Anime as a whole has a tendency to pair horror with other genres rather than delivering it plainly.
D’s first outing draws inspiration mainly from classic European horror, but the influence of westerns is also unmistakable. The ‘85 film typifies anime creators’ method of artistic patchworking. While horror first started cropping up in ‘70s TV anime - Devilman and GeGeGe no Kitarō are notable examples - its more unadulterated state originated in the following decade, starting with Vampire Hunter D. Something like Vampire Hunter D proved anime was undergoing a seismic transformation. Meanwhile in Japan, the economic prosperity of the ‘80s had led to more sophisticated, diverse, and lavish anime. release in the early ‘90s, one distributor billed it as “the first animated horror film for adults.” This was a huge selling point in those days because the West was shifting away from mature animation, and the Disney Renaissance was in full swing. When Vampire Hunter D was picked up for a U.S.
Mecha sagas and space operas were already common by this point, so when a horror-western showed up in Japanese theaters days before Christmas in 1985, naturally people’s interest was piqued. This significant era saw the rise of both theatrical and straight-to-video releases, and bigger budgets not only allowed for higher production values and more elaborate art styles, it gave creators the opportunity to dabble in less prevalent genres. The ‘80s is considered the “golden age” of anime for good reason.
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