Japanese anime and manga often feature fiendish, blood-sucking vampire characters as dark antiheroes or terrifying villains, while others portray vampires as charming, surprisingly relatable and likable people, including cute vampire girls here and there. Vampires are more popular than ever in media, and anyone who loves stories about the occult or the supernatural are encouraged to try a handful of great vampire anime series.
While the powers, weaknesses, and origin myth/stories of vampires can change over the years according to each creator, vampires are always instantly recognizable as fanged children of the night, and anime fans can't get enough of it. In anime, there's plenty of room for reinterpretation of vampires or even desconstructions of them, from half-vampire antiheroes to vampires who have more in common with high school students than with the likes of Dracula and Nosferatu.
Update on May 17th, 2023 by Louis Kemner: we have updated and refreshed this list with more relevant and engaging material, including the addition of a few new vampire-themed anime series and trailers to get fans excited for what the best anime-themed anime series have to offer.
20 Blood-C
Though this anime is part of the Blood franchise released by Production I.G. it has no relation to the earlier Blood+. Actually, it's far darker than that 2005 series. Additionally, Blood-C's twist throws the life of protagonist Saya Kisaragi into a tailspin.
Saya has a Buffy vibe to her. By day, she's a high school student. By night, she battles creatures that feed on human blood called Elder Bairns. As these monsters begin to attack in the daytime, Saya realizes something isn't right with her environment. When she learns the truth, everything will be forever changed.
19 Vampire Princess Miyu
Vampire Princess Miyu actually has a thread of hope to it, no matter its fairly dark narrative. This is despite the main character, Miyu, wanting to remain in the darkness after she completes her quest. Still, her main goal is to provide a gift of eternal happiness to the human race.
She intends to do this by using her skills as a hybrid vampire— one of her parents is human— to hunt down and destroy evil demons known as Shinma. She does this with her best friend, Larva. In fact, in the original video animation (OVA) of Vampire Prince Miyu, it's Larva that saves his friend from letting her vampire blood kill her.
18 Karin
Karin Maaka, the protagonist of the series also known as Chibi Vampire, is the middle child in a family of vampires. However, she doesn't act like a normal representative of the undead. She goes out during the day, attends high school, and sees herself in the mirror.
The truth is, she doesn't even bite humans to take their blood. Karin makes too much of it, to the point she gets enormous nose bleeds. This gets worse when a new transfer student, Kenta, makes her blood race. Needless to say, Karin is a coming-of-age romantic comedy about a teenage vampire.
17 Shiki
Shiki isn't a bubbly anime about good-hearted vampires trying to adjust to normal lives. Based on a horror novel by Fuyumi Ono, it goes beyond the standards of the sub-genre. It explores survival in a world where good and evil can't be distinguished.
It starts with the death of Megumi Shimizu in a small Japanese village. This causes a pandemic that turns normal people into vampires who eventually call themselves the Shiki. As this happens, a doctor within the village commits to foregoing his humanity to see how he can stop the terror. He pairs up with an anti-social youth to keep things from collapsing into Armageddon.
16 Call Of The Night
Call of the Night is a vampire comedy anime that, for all its supernatural antics, has very grounded and relatable themes about finding one's purpose in life and the power of friendship. 8th grader protagonist Ko Yamori feels alienated from mainstream society, so he wanders the nighttime streets.
There, Ko will meet a playful rogue vampire named Nazuna Nakakusa, who takes a liking to him. She may be a vampire who loves the taste of Ko's blood, but her lifestyle isn't so glamorous after all. She feels lost and lonely, just like Ko, and she knows that finding happiness won't involve turning Ko into one of her own kind.
15 Seraph of the End: Battle in Nagoya
Seraph of the End is all about vampires. In fact, an entire cadre of the blood-suckers is ready to battle Tokyo's Demon Army. However, what the show is really about is an anime trope: the power of friendship.
Though he presumed his friend Mikaela was dead, Yuuichirou Hyakuya is finally reunited with this childhood companion. Unfortunately, Yuuichirous finds out Mikaela has been turned into a vampire. Now, with dozens of undead heading toward him and his Moon Demon Company, Yuuichirou is doubly determined to get stronger to help his friend and his comrades.
