Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is based on volume three of novelist Hideyuki Kikuchi's best selling Vampire Hunter D series. Rarely is a book rendered to film so beautifully and accurately as this. A joint project between US and Japanese production companies, Bloodlust successfully translates Kikuchi's themes of love, hate, gratitude and eternity.

The first striking sensation of the film is not the visual common with anime, but rather the extraordinary audio produced by MarcoCo. Studios as the opening shot pulls back from a looming castle and crucifix topped gables soar past. But not to be outdone, MADHOUSE animation studio enters with its incredibly detailed art, reminiscent of the Italian masters of the Renaissance. This exquisite blend of moving pictures and analogous sound relates what a movie is supposed to be, enveloping the audience and never drawing attention away from the sum to any of its parts.

With all the pieces in their proper place, Bloodlust goes on to tackle a classic "Romeo and Juliet" story from the perspective of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. A human girl, Charlotte Elbourne, and a vampire, Meier Link, are in love and attempt to flee the society around them with only eternity ahead, but Charlotte's family dispatch competing bounty hunters, D and the Markus Brothers, to retrieve Charlotte, dead or alive. As the competitors intersect, triumph, fail and aid each other throughout their crusade against demonic forces, the action steadily mounts, punctuated by the philosophies fueling the film.

Loved ones and enemies alike die during Bloodlust's progression to its surprise climax and final battle, prodding deep reflection upon the trials of and reasons for living. Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust nears perfection as an action film with pacing appropriately marked against worthwhile themes, balanced drama and stylistics of the highest caliber; a defining film in the art of motion pictures.