Left Hand is the fictional character

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 of a symbiote

Symbiosis

Symbiosis is close and often long-term interaction between different biological species. In 1877 Bennett used the word symbiosis to describe the mutualistic relationship in lichens...

 lodged in the hand of the character D

Vampire Hunter D

is a series of Japanese novels written by Hideyuki Kikuchi and illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano since 1983.To date, twenty-two novels have been published in the main series, with some novels comprising as many as four volumes...

, first introduced in the series of eighteen novels of Hideyuki Kikuchi

Hideyuki Kikuchi

is a Japanese author famous for his horror novels. His most famous works including the Vampire Hunter D series, Darkside Blues and Wicked City. He has been compared to both Stephen King and H. P. Lovecraft.-Biography:...

 called Vampire Hunter D. There currently are, in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, nine novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

s out with more scheduled for translation. The first and third novels have been made into movies, and Left Hand has appeared in both, albeit quite different. He is voiced by Ichirō Nagai

Ichiro Nagai

is a male seiyū from Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture. He was formerly represented by Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society, but is now represented by Aoni Production.-Television animation:*Akuma-kun *Bikkuriman...

 in both the 1985 film

Vampire Hunter D (1985 film)

Vampire Hunter D - one of the first anime films released outside of Japan, remains a cult classic in the English-speaking world...

 and Bloodlust

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust

is a 2000 anime film written and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. The film is based on Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D novels, D - Demon Deathchase.The film began production in 1997 and was completed with the intention of being shown in American theaters...

. In the English dubs, he is voiced by Kirk Thornton

Kirk Thornton

Kirk Thornton is an American voice actor.-Bio:He is known for playing tough or grouchy men in English-dubbed anime and video games. His career includes Hotohori in Fushigi Yūgi and Jin in Samurai Champloo...

 in the original and Michael McShane in the sequel.

Suspicions abound as to what exactly the left hand is. He is referred to in the third book as being a part of the same species as one of the Barbaroi. Left Hand belongs to a species of (normally) malevolent parasites that inhabit different parts of the human body. Despite this, Left Hand is as unique in his abilities among his people as D is among other Dhampir. Whether this is due to being in the body of a Dhampir or that he was a servant of D's father is unknown.

Left Hand, does though perform many important duties in the story. He uses to D's advantage his special psychic

Psychic

A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...

 abilities, and often extracts truth

Truth

Truth has a variety of meanings, such as the state of being in accord with fact or reality. It can also mean having fidelity to an original or to a standard or ideal. In a common usage, it also means constancy or sincerity in action or character...

 and veritable bits of information that aid D on his wanderings. There are times when Left Hand must 'recharge' or regain his/its strength in order to perform. At these times D must combine wind, earth, fire and water for Left Hand to devour.

In the very first book D is staked and essentially killed/drained of all life. His left hand comes to his rescue (though it was severed from the arm) and eats a mound of soil

Soil

Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...

 that itself digs from the ground, and sucks in a large amount of air. It mildly complains of how long it will take due to having only two of the four, (that would be the elements required). This eventually brings D back to life.

In the later novels the more psychic aspects of Left Hand are revealed, as is the power of said Hand.

In terms of personality, Left Hand tends to be a stark contrast to the stoic D, often making sarcastic remarks or cracking jokes. The two appear to have been together a long time as Left Hand talks about D's heritage and past though D often quickly shuts him up if he tries to mention his father.