MovieChat Forums > Kyûketsuki hantâ D (1993) Discussion > The manga/novels

The manga/novels

posted 20 years ago by theinfinity7s
65 replies | jump to latest

does anybody know if anyone gots the rights to distribute this in the US? If not........anyone know where I can find translations of them.........?

[–] Immortally 20 years ago

No but here's a few links to look at them.

http://www.altvampyres.net/vhd/12c.gif

http://www.altvampyres.net/vhd/n113.jpg

http://www.altvampyres.net/vhd/15b.gif

http://www.altvampyres.net/vhd/n1204.jpg

http://www.altvampyres.net/vhd/n060.gif

http://www.altvampyres.net/vhd/14a.gif

[–] theinfinity7s 20 years ago

Thank you very much.....my apoligies, I knew that they were novels not manga. I don't know why I typed that.

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[–] BellT 19 years ago

Apparently it's supposed to be only 8 black and white pics. That's not too graphic.

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] matsutaro 19 years ago

Technically, Dark Horse is publishing it. I translated it. You can expect the second and third novels later this year. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

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[–] Spellsword 19 years ago

That's great news.

[–] Spellsword 19 years ago

It's coming!!! May 4 they say!!!!

[–] endersftd 19 years ago

If you're the one that translated it, then I thank you from the bottom of my heart! I remember reading in the credits of the first VHD movie that it was based on novels and that's when I learned that they were still all in Japanese. Thankyou so much for your work on this and I'm glad you all have told me that they're finally going to be for US consumption. :)

[–] matsutaro 19 years ago

Thank you. Translation doesn't pay squat, but I do it for the people. I'm a fan of the stuff myself, and I want everyone else to have a chance to dig it as much as I do. Mr. Kikuchi is a great guy, all the VHD fans are super friendly, and I'm just trying to give something back. Look for the second book August 18th, the third book around November, and probably more after that (we're knocking the idea around right now). Hope you enjoy them!

[–] Spellsword 19 years ago

Well it seems that the novels well come in one or two months.

[–] BellT 19 years ago

I got the novel a couple of days ago. It was well translated I thought. Good job and thank you! I think that it was much much better than the movie.

[–] Spellsword 19 years ago

Man my comic book stores suck!!!

[–] BellT 19 years ago

Yeah it must. My bookstore had it in spades. They had just gotten it in.

[–] van_wyhe_halen 19 years ago

I too bought the book and read it in a week. It was incredible! Very well translated and the story was great! I can't wait until Raiser of Gales comes out in August, I already preorded it! I think the thing I love most about D is his simplicity, he's a just a quiet man who puts actions ahead of talk. He was such a badass throughout the whole book, and I felt the animes carried that over quite well. Read on people!

Also, does anyone know how old D is? I was shocked to read that Magnus Lee was only 3,757 years old, since the anime touted him to be over 10,000. But if Dracula was alive before our modern time, couldn't D likely be near 10,000 years old, or was he a more recent offspring of Dracula?

[–] shadow13_6 19 years ago

*bows* Thank you!!! I'm not done with the book yet, but it kicks ass. Thank you so much for translating it, and please, PLEASE, keep us updated on whether or not there will be more books translated after the third one.

[–] matsutaro 19 years ago

Thanks for the kind words. Right now Dark Horse looks very pleased with the reaction the first book's been getting, and people on the Japanese end have been asking me what my schedule looks like for next year--all good signs. The third book will have a huge preview from the fourth novel, so here's hoping I get to do the whole thing for you folks.

For more breaking news on the translations and other VHD-related discussion, check out the Vampire Hunter D Egroup over at Yahoo.

[–] Spellsword 19 years ago

Will I got it. Last week on Wednesday. And I have to say that I like both the book and the movie.

[–] Spellsword 19 years ago

They say that the second novel will be out this mouth.

[–] shadow13_6 19 years ago

Does anyone know the date that the second book is coming out? And I know the third is due in November, but any ideas when?

Edit: Forget the second. My store just had delayed shipments this week, so it's probably still in the back room, if it still came out on the 18th. But any word on the third?

[–] matsutaro 19 years ago

As the translator, I got my advanced copies of the second novel yesterday.
They should be out where the rest of you can enjoy them soon (but no one tells me anything, ever).
I thought the third was due in November, originally, but it's been pushed back to January '06. At least, that's how it reads in the preview at the end of the second novel.
Hope you folks enjoy them.

