Quintessential late-night anime from the medium's earliest days. We've got blood and violence, tits and ass, a tall, dark, mostly-silent hero, a hulking, unrepentant evil monster and a whole host of nameless underbosses to tear apart. Add an ample serving of unique weaponry, a ridiculously large blood moon, a sarcastic talking hand and darkness, darkness, darkness; you've got Vampire Hunter D.

With character designs by Final Fantasy house artist Yoshitaka Amano, it's well-conceived, if cheaply produced. As an early gateway drug to the not-for-kids scene, I loved it in my teens. Now that I've been exposed to more material, and the format has grown, it's tough to overlook the uber-hammy dialog, excessively simple character development and vague, conveniently under-explained plot points. Its cup overfloweth with style, atmosphere and well-dressed, grimacing mystery men, but at heart it's just an excessively simple genre piece. An influential, good-looking effort, but not a great standalone.