If Vampire Hunter D was an excuse for a high “cool factor”, Bloodlust turns the cool factor up to 11 and adds moral ambiguity, a much longer runtime, better art, and much improved dialog. Perhaps the best way to describe this sequel is simply this: everything you liked about the first one is present in the sequel, and there are a lot of really good additions that bring depth and quality to the sequel. What the original could be understood to have if you read between the lines is made explicit here.

Perhaps the single largest difference apparant in Bloodlust is the quality of the art. It’s simply pretty. There are some very stunning and impressive visuals, and even the characters are much more detailed and painstakingly drawn.

Similarly, although not as obvious at first glance, the dialog and translation have improved enough to express some of the subtexts that were hidden between the lines in the original. As before, the character of D remains mostly an enigma, allowing the personalities of those around him to do most of the expressing.

If you liked Vampire Hunter D you’ll like this even more; it’s better in every measurable way, except in that it can’t be the first. If you didn’t like D, you might like this one anyway, depending on what it was that you didn’t like. And if you never saw the first one, you won’t be missing anything vital to the plot.