What was Yoshitaka Amano's role in the 1985 Vampire Hunter D film?

The 1985 Vampire Hunter D, directed by Toyoo Ashida and released in Japanese cinemas on December 21, 1985, adapted Kikuchi's first novel for the screen. Amano, the novels' illustrator, was brought in as character designer, and the film's theatrical poster was designed by him.

The credit needs a footnote. Ashida, who also served as animation director, supplied alternative designs of his own, and the animators combined elements from both artists to reach the final cast. Some faces on screen are Amano's; others are Ashida's reading of Amano. D himself survives the transfer best, because his silhouette was already a single strong shape that could not be softened.

Amano has said in interviews that he was not pleased with the final product. The film still made history of another kind: it was one of the first anime movies released outside Japan, which means that for many Western viewers in the early 1990s it was the first Amano art they ever saw, years before Final Fantasy taught them his name.