Vampire Hunter D, by Melissa Williams

1    The artwork of Takaki obviously screams sketchy since it is drawn in pen and is so dark that it makes the reader begin to fear for the safety of the characters the moment he or she picks up any of the books. Part of the sketchiness stems from the need to make the book feel like it is set in a wild and untamed place. Sometimes, the characters will have hair that is hard for them to control, that flows where ever that it wants to flow rather than look like it had just been recently brushed. Many of the characters have dark rims under their eyes to make them look as if they are overworked and on the verge of death. Often, if a character is creepy enough in attitude, they will be drawn in a way that makes them seem less human than the various monsters that D will face throughout the series.

2.      Before Vampire Hunter D was a manga, it was originally a set of novels. It made it even more amazing to see it as a manga after reading the novel. While the novel was deep and gave more insight into D’s thoughts and character, with the manga we get a deeper sense of dread and fear. We can see the pain that Doris suffers when realizing the only thing she can offer D as payment is her own body. Also, the fights become more engaging as we get to see how D would have to keep perfect concentration during his fights. At one point, D is even dies, but getting to see the motionless body lay there makes the reader realize he really did die where in the novel there is that feeling he could be faking it.

3.      Although written in a way that it sounds like a third person character narrating the story, everything constantly focuses on D. They talk about his thoughts, actions, and emotions throughout the entire series. Basically, the reader gets to go on the journey with D as if they were a character themselves, but in a way that they are never mentioned. It gives them the separation of not being there to suffer what the characters do, but allows them a close enough look to know what they are going through.

4.      My favorite scene throughout the entire series is when D confronts Dan for crying. While D is also trying to comfort him too, he does not want Dan crying because it would hurt Doris to see it happening as well. So, he tells him to not make his sister cry because he is a man, and thus men should not make women cry. Without the artwork from the manga, you do not really get to see just how much bigger D is from the nine year old Dan. Thanks to D finally sitting down on one knee, you get to see that should he stand up next to Dan that the boy would only come to D’s thighs. The cape flowing behind D along with the large black hat makes the reader realize that D could be just as dangerous to Dan as he could be comforting. This scene really allows a glimpse into D’s values since he openly states them. Sure, there is the prize of getting to sleep with a woman that D admitted to being quite beautiful, but despite that awesome flaw that proves he is not perfect, that inside he still cares about people