Vampire Hunter: The Animated Series

— by Maria C. Muñoz

Based on the popular Capcom video game, VAMPIRE HUNTER (DARKSTALKERS in the U.S.), the new original video series, VAMPIRE HUNTER: THE ANIMATED SERIES takes the game into the anime end of the spectrum. The story follows the same dark horror format as in the game with each of the DarkStalker characters fighting for that title of Ruler of the DarkStalkers.
It starts with the classic vampire hunter situation: a mob of angry villagers out to kill the vampire, in this case, Demitri Maximoff,

dark vampire prince of all he surveys. Unfortunately, their efforts fail. Then, the story progresses to Morrigan's World, where demons rule and she is the princess of this demonic people. Morrigan escapes this world when she hears the news that Demitri has become power hungry and intends on taking the title of Ruler of the DarkStalkers for himself.
Felicia, a cute, yet deadly cat-girl, arrives into the same town boasting her entertainment value as a dancer and performer. She runs into Zabel Zarock, an undead hard rocking zombie from Britain, who appears to be normal though his mirror reflection reveals his zombie form. Zabel plays guitar for his all monster band with his brand of heavy metal. Unfortunately for him and Felicia, it seems DarkStalker Hunters are out to destroy them using all implements of destruction. Finally, the story introduces Anita, a shy and mysterious little girl, and Donovan, a wandering monk who is out to destroy all the DarkStalkers and discovers Anita in a small village plagued by death. As consort, she follows Donovan in his quest.
The character designs done by Murase Shukoh hold true to the original designs in the game. Unlike the BATTLE ARENA TOSHINDEN OVAs, VAMPIRE HUNTER keeps all of the original game moves and looks. The direction by Ikeda Satoshi is well done and keeps closely to the look and feel of the original VAMPIRE HUNTER game. The music by Ohtani Koh, conveys the horror and dark nature of the film. The scenes within the world of Morrigan are very medieval and remind the viewer that Morrigan's world is that of ancient traditions which is opposite of the real human world with its rock music.

Sakuma Rei (Shampoo from RANMA) does a great job of voicing Morrigan Aensland taking on a lower, more sultry tone that is more suited to her role as dark succubus princess. Another RANMA voice of note, Yamadera Koichi (as Ryouga), brings a very cocky performance to the aloof Zabel Zarock. In VAMPIRE HUNTER, his voice has risen an octave, but a well-trained seiyuu fan can pinpoint his voice right away from his distinct guttural yells. Also, Nogami Yukana is a good pick for Felicia's voice as she has that young teenage quality (like her Mirai from MOLDIVER) to it mixed in with that playfully cute cat feel.
The rest of the series will be released in three month intervals on the 25th of June, September, and December. The first OVA LD comes in a LD box big enough to hold the other three discs, and an LD sized black and white insert containing information about the story and the chapter tracks is included in the first volume.
Overall, this first volume of the VAMPIRE HUNTER anime, left me wanting more and I am looking forward to getting the rest of the series when they come out. Definitely a worthwhile purchase for those who love the VAMPIRE HUNTER series.