhampyr}} D]], thanks to Dracula's constant experiments.D's mother was human. His father was [[{{Dracula}} the Sacred Ancestor himself]].
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* HumanMomNonHumanDad: D's mother was human. His father was [[{{Dracula}} the Sacred Ancestor himself]].
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* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: This is what gets [[spoiler: Kyle]] killed in ''Bloodlust [[spoiler: after he and Borgoff corner Meier's carriage on the bridge. Rather than just killing Meier and getting it over with, the brothers keep toying with him and torturing him (though it's arguably justified because the pursuit of Meier was what got Nolt killed earlier in the film). The delay kills Mashira enough time to not only scale the bridge (after having been shot over the side earlier), but to remove Borgoff's explosives before killing Kyle just as he's about to finally deliver the ''coup de grace'' against Meier.]]
to:
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: This is what gets [[spoiler: Kyle]] killed in ''Bloodlust ''Bloodlust'' [[spoiler: after he and Borgoff corner Meier's carriage on the bridge. Rather than just killing Meier and getting it over with, the brothers keep toying with him and torturing him (though it's arguably justified because the pursuit of Meier was what got Nolt killed earlier in the film). The delay kills Mashira enough time to not only scale the bridge (after having been shot over the side earlier), but to remove Borgoff's explosives before killing Kyle just as he's about to finally deliver the ''coup de grace'' against Meier.]]
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Changed line(s) 269 (click to see context) from:
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: This is what gets [[spoiler: Kyle]] killed in ''Bloodlust [[after he and Borgoff corner Meier's carriage on the bridge. Rather than just killing Meier and getting it over with, the brothers keep toying with him and torturing him (though it's arguably justified because the pursuit of Meier was what got Nolt killed earlier in the film). The delay kills Mashira enough time to not only scale the bridge (after havign been shot over the side a few minutes earlier), but to remove Borgoff's explosives before killing Kyle in mid-attack.]]
to:
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: This is what gets [[spoiler: Kyle]] killed in ''Bloodlust [[after [[spoiler: after he and Borgoff corner Meier's carriage on the bridge. Rather than just killing Meier and getting it over with, the brothers keep toying with him and torturing him (though it's arguably justified because the pursuit of Meier was what got Nolt killed earlier in the film). The delay kills Mashira enough time to not only scale the bridge (after havign having been shot over the side a few minutes earlier), but to remove Borgoff's explosives before killing Kyle in mid-attack.]] just as he's about to finally deliver the ''coup de grace'' against Meier.]]
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* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: This is what gets [[spoiler: Kyle]] killed in ''Bloodlust [[after he and Borgoff corner Meier's carriage on the bridge. Rather than just killing Meier and getting it over with, the brothers keep toying with him and torturing him (though it's arguably justified because the pursuit of Meier was what got Nolt killed earlier in the film). The delay kills Mashira enough time to not only scale the bridge (after havign been shot over the side a few minutes earlier), but to remove Borgoff's explosives before killing Kyle in mid-attack.]]
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Changed line(s) 253,254 (click to see context) from:
* VillainRevealsTheSecret: [[spoiler: Just before his death]] in ''Bloodlust'', Mashira reveals to D who really hired the Barbarois to protect Meier Link. [[spoiler: It's justified because even though he's about to die, Mashira fulfilled the terms of the Barbarois' contract by delaying D long enough for Meier and Charlotte to make it to the Castle of Chaythe. It won't make a difference now -- and given the Castle's reputation, if D goes in there, odds are good he won't be coming out]]
** [[spoiler: It's also somewhat subverted in that the preceding two scenes had already revealed who Carmilla was and her role in the whole affair. D essentially had figured this out, but he just needed final confirmation. That said, D and the audience at this point know the ''who'', but not the ''why''.]]
** [[spoiler: It's also somewhat subverted in that the preceding two scenes had already revealed who Carmilla was and her role in the whole affair. D essentially had figured this out, but he just needed final confirmation. That said, D and the audience at this point know the ''who'', but not the ''why''.]]
to:
* VillainRevealsTheSecret: [[spoiler: Just before his death]] in ''Bloodlust'', Mashira reveals to D who really hired the Barbarois to protect Meier Link. [[spoiler: It's justified because even though he's about to die, Mashira fulfilled the terms of the Barbarois' contract by delaying D long enough for Meier and Charlotte to make it to the Castle of Chaythe. It D knowing the client was Carmilla won't make a difference now -- and now . Plus, given the Castle's reputation, reputation of the Castle and Carmilla, Mashira almost certainly knows that if D goes in there, odds are good he won't be coming out]]
out.]]
** [[spoiler:It's Mashira's reveal is also somewhat subverted in that the preceding two scenes had already revealed who Carmilla was and her role in the whole affair. D essentially had figured this out, but he just needed final confirmation. That said, D and the audience only at this point know the ''who'', but not ''who'' of the mystery; we yet don't know the ''why''.]]
** [[spoiler:
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Changed line(s) 131 (click to see context) from:
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Left Hand's exposition scene in ''Bloodlust'' reveals [[Dracula was utterly disgusted with Carmilla's vanity and gluttony and this was part of his motivation for killing her.]]
to:
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Left Hand's exposition scene in ''Bloodlust'' reveals [[Dracula [[spoiler: Dracula was utterly disgusted with Carmilla's vanity and gluttony and this was part of his motivation for killing her.]]
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* BlatantLies: Carmilla in ''Bloodlust'' claims this is the truth behind her reputation as the 'Bloody Carmilla' and that these rumors stem really from envy and jealousy within the Vampire community. Of course, it's quickly proven she's lying...which amusingly means she's blatantly lying about the 'blatant lies'.
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* EvenEvilHasStandards: Left Hand's exposition scene in ''Bloodlust'' reveals [[Dracula was utterly disgusted with Carmilla's vanity and gluttony and this was part of his motivation for killing her.]]
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Changed line(s) 251,252 (click to see context) from:
* VillainRevealsTheSecret: [[spoiler: Just before his death]] in ''Bloodlust', Mashira reveals to D who really hired the Barbarois to protect Meier Link. [[spoiler: It's justified because even though he's about to die, Mashira fulfilled the terms of the Barbarois' contract by delaying D long enough for Meier and Charlotte to make it to the Castle of Chaythe. It won't make a difference now -- and given the Castle's reputation, if D goes in there, odds are good he won't be coming out]]
* [[spoiler: It's also somewhat subverted in that the preceding two scenes had already revealed who Carmilla was and her role in the whole affair. D essentially had figured this out, but he just needed final confirmation.]]
* [[spoiler: It's also somewhat subverted in that the preceding two scenes had already revealed who Carmilla was and her role in the whole affair. D essentially had figured this out, but he just needed final confirmation.]]
to:
* VillainRevealsTheSecret: [[spoiler: Just before his death]] in ''Bloodlust', ''Bloodlust'', Mashira reveals to D who really hired the Barbarois to protect Meier Link. [[spoiler: It's justified because even though he's about to die, Mashira fulfilled the terms of the Barbarois' contract by delaying D long enough for Meier and Charlotte to make it to the Castle of Chaythe. It won't make a difference now -- and given the Castle's reputation, if D goes in there, odds are good he won't be coming out]]
* ** [[spoiler: It's also somewhat subverted in that the preceding two scenes had already revealed who Carmilla was and her role in the whole affair. D essentially had figured this out, but he just needed final confirmation. That said, D and the audience at this point know the ''who'', but not the ''why''.]]
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* BuyThemOff: D attempts them in ''Bloodlust'' when he learns Meier ''didn't'' hire the Barbarois and that someone's paid them $100 Million to protect him. D suggests he can match the price, which the Elder finds entertaining. He points out that after 5,000 years of serving the people of the night, the Barbarois aren't exactly going to jeopardize that reputation, are they?
** That being said, the Elder then concedes that, under different circumstances, if there was ''anyone'' that could get them to change their stripes, it would be a Dunpeal.
** That being said, the Elder then concedes that, under different circumstances, if there was ''anyone'' that could get them to change their stripes, it would be a Dunpeal.
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* VillainRevealsTheSecret: [[spoiler: Just before his death]] in ''Bloodlust', Mashira reveals to D who really hired the Barbarois to protect Meier Link. [[spoiler: It's justified because even though he's about to die, Mashira fulfilled the terms of the Barbarois' contract by delaying D long enough for Meier and Charlotte to make it to the Castle of Chaythe. It won't make a difference now -- and given the Castle's reputation, if D goes in there, odds are good he won't be coming out]]
* [[spoiler: It's also somewhat subverted in that the preceding two scenes had already revealed who Carmilla was and her role in the whole affair. D essentially had figured this out, but he just needed final confirmation.]]
* [[spoiler: It's also somewhat subverted in that the preceding two scenes had already revealed who Carmilla was and her role in the whole affair. D essentially had figured this out, but he just needed final confirmation.]]
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* TalkingToYourself: Dwight Schultz in ''Bloodlust''. He voices both the Elder of the Barbarois and Benge during the Barbarois sequence (and the two characters briefly interact).
Changed line(s) 258,259 (click to see context) from:
** "Meir!". Charlotte's very first line in the film. It startles D in mid-fight with Meier and, as he concedes to Left Hand afterwards, it implies Meier ''was'' telling the truth about this not being an abduction after all...
** "Someone paid me a $100 million to protect Meier Link." This boasting of the Barbarois Elder is another clue that Charlotte's abduction is more complicated than the Elbourne Family, the Marcus Brothers, or D had thought. It also reveals Meier has a secret, powerful benefactor.
** "Someone paid me a $100 million to protect Meier Link." This boasting of the Barbarois Elder is another clue that Charlotte's abduction is more complicated than the Elbourne Family, the Marcus Brothers, or D had thought. It also reveals Meier has a secret, powerful benefactor.
to:
** "Meir!". Charlotte's very first line in the film. It startles D in mid-fight with Meier and, as he concedes to Left Hand afterwards, it implies indicates Meier ''was'' telling the truth about this not being an abduction after all...
** "Someone paid me a $100 million to protect Meier Link." This piece of boasting of the BarbaroisElder Elder, which is another clue that Charlotte's this isn't a simple abduction is more complicated than the Elbourne Family, the Marcus Brothers, or D had thought. It also reveals and that Meier has a secret, powerful benefactor.
** "Someone paid me a $100 million to protect Meier Link." This piece of boasting of the Barbarois
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* WorthyOpponent: Mashira in ''Bloodlust'' praises D as one and is glad to have met him in battle [[spoiler: just before succumbing to the wounds D inflicted]].
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Changed line(s) 96 (click to see context) from:
* CassandraTruth: During their first fight in ''Bloodlust'', Meier claims he didn't abduct Charlotte and she's here by her own choice. Initially, it seems that he's just lying and D doesn't believe him...until she calls out his name after D injures Meier.
to:
* CassandraTruth: During their first fight atop the carriage in ''Bloodlust'', Meier claims he didn't abduct Charlotte and she's here by her own choice. Initially, it seems that he's just lying and D doesn't believe him...until she calls out his name after D injures Meier.
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** "Meir!". Charlotte's very first line in the film. It startles D in mid-fight with Meier and indicates that the vampire may have been telling the truth about Charlotte's 'abduction'.
** "Someone paid me a $100 million to protect Meier Link." The boasting of the Old Man of the Barbarois is another clue that this isn't a simple abduction and that Meier himself isn't the scheme's architect.
** "Someone paid me a $100 million to protect Meier Link." The boasting of the Old Man of the Barbarois is another clue that this isn't a simple abduction and that Meier himself isn't the scheme's architect.
to:
** "Meir!". Charlotte's very first line in the film. It startles D in mid-fight with Meier and indicates that the vampire may have been and, as he concedes to Left Hand afterwards, it implies Meier ''was'' telling the truth about Charlotte's 'abduction'.
this not being an abduction after all...
