The News Thread (for news that does not need a thread)

Is Wicked City the one with the "spider woman"? I saw that way back when, and that was far too much for me. It wasn't my choice to watch it as I had gone to visit someone at some gathering and that was what they decided to watch. I was very uncomfortable but felt it would have been too rude to leave. It's so long ago I don't remember but I might have also gone with someone else where it wasn't an option anyway. It haunted me for quite a while as such things always do, but it's been so long ago now I've mostly forgotten it.
 
Ian Wolf said:
Just came across another anime review in The Guardian.

www.theguardian.com

Vampire Hunter D review – head-popping visuals offset very pre-MeToo erotic anime

Regarded as pioneering on its release in 1985, this sleazy tale’s sexual politics are long past-it, but the visual invention remains magnetic
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
Click to expand...

Ah, nothing quite like the shoehorning of contemporary politics into a review of a 40 year old film for clickbait purposes. I, too, am glad we now live in more enlightened times where the "outdated sexual politics" of things like Vampire Hunter D have given way to respectful post "MeToo" content like Redo of Healer.

It's a shame, because a review of Vampire Hunter D from a liberal lefty POV could have had a lot more interesting things to say given the themes of class that are very readily apparent in the film, trust the Grauniad to miss the wood for the trees.

I can't speak to what anybody else got out of Wicked City but Spider Woman is obviously the best character.
 
Regardless of where they’re coming from politically or their questionable grasp on what anime is like as a medium (are we really calling VHD ‘erotic’?) I don’t get much sense of why they’re giving it 4/5 from the review. Nothing grinds my gears quite like an arbitrary score that seems to have nothing to do with the body text - it’s like we’re back on the old “worst game ever, 7/10 - IGN” memes…
 
ayase said:
Ah, nothing quite like the shoehorning of contemporary politics into a review of a 40 year old film for clickbait purposes. I, too, am glad we now live in more enlightened times where the "outdated sexual politics" of things like Vampire Hunter D have given way to respectful post "MeToo" content like Redo of Healer.

It's a shame, because a review of Vampire Hunter D from a liberal lefty POV could have had a lot more interesting things to say given the themes of class that are very readily apparent in the film, trust the Grauniad to miss the wood for the trees.

I can't speak to what anybody else got out of Wicked City but Spider Woman is obviously the best character.
Click to expand...

It does feel a bit that way, like I'm very much in the camp of MeToo being a seriously important thing and have had some pretty unpleasant experiences of that nature myself, but I just don't see anything all that offensive about the VHD OVA? I liked Doris and I also thought the Count's daughter was a really interesting, complex character, plus the guys who treat the women badly in the film are clearly... ya know... the baddies? At no point does the film ever endorse sexually abusive behaviour. It would be one thing if they'd just said there are some themes of SA that might upset or trigger some viewers so keep that in mind/tread with caution, but you could say the same thing about Buffy the Vampire Slayer and that's hardly anti-feminist (my opinion of Whedon himself not withstanding). And it is a horror film tbf, that wouldn't give it a free pass if it was a misogynistic rape fantasy but like... yeah I agree with you they are clickbaiting. I don't think Doris is as one-dimensionally passive as they made out either.

Regarding class stuff yeah I'm sure there are interesting takes to be had.

Also eff Redo of Healer and yea Spider Woman was cool, I'm just saying I would legit understand a reviewer being uncomfortable with Wicked City for the SA but VHD? Not so much. Boys Over Flowers was vastly more unsettling.

Professor Irony said:
Regardless of where they’re coming from politically or their questionable grasp on what anime is like as a medium (are we really calling VHD ‘erotic’?) I don’t get much sense of why they’re giving it 4/5 from the review. Nothing grinds my gears quite like an arbitrary score that seems to have nothing to do with the body text - it’s like we’re back on the old “worst game ever, 7/10 - IGN” memes…
Click to expand...

There are some moments that are quite sensual but I'd agree it's not like, Risky Business levels. And yeah I get what you mean, the review should prob have been longer to flesh out the reviewer's opinion better.
 
