Anime Reviews:

Vampire Wars

(Kazuhisa Takenouchi, 1991)

Violent, 18-rated story which suggests that vampires are actually the decedents of an alien race who came to Earth thousands of years ago. Refreshingly set in Paris, the story concerns itself with international spy/terrorist, cool guy and all-round ladies man, Kousaburo Kuki, who is hired to find a connection between a terrorist attack on a NASA base in Arizona and the corpse of a CIA agent found floating in the Seine in Paris. His search leads him to a famous actress, Lamia Vindaw(!), who has become the target of a mysterious vampire cult.

More espionage than the all-out war that the title implies, and quite enjoyable for it. The premise and setting means the character designs are all western-looking and are set against atmospheric Parisian streets, whilst art director Mitsuki Nakamura gives the 60 minute running time a colourful yet moody look. Not exactly deserving of the "classic" label that Manga bestowed upon it - the rest (an "adventure of babes, bullets and blood") is at least a fair description of the contents. 5/10

Rob Dyer

A-Z of Anime Reviews