[–] shadow13_6 19 years ago

Yeah, I went to order the second copy for the bookstore that I work at, and found out that it got pushed back to September.

[–] Spellsword 19 years ago

I got it last night. I was too tired to read but I will be able to later today.

[–] van_wyhe_halen 19 years ago

The second one came out on the 18th I believe. I recieved it yesterday and just finished reading it. And I am spent! I could not put that thing down! The book was incredible. It had the same poetic language of the first, as well as the mystery. I think that's what I liked the most about it. Nothing is really spoonfed to you. Inferences are made to what's going, things are explained even, but there is still an air of mystery around D, his abilities, and his intentions. I'll have to go over some parts again, but I think I can grasp what happened. I won't spoil it for anyone, but I think you will enjoy it. And yes, according to the preview in the back, volume three is due out in January 2006. Quite a wait, but it will be worth it. I only hope more follow. Good reading!

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[–] matsutaro 19 years ago

Here's an update on the novel situation:
I just got a contract to translate volumes 4-6.
Tentative dates for their release are as follows:
volume 4: May '06
volume 5: September '06
volume 6: January '07

After that, who can say?
I can tell you this much--author Hideyuki Kikuchi is seriously digging the fact that the books are finally in English. So as long as they keep selling and we've got someone to publish them, we're both on for the duration. Thanks for your support.

[–] Lutzqueen 19 years ago

I hope they keep selling and you keep translating so I can read the whole series-Mr.Kikuchi is a very good Scifi writer and his universe and characters ROCK! D is about the best male character in anime and that fact is only magnified in the original novel format,IMO.

[–] van_wyhe_halen 19 years ago

I hope we get em all too! I just love the books so much, they are such a fun read! I tore through volume 2 in under a day, I couldn't put it down! I liked your analysis there too sktdoctor7, very well done! There were more matured elements to this book, but I still think the D novel deserves a little more credit over the anime, even though the anime kicked ass...I felt the book had more depth and character development to it, but then I guess that is to be expected...

I already pre-ordered 3, and now I KNOW 4-6 will be on my shelf when they are released!

[–] rgfangmunroe-1 19 years ago

I just bought the first two and I'm halfway through the first already...it's like rediscovering the series, it's amazing!

[–] maversaints 18 years ago

*spoilers*

there is alot more sexual tension between doris and d. d is less of a girly man and doris is less of a helpless girl. and dan is alot cooler

[–] van_wyhe_halen 18 years ago

Demon Deathchase is out now! I have already read it, and I gotta say, just a general spoiler, it is nothing like the movie Bloodlust! But I thought it was a very good book, built around the chase, and I felt the ending was very good as well, not what I was expecting at all!

I can't wait til volume 4 comes out now, six more months!

[–] matsutaro 18 years ago

Glad you liked "Demon Deathchase", van_whye_halen. The action-driven story made it a LOT faster to translate than the previous two books. As far as when the next one is coming out, I'm still looking into that--I know the preview says August, but my contract says April, and my guess would've been May (like last year). At any rate, it's been done since the end of October. I'm in the middle of book 5 now, with book 6 still to go. As long as folks keep digging them, I hope we'll keep putting them out.

[–] van_wyhe_halen 18 years ago

Well I'm glad you translated it. It was very action oriented, and the story kept right on moving. Good to know the others are on the way, I can't wait to start reading number 4. Hopefully the rest of the series will continue to be translated, I know I'll buy em!

[–] x_mr_dero_x 18 years ago

I'm in the middle of reading the third novel right now, it's fantastic, and the translations are fantastic. I've never read an english novel quite like these, they've got such style. I work in a hookstore as well, no word from our systems as for the next one coming out, but I cannot wait! Thank you for translating them!

[–] vanilla_girl-1 18 years ago

Haven't been able to get hold of Demon Deathchase yet but i've read the first 2 translated novels.
Question: Why is the second one called "Raiser of Gales" I thought a more literal translation was "Stormbringer", was there copyright issues cos of the western novel with the same name?

[–] matsutaro 18 years ago

Actually, "Raiser of the Gales" was the way I translated it long before I met the author. After translating the book and discussing it with Mr. Kikuchi, it became clear he meant something more along the lines of "D Stands in the Wind." The title I came up with then was "In the Teeth of a Gale," but unfortunately the publisher had already begun to promote it under the other name and it was too late to change the title. These days, I get the skinny from the author long before I commit to anything--lesson learned.

