Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2001) is Yoshiaki Kawajiri's cult Japanese anime, and you can watch online on iFILM. It's set in a far future where vampire nobles are dying out and hunting them has become a trade.

A wealthy family hires the mercenary D to bring back their abducted daughter, Charlotte — alive or dead. The catch: her captor isn't a feral beast but the vampire lord Meier Link, and she may have left with him willingly. A rowdy rival crew, the Marcus brothers, is chasing the same bounty, so D has to fight both the undead and the competition. He's a dhampir, half-human and half-vampire, and the wisecracking face embedded in his left palm never shuts up.

Adapting Hideyuki Kikuchi's novels, Kawajiri shoots it like a gothic western — castles, airships, werewolves and a mournful love story instead of mindless brawling. The hand-drawn animation is dense and grim, with no concession to a kid-friendly rating. It lands hardest with fans who grew up on the mature anime of the turn of the millennium. Stream Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2001) online on iFILM.