** "Someone paid me a $100 million to protect Meier Link."The This boasting of the Old Man of the Barbarois Elder is another clue that this isn't a simple Charlotte's abduction and that is more complicated than the Elbourne Family, the Marcus Brothers, or D had thought. It also reveals Meier himself isn't the scheme's architect.has a secret, powerful benefactor.
** "Someone paid me a $100 million to protect Meier Link."
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* RevengeBeforeReason: Borgoff in ''Bloodlust'' after [[spoiler: Kyle's murder. He's determined to keep pursuing Meier to avenge Kyle and Nolt and to honor their memories. He refuses to listen to Grove's pleas that going into the Castle of Chaythe will only get them all killed -- a prediction which will indeed come true.]]
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* SoleSurvivor: [[spoiler: Leila is the only surviving member of the Marcus Brothers by the end of ''Bloodlust''.]]
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* CassandraTruth: During their first fight in ''Bloodlust'', Meier claims he didn't abduct Charlotte and she's here by her own choice. Initially, it seems that he's just lying and D doesn't believe him...until she calls out his name after D injures Meier.
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* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: In ''Bloodlust'', Kyle begins freaking out when he realizes Meier's carriage is headed for the Castle of Chaythe. This is the first time in the film Kyle's lost his composure, which speaks volumes about the Castle and its reputation.
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* WhamLine: From ''Bloodlust'':
** "Meir!". Charlotte's very first line in the film. It startles D in mid-fight with Meier and indicates that the vampire may have been telling the truth about Charlotte's 'abduction'.
** "Someone paid me a $100 million to protect Meier Link." The boasting of the Old Man of the Barbarois is another clue that this isn't a simple abduction and that Meier himself isn't the scheme's architect.
** "Meir!". Charlotte's very first line in the film. It startles D in mid-fight with Meier and indicates that the vampire may have been telling the truth about Charlotte's 'abduction'.
** "Someone paid me a $100 million to protect Meier Link." The boasting of the Old Man of the Barbarois is another clue that this isn't a simple abduction and that Meier himself isn't the scheme's architect.
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* PunchCatch: D to Rei-Ginsei in the first movie. Shocking both him and Larmica as Rei-Ginsei is shown to strength and speed beyond most humans.
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** Carmilla in the second film is also obviously a shout-out to the literary Carmilla, as well as the historical Countess Bathory.
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** Carmilla in the second film is also obviously a shout-out to the literary Carmilla, as well as the historical Countess Bathory.Bathory along with sporting a similar hairstyle as Dracula in ''Film/BramStokersDracula''.
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A horror LightNovel series by Japanese author Creator/HideyukiKikuchi, a horror novelist in the same [[JustForPun vein]] as Creator/HPLovecraft and Creator/StephenKing,[[note]]At least according to the blurbs on the back of the books themselves[[/note]] ''Vampire Hunter D'' is the story of a [[{{Dhampyr}} half human, half vampire]] vampire hunter, usually just called D, who is scorned by the world that he roams. With the help of a morbid and otherwise obnoxious (but very useful) parasite that lives in his left hand, D wanders to wherever he is needed in a [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic world]] in the year 12,090 AD where monsters roam and humans live in fear.
to:
A horror LightNovel novel series by Japanese author Creator/HideyukiKikuchi, a horror novelist in the same [[JustForPun vein]] as Creator/HPLovecraft and Creator/StephenKing,[[note]]At least according to the blurbs on the back of the books themselves[[/note]] ''Vampire Hunter D'' is the story of a [[{{Dhampyr}} half human, half vampire]] vampire hunter, usually just called D, who is scorned by the world that he roams. With the help of a morbid and otherwise obnoxious (but very useful) parasite that lives in his left hand, D wanders to wherever he is needed in a [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic world]] in the year 12,090 AD where monsters roam and humans live in fear.
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[[folder:List of Light Novels]]
to:
[[folder:List of Light Novels]]
novels]]
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%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=4yzb1nnwo5i7gipi4c6b5loc
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[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bloodlust2_8820.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:325:[[OrganAutonomy "Okay, I'm suffocating now!"]]]]
->'''''THIS STORY TAKES PLACE IN THE DISTANT FUTURE. WHEN MUTANTS AND DEMONS SLITHER THROUGH A WORLD OF DARKNESS.'''''[[note]][[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant No, not]] [[TabletopGame/TheWorldOfDarkness that one]].[[/note]]
A horror LightNovel series by Japanese author Creator/HideyukiKikuchi, a horror novelist in the same [[JustForPun vein]] as Creator/HPLovecraft and Creator/StephenKing,[[note]]At least according to the blurbs on the back of the books themselves[[/note]] ''Vampire Hunter D'' is the story of a [[{{Dhampyr}} half human, half vampire]] vampire hunter, usually just called D, who is scorned by the world that he roams. With the help of a morbid and otherwise obnoxious (but very useful) parasite that lives in his left hand, D wanders to wherever he is needed in a [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic world]] in the year 12,090 AD where monsters roam and humans live in fear.
Like ''Film/{{Zeiram}}'' and other series of the mid-eighties, ''Vampire Hunter D'' focuses more on atmosphere than plot or prose, and pulls it off beautifully. It began as an extremely long-running series of light novels (thirty-two as of January 2018, some of which are several volumes long) which spawned two anime movies. The first, based directly on the first novel, was simply titled ''Vampire Hunter D''. It involves him being hired to protect a young woman who has become the chosen prey of an "Aristocrat" (what vampires call themselves in this world), the sinister Count Magnus [[Creator/ChristopherLee Lee]]. In the second, titled ''Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust'' (based on the third novel), he is called upon to find a girl who has run off with her vampiric lover, and finds himself clashing against a group of mortal hunters. The character designs for the movies were done by Creator/YoshitakaAmano, who also did the cover art for the light novels.
Both the books and the movies possess a considerable sense of style, but are also quite disturbing, and not recommended for the faint of heart.
An anime OVA feature adaptation was released in Japan in 1985, and it was dubbed and released on VHS in North America by Creator/StreamlinePictures in 1992. Advertised as the "first animated horror film for adults," the feature acquired a cult following in the US following broadcasts on Creator/CartoonNetwork, [=SyFy=] Channel, and TBS. Its success spawned an animated sequel, ''Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust'', which was first released to US theaters on the film festival and art-house circuit in 2000; a Japanese release followed in 2001. Both films were originally released on DVD by Urban Vision, and when those licenses eventually fell through, Creator/SentaiFilmworks re-released the first film on Blu-ray (with a new dub), while Creator/DiscotekMedia re-released ''Bloodlust'' (with the original dub, and only that dub).
In 2000, a video game adaptation of the ''Bloodlust'' movie was released for the [=Playstation=], simply titled ''Vampire Hunter D''. The game closely followed the plot of the movie, but was entirely set in Meier Link's castle and featured 3 endings, one of which mirrored the movie ending.
[[folder:List of Light Novels]]
* Volume 1 - ''Vampire Hunter D'' (1983; English 2005)
* Volume 2 - ''Raiser of Gales'' (1984; English 2005)
* Volume 3 - ''Demon Deathchase'' (1985; English 2006)
* Volume 4 - ''Tale of the Dead Town'' (1986; English 2006)
* Volume 5 - ''The Stuff of Dreams'' (1986; English 2006)
* Volume 6 - ''Pilgrimage of the Sacred and the Profane'' (1988; English 2006)
* Volume 7 - ''Mysterious Journey to the North Sea, Parts 1 & 2'' (1988; released in English as Volumes 7 & 8, 2007)
* Volume 8 - ''The Rose Princess'' (1994; released as Volume 9 in English, 2007)
* Novella 1 - ''Dark Nocturne'' (1992; released as Volume 10 in English, 2008)
* Volume 9 - ''Pale Fallen Angel, Parts 1-4'' (1994-1996; English omnibus for Parts 1+2 released in 2008 as Volume 11, English omnibus for Parts 3+4 released in 2009 as Volume 12)
* Volume 10 - ''Twin-Shadowed Knight, Parts 1 & 2'' (1996; English omnibus released in 2009 as Volume 13)
* Volume 11 - ''Dark Road, Parts 1-3'' (1999; English release in 2010, Parts 1+2 omnibus released as Volume 14, Part 3 released as Volume 15)
* Volume 12 - ''Tyrant's Stars, Parts 1-4'' (2000-2001; English omnibus for Parts 1+2 and Parts 3+4 released in 2011 as Volumes 16 and 17)
* Volume 13 - ''Fortress of the Elder God'' (2001; released as Volume 18 in English, 2012)
* Volume 14 - ''Mercenary Road'' (2003; released as Volume 19 in English, 2013)
* Volume 15 - ''Scenes from an Unholy War'' (2003; released as Volume 20 in English, 2013)
* Volume 16 - ''Record of the Blood Battle'' (2004; released as Volume 21 in English, 2014)
* Volume 17 - ''White Devil Mountain, Parts 1 & 2'' (2005; English omnibus released as Volume 22 in 2014)
* Volume 18 - ''Iriya the Berserker'' (2007; released as Volume 23 in English, 2016)
* Volume 19 - ''Throng of Heretics'' (2007; released as Volume 24 in English, 2016)
* Volume 20 - ''Undead Island'' (2008; released as Volume 25 in English, 2017)
* Volume 21 - ''Bedeviled Stagecoach'' (2009; released as Volume 26 in English, 2017)
* Volume 22 - ''Nightmare Village'' (2010; released as Volume 27 in English, 2018)
* Volume 23 - ''The Royal Tiger of Winter'' (2011; to be released as Volume 28 in English, tentative 2019)
* Volume 24 - ''Battlefront of the Nobility'' (2012)
* Volume 25 - ''The Golden Demon, Parts 1 & 2'' (2012)
* Volume 26 - ''Sylvia's Road Home'' (2013)
* Volume 27 - ''Festival of the Nobility'' (2014)
* Volume 28 - ''Banquet in Purgatory'' (2014)
* Volume 29 - ''The Twisted Nobleman'' (2015)
* Volume 30 - ''The Wicked Beauty'' (2016)
* Volume 31 - ''Lost Legion of the Nobility'' (2016)
* Volume 32 - ''The Five Assassins'' (2017)
* Volume 33 - ''Cursed Demon Flight'' (2018)
* Volume 34 - ''Deadened City'' (2018)
* Volume 35 - ''Dark Visitor'' (2019)
[[/folder]]
An [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-06-30/exclusive-vampire-hunter-d-has-new-animated-series-in-the-works/.89840 animated series]] initially entitled ''Vampire Hunter D: Resurrection'' is being produced by Unified Pictures and Digital Frontier, with Hideyuki Kikuchi and ''Bloodlust'' director Creator/YoshiakiKawajiri involved in the production. As of October 2018, it has simply been renamed ''Vampire Hunter D: The Series''. Due to being considered more appealing to Western audiences than Japanese audiences, it is set to be [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff distributed in America first]].
In addition, the novels have been adapted to manga format in ''Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D'' published by Media Factory and Digital Manga Publishing, which adapted the first seven novels of the series, luckily, the artist emulates Yoshitaka Amano gothic style with a new twist, but overall, most characters are recognizable. There were also plans to bring the character over to Western media as a Devil's Due Publishing comic titled ''Vampire Hunter D: American Wasteland'' by Jimmy Palmiotti which would have seen the title character travel to the United States still under control of the Nobility, but the series was ultimately cancelled.
A successful Website/{{Kickstarter}} campaign for a brand new series called ''Message from Mars'' by Strange Comics, based on a unpublished story by Kikuchi was held in 2016. An RPG supplement for ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' called ''The World of Vampire Hunter D'' was written by F. Wesley Schneider and published by Paizo as one of the stretch goals for the ''Message from Mars'' campaign.
----
!!This franchise provides examples of:
* ActionGirl: Leila can hold her own in a fight.
* AdaptationalBadass: Rei asks Count Magnus' messenger if he came to kill him for failure. In the Japanese dub, he states that he couldn't beat Rei if he wanted to, while in the English version he is given a more menacing voice and merely says that killing Rei was not part of his orders.
