Novel Review: Vampire Hunter D Volume 2: Raiser of Gales

[Floating_Sakura]

Title: Vampire Hunter D Volume 2: Raiser of Gales

Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Illustrator: Yoshitaka Amano
Published by: Dr Master
Genre: Seinen, Action, Supernatural

The second novel in this series began in a rather grim and bloody way, which I found irresistibly enticing. Unfortunately that feeling ended all too quickly when the token ‘damsel in distress’ was introduced. If you have read the first novel in this series, you will know that the beginning sequence describes a meeting between D and a mysterious female. Of course, this girl was voluptuous and impossibly beautiful, and so it is with this second novel. And that is not where the similarities between the first and second novel end. The women that cross D’s path always seem to be victimized in one way or another and are completely and utterly consumed by D’s preternatural appearance and charm. Can this get a little tired? Yes, and rather quickly.

Hideyuki could definitely stand to expand a little more with the plot and characterization as there are too many obvious similarities between books. We know that D is a Dhamphir and is bound to have supernatural abilities. We just don’t think it needs to be explained in a way that appears repetitious. That does not stop you wondering what D would be like if you met him in a dark alley. In this book, D still appears to be both the hunter and the hunted and is still trying to find his place in Hideyuki’s dark and desolate world.

This second book has more action and gore than the previous book and it happens quite early in the story. Before the second chapter even begins there is already an attempted gang-rape of Lina, the character that D meets and subsequently saves. Shortly after there is a gory, blood-drenched massacre by a psychotic pixie. The action sequences are described well and Hideyuki definitely has a talent for creating images for your mind to ponder over. Each action sequence seems to be entirely separate from the next without reading like it has come unhinged from the rest of the story.

The characters in this book almost seem to be more like ‘ghosts’ than ‘real’ characters that we can come to know and respect. D seems to be the only constant character throughout the novels so far that has any real substance. Perhaps this is what the author intended. D’s character is like a bird that flies in and out of people’s lives, rearranging them and making their lives better, albeit from a distance, before he simply disappears again. There is something quite melancholic about his actions but there is also something annoying about the inconsistency of such a character. I would like to think this was the intention of the author rather than a shortcoming of the plot or character development.

Imagery is big on Hideyuki’s list, and we get that and I like it - for the most part. If he could only do away with the over-romanticized descriptions of D and the women he meets, the books would be a lot more enjoyable to read. The next book in the series promises a little more action and mayhem than the previous two books, and I am very keen to see it develop into something more substantial than what we have sampled so far in the series.

Reviewed by: Xen
Proofed by: wintry
Edited by: Jiji

Like the sound of that? Support Manga News and buy it off Amazon.com: Raiser of Gales (Vampire Hunter D, Vol. 2)