Back in my "Honorable Mentions" post, I discussed how Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust really deserved to be in my Top 5 "Setting the Bar" list and how I had forgotten about it, mainly because I usually think "live action" when I think of the words "movie" and "film." However, Bloodlust is an amazing work of vampire cinema, animated or not, and everyone should watch it. That said, in my note I did mention that:
It's anime, so there's still some weirdness (the half-vampire hunter character has a magical talking hand, for one)...Yes, anime can be weird. Which brings me to Vassalord...
I actually read the manga (Japanese comic) for Vassalord a few years ago and liked it almost despite itself. It is just so, so odd and at times confusing.
But where else could I come across a story about (bear with me now) a priest half-cyborg, vampire vampire-hunter. Yes, that is, by far, the most unique idea I think I've ever come across. A vampire priest? Sure, that's been done. A vampire-hunter who is also part or mostly vampire? Done quite a bit actually (see: Blade, and the aforementioned Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust). Cyborg vampire? Not sure if I've come across it, but I'm sure someone came up with that idea somewhere. But combining them all together? No. That has not happened before.
This past year, Japan released a single 27 minute "episode" adapting the first Vassalord comic story into an animated form. I was pleased to finally get a chance to watch it this past week. Now, 27 minutes isn't nearly enough time and so some parts of the story are horrifically confusing, even more than the already-difficult-to-follow-at-times comic (e.g. the comic mentions that Rayflo the vampire has "never" been able to resist the power of the bloodthirsty child vampire. This is why he would be worried about being "stopped," even though that is not fully explained in the anime) and everything happens just a bit too quickly.
However, THERE IS A PRIEST CYBORG VAMPIRE VAMPIRE-HUNTER! Oh, and a vampire who can turn into a whole colony of bats and make cyborg-ninja-maids out of blood. What more do you want, people?!
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| Also, this happens. At the beginning no less.. |
The whole first episode is available on YouTube, though there are higher quality/HD versions elsewhere on the internet. It's definitely not a perfect animated adaptation of an already confusing comic... however, it is a vampire story idea that you are unlikely to come across again! If you're okay with being slightly confused, I recommend it. The interaction between the vampire Rayflo and Charlie ("Cherry") is just a lot of fun and the cyborg fight scenes will likely leave you laughing and asking, "What the hell did I just watch?" A bit of homoeroticism, but no more or less than what you find in most vampire stories or films.
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