Dark Horse to Release Vampire Hunter D Novels...

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-01-14 11:52pm

Saw this earlier in the week over at both Anime News Network and AnimeOnDVD.com.

In May Dark Horse Comics (probably under their DH Books label) is going to release an English translation of the first (of currently thirteen) novel of Hideyuki Kukuchi's Vampire Hunter D series.

For the record, the first film is based on this novel, while the second film, subtitled "Bloodlust," is based on the third.

I for one can say finally. I've probably been waiting to read these since high school, about six years...

Here's some stats about the release from ANN:

Title: Vampire Hunter D - Novel
Volume: G.novel 1 / 13
Pages: 300
Distributor: Dark Horse Comics

Release date: 2005-05-04
Suggested retail price: $8.95

ISBN: 1-59582-012-4

Description:
This is not a manga, it is the original Vampire Hunter D novel.

12,090 A.D. It is a dark time for the world. Humanity is just crawling out from under three hundred years of domination by the race of vampires known as the Nobility. The war against the vampires has taken its toll; cities lie in ruin, the countryside is fragmented into small villages and fiefdoms that still struggle against nightly raids by the fallen vampires-and the remnants of their genetically manufactured demons and werewolves.

Every village wants a Hunter-one of the warriors who have pledged their laser guns and their swords to the eradication of the Nobility. But some Hunters are better than others, and some bring their own kind of danger with them...

NeoGoomba · Post by **NeoGoomba** » 2005-01-15 01:22am

Sweet. I always wanted a translation of the original novels.

Symmetry · Post by **Symmetry** » 2005-01-15 02:04am

First Slayers, now D. I only hope that they translate Seikai no Monshou some day

Pick · Post by **Pick** » 2005-01-15 03:45pm

Wow, I never thought they'd actually do that... Good thing they decided to, even at the rate these things tend to release, it's faster than learning Japanese.

I also think it's great that more and more things like this seem to be getting translated all the time. I mean, I can even remember when your options were buying untranslated (which I still had to do for my favorite series, and many, many others) or learning to like Ranma 1/2 -really quickly.-

I think I'd *cough* be more anxious for the translation of the one that went into Bloodlust. I mean, the incredible degree of awesome that movie demonstrated deserves to be known in nearly-original form as well.

Spiritbw · Post by **Spiritbw** » 2005-01-15 03:54pm

I don't think it was quite /that/ bad Pick. I rember there being a few besides Ranma. Not many but a few. Viz seemed to enjoy taunting the North American audiance by also setting thier release scedule to be every to months for new ones.

Ah well, Shonenjump and a few other Japanese magazines have made the move over to here and are now publishing direct. Many of the older ones you couldn't find anymore are bieng re-released. Times are good for otaku.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-01-15 07:33pm

If Pick is thinking about the time that I think they are, then they're sort of right. Way back when, about in the mid 90s, there was pretty much just Ranma 1/2, Oh My Goddess!, Video Girl Ai, and a few various smaller titles nobody read. Manga publication pretty much exploded around 2001-2002.

Pick · Post by **Pick** » 2005-01-15 11:39pm

Sorry, I was rather exaggerating

Didn't mean it was quite that bad. I know, there's always been a few odd titles out there. I just had meant to comment on the explosion of manga translation lately (though the QUALITY of these translations is still a concern, my point stands.)

Spanky's completely right, there was a huge boom of it recently (and I was talking that time frame. Way back when, being a manga fan was EXCEEDINGLY tough.) I mean, the bookstore in town is the best example I can think of... I bought manga there when it was just a few special-order titles, and now they've got like two tall shelves (more than the young adult section!) ... At this point, I've bought over 280 manga volumes there. That's a significant jump from what was even available in the Dark Ages, so to speak. The idea of this trend continuing very much pleases me, even if not my pocketbook.

(And FTR, Spanky, I'm a girl. Thanks for not immediately assuming one or the other!)

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-01-17 01:17am

You're welcome. I kept getting an ambiguent vibe, so I decided to play it safe and use the uncommon neutral singular "them".

For the record, I'm male myself, although I have fooled others in the past.

JME2 · Post by **JME2** » 2005-01-17 01:56pm

In the words of BW Megatron:

"Excellent, yeess."

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2005-01-17 02:19pm

Spanky The Dolphin wrote: For the record, I'm male myself, although I have fooled others in the past.

But you've got such dainty mannerisms, such as swearing profusely and snoring loudly!

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-01-17 04:19pm

Tee hee.

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2005-01-17 05:26pm

And I'd like to say, for posterity's sake, that no, I have not actually slept with Spanky, it's just that he likes to sleep, a lot. Therefore, when I am over at his house (to hang out with Uts, of course), half the time he's on his bed snorting like a cokehead.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-01-17 08:25pm

Well when you stay up for part of the night, you have to sleep for part of the day. Also when both of us are there, I tend to be recovering from several days of sleepnessness, so I tend to drop off early in the night or even afternoon.

Lord Zentei · Post by **Lord Zentei** » 2005-01-17 08:39pm

Excellent news, more to add to the collection. Do they say how much time will elapse between the release of each volume?

PS: *Spanks the cute dolphin.* You were just asking for it on this thread.

Tasoth · Post by **Tasoth** » 2005-01-17 09:04pm

Awesome. I will pick these up. Is the book version of Battle Royale any good?

Vendetta · Post by **Vendetta** » 2005-01-17 09:18pm

The novel is very good, .

The Manga is OK, but not as good as the book or film, it seems to be intent on adding scenes which essentially justify the accusations leveled at the novel, that it was empty exploitative pulp without actually expanding on the characters at all. (Like, for example, a graphic flashback to Mitsuko's days as an underage whore, the novel tells you that it happened, the manga makes a point of showing you in detail)

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-01-17 09:24pm

In my opinion the Battle Royale novel is so good that for the rest of my life I refuse to see either the two films or the manga, knowing that it would only lessen my pure enjoyment of the novel.

Vendetta · Post by **Vendetta** » 2005-01-17 09:41pm

I still like the film because some of the actors turn in really good performances, even with their age and acting inexperience, they capture the core of what the novel is about, the massive difference between school life and fending for yourself in the world after school, even if the film itself makes some significant changes that try and get in the way of that.

The sequel, however, is a bag of ass.

Pick · Post by **Pick** » 2005-01-17 11:13pm

Ahh, I've heard great things about the novel version. I picked up a few volumes of the manga, but there were a few parts which made even me a little edgy (not the violent content, but the sexual content.) I've definitely been intending to at some point watch the movie as well. I thought it was a very interesting concept, though I can't help but wonder what it gains or loses when introduced to someone like me who is (naturally) mainly versed in American culture.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-01-18 12:26am

The book is well translated and quite easy to read, and there aren't really any cultural complications present.

Best movie I've ever read...

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2005-01-18 12:15pm

The odd part about me reading the novel was that I kept imagining the government guy with the long hair as one of the English teachers from the high school I went to when I was over in Japan two summers ago.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-01-18 08:12pm

Personally, I actually almost threw up while reading the eye-gouging scene.

Yuck...