* AdaptationalHeroism: The Marcus Brothers are ''much'' nicer guys in the movie version, being TheRival at most to D, and friendly rivals at that, especially Borgoff and Leila. In the original novel, the brothers were almost as vile as their opponents, particularly in how they treated Leila. For that matter, their counterparts in the Barberois bodyguards are, while still not ''heroic,'' not as villainous as they were in the novel- Mashira and Caroline remain completely loyal to Meier, rather than betraying him for their own selfish interests as they did in the novel.
* AdaptationDistillation: ''Bloodlust'' sheds a lot of the more... unpleasant aspects of the third novel.
* AdaptationDyeJob: For whatever reason, Larmica (blonde hair) and Doris (dark/black hair) had their hair colors swapped in the first movie.
* AdaptationExpansion: The ''Bloodlust'' movie added an incredible amount to the original story it was based on (''Demon Deathchase'') as well as changing a lot of details. Most notable was the introduction of a proper BigBad and a BittersweetEnding rather than the DownerEnding of the original, which was virtually a ShaggyDogStory.
* AdjectiveNounFred: The title itself, ''Vampire Hunter D''.
* AfterTheEnd: Two separate catastrophes: a nuclear war that destroyed human civilization, and a rebellion that overthrew vampire civilization.
* AlienSky: The opening shot from the 1985 OVA depicts a sky with two moons, yet for some reason we only see one moon throughout the rest of the film.
* AllCGICartoon: ''Resurrection'' will be completely animated in CGI.
* AndNowYouMustMarryMe: In the first volume and the 1985 film, Count Magnus Lee is determined to marry Doris Lang.
* AndThatLittleBoyWasMe: Not only does the shopkeeper turn out to be [[spoiler:one of the rescued children from his story]], but D is also [[spoiler:the rescuer that the townspeople betrayed in the end]].
* {{Animesque}}: Yes, even a text novel can be this, though considering when it was written it may have been the TropeCodifier for a lot of things we take for granted in anime. For example, throwing something so fast it's just a flash of light (in this case a wooden stake, thrown so fast it glows from air friction!) or the [[SpeedEchoes "create lots of images of yourself by running around really fast" concept]].
* AristocratsAreEvil: In this setting, "aristocrat" is a euphemism for "[[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampire]]". The novels translate the term as "Noble", probably for the sake of brevity. Still, the trope applies: the high-class rulers of the old civilization were vampires, thus earning their new name.
* ArrowCatch: The most iconic moment of ''Bloodlust'' happens when D plucks Borgoff's arrow out of the air as [[RearingHorse his horse rears dramatically]] in the moonlight.
* BadassCape: D has one, not surprisingly. As does Meier Link (Mayerling in the original ''Demon Deathchase'' light novel).
* BarehandedBladeBlock: Justified in that only someone as powerful as a vampire could possibly hope to pull it off. Double justified in that even a vampire would have to ''practice'' this. Count Magnus Lee learned this trick from the Sacred Ancestor himself.
* BigBad:
** The first novel and film have Count Magnus Lee, who is trying to make D's current client his bride.
** The ''Bloodlust'' film has [[spoiler:Carmilla the Blood Countess, who's manipulating a vampire-human couple into assisting her in being resurrected]].
* BiggerOnTheInside: In the novels it is often described how the vampire castles, carriages and even coffins may be vastly huge on the inside thanks to the space-warping technology the Nobility used to possess. There are tales of people entering a vampire's coffin and never finding the way out again. They were often built to accommodate their owner for centuries, yet another way the Nobility tried to forget their own decline.
* {{Bishounen}}:
** D, who is described as being impossibly beautiful and has [[EvenTheGuysWantHim everyone]] he meets falling for him left and right.
** Vampires and dhampyrs in general are described as being unearthly beautiful creatures, when they aren't showing the monstrous side of their appearance.
* BloodBath: In the ''Bloodlust'' movie, the spirit of the main antagonist, Carmilla, is brought back to her physical body by bathing her corpse in [[spoiler:Charlotte's]] blood.
* {{Bowdlerise}}: The strange Spanish dub of the first movie toned down some of the risqué elements, though, oddly enough, not all of them. For example, it removed all the references to demons, replaced Doris offering her body to D with her offering him to "kiss her," and made some minor changes, while leaving intact the rest of the depravity of the film, including the scene in which Doris's breasts are shown. It also changed Rei Ginsei's skill from curving space to "curving steel" to explain how he redirected D's sword to himself, apparently believing ViewersAreMorons in all its glory.
* CapeWings: In ''Bloodlust'', Meier plays this straight and D subverts it (his cape distinctly looks like wings in the scene just before the page pic, but that's all it does).
* CelibateHero: In the movies and novels both, D either ignores or pushes away anyone who comes on to him. He does [[spoiler:get to first base with Doris]] in the first novel, [[spoiler:but he leaves at the end of the book before things can go any further]]. In the first movie, Doris tries to put the moves on him, but it starts to bring out his vampiric side and he shuts things down before he loses his self-control.
* CharacterExaggeration: Inverted with the Marcus Brothers in ''Bloodlust''. In the original story, they are as much the villains as the Barbarois; they are vicious, murderous, and [[MoralEventHorizon regularly rape Leila]] (even the invalid Grove). In ''Bloodlust'', the evil aspects of their personalities are removed. And in the novel, the Marcus Brothers are genetically enhanced super humans with a wide range of powers. In the movie, they are BadassNormal. This arguably makes the movie versions, despite being significantly weaker than their novel counterparts, more impressive because normal humans tend to be very ineffective in this setting with a few exceptions. Even the weakest Dhampir is significantly more physically powerful, faster, and has better reflexes than a normal human.
* {{Chickification}}: Doris Lang sadly falls prey to this after making a strong first impression in both the novel and movie. It's not directly stated that the Lees drained her willpower or whatever, she's just ''too tired'' to be an Action Girl any more.
* ClaimedByTheSupernatural: The first movie starts with Doris being marked by Count Magnus Lee (shown as an unhealing bite mark on her neck) and she hires D to take care of him before he comes back to claim her completely.
* CombatTentacles: The Three Sisters' hair, which immobilizes their victim with pleasure, followed by unpleasant execution and digestion.
* CompositeCharacter: An interesting knock-on case across both movies:
** In the first movie, Count Lee's werewolf footman and coachman Garou is AdaptedOut, with Rei Ginsei taking his spot as the Count's main enforcer, rather than a wandering bandit the Count hired to take out D as he was in the book.
** Consequently, in the second movie the Barberois bodyguard Mashira is changed from a parasite creature from the same species as D's left hand to a werewolf, driving Meier Link's coach and remaining loyal rather than betraying Meier as he does in the book, making him ''another'' composite with Garou and basically adapting the character back in again.
* CrapsackWorld: Technology has regressed from a super-advanced future to a mix of medieval and futuristic where mutants, monster, vampiric nobles, and highly advanced technology exist to kill the average human who usually live in poor village with horrible things just outside vision radius during the daytime.
* CrossMeltingAura: Meier Link is to crosses as psychics are to spoons.
* CruelTwistEnding: The end of ''Pale Fallen Angels''.
* CurbStompBattle: Dan's attack on Lee in the movie lasts less than a second with the vampire swatting Dan, knocking the kid off the bridge.
* DarkIsNotEvil: D; In spite of his cold, distant nature he has made it a point never to kill humans, offering his services when offered the right price or purely to do what he feels is right.
* DaywalkingVampire: As a dhampir (half vampire, half human) D can exist in sunlight without being damaged (as he does at the end of the 1985 film). That said, in ''Bloodlust'' we see he is not immune to it entirely. Staying out in the sun for too long causes him to experience what is referred to as Heat Syndrome, sort of akin to a heat stroke for normal humans in unbearable temperatures. If D's reactions are any indication, it also hinders his breathing, which if left unchecked would be obviously fatal.
* DeadpanSnarker: Lefty often, but D could be one at times depending on how you take some of his comments in his downtime.
* DeathFakedForYou: Leila says she and D will claim Charlotte is dead so that she and Meier can go in peace.
* DepravedBisexual: Rin-Ginsei is implied to be one of these in the novel.
* {{Determinator}}: D fits this trope to a [[JustForPun D]].
* {{Dhampyr}}: It's worth noting that the dhampirs of this series have radically different powers (if ANY powers); there's, like, no baseline.
** There's really no baseline for anyone else, either. Vampire, human, mutant, construct, anything can range from minimal threat to insanely powerful. Though vampires are a bit scarier, on average, due to having spent the past ten thousand years dominating the planet.
** The problem with assessing the powers of dhampirs is that, outside D, almost no actual dhampir actually show up in the novels, and the few that do almost never really show off their abilities. Most of the comments about dhampir could qualify as UnreliableNarrator and in a few instances are heavily implied to actually be [[spoiler:D, who is much older than he appears.]] Even then, some of the dhampir that do show up, [[spoiler:including D]], are either artificially created, genetically enhanced or in some non-descript way modified.
* DistressedDamsel: Doris Lang in the first movie and novel. Subverted in that she's an ActionGirl too, but not tough enough to stop a millennia-old Noble on her own.
* DownerEnding: Several stories end like this.
* {{Dracula}}: The Nobility calls him the Sacred Ancestor, the god of their people. D calls him... well, [[IHateYouVampireDad a lot of things, mostly bad]]. The author himself gives Dracula different interpretations. At times, he makes Dracula out to be a heroic figure, even once fighting an perverse and evil vampire to save a human village in the backstory for Novel 7. Other times, like in [[spoiler:novel 2]], he's portrayed as more of a villain, apparently [[spoiler:being the one responsible for transforming the kidnapped children into strange, kinda-sorta vampires. This is more WellIntentionedExtremist however, since he's attempting to create vampires immune to sunlight - it's implied that such vampires would have the best qualities of humans and vampires.]]
* TheDragon: [[spoiler:Rei-Ginsei]] after he makes a deal with Count Magnus to become one of the Nobility. In the movie his role is drastically reduced and this is pretty much all he is.
* DubText: The Creator/StreamlinePictures dub inserts a direct ShoutOut to ''Film/{{Shane}}'' in the originally wordless ending scene.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness
** In the first novel, Rei-Ginsei actually ''kills'' D using the time-bewitching essence to throw off D's senses just long enough to land a fatal blow (although [[OnlyMostlyDead he survives]] thanks to Left Hand). The idea that [[InvincibleHero D]] could be defeated so easily, even with a handicap, would seem ''absurd'' in later stories.
** Also, D is notably more human in the first novel, compared to the detached, emotionless, almost callous character seen in later books. He insults Rei Ginsei to his face when they confront each other (calling him "the bastard son of the Devil and a hellhound"), may have been about to succumb to Doris' seduction when she comes onto him (actually brushing her hair aside to kiss her), and delivers a withering TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to the villagers when they come to take Doris and hand her over to Count Lee, threatening to slaughter them all if they push their luck.
** Another thing from the first novel: humanity being bred to have an innate case of LaserGuidedAmnesia should they discover a vampiric weakness. This was phased out in later novels and dropped completely.
* EndOfAnEra: A common theme of the series is that the vampire empire is long gone and that the world is slowly being taken back by humans. Most vampires are either dead, left the planet entirely, or are in eternal sleep. The few still around might have small fiefdoms with citizens they oppress, but aren't a major threat to the world anymore. Because of this decline, it made the Sacred Ancestor decide that even if vampires as they were cannot survive, their bloodline and legacy could possibly be continued by humans.
* EvenTheGuysWantHim: D - most men in the novels commented how seeing D makes them wish they were women(!).
* EvilCounterpart: Rei-Ginsei to D. [[spoiler:He's quickly blown away.]] Later books feature several others; a couple even bring in an EvilTwin of one sort or another.
* ExpositionOfImmortality: Count Magnus Lee provides a pretty good example of this, though he paints a less pleasant picture of the passing of ages than a lot of immortals:
--> I have lived for 10,000 years. Believe me, you have no idea what that means for me: boredom. Everlasting, hideous boredom. A never-ending search for ways to pass the time, and mating with a human woman is one of the few I enjoy.
