At some point, the western declined for reasons unknown, and when filmmakers tried the occasional revival, the cast and stories were always hopelessly flashy, so the genre never did make a complete recovery. At the very least, it was my wish to put some of what I found so fascinating about those old films into the Vampire Hunter D series. The speed and skill with which D draws his blade is reminiscent of the quick-drawing gunmen of the westerns. You should be able to clearly discern the influence of westerns in Mercenary Road. The book also pays tribute to another of my interests—the sprawling ancient battle scenes of the historical epics that Hollywood and Italian cinema made for a time. I won’t say exactly where I’ve done it, but those interested in such things will know them when they see them. And finding them is part of the pleasure of this book.
—
March 13, 2012
While watching Red River
Hideyuki Kikuchi
Mercenary Road Page 18