14 Rosario Vampire
In Rosario Vampire, Teenager Tsukune Aono discovers that it's tough to get into a good high school when someone like him has bad grades. His only hope is Youkai Academy, an institute that seems normal on the surface. However, it's filled with all forms of monsters in human form.
This includes the main character of the title: Rosario. Though she looks average, she's actually a vampire. Nevertheless, Tsukune endures and makes sure the staff of the academy doesn't know he's human. If they find out, then they'll follow the school's rules and execute him.
13 Blood Lad
Blood Lad isn't a teen hero in the Legion of Super-Heroes. Instead, he's Staz Charlie, a powerful vampire that rules a part of Demon World. However, he doesn't have the urge to drink any blood. On the contrary, the protagonist of Blood Lad would rather spend his time reading manga and playing video games.
One day, Staz meets Fuyumi Yanagi, a human girl that accidentally enters the portal to Demon World. She and Staz feel an immediate attraction. Unfortunately, an attack on his territory causes her death and transformation into a ghost. Joined by a magician and half-wolfman, Staz and Fuyumi journey across Demon World to find the magic to restore the girl's humanity.
12 Strike The Blood
Strike the Blood is based on a light novel series. Still, it has enough violent content that it was banned in China. This doesn't mean it's constant blood and core, however. Rather, Strike the Blood is a coming-of-age story shrouded in the supernatural. In the Demon District of Itogami Island, student Kojou Akatsuki gains the powers of a vampire after a fateful incident.
It's later revealed that he's the Fourth Primogenitor, an extraordinary being of legend. To ensure Kojou doesn't take over the world, a secret society sends an apprentice sword-shaman to keep watch and kill him if needed. Though there's animosity, Kojou and the apprentice team up to battle Itogami Island's numerous creatures.
11 Servamp
Anime vampires come in all shapes and sizes. Some are intent on ruling whatever world they reside in. Others would rather sit around and do nothing.
Such is the case in Servamp. High school student Mahiru Shirota picks up a stray cat on the way home and names it Kuro. One day, he finds a young man sitting on his couch instead of the cat. When Mahiru accidentally exposes the boy to sunlight, he transforms back to Kuro. Thus begins a journey between the amazed boy and the lazy-for-nothing vampire.
10 Noblesse: Awakening
This half-hour-long OVA is based on Noblesse, a South Korean web manhwa (digital comic) written by Son Jeho. Centuries ago, the "nobles," an olden race of undying supernatural human-resembling creatures that were admired as sovereigns and gods, thrived. Amid the nobles was the "Noblesse," a prevailing individual cloaked in obscurity called Cadis Etrama di Raizel, or "Rai."
Upon arising in South Korea after an 820-year-long slumber, Rai embarks to track down his faithful and dedicated servant, Frankenstein, whom he finds as the present director of Ye Ran High School. Rai registers as a student to understand life in the contemporary world.
9 Black Blood Brothers
Black Blood Brothers is based on the light novels by Kohei Azano. It narrates the tale of the Mochizuki Brothers, Jirou and Kotaro. They are Old Blood, the final and only descendants of a formidable line of vampires. Jirou was the hero of the Holy War, the man who singlehandedly defeated the Kowloon Children (powerful vampires).
When the pair realize that some of the Kowloon Children survived and they want to enter the “Special Zone” (an affluent city shielded by a concealed barricade), they decide to re-enter the battle. Things become even more challenging when Kotaro is captured by the Kowloon. From there, Jirou goes to any lengths to rescue his brother.
8 Trinity Blood
This twenty-four-episode anime, based on the light novels by Sunao Yoshida, follows Abel Nightroad. He's a Crusnik, a vampire surviving on vampires’ blood. Nine centuries after a bloody struggle between vampires and humans, the world has been divided into two fronts that continue to engage in a Cold War between the Vatican and the New Human Empire.
Nevertheless, most yearn for a harmonious co-existence between humans and vampires. Abel fights on the Vatican’s side while opposing the Rosenkreuz Orden, a community of fanatics who manipulate the two blocs for their own goals.
