Vampire Hunter D Volume 8: Mysterious Journey to the North Sea, Part Two

Vampire Hunter D #8

by Hideyuki Kikuchi, Yoshitaka Amano (Illustrator), Kevin Leahy (Translator)

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?

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Manga, Vampires, Science Fiction, Paranormal, Fiction

286 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1989

Reviews

[Carl Bacher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giver det mening? Næsten. Er D cool: Ja! Har de cool kampe? Ja! Er der seje vampyrer? Ja. Har den brug for andet? Nej

[Sparrow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Vampire Hunter D, but this was a terrible book. Grammatically and structurally, the translation has gotten better. But the plot and characters and dialogue made no sense. I got tired of hearing the entire plot development spewed through characters' mouths (dialogue). There was no sense of subtlety throughout the whole book. None of the characters were individual to me - I could never tell the difference between any of them since their powers were never that distinct, or they kept changing. The plot itself was unclear because things kept jumping around all the time - the bead and then Meinster and then the Noble and then all the assassins - who, in the end, was the bad guy anyway? I was never clear about that. What a waste of time and money.

And, honestly, I am sick and tired of still not knowing anything about D, his origin, the face on his hand, or how powerful he is. This is the 8th book, never mind the two animes and the four (I think) manga, out about him and I still know absolutely nothing about him. What a terrible protagonist - he never talks, never sympathizes, never changes, never has problems, never gets in trouble. Sure, he may be super powerful, gorgeous, and intriguing, but that is completely uninteresting for a novel. I got so tired of reading constantly how gorgeous and silent and dark D was. It was like this book was trying to mirror a poor Mary Sue novel.

Thank God I'm only reading one more of them before I'm done.

[Pygmy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Arrgh, very disappointed. Previous Vampire Hunter D books all had the same tropes, the same repeated descriptions of D's gorgeousness, etc. but I was able to overlook the flaws because of a great sense of futuristic fantasy with hints of squee. But this latest book failed, perhaps because the author tried to stretch the story out across two books. His 'light' writing style finally fails, as he jams in too many characters, too many repeats of gorgeosity, too many "strongest, fearsomest, most bad-ass ever!" fighters who get knocked off like bowling pins, only to NEVER STOP COMING BACK in a million "Whoops! Gotcha!" moments. None of the new characters have much personality besides being evil, and even when they do have some nobility or something of interest, the author's style of writing inserts the information in a very forgettable way.

Also, the author has written one of the most unsexiest sexy women ever in the face of the world. Maybe it's the translation, but...no. The Sexy Temptress lady was just beyond lame.

[Ren the Unclean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good finish to this 2-part mini sequence in this series. It ties up all the various plot hooks effectively and the writing suffers less than most of the others in the series from awkward translations and explanations.

There are a lot of cool moments in this book involving D's various enemies, though the amount of times everyone in the book escapes death gets a little ridiculous towards the end.

Overall, this book ends up being one of the better VHD books in the series, even though it is not supported that well by the first of the two. You should definitely read this book if you are a VHD fan, especially if you reaad through the Mysterious Journey to the North Sea, Part One.

[branewurms · Rating 3 out of 5]

Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive!

ABLE TO SPEAR TWO KILLER WHALES WITH A SINGLE HARPOON

Look, skulking in the barn! It's... IT'S... idk, this weird goth dude with a talking hand.

(TWO

WHALES

ONE

HARPOON)

I can't even @ this book. I CAN'T EVEN.

With only one foot resting on the ground, Su-In took a deep breath. "That's strange," she remarked. "All the way here, I've smelt flowers. Even though it's winter."

"It's me," a hoarse voice said.

Su-In turned around, moved by sheer amazement.

Looking up at the sky and keeping his left hand clenched again for some reason, D replied morosely, "I used too much tincture on the bloodstains."

WHAT EVEN IS THIS LOVECRAFTIAN COMEDY ROUTINE.

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the original Japanese release Volumes, 7 & 8 were released as one book and that should've happened here as well. There was no need to split this book into two parts and waiting for 2 months for the second half of the threadbare story was a pain in the ass.

[Paulo "paper books only" · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading Vampire Hunter D novels since the first book was released back in 2010. I've read several in the beginning, start collecting and then had a hiatus for 6 years. Due to the vast amount of books I've got I don't read some novels\ series I should... This one was one that due to that I've lost in my reading experience.. let me explain

This book was released in two parts - the first one I read in May of 2021 and now this... I've read more than 120 novels inbetween... what's the probability I would remember all the story and such?
So my reading experience was a bit shattered in the beginning but with time I start remembering and I could fully appreciate and love the novel and it was one of the best I've read since the first or stuff of dreams.