Sentai are re-releasing VHD on Blu-ray (again) this summer. I'll have to make sure to get a copy this time. I haven't seen it since I was about 13, when Manga UK released it on VHS. It didn't leave much of an impression, and I imagine it suffers in comparison to Bloodlust, but funnily enough the one thing about it I do remember is the boobs 🥴

As for Wicked City, I love that film but it is uncomfortable viewing at times. Probably more now than when I first watched it; I didn't see the uncut version until the Blu-ray that came out around 5 years ago. Yikes. Demon City Shinjuku is a lesser film overall but is far less rapey and therefore something I can watch with a clearer conscience...
 
fabio de lunatico said:
Sentai are re-releasing VHD on Blu-ray (again) this summer. I'll have to make sure to get a copy this time. I haven't seen it since I was about 13, when Manga UK released it on VHS. It didn't leave much of an impression, and I imagine it suffers in comparison to Bloodlust, but funnily enough the one thing about it I do remember is the boobs 🥴

As for Wicked City, I love that film but it is uncomfortable viewing at times. Probably more now than when I first watched it; I didn't see the uncut version until the Blu-ray that came out around 5 years ago. Yikes. Demon City Shinjuku is a lesser film overall but is far less rapey and therefore something I can watch with a clearer conscience...
Click to expand...

I actually prefer the first VHD anime film to Bloodlust but that's a matter of taste, I love how grimy and gritty it is in this rather visceral way like when D's hand eats stuff the sound effects are so crunchy, things like that really add something for me, whereas while I like Bloodlust there's something a touch too "clean" about it? Though that said respect to it for being a Kawajiri work that IIRC doesn't have any nasty SA scenes in it - I'd much rather watch it again than Wicked City! Also agreed regarding Demon City Shinjuku I was just thinking the same thing earlier this morning (though the male mc is still kind of a jerk as he at one point thinks or says the female mc should be grateful to him for not forcing himself on her when they share a room.)
 
Last edited:
Someone could write a very interesting piece about things like gender and masculine archetypes within Vampire Hunter D. Both as a text to be seen individually, how it reflects trends in the various genres it mashes together and the pitfalls involved. But that piece needs a longer world count and a more in-depth reflection than just being surprised by Doris' incredibly short skirt and thinking it's a sign of how far we've come. An important source for that article would be the original novels so you can understand how Hideyuki Kikuchi needs people to know that D is the sexiest person to ever exist. It is an important part of how the different adaptations try to convey his beauty depending on the era.

I do think Hoad's general assessment of the OVA is concise and well reasoned. That the setting is a bonkers amalgamation of an American western, post apocalyptic science fiction, horror, European architecture etc. and that makes the series very memorable. D having a talking hand that eats magic and trash talks him is such an odd idea but you can't pretend it doesn't stick out.

The pre-MeToo framing feels odd. Because anime has been stereotyped as being perverse unless it was a Hayao Miyazaki film. Partly because of films like Wicked City and Ninja Scroll if we're honest (another article idea, Yoshiaki Kawajiri's international importance). It's always stood out to critics and has always been criticised. And as others have succinctly pointed out: you easily find anime released since 2018 that are a lot so sleazier than anything in the 1985 Vampire Hunter D movie.


ayase said:
It's a shame, because a review of Vampire Hunter D from a liberal lefty POV could have had a lot more interesting things to say given the themes of class that are very readily apparent in the film, trust the Grauniad to miss the wood for the trees.
Click to expand...

It's definitely an angle worth expanding on. The vampires call themselves Nobles, they frame their exploitation others as natural law, D sees them as outdated in a changing world etc.


As an aside Yoshiaki Kawajiri worked as a storyboard artist on Jujutsu Kaisen's first season. That's pretty cool.
 
CommanderZx2 said:
City the Animation preview 2 is out:

On another note, unfortunately Amazon video has acquired exclusive worldwide exclusivity for streaming it:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1931554277601820731

Hopefully Amazon is simulcast it and do decent subtitles... Will be really annoying if they hold back episodes and release them in batches.
Click to expand...

I don't pay for Amazon Prime so this is disappointing news, I'll have to wait until it's finished airing and then buy a month of Prime to watch it.

I can't justify Prime prices, I wouldn't use it enough plus I don't buy much from Amazon these days either tbh.
 
Back
Top