[–] vanilla_girl-1 18 years ago

ah I see, thanks for taking the time to answer my odd question ^_^, right, now i'm off to go bully my local bookshop into getting Demon Deathchase in *scribbles face on hand in magic marker and heads out*

[–] van_wyhe_halen 18 years ago

Wow, that's weird to think the book could have been called "D Stands in the Wind," I like the title Raiser of Gales much better, has a better ring to it. Are the names Demon Deathchase and Tale of the Dead Town closer to what Kikuchi actually intended?

[–] matsutaro 18 years ago

Yes, I'm pretty sure they are. These days I run the titles by Mr. K, especially in case when I can't decide between two possibilities. They're his books, so I might as well let him have the final say.

The actual titles for almost all his books are basically strings of kanji characters, so they're a bit open to interpretation.

[–] vanilla_girl-1 18 years ago

I think it's a Japanese thing, they like making titles as complicated as possible ^^; tis the same for song titles, yes i'm looking at you Camui Gackt ¬_¬

ok that was totally off-topic ^^;

Does anyone know what shops sell the VHD novels in the UK? cos WHSmith is being a bitch about getting me Demon Deathchase.

[–] van_wyhe_halen 18 years ago

I just finished reading volume 4, Tale of the Dead Town. Thanks for translating that one matsutaro, it was quite a fun read, and pretty damn unique too. Is it just me, or is each volume getting sequentially shorter? Oh well, it was still a pretty good story, plus I'm happy to hear that number 5 will already be out in August. Any word on the volumes past number 6? From the postscript in this one, it sounds like Mr. Kikuchi is digging the success of the books overseas, so I imagine you have his blessing to keep translating them?

[–] matsutaro 18 years ago

Yeah, we're both digging on the English versions big time. And I'm sure Mr. K. doesn't mind getting money for doing nothing in particular (hell, he said so himself). We just inked a deal for books 7 (two volumes) and 8. I'm finishing up 6 now, and that should be about as long as the first (at least, it is in Japanese). The first half of 7 is about the length of book 4, but the second half is mammoth! Book 8 is also about as long as the first one.

[–] van_wyhe_halen 18 years ago

Number 7 is in two volumes?! Sweet! Will both be released in the same book, or at least at the same time? Good to know we'll get some more long ones, I need to stretch em out a bit, I read number 4 over two days. But man I love these books, they never fail to capture my interest and imagination. Thanks again for your work man, it's much appreciated!

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] solarsaw 18 years ago

Great books, I just picked up 1-4 today, a little delayed I know. But i have a friend who comes to visit on wednesday the 28th i'll have to show him these and see if he gets interested. I love how vol. 1 is the original movie and I cant wait to get through to the third one since its the second movie.

[–] munkeh 18 years ago

I wasn't sure what to expect with the novels, but after reading novels 1 and 2 I'm hooked. The translations are top notch, and I love the descriptive language.

Thanks so much for translating them, can't wait for the rest XD

http://www.threadless.com?streetteam=Inevitable+Melody

[–] ikick_a55 18 years ago

I got the first one yesterday with a poster! I'm so happy ^^

[–] stumpinator2000 18 years ago

I'm loving the sh*t out of these novels. Keep up the great work man! But, a question. Apparently, in the postscript (I believe, I'm not to vol. 4 yet), Kikuchi states that a "Hollywood version and American comic release are moving along nicely"....correct me if I'm wrong, but does that mean that a live action Vampire Hunter D film is in the works? Because sweet lord if it is, I need Depends way earlier than I thought....

Everything I ever needed to know, I learned from killing smart people and eating their brains.

[–] ikick_a55 18 years ago

I think that was probably referring to bloodlust.

- Next Gen. Rambo :p

[–] stumpinator2000 18 years ago

I thought so too, but after thinking about it, the novel was first published in the late eighties (not sure of exact year, since I haven't read it yet), so if that particular postscript was taken from the original japanese edition, well, that's impossible, I doubt Bloodlust was in production since the late eighties. And if it was just taken from a later year 2000-ish edition, then why would they put it in the english edition, surely they'd know the furor that would cause among fans. So it must be a new postscript, written by Kikuchi exclusivly for the english edition.

