Postscript

(from the original Japanese edition)

When you hear of a solitary island, you think there must be “something” there. In the case of the movie King Kong, that “something” is dinosaurs; in the L.P. Hartley short story “Podolo” it’s a black bakeneko cat monster (of sorts); and in the manga “Higanjima,” it’s vampires. Since the majority of islands belong to someone, when uninformed people (or even informed ones) come ashore on one, we can’t really expect things to go well for them. Though it’s said there’s no longer anywhere on Earth for strange creatures to inhabit, that’s clearly a lie. The world still has its Terra incognita. And if there weren’t such “parts unknown,” we’d make some. That’s what writers do.

That’s why this Vampire Hunter D story has sort of an interesting set-up. As the title suggests, he and the heroine go to an island where—well, you’ll just have to read it for yourself. Readers’ cries of rage will carry all the way to my house, I imagine. However, for all that, someone more than makes up for it with their efforts. They work so hard, readers are sure to be left speechless, and this person might grab more of the spotlight than D. And there’s another angle. What happens when you fall in love with D? Well, I suppose most of you can imagine, but this time . . . In other words, there’s a whole lot of D going on. I hope you enjoy it.

What’s more, at the end of June, I attended Anime Expo in America with Ms. Takaki, who’s handling the Vampire Hunter D comic adaptation. I’ve never taken part in that sort of event in Japan, so I really can’t compare, but I think the fans were very excited. The two signings in particular were so popular they quickly went over the two hundred person limits. In addition to the D series, other books will be published in America, including a possible translation of another big title. And there’s also the associated merchandise. I’ll talk more about that at a later date. At any rate, three cheers for America!

An August day, 2008

While watching The Most Dangerous Game (1932)

Hideyuki Kikuchi