* EyeScream: Subverted in the first movie. Count Magnus Lee gets a dagger thrown right in his eye. He doesn't react, doesn't even blink, just pulls it out and regenerates the damage with a bored expression.
* {{Fanservice}}: In the first anime, Doris gets her top pulled down by [[spoiler:Dr. Fehring after he turns traitor]], and later has a shower scene. However, she keeps her clothes on when she first meets D, unlike in the novel (see FullFrontalAssault below).
* FantasyKitchenSink: You can expect just about any creature, power or trope from horror or fantasy traditions to make an appearance in some shape or form during the novels. Even {{Atlantis}} receives a mention! The first novel reveals that a good chunk of the stuff was recreated by the Nobility just for the sake of it.
* FauxActionGirl:
** Doris Lang becomes one, eventually. Supposedly, it's due to her relying on D way too much (and falling in love with him).
** This happens to a lot of the female characters in the novels.
* {{Flatline}}: ''Bloodlust''. After Grove sacrifices himself to save Leila from a vampire, the audience can hear the flatline sound from the medical equipment attached to him.
* FullFrontalAssault: During their fight in the novel, Doris Lang tries to distract D by dropping her clothes. It only distracts him on a very small scale, but for a completely different reason....
* GiantPoofySleeves: Charlotte
* HalfHumanHybrid:
** [[{{Dhampyr}} D]], thanks to Dracula's constant experiments.
** In the first movie, [[spoiler:Larmica was also one]]. This was completely absent from the original story.
** The Barberoi, an entire village of monstrous hybrids. They're pretty scary, but the elder of the village in the novel remembers how hard it was for all of them to survive and is quite reverent to D when he realizes who D must be. This sympathetic characterization was largely absent from the movie version of ''Bloodlust.''
* HandSignals: ''Bloodlust'' (2000). Borgoff, the leader of the Marcus brothers, makes a "move forward" gesture to his men to order them to advance toward the vampire's carriage.
* HeroicWillpower: D, despite being a dhampir, is ''far'' stronger than most of his opponents because of his willpower and resolve not to become a monster. It helps his dad was the [[{{Dracula}} Big D]].
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Grecko in the OVA, who steals the candle tainted with incense from Rei-Ginsei that was meant to paralyze D for his own purposes in seducing Doris, who was being held hostage by Larmica. This effort fails, and he staggers home only to be confronted by a ''royally pissed off'' Rei who had by this point lost his hand to D as a direct result of Grecko's meddling. [[ForegoneConclusion Rei is quick to repay him for that offense]].
* HoYay: [[invoked]] This often happens with several male characters who encounter D. Some are subtle, while others say things that require BrainBleach. There's also a bit of FoeYay tossed around from time to time.
* HumanMomNonHumanDad: D's mother was human. His father was [[{{Dracula}} the Sacred Ancestor himself]].
* HunterOfHisOwnKind: In the first anime film, the half-vampire D protects Doris and her younger brother against Count Magnus Lee and the other vampires.
* ImplausibleFencingPowers: D lives and breathes this trope. The impossibility of some of the stuff D pulls is mentioned repeatedly by other characters and the narration. One example from the novels is when he cut a hologram...and rendered it incapable of reforming.
* InTheBlood
** Rather literally with Vampirism. It's not until ''Bloodlust'' that we even get a hint that vampires are capable of love.
** Well, in the first novel there was [[spoiler:Larmica, who was a full vampire in this version]].
** Also, isn't it pretty much stated in the first novel that the dear Sacred Ancestor really did [[spoiler:love a human woman, resulting in, of course, D?]]. Of course, given his sometimes-hero-sometimes-monster portrayal between novels, it's really uncertain exactly WHAT he was doing... The implications aren't very good, considering that in novel 6 he explicitly rapes a young woman to produce another dhampyr descendant. Though since she goes her way to mention how sad he looked in the act, he probably wasn't getting kicks out of it, either.
* InvincibleHero: D tends to be this, sometimes veering into ShowyInvincibleHero depending on how [[PurpleProse purply]] the prose describes his actions. The Author knows this as novels rarely focus on D and instead focus on the human characters and D instead acts like a DeusExMachina for them to escape deadly situations. In short, D is as much a plot device as he is a character. More, in some stories.
* InvincibleVillain: Vampires as a whole in the first book. One aspect that was thankfully discarded without a trace for later books: they've bred it into humanity that if any human discovers one of their weaknesses (like garlic), they'll automatically ''forget'' it so humans can never get the upper hand.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: The early novels used this as a means of keeping the Nobility at the top of the food chain, with them having genetically altered humanity to outright ''forget'' vampiric weaknesses after discovering them. Later novels phased this out completely.
* LoadBearingBoss: In the 1985 film, when Count Magnus Lee is killed his castle self-destructs. Something similar happens in ''Bloodlust''. Vampire castles apparently have NoOntologicalInertia.
* LongRunningBookSeries: Been going since 1983, with no signs of stopping.
* MechanicalHorse: Regular horses don't even seem to be around anymore, just the cyborgs.
* TheMole: In the 1985 film. While D is rescuing Dan from Rei Ginsei, Dr. Fehring takes Doris Lang to a safe location. When Dr. Fehring and Doris meet Count Magnus Lee's daughter Lamika, Dr. Fehring reveals that [[FaceMonsterTurn he was turned into a vampire the day before and turns Doris over to Lamika]].
* MsFanservice: Doris' skirt is so short it's a mystery why she even bothers putting it on. Clearly she has the same tailor as ''Anime/AgentAika''.
* MonsterTown: The Barberois town, high in the mountains.
* MultipleHeadCase: The Three Sisters and D himself, sort of.
* NakedOnRevival: Carmilla revives herself out of pure blood in the ''Bloodlust'' movie, leading to this.
* NobleBigot: Countess Larmica Lee does not appreciate her father's zeal to marry the commoner Doris Lang, thereby bringing the House of Lee to ruin, [[spoiler:but midway through the picture she starts to realize that perhaps murder may not be the only option and decides to help Doris]].
* NoblewomansLaugh: In the 1985 film Countess Larmica Lee has one that she uses to express her disdain toward D and Rei Ginsei.
* NoOntologicalInertia: In the movie, this was the cause of [[spoiler:the Count's castle crumbling to dust when he died]]. In the book, though, it was due to [[spoiler:Larmica's betrayal]].
* OneLetterName: D
* OrganAutonomy: D's left hand is alive. And it won't shut up. There's an upside when your hand can survive being severed for a while and has every reason in the world to give you CPR...
* OurVampiresAreDifferent
** They follow most of the traditional vampire traits and weaknesses, but there are always a few exceptions--it's mentioned a few times that some vampire lines have different talents. It gets quite a LOT of attention when a vampire acts abnormally (such as the one that can move through water freely).
** This trope really comes into play with the other Dhampirs. Their abilities almost never resemble D's.
*** Dhampir other than D are quite rare. The few that show up are usually artificially created or genetically modified, which further explains the range of powers beyond simply the unpredictable results of cross-breeding two different species.
*** D is also [[spoiler:explicitly stated to be the only successful attempt to create essentially a super Dhampir]]. The fact no other Dhampir have his powers is, if anything, required by that plot point.
* OutWithABang: The Three Sisters are killed by D while in the ecstatic throes of absorbing his life force.
* PantyShot: Frequently from Doris, due to her very short skirt.
* PercussivePrevention: In the 1985 movie, when danger approaches Doris Lang's house she volunteers to fight alongside D. D uses the talking mouth on his hand to put her to sleep so she can resist Count Magnus Lee's summons.
* PointedEars: In ''Bloodlust'', D's ears are shown to be slightly pointed, one of the few physical hints about his vampire blood that we see aside from his pale skin.
* PowerAtAPrice: Grove is bedridden, sickly and barely able to move, but when he shoots up with a powerful (and toxic) drug, he's able to create an astral projection of himself made of pure energy that blasts anything to ashes with ray beams. Oh, and apparently the power trip makes him feel awesome, because he's usually ''smiling'' beautifully during all this.
* PowerFloats: In ''Bloodlust'', Grove's astral form floats through the air as he wreaks havoc.
* PragmaticAdaptation: The original movie was a very simplified version of the first novel (most notably the Fiend Corps were reduced to a group of mute monsters and Rei Ginsei became simply Count Magnus' [[TheDragon Dragon]]), but this improved the pacing of what was a very slow book.
* PrehensileHair: The Three Sisters use their hair to ensnare their victims.
* PuppeteerParasite: One shows up in the novel that formed the basis for ''Bloodlust.'' It's from the village of the Barberois, but it's only got a passing interest in actually helping Meier Link and is more concerned with raping and taking over people's bodies. It's also apparently related to the talking hand thing that D has.
* PurpleProse: The early novels have bits of memorably overripe prose. For instance [[DistressedDamsel Doris Lang]] is described as having "a naked form so celestial none save the goddess Venus herself could have fashioned it." This decreases some in later novels.
* PutDownYourGunAndStepAway: In ''Bloodlust'', after Borgoff is turned into a vampire he takes Leila hostage and orders D to drop his weapon.
* QuirkyMinibossSquad: The novels ''always'' have one and they can be relatively mundane mercenaries to outlandish, literally out-of-this-world monstrosities.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: D appears to be a young man (and is in fact repeatedly described as such by the narrator in the novels) but is actually ancient. In at least one instance the deeds he performed in a certain area have literally passed into legend by the next time he returned there.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:Larmica]]
* RedEyesTakeWarning
** Most vampires when they're angry, if they don't have it all the time. If D gets Red Eyes, it's time to run. No, wait, too late. You're dead already.
** The 1985 movie:
*** Doris Lang encounters three opponent with red eyes: the monster she's hunting, a werewolf that tears off her crucifix, and the vampire leader Count Magnus Lee.
*** At Count Magnus Lee's castle D meets a giant, a mutant who can summon up a ghostly wolf and the three Snake Women of Midwich, all of whom are Lee's evil servants and who have red eyes.
** ''Bloodlust'' (2000):
*** The horses pulling the vampire's coach near the beginning have glowing red eyes. And if that isn't enough to tell you they're evil, they have fangs as well - apparently they're ''vampire'' horses.
*** Some evil vampire bats that appear later also have red eyes.
* TheRemnant: Human civilization is coming back full force and the "Aristocracy" of vampires is on the decline. Vampires can only be found in the hills of the Frontier away from the Capitol at the center of the continent. In their little micro-fiefdoms, though, they still exercise a degree of might.
* RuleOfCool: Even in the first novel, the combat is ridiculously over-the-top. D throws stakes so fast that they're a flash of light. Not because they're silver, no, they're wood; because he's ''throwing them so fast they're incandescing from the air friction.''
* SecretTest: In the 1985 film version Doris Lang confronts D as he travels. She challenges and attacks him to find out if he's a tough enough vampire hunter to take on the vampire noble Count Magnus Lee.
-->'''Doris''': I apologize for attacking you without just cause. I had to make certain you weren't a coward like so many of the others.
* SeeYouInHell: In the 1985 movie, D says this to Rei Ginsei when he paralyzes D with the vampire-affecting candle.
* ShootTheShaggyDog: ''Demon Deathchase'' ended up being one of these. [[spoiler:[[KillEmAll EVERY character]] except D & Leila [[DroppedABridgeOnHim died a pointless and unpleasant death]] and Mayerling's entire journey [[ShaggyDogStory was meaningless from the start]], as the spaceport he'd been heading to had been ruined for centuries. There was no real BigBad and there were almost no sympathetic characters (especially the Marcus Brothers, who are complete scumbags in the book).]]
* ShoutOut:
** Village called Tepes in the second novel. Țepeș (Romanian for impaler) was a nickname of [[UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler Vlad III of Wallachia]], better known as Dracula.