There are some complains so let me just take that out of the way.. first of all, although it's a follow up it's nature is quite different and one is more philospical while the other more action oriented... This one, it's just one enemy after another and Vampire Hunter D overcoming all odds...
The good side on this, is finally we see D with some disadvantages due to his hand - which until now were scarce...

To those who don't know about Vampire Hunter D he is a Mary Sue. He is pragmatic, emotionless, over powerful nothing can harm invincible being and nothing can be done against it... which as you may think it doesn't help when creating a plot/story... bear in mind that I don't mind this at times and I've since love it/him BUT it takes something of the edge...

In this tale he continues trying to safekeep a young teen and battle dozens of enemies while the nobles are in background we get some more glimpses on who are they... oh and the goddamed bead, where is it? DAMN

Overall a good second part of the first one but read them together...
I won't be spending 6 years to read the next one.

Why is Dark Horse not printing book number 29? Iit's like 4 years since then and there are more 10 to be released...

[Elizabeth Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second volume of this story dragged on, and in my opinion, the 2 volumes could have been cut down to a tighter, cleaner, one volume story. There are at least a DOZEN baddies orbiting around each other, fighting amongst themselves, and going up against D and trying to get the prized jewel - the bead. While hilarious at times and a VHD "cliche," it was a lot to keep track of. Actually, there were TOO many characters. Especially when it came to Twin and Shin, who had similar abilities of deception. There are some baddies that should have stayed dead the first time. No "till next time" *shakes fist*. No surprises.

I am also disappointed in how our female main character is handled at the end. We are with her for most of the two books, she can stand up on her own, and it's like she gets brushed away by the end. The reveal of what the bead is that set the whole chaotic story in motion falls flat and is not fully explained. Also, there is a certain vampire ailment that is elaborated in vol 1 as being forgotten by humans, but is used by one of the mercenaries.

I have the single book, and in the postscript dated (sadly) 2007, the author mentioned this particular story being up to being animated and one of the author's favorite. I say sadly because there has been a history of failed projects and attempts at making more animation. Personally, I don't think this particular story makes the cut. I believe any further VHD that is brought to life needs to stay in the vein of what they did with the Bloodlust animated film. More gothic, more vampires and noble intricacy. And please, please, more background and story about the man himself - D.

I will continue my own long journey through the VHD series. I hope to eventually find the volume that I can only dream of being animated.

[Vakaris the Nosferatu · Rating 4 out of 5]

all reviews in one place:
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu

About the Book: The fight for the mysterious bead left behind by the nobility continues, and is only growing worse, as everyone’s getting desperate for any kind of advantage. Against each other, and against the Vampire Hunter D himself. But that, seemingly, is not all there is threatening them, and their livelihood. After all, no one truly knows what that bead is, or what it does, no, not really. And so the short summer, celebrated by all in this strange little town by the sea, is growing ever colder, as the ocean just off the shore awakens…

My Opinion: This one’s got more action, scheming, plotting, and some proper attempts to dispatch of an enemy. Not so peaceful if you’re seeking a book to relax to, but so unusual and interesting, full of strange beings who are all pretty well thought out, with background stories, history, that it remains a great past-time. Some bits were a bit too much to be honest though, and at times it almost felt like I missed something, as author hurried along with the plot, and its deceptions, offering explanations much later on.

[MaskedSkull · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy emocionante esta 2da parte de la historia, sin embargo, siento que quizás tantos personajes que seguir resulto un tanto perjudicial y ese tiempo invertido en los "extras" podría haberse puesto en la pelea final, se sintió demasiado corta y no pudimos saborear el verdadero poder de este nuevo "noble", tenía mucha curiosidad si realmente podría ser un rival superior a D.

¿Saldrá alguna otra de esas misteriosas joyas en un futuro? OJALA pero con un mejor candidato xDD

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wrote at the end of my last Vampire Hunter D book review that I hoped that I could maintain my interest for the sequel, but to get it out of the way right now, I didn't.

The major problem in Mysterious Journey to the North Sea, Part Two is that it doesn't seem to follow much from Part One. Part One had a lot of questions about the place of the Nobility and the beauty of the nights vs. the fact that the Nobles' civilization was literally founded on blood. Part Two is mostly fight scenes and people running around trying to get a bead whose purpose is never clear until it's already been fulfilled.

That was my biggest complaint. One of the two central elements of the of the plot of both Parts One and Two is the bead. Everyone wants it. No one seems to know what it does, only that they want it because everyone wants it and so it must be valuable. D repeatedly says that he doesn't know what the bead does when asked. The bead keeps getting stolen, thrown away, retrieved, and stolen again, but it has no real import because for 99% of the narrative it's just a bauble. And then when it is used, it's just yet another way to turn into a Noble, which seems to be the goal of everyone in the world. It's a quick route to power, sure, but it's hard to imagine that humanity really has such a bone-deep fear if so many people think that becoming a Noble is the best and highest goal to which they could devote their lives.

