“Talk to the hand” isn’t just archaic ’90s slang; it’s also a reality for D, the half-human, half-vampire slayer of vampires in the bleak, desolate future of Vampire Hunter D. (Because his hand has a gross, sentient face on it.) And that future is about to converge with our own because there is a brand new CG-animated Vampire Hunter D series in the works from California-based studio Unified Pictures.
According to a report from Anime News Network, the new series will be co-produced by Japanese CGI animation house Digital Frontier (Resident Evil: Degeneration) and will involve both Vampire Hunter D author Hideyuki Kikuchi and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust director Yoshiaki Kawajiri.
Details about the new series are relatively scarce, but Unified Pictures producer Scott McLean said that the company will share more news–including plans for the storyline and the show’s format–at their Anime Expo panel on Thursday, July 2.
In a statement, McLean said, “I’ve been a fan of Vampire Hunter D since I was a teenager. I’m overjoyed at being able to be a part of creating a new chapter for a story I greatly admire.”
For the uninitiated, Vampire Hunter D began as a series of novels in 1983, written by Kikuchi. The story follows D, the titular vampire hunter, as he hunts down and slays all manner of monsters (usually vampires). It’s bloody, bawdy, and brutal in all the right ways. In 1985, an original video anime based on the novels was created, and that was my first exposure to the franchise. I rented that beat-up old tape more times than I can remember from my local Blockbuster, and every time I was blown away by the gothic violence of it all.
They followed up the OVA in 2000 with a feature film entitled Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, but since then all has been quiet from the Vampire Hunter D camp until now. Now that the shimmery haze of Twilight has dissipated from our collective consciousness, it’s about damn time that we get some awesome vampire stories back in the mix. So, in other words, yes — I want the D.
What would you like to see from a Vampire Hunter D series? Let us know in the comments below.
Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist. You can find him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious), and pick up his new book, 100 Things Avengers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.
