Great ending to the first part; D gets more personality than ever before

books:


	• Vampire Hunter D Volume 8: Mysterious Journey to the North Sea, Part Two (Vampire Hunter D) Hideyuki Kikuchi, Yoshitaka Amano Dark Horse Books/Digital Manga Publishing, 2007 - 280 pages average customer review:based on 4 reviews view larger image
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Out with a bang

Wow, I have to say this book was far better than any of the other ones so far. A perfect blend of drama and action, some of the more relevant art work yet, and is the first in a huge leap in characterization. The main heroes and villains are all well developed throughout the story(with the exception of two-ish)and with so many villains your always kept guessing what's next. It is a fitting end to Kikuchi's first run, before rebooting the franchise in 1995 with the Rose Princess. In his post-script he describes it as one of his favorite projects, and it's easily one of his best. There is one thing though, the amazon rating system is very flawed. Former D books have been given 4-4.5, so I had to give such an exceptional volume a 5, but in actuality it is really a 4.3 on my scale, as the average D book would be a 3 and a better one a 3.5.

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refreshing

This book was refreshing, there were a lot of elements, characters involved. D finally gets pushed around and tricked and even dies, again. But man, that left hand is great, I can't wait to see if the future books will give us a flash back book about when D was a bit younger and how he met up w/ Lefty. Most likely, I feel like Dracula left Lefty just for D and for D's purpose (to finish off the Nobility, and I feel that Dracula doesn't actually have a blood lust/thurst, and he's dissapointed @ his creations because he probably expected something else.) I think he is now in the process of creating new life forms w/out blood lust and D's job is to clean up his messes. Just a few words for thought. this was a great read. Movie....I don't know....mini series....ohhh yeah.....

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Great ending to the first part; D gets more personality than ever before

This is the eighth book in the Vampire Hunter D series by Hideyuki Kikuchi. This book picks up right where the last book left off; in the middle of a fight.

D struggles (as much as he ever struggles) to protect the pearl from the evil people that plot to steal it from him. He also is protecting Win-Lu from all of the people going after the pearl. There are numerous battle and even more evil-doers than ever before. You finally find out what the pearl is and why it is so important.

As I mentioned when reviewing part 1; this book is somewhat different from the other books in the Vampire Hunter D series in that D is more "human" than ever before. D shows emotion and shows that he has faults like everyone else. Win-Lu is a strong character with a dry sense of humor that makes the book fun. You get to spend a lot more time with D's left hand and his hand also has a sense of wit to rival Win-Lu's.

This was a great book with non-stop action. You are actually left wondering at points if D will give up his wandering for a bit and make this town a temporary home. This book gives some nostalgic insight into how things were with the nobility before disaster struck. Of course more mystery is presented regarding who, and what, D is. Some hints are given as to D's origin but nothing is answered for sure.

I look forward to the next book in the series. Although there is a long way to go in this series. I read somewhere that in Japan book 18 was just released. Good thing I like these books because it looks like I will have a lengthy relationship with them :-)

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A good ending

This book provided a good, though not decisive, ending to the story begun in volume seven. The theme of this book is mostly about finding acceptance for the things you have done in the past as well as finding a place to belong in the future. Su-in finds out why the vampire in the sea holds such a fascination for her and one or two of the bad guys gets mostly redeemed.

Character development for D takes a suprising turn when we see him consistantly on the losing end of battle-- to the point of being parted from left-hand. While there are few clear defeats there are enough battles that end in a draw that one begins to wonder if D is really invested in the fights. Couple that with the fact that the "bead" that brought about the whole tale turns out to be a non issue, you begin to wonder at the direction this installment seems to be leading the series. I, for one, can't wait for Rose Princess to be released to find out.

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Vampire lore dictates that the creatures of the night shun the sea... or do they? The picturesque coastal town of Florence was known for millennia as a pleasure resort for the Nobility. As retribution for their decadence, the cruel and beautiful vampire inhabitants were "punished," driven out more than a thousand years ago by a solitary traveler in black. Only one - Baron Meinster - refused to leave, only to be thrown to the waves by the mysterious assassin. Summoned to contemporary Florence by Su-in, sister of a murdered village girl, the enigmatic Vampire Hunter D discovers a vampire curse ravaging the town's human inhabitants. The plague apparently originating, impossibly, from the unforgiving sea - could it be Meinster's Revenge? A thrilling conclusion to the epic gothic adventure begun in Volume 7, Vampire Hunter D: Mysterious Journey to the North Sea Book One, this tale captures all the mystery and wonder that has made Vampire Hunter D a sensation around the world!

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