All I want is confirmation o whether were getting a live action "D" film or not. >_< I' dbe so psyched for it, if it was done the way it should be. And not toned down to PG-13, just not escessivly violent for the sake of being violent. It would need a good director, a newcomer, I think, would be the best choice. As long as ghe could be trusted.

Everything I ever needed to know, I learned from killing smart people and eating their brains.

[–] ikick_a55 18 years ago

The first novel was written in the 80's but was the 3rd book also? Cause then I'm jsut damn confused lol.

- Next Gen. Rambo :p

[–] stumpinator2000 18 years ago

The first novel was first published in 1983, the second in 1985. Only 2 years apart, and considering there's 17-18 novels in the series, they cant be spaced out too far. So I'm just guessing that the third was published in the eighties, most likely 87 or 88.

Everything I ever needed to know, I learned from killing smart people and eating their brains.

[–] ikick_a55 18 years ago

There's 17-18?!?!?!?!? Haha well you sure know your stuff, I Had no clue...

- Next Gen. Rambo :p

[–] stumpinator2000 18 years ago

haha, Don't feel bad, I didn't even know there were novels until about 2 years ago.

Everything I ever needed to know, I learned from killing smart people and eating their brains.

[–] matsutaro 18 years ago

Just wanted to weigh in here on the number of novels in the series, and what may be taken as either good news or bad news. If I remember correctly, there are 16 "novels" and one volume of shorts out now (with a 17th novel due shortly). Now, some of these "novels" span 2, 3, or even 4 volumes of 250+ pages each in the original Japanese. Which means the total number of volumes is closer to 30! Readers of the English editions will get their first taste of that with the 7th and 8th volumes coming out in 2007 (I'm grinding on volume 7 as I write this). Instead of the usual D vs. one or two hardcases, this two volume tale has no less than 8 sick superfreaks to deal with, so you can imagine why it runs so long.

As far as what came out when, Mr. K has more or less put out about one volume of VHD a year since the series started. For more accurate date info, check out my (very dated) reviews at the Vampire Hunter D archives: http://www.altvampyres.net/vhd/textpref.html
You'll have to pardon some name/spelling changes you may find--those reviews were largely written over a decade ago, and well before I had access to the author to get rulings on how he wanted things spelled. Everything is still subject to change as new info comes to light.

Now, the afterwords on the books starting with the fourth volume are all new messages from Mr. K for his readers in the English-speaking world. As I've mentioned before, he's all about fan service, so he jumped at the chance when I suggested new afterwords for the Dark Horse editions. The live action movie deal he mentioned is still up in the air--there are certainly interested parties, but Mr. K is very protective of D and needs assurances that it'll be true to his own vision. Trust me, he doesn't want to see some cheesy "D gets the girl and live happily ever after" story any more than we do.

[–] ikick_a55 18 years ago

I can't wait to get the rest of the novels, unfortunately I could only find up to the 4th one (I'll fine the rest no matter what!). Haha and I know as much as we don't want that corny-type of ending, I don't want it too be anythin too bad either. :/

- Next Gen. Rambo :p

[–] matsutaro 18 years ago

The fifth book, "The Stuff of Dreams," should be out in bookstores very soon--I only got my advance copies 2 days ago, and when I saw Mr. K last night, he hadn't even got his yet! Book 6: "Pilgrimage of the Sacred and the Profane" is due in November, according to the preview at the end of the fifth book--but I think Dec or Jan is probably a more realistic timeframe. Enjoy!

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] van_wyhe_halen 18 years ago

Oh I got the Stuff of Dreams, only a few chapters in but I love it so far! I'm gonna have a damn anuerism waiting for the next one!

edit: just finished it, and whoa! That ending was pretty sweet, and it was quite a mindscrew there. That's just some good sci fi/horror right there, I've gotta hand it to Mr. Kikuchi and his imagination. I seriously doubt these books will ever fail to capture my imagination.

[–] van_wyhe_halen 17 years ago

I have a question, does anyone know why the second part of Mysterious Journey to the North Sea is being released as Volume 8? Is that correct? I thought it was supposed to still be Volume 7, and Rose Princess was Volume 8? Just curious...

[–] ikick_a55 16 years ago

Muahahaha I just got the first manga issue a cuople days ago...it's amazing!!!!

- Next Gen. Rambo :p