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A review by vitiumthevampire
Vampire Hunter D Omnibus: Book One by Hideyuki Kikuchi
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I'm writing this review after reading the first 4 omnibuses.
I wish I could give this a higher rating, but even though there are a bunch of things I like about this series, there are also quite a few factors that really detracted from my enjoyment of this series.
I absolutely loved the aesthetic of this series, the combination of traditional gothic vampire elements such as castles and coffins, western cowboy vibes and futuristic tech. It's not something you see very often and the author makes it work.
I also love the vampires in this. It is very clear that the author drew a lot of inspiration from classic vampire horror such as Dracula. They are powerful, feared, and yet tragic.
The main character, D, is great as well. He's rather quiet and stoic, but an absolute badass. He's so pretty he turns all the guys gay, and even unsentient robots.
What drags this series down is the repetitiveness of it all and how drawn out everything is.
Most stories follow the same formulaic storyline. He arrives in a town, is asked to kill a target or bodyguard someone. There is always a barely 17 year old girl that fawns over him. Then follows a way too drawn out journey of him fighting numerous anime villains.
What I find funny is that in the author interviews included in the omnibuses the author says he doesn't like shounen anime, but his stories feel set up like one. There is always a group of villains that have their own special ability. They usually face off against D on their own, or in pairs. A battle sequence follows that is many pages long. The villains survive but retreat only to confront D again later. Once again they battle and the villains retreat. This happens many times until finally they die one by one.
Meanwhile there is little to no character development. Maybe D undergoes more devopment later in the series, but as of omnibus 4 this still hasn't really happened.
The multitude of long ass fight scenes becomes a slog to read through and has no real added value for the story. I feel like I would have enjoyed these books a lot more if at least half the fight scenes were cut and if it included more meaningful moments between the characters instead.
I will probably keep reading these because I do find the world and lore interesting, but I'm gonna need long breaks in between.
I wish I could give this a higher rating, but even though there are a bunch of things I like about this series, there are also quite a few factors that really detracted from my enjoyment of this series.
I absolutely loved the aesthetic of this series, the combination of traditional gothic vampire elements such as castles and coffins, western cowboy vibes and futuristic tech. It's not something you see very often and the author makes it work.
I also love the vampires in this. It is very clear that the author drew a lot of inspiration from classic vampire horror such as Dracula. They are powerful, feared, and yet tragic.
The main character, D, is great as well. He's rather quiet and stoic, but an absolute badass. He's so pretty he turns all the guys gay, and even unsentient robots.
What drags this series down is the repetitiveness of it all and how drawn out everything is.
Most stories follow the same formulaic storyline. He arrives in a town, is asked to kill a target or bodyguard someone. There is always a barely 17 year old girl that fawns over him. Then follows a way too drawn out journey of him fighting numerous anime villains.
What I find funny is that in the author interviews included in the omnibuses the author says he doesn't like shounen anime, but his stories feel set up like one. There is always a group of villains that have their own special ability. They usually face off against D on their own, or in pairs. A battle sequence follows that is many pages long. The villains survive but retreat only to confront D again later. Once again they battle and the villains retreat. This happens many times until finally they die one by one.
Meanwhile there is little to no character development. Maybe D undergoes more devopment later in the series, but as of omnibus 4 this still hasn't really happened.
The multitude of long ass fight scenes becomes a slog to read through and has no real added value for the story. I feel like I would have enjoyed these books a lot more if at least half the fight scenes were cut and if it included more meaningful moments between the characters instead.
I will probably keep reading these because I do find the world and lore interesting, but I'm gonna need long breaks in between.