I guess that's how the old civilization of the Nobility survived.

The second-biggest complaint is the fights. D novels often have fights where D wins easily and where nothing ever seems to threaten him. I've gotten used to this by now and don't really have a problem with it. Part Two seems to take this to heart, however, and even be embarrassed by it, to the point of inverting people. Opponents of D survive multiple times and often in ridiculous ways. One character gets stabbed through the heart multiple times and keeps coming back. Another gets thrown off a cliff into an ocean full of carnivorous fish and survives. One has his war machine carved into bits multiple times, repairs it, and returns. It doesn't make the actual fights any more dramatic, because D always wins easily, it just prolongs the conflict.

I did like the image of the week-long summer, though. When the Nobility ruled, they kept the land around the North Sea in eternal summer to facilitate their parties, and as their weather controllers have degraded over time the summer has gotten shorter and shorter until only a week remains, and eventually even that might be gone. A lot like cherry blossom season in Japan, which I expect was the inspiration.

Not disappointing exactly, but still a pedestrian end to a prominent beginning.

Previous Review: Mysterious Journey to the North Sea, Part One.
Next Review: The Rose Princess.

[Cicuta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every time I finish a Vampire Hunter D book, I can't help but think about the love and loath relationship I have with this series.
This book, including both volumes, was long. Unnecessarily long.
I'll stand by the opinion that this book could have been great; the plot had the potential to be a 4✧ rating worth book, had it not been for the un-overlookable flaws.
It was unneedingly stretched out just for the sake of writing something long; but this is exactly what ruined what could've been great.
The addition of so many pointless and flat characters who kept repeating more or less the same course of actions, just to keep the narrative going longer, almost made me give up on finishing this book. They all had the same aims and basically almost the same means to reach the former. And there were around 100 uninterrupted pages of narrative space dedicated to this. It felt like... Everlasting filler. Insufferable. I wanted to rate this 2.5 stars while trying to get through it.
And the constant switch of POV... Most characters (in both of the volumes) were there for nothing, and added equally nothing to the book if not meaningless pages.
Not to mention the hard to understand/follow narrative...
However, the last 80 pages were surprisingly a little bit better: there was finally some development; sadly, what would've made this book better was probably dedicated the shortest narrative space.
...
Why?
Even the oh so long awaited reveal of wtf the bead truly is... It was so brief and confusing; is it a joke?
Wasn't it for these last pages, were also some absurd but comical dialogue and comments were present thanks to Left Hand, this would've made me hate myself for wasting time on something so... Devoid of enjoyability.
But that's how we always feel after this series. Notwithstanding, I continue to read this series, for something inexplicably draws me to it in spite of the rage it gifts me.

Ps: one extra point for Su-in being so far the best female protagonist of this series. I want to see the others dead. Hopefully there are more like her and less lustful bitches, in the next novels.
:)

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I heard about Hideyuki Kikuchi's work on Vampire Hunter D, I first saw Yoshitaka Amano's concept art for the Final Fantasy series, among others and happened to like his work. Now that I've come across Hideyuki's work, I can kind of see what the fuss was all about.

This eighth volume was originally published in Japan back in 1988 by Asahi Sonorama Co with an English translation by Kevin Leahy with the two companies of DMP and Dark Horse comics being a great idea as more Western readers are interested in fantasy, horror and adventure Japanese style.

A man known only as D cloaked in black and brandishing a long sword cuts his way through vampires who can't wait to test his patience. School teacher, Su-In's grandfather has died and they need to make plans for the funeral and Ban'gyoh the holy man thinks D should change his mind, leave being a vampire killer behind and stay with him at the school and help teach the students. He doesn't like his relationship with Su-In, thinking it could only lead to ruin.

The anime came first, then the novels and later the manga. I must admit that I didn't get chance to see the anime or read the manga, but these novels are quite old being from the late 80's, and due to Leahy's translation sounds elongated with a lot of explanatory details. It is hard to read in places, and I can imagine that it would be better read in the manga.

One of the main interests for me was the PostScript where Hideyuki tells readers his thoughts on anime and manga and how he thinks the anime versions of his novels were well done and had his approval. It is these kind of insights that us readers wait for.

[Angel Tortora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Certainly "mysterious" but way too many characters that I've already forgotten about because their powers are either convoluted, poorly depicted, or forgettable altogether. Same tropes as every other novel in this series, with the setting carrying most of the intrigue in my opinion. Definitely not the worst the series had to offer but it highlights the formulaic nature of VHD, which is fun to read regardless! Just expected more from the ending I suppose...

