Anime: Nightwalker

NIGHTWALKER - THE COMPLETE SERIES (12)3 Discs (Distributor: MVM) Running time: 272 minutes approx.

The "Midnight Detective" Tatsuhiko Shido is not your average private detective and not just because he prefers to work nights. There is a very good reason for his nocturnal habits - Shido is a vampire. A repentant one, who turned to solving crimes in order to atone for his sins against humanity, but a vampire all the same, with the power to fashion weapons out of his own blood. This is probably just as well as Shido specialises in hunting demonic forces known as Nightbreeds, who take over vulnerable humans and turn them into killers. Aided by the sexy N.O.S Anti-NightBreeds crime unit officer Yayoi Matsunaga, who rewards Shido for help with her own blood, Shido's schoolgirl assistant Riho Yamazaki, whose family was murdered by Nightbreeds, and small fairy like creature named Guni, Shido must escape the shadow of his past before he can make a difference for the future.

Another trip to the anime vaults by MVM sees this 1998 series get a reissue for modern fans to enjoy. On the surface it may seem like a companion piece to Vampire Princess Miyu since it comes from the same period and aesthetically they are very similar. However Nightwalker is the superior show largely for only being twelve episodes and for having better stories.


Beginning life as an eroge video game entitled Mayonaka no Tantei Night Walker in 1993, this show is something of a curiosity due to its noticeably uneven presentation. The more observant viewer will notice that from episode five onwards the character designs change drastically, same for the opening and closing credits, the violence and nudity are severely toned down and little touches such as hitherto unseen eye-catches appear. This is because the original plan was to make a four part OVA but upon completion a full series was given the go ahead with an additional eight episodes rushed into production.

This makes the narrative appear slightly askew from what anime fans are used to. As we have seen many times before, the opening episodes of a show are dedicated to stand lone adventures largely to set the scene and introduce the characters before unleashing an overarching storyline. This is reversed with Nightwalker, with the first for (original OVA) episodes featuring a connecting plotline followed by the "monster of the week" chapters. This may seem a little distracting but nothing to detrimental.

The story that carries the opening episodes involves Shido being haunted by the presence of Cain, a senior vampire who has come to reclaim Shido and initiate a devastating campaign against humanity called Golden Dawn. As the two battle it out, Riho is caught in the middle and held hostage by Cain as a bargaining tool for Shido to pledge his allegiance to Cain. The potential for this arc to run longer than four episodes is palpable from the onset with so many intriguing facets to the relationship between Shido, Riho and Yayoi allowing for a suitably emotional climax. Such as it is, we are robbed of this and while some of the stand alone chapters are quite enjoyable and cover a number of interesting, if sometimes clich d themes, the opening story demands further exploration.

In a way we get this with the final two episodes we see the re-emergence of Cain who is still intent on bringing Shido back to the vampire realm, although the Golden Dawn is never mentioned again. An emotionally charged final episode looks at the relationship between Shido and Riho as well as raising some interesting questions about the truth behind Cain and Shido, ending in an awkwardly open manner which feels as though should have come earlier in the series. An unusual way to close the series for sure.

Shido is fascinating and well drawn character as a vampire with regrets for being what he is and his actions of the past. Even though Yayoi offers her blood to Shido when he needs it, he feels guilty and is often hesitant to accept it, since he seeks redemption from his blood sucking ways. Young Riho, who was given the job with Shido after her parents were killed, isn't aware that her beloved employer is in fact a vampire, thus her jealousy of the apparent intimacy between Shido and Yayoi is anathema to her. Thrown in the sprite-like Guni, who is mostly on hand for comic relief, and you have a unique and rather entertaining group of monster hunters. Sadly the women don't get too much development time across these twelve episodes, aside from a nice episode with Riho after she makes a huge sacrifice for Shido at the hands of Cain, but at least they are not reduced to eye candy and both have strong personalities and have some worth as Shido's partners.

On the animation front this show is very much a product of its time and hasn't held up too well although one gets used to it after a while. The production values are naturally higher in the opening episodes as explained earlier, but with the majority of the action taking place at night, the colour palette is a little messy at times in trying to reflect this. The designs of the nightbreeds in their natural form again recall the demons in Vampire Princess Miyu and other shows of this ilk but again, the night setting allows for some noticeable shortcuts in rendering them completely frightening.

For all its age related flaws, Nightwalker is a perfectly serviceable horror outing for those in need for a quick fix who don't mind the vintage production values. Being a more story driven and character driven affair it holds the attention better than many of its contemporaries would but remains a nostalgic curiosity at best.

Extras:

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