7 Blood+
The Blood+ anime initially takes place in 2005 Okinawa, Japan and was an original anime inspired by the film Blood: The Last Vampire. The protagonist, Saya Otonashi, lives a happy life with her adoptive family as a regular schoolgirl. However, she has no memory of her past or her biological family.
Still, her life is transformed forever after being assaulted by a Chiropteran, a bat-like monstrosity that survives by drinking human blood. Saya discovers she is the single person who can defeat them as her blood is poison to them. She decides with her buddies to cleanse the world of the Chiropterans and learn about her origins.
6 Seraph Of The End
This 24-episode anime is based on the homonymous manga series by Takaya Kagami. Yuichiro, a 16-year-old boy, has dedicated his life to killing vampires to seek vengeance for certain events that took place four years prior.
In 2012, a manufactured virus depletes the world from populations above 13 and allows vampires to emerge from the depths of the earth and subjugate humanity. Only a few gain “protection” by providing the vampires with blood. Yuichiro (at 12), in an attempt to escape from the orphanage he lived in with his friends, barely escapes with his life and sees his friends murdered before his eyes.
5 Castlevania
This brilliant and spectacular Netflix original of gore and action is based on the game of the same name by Konami. When the human wife of Dracula is burned at the stake for supposed witchcraft, he unleashes demons upon Romania to exact his revenge.
Trevor Belmont, an excommunicated and disgraced monster hunter, joins forces with Sypha Belnades, a powerful magician and Speaker, and Adrian Tepes/Alucard, the dhampir son of Dracula who opposes his tactics. As Dracula raises his army of powerful vampire warlords in Castlevania's story, the odds seem stacked against the three protagonists, but they won't stop fighting until Wallachia is free from Dracula's grasp.
4 Vampire Hunter D
Vampire Hunter D is primarily a novel series dating back to 1983, though the franchise does have various adaptations, including audio dramas, a video game in 1999, a manga series in 2007, and two anime movies. In fact, the first Vampire Hunter D is a cult classic that any vampire fan should check out.
Vampire Hunter D's story is dark, taking place in a post-apocalytpic setting after a horrendous nuclear war, not unlike the Fallout games. Many brutal monsters and people roam this desolate landscape, including the half-vampire protagonist known simply as D. He's a gritty, lonely antihero with vast powers, which may make these anime movies highly appealing to seinen fans.
3 Vampire Knight
The 26-episode Vampire Knight anime is based on a shojo manga series of the same name. Written by Matsuri Hino, the story follows protagonist Yuki Cross, a high school-aged Guardian against vampires, a student of the Cross Academy, and the daughter of its Headmaster, Kaien Cross.
Yuki is a human highly trained to hunt vampires. Simultaneously, she's also in a love triangle with two vampires. These are Zero Kiryu, Yuki’s adoptive brother and vampire hunter who grew up as human but was transformed by an undead bite, and Kaname Kuran, a pureblood original vampire who saved Yuki when she was little.
2 Dance In The Vampire Bund
The 12-episode Dance in the Vampire Bund anime is an adaptation of the manga by Nozomu Tamaki. Mina Țepeș, Princess-Ruler of all vampires, has established The Bund, an artificial island off the coast of Tokyo. It's built by the Japanese government for vampires to live peacefully while their existence is hidden from humans.
Following a talk show that reveals their existence, Mina expresses her wish for harmonious, even friendly, co-existence. However, prejudiced humans and extremist vampires get in the way of resolution between the races. Mina has to defend The Bund against enemies and continue to fight for justice and peace.
1 Hellsing Ultimate
This 10-episode OVA adaptation is the second anime adaptation of the Hellsing manga by Kouta Hirano. It's a follow-up to the previous 13-episode run that aired between 2001 and 2002. In the end, Hellsing Ultimate was conceived as a more faithful adaptation than its predecessor (even though the first anime was excellent, too).
The story follows the Royal Order of Protestant Knights founded by Abraham Van Hellsing and now run by his descendant Sir Integra Hellsing, a formidable woman and vampire hunter. She's joined by Alucard, a mysterious and vastly powerful ancient vampire on her side, and his sidekick, newly turned vampire Seras Victoria, as they fight supernatural enemies that try to take over England.
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