** Count Magnus Lee is named after Creator/MRJames's famous ghost story "Count Magnus" and Creator/ChristopherLee.
** Larmica is an anagram of Carmilla, from [[Literature/{{Carmilla}} an early vampire story]] by J. Sheridan [=LeFanu=].
** The Snake-Women of ''Midwich'' might refer to ''[[Film/VillageOfTheDamned1960 The Midwich Cuckoos]]'', despite absolutely no similarities between the two.
** Carmilla in the second film is also obviously a shout-out to the literary Carmilla, as well as the historical Countess Bathory.
** In ''Mysterious Journey to the North Sea Part 1'', the seventh novel of the series, there is a town named Cronenberg, after, of course, horror film director Creator/DavidCronenberg.
*** In the same novel there's also a village called Lugosi, obviously paying homage to Creator/BelaLugosi who famously played {{Dracula}} in the [[Film/{{Dracula 1931}} first official adaptation]] of Creator/BramStoker's [[Literature/{{Dracula}} novel]].
*** There's also a vampire named 'Meinster.' Given Hideyuki's love of Film/HammerHorror, the fact that this is the villain of ''Film/TheBridesOfDracula'' is assuredly not coincidence.
*** In the first book, there's briefly mentioned a minor character named [[Creator/PeterCushing Cushing]].
** Frequent use of QuirkyMiniBossSquad was inspired by the many works of [[Manga/TheYagyuNinjaScrolls Futaro Yamada.]]
** TONS of Westerns such as Film/TheSearchers, Film/{{Shane}}, and Film/TheDollarsTrilogy are used as inspiration or WholePlotReference.
* ShowerScene: In the 1985 movie, after D returns Larmica to Count Magnus Lee's castle there's a brief scene in Doris Lang's house where she takes a shower.
* SlidingScaleOfVampireFriendliness: On the low end.
* SophisticatedAsHell: D on a few occasions.
** When he learns that Lefty failed to protect their current employer: "Useless little bugger."
** Seeing a giant get beat down by phantoms: "They're beating the hell out of him."
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: In ''Bloodlust'', the main villain Noble is referred to in both text and dialogue as "Meyer Link", despite the fact that a handwritten letter shown partway through the film spells it "Mayerling". The novel uses "Mayerling" consistently.
* TheStarscream: [[spoiler:Rei-Ginsei tries this at the end. [[YourHeadAsplode It doesn't end well for him.]]]]
* TheStoic: D. His parasitic hand {{lampshades}} this occasionally.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Doris' outfit in the first film.
%%* SuperLoser
* SuperpoweredEvilSide: On rare stressful occasions, D sometimes 'vamps-out' -- his eyes goes [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing blood red]], he displays conspicuous fangs (which he bares in a [[FangsAreEvil terrifyingly feral manner]]), and his strength and presence becomes even ''more'' overwhelming. In that state he's basically a uber-Noble on super-steroids. A CurbstompBattle almost always follows. This transformation appears to be involuntary and it takes obvious HeroicWillpower to pull himself back to his usual self.
** It is usually triggered by combat, but can set off by emotional turmoil -- i.e., with Doris Lang when she offers himself to him.
* SwordSparks: Memorably going to the point of a 'hot blade' BladeLock where one blade was a vampire's ''wing''.
* TerrifyingRescuer: [[spoiler:Rei-Ginsei becomes this for Dan (for no particular purpose)]] when the latter gets hurled off a bridge, and the former has decided to become TheStarscream.
* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: In the 1985 film, when D is fighting Count Magnus Lee, he throws his sword at Lee and pins him to a wall, killing him. In the corresponding book, D throws the broken-off tip of his sword--with the same results.
* TimeAbyss: Most of the Nobility, [[spoiler:as well as D himself]]. Their lifespans are usually in the range of several ''millennia''.
* TooManyMouths: D's parasite shows up as a face in his left palm.
* TranshumanTreachery: Generally, vampire thralls end up evil, and which of the mind control tropes it is varies.
* TranslationTrainwreck: The Balkan word for the child of a human and a vampire is "dhampir". When that word was transliterated into Japanese for the novels and then back into English for the American release of the movies, we ended up with "dampiel" in the first film[[note]]At least, as far as the dub by Creator/StreamlinePictures goes. This was rectified in the Creator/SentaiFilmworks dub.[[/note]] and "dunpeal" in ''Bloodlust''. The novels correctly use "dhampir."
* TraumaCongaLine: Doris, which decays her status from ActionGirl to more DistressedDamsel as the film goes on. After [[spoiler:losing her horse and getting bitten by the Count in the opening]], she still has to deal with [[spoiler:being shunned by the townsfolk, being kidnapped by the Count twice, having her brother kidnapped (and thinking him dead), having the only other human on her side get turned into a vampire and lead her into a trap, and fending off the lecherous son of the town mayor in between it all]]. Poor girl needs a hug after all that.
* UnnecessarilyLargeInterior: The vampires love these both in the movies and novels. The novels explain that the vampires attempted to delay their inevitable decline with increasingly ambitious projects, from building miles-tall high-rises to sending expeditions to other galaxies, even though it would take thousands of years and serve no practical purpose.
* TheVamp: Larmica, quite literally.
* VampireHunter: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Obviously]], but D doesn't do it as much as one might expect. In the time frame of the movies and novels vampires are mostly extinct, and D's jobs are often related to the Nobility only tangentially.
* VampireMonarch: Count Magnus Lee, and Carmilla in ''Bloodlust''.
* VampireRefugee: The plot of the first novel and film.
* VampiricDraining: In the 1985 film the three Snake Women of Midwich drain D's LifeEnergy by wrapping themselves around him.
* VeinOVision: How vampires see humans. It's made a point of in the novels how even the most kindhearted of Nobles will inevitably succumb to their instincts if they have to spend long periods in the company of mortals. When exceptions are seen, they tend to be huge plot points.
* WalkingTheEarth: Hunters must do this constantly, D, obviously, being no exception.
%%* WarmBloodbagsAreEverywhere
* WeakenedByTheLight
** Sunlight isn't immediately fatal to vampires. Rather, exposure to more than a few seconds of direct sunlight causes them to catch fire, burning painfully so long as they are exposed. HeroicWillpower is invoked if a vampire stays in sunlight to do something important, as is a vampiric HealingFactor if they make it back to shade. However, only the High Nobility are capable of even trying this. Most vampires are entirely comatose during the day, even if they remain underground.
** While sunlight does not affect dhampirs to nearly the same degree as full vampires, it is painful for them and can cause a form of heatstroke called Sunlight Syndrome.
** The 1985 film. Count Magnus Lee sends Rei Ginsei a candle. Its light paralyzes any being with vampire blood in its veins. Greco Roman steals it and uses it against the Count's daughter Lamika. Rei Ginsei gets it back and uses it against D (successfully) and Count Magnus Lee (not so successfully).
* WeMeetAgain: In the 1985 film Rei Ginsei says this to D when D arrives at Count Magnus Lee's castle. They had met earlier when Ginsei visited Doris Lang's farm.
* WeirdWest: While the main influence is Westerns, there is literally no genre the series doesn't have in it. D regularly bumps up against marauders, GothicHorror beasts, HighFantasy monsters, DarkFantasy abominations, literal space aliens, and Cthulhu.
%%* TheWestern
* WhatTheHellAreYou: (combined with the following)
* WhoAreYou: In his final moments Count Magnus declares, ''"Who the hell are YOU?!"'' at D in the English dub of the anime. [[StrongFamilyResemblance Magnus finds the answer himself just a second later]] [[spoiler:from a portrait on the wall right nearby]].
* WorldOfBadass: The stories run on the physics of ''awesomeness.''
* WouldntHitAGirl: D goes out of his way to avoid hurting Lamika, despite her numerous attempts to kill him and Doris.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Lamika does this to Dr. Fehring after he turns Doris over to her. In his last moments, he regrets what he had done under the influence.
* YourHeadASplode: Rei's ultimate fate after attempting to paralyze Count Magnus Lee for breaking his promise to make him immortal, in a very gruesome manner.
----
->''"[[ButNowIMustGo Transient guests are we.]]"''
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%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.
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[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bloodlust2_8820.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:325:[[OrganAutonomy "Okay, I'm suffocating now!"]]]]
->'''''THIS STORY TAKES PLACE IN THE DISTANT FUTURE. WHEN MUTANTS AND DEMONS SLITHER THROUGH A WORLD OF DARKNESS.'''''[[note]][[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant No, not]] [[TabletopGame/TheWorldOfDarkness that one]].[[/note]]
A horror LightNovel series by Japanese author Creator/HideyukiKikuchi, a horror novelist in the same [[JustForPun vein]] as Creator/HPLovecraft and Creator/StephenKing,[[note]]At least according to the blurbs on the back of the books themselves[[/note]] ''Vampire Hunter D'' is the story of a [[{{Dhampyr}} half human, half vampire]] vampire hunter, usually just called D, who is scorned by the world that he roams. With the help of a morbid and otherwise obnoxious (but very useful) parasite that lives in his left hand, D wanders to wherever he is needed in a [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic world]] in the year 12,090 AD where monsters roam and humans live in fear.
Like ''Film/{{Zeiram}}'' and other series of the mid-eighties, ''Vampire Hunter D'' focuses more on atmosphere than plot or prose, and pulls it off beautifully. It began as an extremely long-running series of light novels (thirty-two as of January 2018, some of which are several volumes long) which spawned two anime movies. The first, based directly on the first novel, was simply titled ''Vampire Hunter D''. It involves him being hired to protect a young woman who has become the chosen prey of an "Aristocrat" (what vampires call themselves in this world), the sinister Count Magnus [[Creator/ChristopherLee Lee]]. In the second, titled ''Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust'' (based on the third novel), he is called upon to find a girl who has run off with her vampiric lover, and finds himself clashing against a group of mortal hunters. The character designs for the movies were done by Creator/YoshitakaAmano, who also did the cover art for the light novels.
Both the books and the movies possess a considerable sense of style, but are also quite disturbing, and not recommended for the faint of heart.
An anime OVA feature adaptation was released in Japan in 1985, and it was dubbed and released on VHS in North America by Creator/StreamlinePictures in 1992. Advertised as the "first animated horror film for adults," the feature acquired a cult following in the US following broadcasts on Creator/CartoonNetwork, [=SyFy=] Channel, and TBS. Its success spawned an animated sequel, ''Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust'', which was first released to US theaters on the film festival and art-house circuit in 2000; a Japanese release followed in 2001. Both films were originally released on DVD by Urban Vision, and when those licenses eventually fell through, Creator/SentaiFilmworks re-released the first film on Blu-ray (with a new dub), while Creator/DiscotekMedia re-released ''Bloodlust'' (with the original dub, and only that dub).
In 2000, a video game adaptation of the ''Bloodlust'' movie was released for the [=Playstation=], simply titled ''Vampire Hunter D''. The game closely followed the plot of the movie, but was entirely set in Meier Link's castle and featured 3 endings, one of which mirrored the movie ending.
