The Stuff of Dreams is yet another bit of the map in the atlas of the Vampire Hunter D universe, one where we see the first real test of the strength of D’s spirit instead of just his sword. The book gives us a new facet of the D mythology and explore it through a character we’ve come to know well—even if the sum total of D’s reactions to things is still stolid indifference. He’s more a mirror of his surroundings than an active hero, anyway, a catalyst for things to go wrong. He disturbs the equilibrium of evil more than he righteously seeks out the good. And while I’d rather see a character who’s more proactive than that, Hideyuki Kikuchi wraps enough goings-on around him to make him interesting by proxy.