Can we just get villains with ambiguous intentions whom hold morally grey ideals that make us want to root for them? Because nearly every villain in this series has been strictly evil except volume 3 and a small number of exceptions that are too forgettable to bring up here. Don't get me wrong, D is a great character even if he is flat and unchanging, but rooting for the same person every time sorta damages the quality of the rest of the plot.

[Crazed8J8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this was a lot to unpack. Picking up exactly where the first half left off, this novel finishes off the Mysterious Journey to the North Sea. There are a LOT of characters with a variety of unique powers, but what creativity...
The world of D grows by leaps and bounds with this set of novels. It was a bit drawn out, and some of the story was a bit difficult to follow as it jumped between characters 'speaking' and experiencing things, but all in all, it made sense.
The only drawback was the overall length, this could have been whittled down to one novel, but we learn more about D, his heritage and possible lineage, we learn more about the cantankerous caruncle, and a whole slew of new characters.
Listened to this via audiobook (non-dramatized), and the narrator once again did a great job.

[Jayme · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was a miss.

Feels like Kikuchi just experimented with how long he could keep a story going for, but for 200 pages it almost entirely lacks anything the final third of the previous entry achieved on its own. A lot of this felt very unnecessary. It's just fight scenes over and over, jumping around the cast of characters, all whose powers change too, becoming very messy and overdrawn.

This entire part two was unnecessary. Instead of a 165-page part one, and a 230-page part two, it should've just been a 200-page complete story with far less filler fight scenes that overstay their welcome by their 5th time.

This story started out as Smokin' Aces or The Hateful Eight and really ran out of steam very quickly. Will have to take a break from this series to reignite the interest.

[Ricardo Matos · Rating 2 out of 5]

And Hideyuki dropped the ball... the build up on the first novel was so great! There were so many unanswered mysteries that had so much potential. The author decided to fill the first 180 pages with pointless fighting... and then some more fighting and we're running out of pages... and finally add a couple of lines with some really poor explanations and a sappy ending.

On my review of the first part, I said I didn't understand why this hadn't been used for an anime movie like the author suggested in the afterword. Now I do! The second book is just bad! And in the afterword of this second part the author complains about how the anime producers aren't interested and hopes support from English fans can help... Doubt you'll get it!

[A.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a tiny - and I mean tiny - opportunity for the local people in this northern sea area to hold their summer festival, and to fish for more catches - and it is like three days? maybe four…

so NO ONE wants to stay inside and be safe from the evil assassins still trying to get the magic pearl.

If D rolled his eyes, that, too would be exceptionally pretty…

3 stars

(I am still pouty about the magic pearl - and not near as pretty as D)

[Bhiri (Maja) · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a few things that bugged me across this book, but I still found myself deeply immersed in the story and this one turned out to be a page-turner for me. The fact that the potential of some of the characters was disposed of in a rather disappointing manner keeps me from giving it 5 stars, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it and I keep revisiting the story in my mind often.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a somewhat complicated story as there were a lot of characters and a lot going on, but it still was very interesting. I think Vampire Hunter D is underrated as a franchise because the concepts in this series are beyond cool.

If you like horror and/or sci fi, you should give this series a try.

[OdinsRaven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed it! We get a little more D lore, and a glimpse of his mother right near the end. And as always, tempting little mentions of that ever mysterious HIM.

Su-In was interesting as far as female protagonists go, up there with Leila Marcus. And I was genuinely hooked trying to figure out what her connection to Baron Meinster.

[David Austin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this two-parter, just an insane amount of antagonists, even by this series’ standards. Creepy gang boss, and his five superpowered bounty hunters, angry warrior Glen with a jealous grudge, the professor who can control people by drawing them, the thief Toto, and then a weird seabound vamp.

[planetkimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, now that I've read the second volume (vol 8 is a continuation of the story in vol 7), I think this is my favorite VHD story so far. :)

[Daniel Callister · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than the others I’ve read. Hard to keep track of how many times everyone was killed

[Calw Walker · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were way too many fight scenes and I felt that it took away from the potential of fleshing out the dilemma of the entire story.

[Eric Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The storyline for these two books is fine. There's nothing really wrong with it. But did it really have to be two books long?

[Alexandru Simionescu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fuck Glen, the professor and that bitch Samon!
The only one I could respect was King Egbert, that guy had some aura ngl
And fuck that thief TOTO >|< hated him so much ugh

[Pascal · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 Stars. Could be a litlle snappier/needs a little editing. Starts immidiately after part one without much introduction of the characters or setting, so not to be read as a standalone.

[Lobstar · Rating 3 out of 5]

The two part series wasn't required. The story kept on going and it felt like the writer deliberately extended the fights just to make it a two parter series.

[Karissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 :-)