[[folder:List of Light Novels]]
* Volume 1 - ''Vampire Hunter D'' (1983; English 2005)
* Volume 2 - ''Raiser of Gales'' (1984; English 2005)
* Volume 3 - ''Demon Deathchase'' (1985; English 2006)
* Volume 4 - ''Tale of the Dead Town'' (1986; English 2006)
* Volume 5 - ''The Stuff of Dreams'' (1986; English 2006)
* Volume 6 - ''Pilgrimage of the Sacred and the Profane'' (1988; English 2006)
* Volume 7 - ''Mysterious Journey to the North Sea, Parts 1 & 2'' (1988; released in English as Volumes 7 & 8, 2007)
* Volume 8 - ''The Rose Princess'' (1994; released as Volume 9 in English, 2007)
* Novella 1 - ''Dark Nocturne'' (1992; released as Volume 10 in English, 2008)
* Volume 9 - ''Pale Fallen Angel, Parts 1-4'' (1994-1996; English omnibus for Parts 1+2 released in 2008 as Volume 11, English omnibus for Parts 3+4 released in 2009 as Volume 12)
* Volume 10 - ''Twin-Shadowed Knight, Parts 1 & 2'' (1996; English omnibus released in 2009 as Volume 13)
* Volume 11 - ''Dark Road, Parts 1-3'' (1999; English release in 2010, Parts 1+2 omnibus released as Volume 14, Part 3 released as Volume 15)
* Volume 12 - ''Tyrant's Stars, Parts 1-4'' (2000-2001; English omnibus for Parts 1+2 and Parts 3+4 released in 2011 as Volumes 16 and 17)
* Volume 13 - ''Fortress of the Elder God'' (2001; released as Volume 18 in English, 2012)
* Volume 14 - ''Mercenary Road'' (2003; released as Volume 19 in English, 2013)
* Volume 15 - ''Scenes from an Unholy War'' (2003; released as Volume 20 in English, 2013)
* Volume 16 - ''Record of the Blood Battle'' (2004; released as Volume 21 in English, 2014)
* Volume 17 - ''White Devil Mountain, Parts 1 & 2'' (2005; English omnibus released as Volume 22 in 2014)
* Volume 18 - ''Iriya the Berserker'' (2007; released as Volume 23 in English, 2016)
* Volume 19 - ''Throng of Heretics'' (2007; released as Volume 24 in English, 2016)
* Volume 20 - ''Undead Island'' (2008; released as Volume 25 in English, 2017)
* Volume 21 - ''Bedeviled Stagecoach'' (2009; released as Volume 26 in English, 2017)
* Volume 22 - ''Nightmare Village'' (2010; released as Volume 27 in English, 2018)
* Volume 23 - ''The Royal Tiger of Winter'' (2011; to be released as Volume 28 in English, tentative 2019)
* Volume 24 - ''Battlefront of the Nobility'' (2012)
* Volume 25 - ''The Golden Demon, Parts 1 & 2'' (2012)
* Volume 26 - ''Sylvia's Road Home'' (2013)
* Volume 27 - ''Festival of the Nobility'' (2014)
* Volume 28 - ''Banquet in Purgatory'' (2014)
* Volume 29 - ''The Twisted Nobleman'' (2015)
* Volume 30 - ''The Wicked Beauty'' (2016)
* Volume 31 - ''Lost Legion of the Nobility'' (2016)
* Volume 32 - ''The Five Assassins'' (2017)
* Volume 33 - ''Cursed Demon Flight'' (2018)
* Volume 34 - ''Deadened City'' (2018)
* Volume 35 - ''Dark Visitor'' (2019)
[[/folder]]
An [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-06-30/exclusive-vampire-hunter-d-has-new-animated-series-in-the-works/.89840 animated series]] initially entitled ''Vampire Hunter D: Resurrection'' is being produced by Unified Pictures and Digital Frontier, with Hideyuki Kikuchi and ''Bloodlust'' director Creator/YoshiakiKawajiri involved in the production. As of October 2018, it has simply been renamed ''Vampire Hunter D: The Series''. Due to being considered more appealing to Western audiences than Japanese audiences, it is set to be [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff distributed in America first]].
In addition, the novels have been adapted to manga format in ''Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D'' published by Media Factory and Digital Manga Publishing, which adapted the first seven novels of the series, luckily, the artist emulates Yoshitaka Amano gothic style with a new twist, but overall, most characters are recognizable. There were also plans to bring the character over to Western media as a Devil's Due Publishing comic titled ''Vampire Hunter D: American Wasteland'' by Jimmy Palmiotti which would have seen the title character travel to the United States still under control of the Nobility, but the series was ultimately cancelled.
A successful Website/{{Kickstarter}} campaign for a brand new series called ''Message from Mars'' by Strange Comics, based on a unpublished story by Kikuchi was held in 2016. An RPG supplement for ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' called ''The World of Vampire Hunter D'' was written by F. Wesley Schneider and published by Paizo as one of the stretch goals for the ''Message from Mars'' campaign.
----
!!This franchise provides examples of:
* ActionGirl: Leila can hold her own in a fight.
* AdaptationalBadass: Rei asks Count Magnus' messenger if he came to kill him for failure. In the Japanese dub, he states that he couldn't beat Rei if he wanted to, while in the English version he is given a more menacing voice and merely says that killing Rei was not part of his orders.
* AdaptationalHeroism: The Marcus Brothers are ''much'' nicer guys in the movie version, being TheRival at most to D, and friendly rivals at that, especially Borgoff and Leila. In the original novel, the brothers were almost as vile as their opponents, particularly in how they treated Leila. For that matter, their counterparts in the Barberois bodyguards are, while still not ''heroic,'' not as villainous as they were in the novel- Mashira and Caroline remain completely loyal to Meier, rather than betraying him for their own selfish interests as they did in the novel.
* AdaptationDistillation: ''Bloodlust'' sheds a lot of the more... unpleasant aspects of the third novel.
* AdaptationDyeJob: For whatever reason, Larmica (blonde hair) and Doris (dark/black hair) had their hair colors swapped in the first movie.
* AdaptationExpansion: The ''Bloodlust'' movie added an incredible amount to the original story it was based on (''Demon Deathchase'') as well as changing a lot of details. Most notable was the introduction of a proper BigBad and a BittersweetEnding rather than the DownerEnding of the original, which was virtually a ShaggyDogStory.
* AdjectiveNounFred: The title itself, ''Vampire Hunter D''.
* AfterTheEnd: Two separate catastrophes: a nuclear war that destroyed human civilization, and a rebellion that overthrew vampire civilization.
* AlienSky: The opening shot from the 1985 OVA depicts a sky with two moons, yet for some reason we only see one moon throughout the rest of the film.
* AllCGICartoon: ''Resurrection'' will be completely animated in CGI.
* AndNowYouMustMarryMe: In the first volume and the 1985 film, Count Magnus Lee is determined to marry Doris Lang.
* AndThatLittleBoyWasMe: Not only does the shopkeeper turn out to be [[spoiler:one of the rescued children from his story]], but D is also [[spoiler:the rescuer that the townspeople betrayed in the end]].
* {{Animesque}}: Yes, even a text novel can be this, though considering when it was written it may have been the TropeCodifier for a lot of things we take for granted in anime. For example, throwing something so fast it's just a flash of light (in this case a wooden stake, thrown so fast it glows from air friction!) or the [[SpeedEchoes "create lots of images of yourself by running around really fast" concept]].
* AristocratsAreEvil: In this setting, "aristocrat" is a euphemism for "[[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampire]]". The novels translate the term as "Noble", probably for the sake of brevity. Still, the trope applies: the high-class rulers of the old civilization were vampires, thus earning their new name.
* ArrowCatch: The most iconic moment of ''Bloodlust'' happens when D plucks Borgoff's arrow out of the air as [[RearingHorse his horse rears dramatically]] in the moonlight.
* BadassCape: D has one, not surprisingly. As does Meier Link (Mayerling in the original ''Demon Deathchase'' light novel).
* BarehandedBladeBlock: Justified in that only someone as powerful as a vampire could possibly hope to pull it off. Double justified in that even a vampire would have to ''practice'' this. Count Magnus Lee learned this trick from the Sacred Ancestor himself.
* BigBad:
** The first novel and film have Count Magnus Lee, who is trying to make D's current client his bride.
** The ''Bloodlust'' film has [[spoiler:Carmilla the Blood Countess, who's manipulating a vampire-human couple into assisting her in being resurrected]].
* BiggerOnTheInside: In the novels it is often described how the vampire castles, carriages and even coffins may be vastly huge on the inside thanks to the space-warping technology the Nobility used to possess. There are tales of people entering a vampire's coffin and never finding the way out again. They were often built to accommodate their owner for centuries, yet another way the Nobility tried to forget their own decline.
* {{Bishounen}}:
** D, who is described as being impossibly beautiful and has [[EvenTheGuysWantHim everyone]] he meets falling for him left and right.
** Vampires and dhampyrs in general are described as being unearthly beautiful creatures, when they aren't showing the monstrous side of their appearance.
* BloodBath: In the ''Bloodlust'' movie, the spirit of the main antagonist, Carmilla, is brought back to her physical body by bathing her corpse in [[spoiler:Charlotte's]] blood.
* {{Bowdlerise}}: The strange Spanish dub of the first movie toned down some of the risqué elements, though, oddly enough, not all of them. For example, it removed all the references to demons, replaced Doris offering her body to D with her offering him to "kiss her," and made some minor changes, while leaving intact the rest of the depravity of the film, including the scene in which Doris's breasts are shown. It also changed Rei Ginsei's skill from curving space to "curving steel" to explain how he redirected D's sword to himself, apparently believing ViewersAreMorons in all its glory.
* CapeWings: In ''Bloodlust'', Meier plays this straight and D subverts it (his cape distinctly looks like wings in the scene just before the page pic, but that's all it does).
* CelibateHero: In the movies and novels both, D either ignores or pushes away anyone who comes on to him. He does [[spoiler:get to first base with Doris]] in the first novel, [[spoiler:but he leaves at the end of the book before things can go any further]]. In the first movie, Doris tries to put the moves on him, but it starts to bring out his vampiric side and he shuts things down before he loses his self-control.
* CharacterExaggeration: Inverted with the Marcus Brothers in ''Bloodlust''. In the original story, they are as much the villains as the Barbarois; they are vicious, murderous, and [[MoralEventHorizon regularly rape Leila]] (even the invalid Grove). In ''Bloodlust'', the evil aspects of their personalities are removed. And in the novel, the Marcus Brothers are genetically enhanced super humans with a wide range of powers. In the movie, they are BadassNormal. This arguably makes the movie versions, despite being significantly weaker than their novel counterparts, more impressive because normal humans tend to be very ineffective in this setting with a few exceptions. Even the weakest Dhampir is significantly more physically powerful, faster, and has better reflexes than a normal human.
* {{Chickification}}: Doris Lang sadly falls prey to this after making a strong first impression in both the novel and movie. It's not directly stated that the Lees drained her willpower or whatever, she's just ''too tired'' to be an Action Girl any more.
* ClaimedByTheSupernatural: The first movie starts with Doris being marked by Count Magnus Lee (shown as an unhealing bite mark on her neck) and she hires D to take care of him before he comes back to claim her completely.
* CombatTentacles: The Three Sisters' hair, which immobilizes their victim with pleasure, followed by unpleasant execution and digestion.
* CompositeCharacter: An interesting knock-on case across both movies:
** In the first movie, Count Lee's werewolf footman and coachman Garou is AdaptedOut, with Rei Ginsei taking his spot as the Count's main enforcer, rather than a wandering bandit the Count hired to take out D as he was in the book.
** Consequently, in the second movie the Barberois bodyguard Mashira is changed from a parasite creature from the same species as D's left hand to a werewolf, driving Meier Link's coach and remaining loyal rather than betraying Meier as he does in the book, making him ''another'' composite with Garou and basically adapting the character back in again.
* CrapsackWorld: Technology has regressed from a super-advanced future to a mix of medieval and futuristic where mutants, monster, vampiric nobles, and highly advanced technology exist to kill the average human who usually live in poor village with horrible things just outside vision radius during the daytime.
* CrossMeltingAura: Meier Link is to crosses as psychics are to spoons.
* CruelTwistEnding: The end of ''Pale Fallen Angels''.
* CurbStompBattle: Dan's attack on Lee in the movie lasts less than a second with the vampire swatting Dan, knocking the kid off the bridge.
* DarkIsNotEvil: D; In spite of his cold, distant nature he has made it a point never to kill humans, offering his services when offered the right price or purely to do what he feels is right.
* DaywalkingVampire: As a dhampir (half vampire, half human) D can exist in sunlight without being damaged (as he does at the end of the 1985 film). That said, in ''Bloodlust'' we see he is not immune to it entirely. Staying out in the sun for too long causes him to experience what is referred to as Heat Syndrome, sort of akin to a heat stroke for normal humans in unbearable temperatures. If D's reactions are any indication, it also hinders his breathing, which if left unchecked would be obviously fatal.
* DeadpanSnarker: Lefty often, but D could be one at times depending on how you take some of his comments in his downtime.
* DeathFakedForYou: Leila says she and D will claim Charlotte is dead so that she and Meier can go in peace.
* DepravedBisexual: Rin-Ginsei is implied to be one of these in the novel.
* {{Determinator}}: D fits this trope to a [[JustForPun D]].
* {{Dhampyr}}: It's worth noting that the dhampirs of this series have radically different powers (if ANY powers); there's, like, no baseline.
** There's really no baseline for anyone else, either. Vampire, human, mutant, construct, anything can range from minimal threat to insanely powerful. Though vampires are a bit scarier, on average, due to having spent the past ten thousand years dominating the planet.
** The problem with assessing the powers of dhampirs is that, outside D, almost no actual dhampir actually show up in the novels, and the few that do almost never really show off their abilities. Most of the comments about dhampir could qualify as UnreliableNarrator and in a few instances are heavily implied to actually be [[spoiler:D, who is much older than he appears.]] Even then, some of the dhampir that do show up, [[spoiler:including D]], are either artificially created, genetically enhanced or in some non-descript way modified.
* DistressedDamsel: Doris Lang in the first movie and novel. Subverted in that she's an ActionGirl too, but not tough enough to stop a millennia-old Noble on her own.
* DownerEnding: Several stories end like this.
* {{Dracula}}: The Nobility calls him the Sacred Ancestor, the god of their people. D calls him... well, [[IHateYouVampireDad a lot of things, mostly bad]]. The author himself gives Dracula different interpretations. At times, he makes Dracula out to be a heroic figure, even once fighting an perverse and evil vampire to save a human village in the backstory for Novel 7. Other times, like in [[spoiler:novel 2]], he's portrayed as more of a villain, apparently [[spoiler:being the one responsible for transforming the kidnapped children into strange, kinda-sorta vampires. This is more WellIntentionedExtremist however, since he's attempting to create vampires immune to sunlight - it's implied that such vampires would have the best qualities of humans and vampires.]]
* TheDragon: [[spoiler:Rei-Ginsei]] after he makes a deal with Count Magnus to become one of the Nobility. In the movie his role is drastically reduced and this is pretty much all he is.
* DubText: The Creator/StreamlinePictures dub inserts a direct ShoutOut to ''Film/{{Shane}}'' in the originally wordless ending scene.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness
** In the first novel, Rei-Ginsei actually ''kills'' D using the time-bewitching essence to throw off D's senses just long enough to land a fatal blow (although [[OnlyMostlyDead he survives]] thanks to Left Hand). The idea that [[InvincibleHero D]] could be defeated so easily, even with a handicap, would seem ''absurd'' in later stories.
** Also, D is notably more human in the first novel, compared to the detached, emotionless, almost callous character seen in later books. He insults Rei Ginsei to his face when they confront each other (calling him "the bastard son of the Devil and a hellhound"), may have been about to succumb to Doris' seduction when she comes onto him (actually brushing her hair aside to kiss her), and delivers a withering TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to the villagers when they come to take Doris and hand her over to Count Lee, threatening to slaughter them all if they push their luck.
** Another thing from the first novel: humanity being bred to have an innate case of LaserGuidedAmnesia should they discover a vampiric weakness. This was phased out in later novels and dropped completely.
* EndOfAnEra: A common theme of the series is that the vampire empire is long gone and that the world is slowly being taken back by humans. Most vampires are either dead, left the planet entirely, or are in eternal sleep. The few still around might have small fiefdoms with citizens they oppress, but aren't a major threat to the world anymore. Because of this decline, it made the Sacred Ancestor decide that even if vampires as they were cannot survive, their bloodline and legacy could possibly be continued by humans.
* EvenTheGuysWantHim: D - most men in the novels commented how seeing D makes them wish they were women(!).
* EvilCounterpart: Rei-Ginsei to D. [[spoiler:He's quickly blown away.]] Later books feature several others; a couple even bring in an EvilTwin of one sort or another.
* ExpositionOfImmortality: Count Magnus Lee provides a pretty good example of this, though he paints a less pleasant picture of the passing of ages than a lot of immortals:
--> I have lived for 10,000 years. Believe me, you have no idea what that means for me: boredom. Everlasting, hideous boredom. A never-ending search for ways to pass the time, and mating with a human woman is one of the few I enjoy.
* EyeScream: Subverted in the first movie. Count Magnus Lee gets a dagger thrown right in his eye. He doesn't react, doesn't even blink, just pulls it out and regenerates the damage with a bored expression.
* {{Fanservice}}: In the first anime, Doris gets her top pulled down by [[spoiler:Dr. Fehring after he turns traitor]], and later has a shower scene. However, she keeps her clothes on when she first meets D, unlike in the novel (see FullFrontalAssault below).
* FantasyKitchenSink: You can expect just about any creature, power or trope from horror or fantasy traditions to make an appearance in some shape or form during the novels. Even {{Atlantis}} receives a mention! The first novel reveals that a good chunk of the stuff was recreated by the Nobility just for the sake of it.
* FauxActionGirl:
** Doris Lang becomes one, eventually. Supposedly, it's due to her relying on D way too much (and falling in love with him).
** This happens to a lot of the female characters in the novels.
* {{Flatline}}: ''Bloodlust''. After Grove sacrifices himself to save Leila from a vampire, the audience can hear the flatline sound from the medical equipment attached to him.
* FullFrontalAssault: During their fight in the novel, Doris Lang tries to distract D by dropping her clothes. It only distracts him on a very small scale, but for a completely different reason....
* GiantPoofySleeves: Charlotte
* HalfHumanHybrid:
** [[{{Dhampyr}} D]], thanks to Dracula's constant experiments.
** In the first movie, [[spoiler:Larmica was also one]]. This was completely absent from the original story.
** The Barberoi, an entire village of monstrous hybrids. They're pretty scary, but the elder of the village in the novel remembers how hard it was for all of them to survive and is quite reverent to D when he realizes who D must be. This sympathetic characterization was largely absent from the movie version of ''Bloodlust.''
* HandSignals: ''Bloodlust'' (2000). Borgoff, the leader of the Marcus brothers, makes a "move forward" gesture to his men to order them to advance toward the vampire's carriage.
* HeroicWillpower: D, despite being a dhampir, is ''far'' stronger than most of his opponents because of his willpower and resolve not to become a monster. It helps his dad was the [[{{Dracula}} Big D]].
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Grecko in the OVA, who steals the candle tainted with incense from Rei-Ginsei that was meant to paralyze D for his own purposes in seducing Doris, who was being held hostage by Larmica. This effort fails, and he staggers home only to be confronted by a ''royally pissed off'' Rei who had by this point lost his hand to D as a direct result of Grecko's meddling. [[ForegoneConclusion Rei is quick to repay him for that offense]].
* HoYay: [[invoked]] This often happens with several male characters who encounter D. Some are subtle, while others say things that require BrainBleach. There's also a bit of FoeYay tossed around from time to time.
* HumanMomNonHumanDad: D's mother was human. His father was [[{{Dracula}} the Sacred Ancestor himself]].
* HunterOfHisOwnKind: In the first anime film, the half-vampire D protects Doris and her younger brother against Count Magnus Lee and the other vampires.
* ImplausibleFencingPowers: D lives and breathes this trope. The impossibility of some of the stuff D pulls is mentioned repeatedly by other characters and the narration. One example from the novels is when he cut a hologram...and rendered it incapable of reforming.
* InTheBlood
** Rather literally with Vampirism. It's not until ''Bloodlust'' that we even get a hint that vampires are capable of love.
** Well, in the first novel there was [[spoiler:Larmica, who was a full vampire in this version]].
** Also, isn't it pretty much stated in the first novel that the dear Sacred Ancestor really did [[spoiler:love a human woman, resulting in, of course, D?]]. Of course, given his sometimes-hero-sometimes-monster portrayal between novels, it's really uncertain exactly WHAT he was doing... The implications aren't very good, considering that in novel 6 he explicitly rapes a young woman to produce another dhampyr descendant. Though since she goes her way to mention how sad he looked in the act, he probably wasn't getting kicks out of it, either.
* InvincibleHero: D tends to be this, sometimes veering into ShowyInvincibleHero depending on how [[PurpleProse purply]] the prose describes his actions. The Author knows this as novels rarely focus on D and instead focus on the human characters and D instead acts like a DeusExMachina for them to escape deadly situations. In short, D is as much a plot device as he is a character. More, in some stories.
* InvincibleVillain: Vampires as a whole in the first book. One aspect that was thankfully discarded without a trace for later books: they've bred it into humanity that if any human discovers one of their weaknesses (like garlic), they'll automatically ''forget'' it so humans can never get the upper hand.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: The early novels used this as a means of keeping the Nobility at the top of the food chain, with them having genetically altered humanity to outright ''forget'' vampiric weaknesses after discovering them. Later novels phased this out completely.
* LoadBearingBoss: In the 1985 film, when Count Magnus Lee is killed his castle self-destructs. Something similar happens in ''Bloodlust''. Vampire castles apparently have NoOntologicalInertia.
* LongRunningBookSeries: Been going since 1983, with no signs of stopping.
* MechanicalHorse: Regular horses don't even seem to be around anymore, just the cyborgs.
* TheMole: In the 1985 film. While D is rescuing Dan from Rei Ginsei, Dr. Fehring takes Doris Lang to a safe location. When Dr. Fehring and Doris meet Count Magnus Lee's daughter Lamika, Dr. Fehring reveals that [[FaceMonsterTurn he was turned into a vampire the day before and turns Doris over to Lamika]].
* MsFanservice: Doris' skirt is so short it's a mystery why she even bothers putting it on. Clearly she has the same tailor as ''Anime/AgentAika''.
* MonsterTown: The Barberois town, high in the mountains.
* MultipleHeadCase: The Three Sisters and D himself, sort of.
* NakedOnRevival: Carmilla revives herself out of pure blood in the ''Bloodlust'' movie, leading to this.
* NobleBigot: Countess Larmica Lee does not appreciate her father's zeal to marry the commoner Doris Lang, thereby bringing the House of Lee to ruin, [[spoiler:but midway through the picture she starts to realize that perhaps murder may not be the only option and decides to help Doris]].
* NoblewomansLaugh: In the 1985 film Countess Larmica Lee has one that she uses to express her disdain toward D and Rei Ginsei.
* NoOntologicalInertia: In the movie, this was the cause of [[spoiler:the Count's castle crumbling to dust when he died]]. In the book, though, it was due to [[spoiler:Larmica's betrayal]].
* OneLetterName: D
* OrganAutonomy: D's left hand is alive. And it won't shut up. There's an upside when your hand can survive being severed for a while and has every reason in the world to give you CPR...
* OurVampiresAreDifferent
** They follow most of the traditional vampire traits and weaknesses, but there are always a few exceptions--it's mentioned a few times that some vampire lines have different talents. It gets quite a LOT of attention when a vampire acts abnormally (such as the one that can move through water freely).
** This trope really comes into play with the other Dhampirs. Their abilities almost never resemble D's.
*** Dhampir other than D are quite rare. The few that show up are usually artificially created or genetically modified, which further explains the range of powers beyond simply the unpredictable results of cross-breeding two different species.
*** D is also [[spoiler:explicitly stated to be the only successful attempt to create essentially a super Dhampir]]. The fact no other Dhampir have his powers is, if anything, required by that plot point.
* OutWithABang: The Three Sisters are killed by D while in the ecstatic throes of absorbing his life force.
* PantyShot: Frequently from Doris, due to her very short skirt.
* PercussivePrevention: In the 1985 movie, when danger approaches Doris Lang's house she volunteers to fight alongside D. D uses the talking mouth on his hand to put her to sleep so she can resist Count Magnus Lee's summons.
* PointedEars: In ''Bloodlust'', D's ears are shown to be slightly pointed, one of the few physical hints about his vampire blood that we see aside from his pale skin.
* PowerAtAPrice: Grove is bedridden, sickly and barely able to move, but when he shoots up with a powerful (and toxic) drug, he's able to create an astral projection of himself made of pure energy that blasts anything to ashes with ray beams. Oh, and apparently the power trip makes him feel awesome, because he's usually ''smiling'' beautifully during all this.
* PowerFloats: In ''Bloodlust'', Grove's astral form floats through the air as he wreaks havoc.
* PragmaticAdaptation: The original movie was a very simplified version of the first novel (most notably the Fiend Corps were reduced to a group of mute monsters and Rei Ginsei became simply Count Magnus' [[TheDragon Dragon]]), but this improved the pacing of what was a very slow book.
* PrehensileHair: The Three Sisters use their hair to ensnare their victims.
* PuppeteerParasite: One shows up in the novel that formed the basis for ''Bloodlust.'' It's from the village of the Barberois, but it's only got a passing interest in actually helping Meier Link and is more concerned with raping and taking over people's bodies. It's also apparently related to the talking hand thing that D has.
* PurpleProse: The early novels have bits of memorably overripe prose. For instance [[DistressedDamsel Doris Lang]] is described as having "a naked form so celestial none save the goddess Venus herself could have fashioned it." This decreases some in later novels.
* PutDownYourGunAndStepAway: In ''Bloodlust'', after Borgoff is turned into a vampire he takes Leila hostage and orders D to drop his weapon.
* QuirkyMinibossSquad: The novels ''always'' have one and they can be relatively mundane mercenaries to outlandish, literally out-of-this-world monstrosities.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: D appears to be a young man (and is in fact repeatedly described as such by the narrator in the novels) but is actually ancient. In at least one instance the deeds he performed in a certain area have literally passed into legend by the next time he returned there.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:Larmica]]
* RedEyesTakeWarning
** Most vampires when they're angry, if they don't have it all the time. If D gets Red Eyes, it's time to run. No, wait, too late. You're dead already.
** The 1985 movie:
*** Doris Lang encounters three opponent with red eyes: the monster she's hunting, a werewolf that tears off her crucifix, and the vampire leader Count Magnus Lee.
*** At Count Magnus Lee's castle D meets a giant, a mutant who can summon up a ghostly wolf and the three Snake Women of Midwich, all of whom are Lee's evil servants and who have red eyes.
** ''Bloodlust'' (2000):
*** The horses pulling the vampire's coach near the beginning have glowing red eyes. And if that isn't enough to tell you they're evil, they have fangs as well - apparently they're ''vampire'' horses.
*** Some evil vampire bats that appear later also have red eyes.
* TheRemnant: Human civilization is coming back full force and the "Aristocracy" of vampires is on the decline. Vampires can only be found in the hills of the Frontier away from the Capitol at the center of the continent. In their little micro-fiefdoms, though, they still exercise a degree of might.
* RuleOfCool: Even in the first novel, the combat is ridiculously over-the-top. D throws stakes so fast that they're a flash of light. Not because they're silver, no, they're wood; because he's ''throwing them so fast they're incandescing from the air friction.''
* SecretTest: In the 1985 film version Doris Lang confronts D as he travels. She challenges and attacks him to find out if he's a tough enough vampire hunter to take on the vampire noble Count Magnus Lee.
-->'''Doris''': I apologize for attacking you without just cause. I had to make certain you weren't a coward like so many of the others.
* SeeYouInHell: In the 1985 movie, D says this to Rei Ginsei when he paralyzes D with the vampire-affecting candle.
* ShootTheShaggyDog: ''Demon Deathchase'' ended up being one of these. [[spoiler:[[KillEmAll EVERY character]] except D & Leila [[DroppedABridgeOnHim died a pointless and unpleasant death]] and Mayerling's entire journey [[ShaggyDogStory was meaningless from the start]], as the spaceport he'd been heading to had been ruined for centuries. There was no real BigBad and there were almost no sympathetic characters (especially the Marcus Brothers, who are complete scumbags in the book).]]
* ShoutOut:
** Village called Tepes in the second novel. Țepeș (Romanian for impaler) was a nickname of [[UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler Vlad III of Wallachia]], better known as Dracula.
** Count Magnus Lee is named after Creator/MRJames's famous ghost story "Count Magnus" and Creator/ChristopherLee.
** Larmica is an anagram of Carmilla, from [[Literature/{{Carmilla}} an early vampire story]] by J. Sheridan [=LeFanu=].
** The Snake-Women of ''Midwich'' might refer to ''[[Film/VillageOfTheDamned1960 The Midwich Cuckoos]]'', despite absolutely no similarities between the two.
** Carmilla in the second film is also obviously a shout-out to the literary Carmilla, as well as the historical Countess Bathory.
** In ''Mysterious Journey to the North Sea Part 1'', the seventh novel of the series, there is a town named Cronenberg, after, of course, horror film director Creator/DavidCronenberg.
*** In the same novel there's also a village called Lugosi, obviously paying homage to Creator/BelaLugosi who famously played {{Dracula}} in the [[Film/{{Dracula 1931}} first official adaptation]] of Creator/BramStoker's [[Literature/{{Dracula}} novel]].
*** There's also a vampire named 'Meinster.' Given Hideyuki's love of Film/HammerHorror, the fact that this is the villain of ''Film/TheBridesOfDracula'' is assuredly not coincidence.
*** In the first book, there's briefly mentioned a minor character named [[Creator/PeterCushing Cushing]].
** Frequent use of QuirkyMiniBossSquad was inspired by the many works of [[Manga/TheYagyuNinjaScrolls Futaro Yamada.]]
** TONS of Westerns such as Film/TheSearchers, Film/{{Shane}}, and Film/TheDollarsTrilogy are used as inspiration or WholePlotReference.
* ShowerScene: In the 1985 movie, after D returns Larmica to Count Magnus Lee's castle there's a brief scene in Doris Lang's house where she takes a shower.
* SlidingScaleOfVampireFriendliness: On the low end.
* SophisticatedAsHell: D on a few occasions.
** When he learns that Lefty failed to protect their current employer: "Useless little bugger."
** Seeing a giant get beat down by phantoms: "They're beating the hell out of him."
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: In ''Bloodlust'', the main villain Noble is referred to in both text and dialogue as "Meyer Link", despite the fact that a handwritten letter shown partway through the film spells it "Mayerling". The novel uses "Mayerling" consistently.
* TheStarscream: [[spoiler:Rei-Ginsei tries this at the end. [[YourHeadAsplode It doesn't end well for him.]]]]
* TheStoic: D. His parasitic hand {{lampshades}} this occasionally.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Doris' outfit in the first film.
%%* SuperLoser
* SuperpoweredEvilSide: On rare stressful occasions, D sometimes 'vamps-out' -- his eyes goes [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing blood red]], he displays conspicuous fangs (which he bares in a [[FangsAreEvil terrifyingly feral manner]]), and his strength and presence becomes even ''more'' overwhelming. In that state he's basically a uber-Noble on super-steroids. A CurbstompBattle almost always follows. This transformation appears to be involuntary and it takes obvious HeroicWillpower to pull himself back to his usual self.
** It is usually triggered by combat, but can set off by emotional turmoil -- i.e., with Doris Lang when she offers himself to him.
* SwordSparks: Memorably going to the point of a 'hot blade' BladeLock where one blade was a vampire's ''wing''.
* TerrifyingRescuer: [[spoiler:Rei-Ginsei becomes this for Dan (for no particular purpose)]] when the latter gets hurled off a bridge, and the former has decided to become TheStarscream.
* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: In the 1985 film, when D is fighting Count Magnus Lee, he throws his sword at Lee and pins him to a wall, killing him. In the corresponding book, D throws the broken-off tip of his sword--with the same results.
* TimeAbyss: Most of the Nobility, [[spoiler:as well as D himself]]. Their lifespans are usually in the range of several ''millennia''.
* TooManyMouths: D's parasite shows up as a face in his left palm.
* TranshumanTreachery: Generally, vampire thralls end up evil, and which of the mind control tropes it is varies.
* TranslationTrainwreck: The Balkan word for the child of a human and a vampire is "dhampir". When that word was transliterated into Japanese for the novels and then back into English for the American release of the movies, we ended up with "dampiel" in the first film[[note]]At least, as far as the dub by Creator/StreamlinePictures goes. This was rectified in the Creator/SentaiFilmworks dub.[[/note]] and "dunpeal" in ''Bloodlust''. The novels correctly use "dhampir."
* TraumaCongaLine: Doris, which decays her status from ActionGirl to more DistressedDamsel as the film goes on. After [[spoiler:losing her horse and getting bitten by the Count in the opening]], she still has to deal with [[spoiler:being shunned by the townsfolk, being kidnapped by the Count twice, having her brother kidnapped (and thinking him dead), having the only other human on her side get turned into a vampire and lead her into a trap, and fending off the lecherous son of the town mayor in between it all]]. Poor girl needs a hug after all that.
* UnnecessarilyLargeInterior: The vampires love these both in the movies and novels. The novels explain that the vampires attempted to delay their inevitable decline with increasingly ambitious projects, from building miles-tall high-rises to sending expeditions to other galaxies, even though it would take thousands of years and serve no practical purpose.
* TheVamp: Larmica, quite literally.
* VampireHunter: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Obviously]], but D doesn't do it as much as one might expect. In the time frame of the movies and novels vampires are mostly extinct, and D's jobs are often related to the Nobility only tangentially.
* VampireMonarch: Count Magnus Lee, and Carmilla in ''Bloodlust''.
* VampireRefugee: The plot of the first novel and film.
* VampiricDraining: In the 1985 film the three Snake Women of Midwich drain D's LifeEnergy by wrapping themselves around him.
* VeinOVision: How vampires see humans. It's made a point of in the novels how even the most kindhearted of Nobles will inevitably succumb to their instincts if they have to spend long periods in the company of mortals. When exceptions are seen, they tend to be huge plot points.
* WalkingTheEarth: Hunters must do this constantly, D, obviously, being no exception.
%%* WarmBloodbagsAreEverywhere
* WeakenedByTheLight
** Sunlight isn't immediately fatal to vampires. Rather, exposure to more than a few seconds of direct sunlight causes them to catch fire, burning painfully so long as they are exposed. HeroicWillpower is invoked if a vampire stays in sunlight to do something important, as is a vampiric HealingFactor if they make it back to shade. However, only the High Nobility are capable of even trying this. Most vampires are entirely comatose during the day, even if they remain underground.
** While sunlight does not affect dhampirs to nearly the same degree as full vampires, it is painful for them and can cause a form of heatstroke called Sunlight Syndrome.
** The 1985 film. Count Magnus Lee sends Rei Ginsei a candle. Its light paralyzes any being with vampire blood in its veins. Greco Roman steals it and uses it against the Count's daughter Lamika. Rei Ginsei gets it back and uses it against D (successfully) and Count Magnus Lee (not so successfully).
* WeMeetAgain: In the 1985 film Rei Ginsei says this to D when D arrives at Count Magnus Lee's castle. They had met earlier when Ginsei visited Doris Lang's farm.
* WeirdWest: While the main influence is Westerns, there is literally no genre the series doesn't have in it. D regularly bumps up against marauders, GothicHorror beasts, HighFantasy monsters, DarkFantasy abominations, literal space aliens, and Cthulhu.
%%* TheWestern
* WhatTheHellAreYou: (combined with the following)
* WhoAreYou: In his final moments Count Magnus declares, ''"Who the hell are YOU?!"'' at D in the English dub of the anime. [[StrongFamilyResemblance Magnus finds the answer himself just a second later]] [[spoiler:from a portrait on the wall right nearby]].
* WorldOfBadass: The stories run on the physics of ''awesomeness.''
* WouldntHitAGirl: D goes out of his way to avoid hurting Lamika, despite her numerous attempts to kill him and Doris.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Lamika does this to Dr. Fehring after he turns Doris over to her. In his last moments, he regrets what he had done under the influence.
* YourHeadASplode: Rei's ultimate fate after attempting to paralyze Count Magnus Lee for breaking his promise to make him immortal, in a very gruesome manner.
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->''"[[ButNowIMustGo Transient guests are we.]]"''
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