When you think of vampires, the first thing that comes to mind is usually the Twilight saga. But the truth is that you don’t have to fall under the teen romance spell to enjoy a good anime about vampires. Some of the best vampire anime of all time are action-packed, some are downright scary, and others are surprisingly romantic. However, they all have one thing in common: they’re all absolutely engrossing.
Vampires are a staple of pop ure – from books and comics to movies and television. While there are modern takes on the blood-sucking creatures, such as True Blood and Twilight, the anime world has its fair share of vampires as well. From manga to anime, here are the top vampire anime of all time.
#20: Vampire Princess Miyu
“Vampire Princess Miyu” is a horror anime that made its debut in 1988. Its central character is Miyu Hoshino, a girl born in the late 19th century and turned into a vampire at age 14. She is very prone to mischief.
Her character is based on the Japanese folktale “Banchō Sarayashiki,” which tells the story of a girl who was turned into a vampire after drinking water from a well that was contaminated with the blood of antook the life of criminal.
#19: Blood-C
Blood-C focuses on Saya Kisaragi, an outwardly normal girl who serves as a shrine maiden to a country town; in reality, she is a skilled swordswoman charged by her father to defeat Elder Bairns, monsters who feed on human blood.
As her battles grow more desperate and more people she cares for fall sufferer to the Elder Bairns, Saya begins finding faults in her reality and eventually uncovers a disturbing truth about herself, the town, and her surviving friends.
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#18: Vassalord
Vampires Charles J. Chrishunds (Charley) and Johnny Rayflo have a strange relationship. Charley is a cyborg vampire mix and a vampire hunter for the Vatican. At the same time, his master Johnny enjoys a playboy lifestyle.
While fighting offenses involving vampires, Charley struggles to control his lust for blood and for Johnny. In contrast, Johnny (previously known as Addie before becoming a vampire) delights in enticing his servant and attempts to deal with issues from his own past. Johnny cares about Charley (also known as Cherry and Chris), and the feelings don’t seem to be one-sided.
#17: Chibi Vampire
“Chibi Vampire” is a 13 episode anime television series that aired in Japan from July to December 2006. Its sequel, “Chibi Vampire Sora,” aired in Japan from April to September 2007. Both series are based on the manga by Yuna Kagesaki. The series, which has been described as a “parody romance comedy,” centers around Karin, a vampire hunter who is not a vampire herself. She is one of the few humans who can see such beings, as they usually appear invisible to non-vampires.
#16: Shiki
The story of Shiki is a fascinating vampire thriller that blends the horror of the vampire genre together with a classic loss of life mystery. The story follows the residents of a small village in the Japanese countryside of Sotoba.
Throughout the story, the residents begin to lose one’s life of a mysterious disease that leaves bite marks on their necks. The story focuses on the two lead characters, Natsuno Yuuki and Toshio Ozaki, as they try to figure out what is going on with the disease.
#15: Dance In The Vampire Bund
Dance In The Vampire Bund is the story of 17-year-old Akira, who has rescued from a vampire attack by a vampire herself, Mina Tepeş. Mina is the leader of a group of vampires known as the “Wanderer’s Association.” She now takes it upon herself to protect Akira from other vampires and ensure him a normal high school life.
#14. Rosario Vampire
Rosario Vampire is an anime series based on the manga of the same title by Akihisa Ikeda. The series revolves around Tsukune Aono, a boy who accidentally enrolls in a school for monsters. He must live with a female vampire named Moka Akashiya, a female Japanese monster named Yukari Sendo, a male werewolf named Kurumu Kurono, and a female witch named Ruby Tojo.
#13: Vampire Hunter D
Vampire Hunter D is an anime that’s a mix between comedy and action. This movie follows the story of a young vampire hunter and his encounter with various characters. The main character is a young boy named D, whose father was took the life of by a vampire. The movie is filled with a lot of humor and action, taking place in a fantasy world.
#12: Black Blood Brothers
During a war called the Hong Kong Crusade, an Old Blood vampire, Jiro Mochizuki, a.k.a. the Silver Blade (Gintō), fought and defeated the Kowloon king and most of the Kowloon Children. Ten years later, Jiro heads to Hong Kong with his younger brother, Kotaro Mochizuki, in hopes of reaching The Special Zone, a thriving secret city where Vampires live-(which is separate from the civilized human parts of the town).
They soon realize that a plan to infiltrate the Special Zone is being hatched by the Kowloon Children survivors. As they travel to The Special Zone, Jiro encounters enemies from the past and new threats that may endanger the Special Zone’s safety, including the citizens. Kotaro’s abduction, by one of the Kowloon Children, thrusts him even further into the battle. Along the way, he meets a human girl named Mimiko.
#11: Blood+
Blood+ was a Japanese anime series based on the Blood series of novels by author Seimaru Amagi. The first season aired in Japan on TV Asahi from October 5, 2004, to March 28, 2005. The anime is about a powerful young vampire named Saya Otonashi who, along with her companions Haji, Kenta, and Suguru, hunts vampires in a world where such creatures exist.
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#10: Servamp
If you’re a fan of vampires and similar creatures, you probably know that they have many shapes. Some of them are very similar to humans. Some of them have completely different appearances.
Servamp is a series that shows vampires with unique characters and personalities. The main character is Mahiru Shirota, a seemingly ordinary guy who is a high school student and a member of a local boxing club. He is an ordinary guy, but he has a secret.
Mahiru accidentally formed a temporary contract with one of the seven vampires that represent the Seven Deadly Sins.
#9: Strike The Blood
Strike the blood is a supernatural action anime based on the light novels by Gakuto Mikumo and The Dynasty of Sorrow. The show was produced by Silver Link and aired on Tokyo MX in 2013. Strike the blood follows Kojou Akatsuki’s adventures, a first-year high school student who is the son of a world-famous vampire.
However, Kojou is the first vampire to be born with a human’s humanity (referred to as a Dhampir in the anime). Kojou is continuously questioned by the Japanese government about his identity, so he transfers to a new school in hopes of escaping the pressures of his role as the son of the Fourth Progenitor.
#8: Blood Lad
Blood Lad is the first anime produced by the studio, Doga Koba. It is based on a manga of the same name, written by Yuuki Kodama.
The anime was directed by Masahiko Ohta, who had previously directed the shows Naruto Shippuden and Bleach. The scripts were written by Jun Maekawa, who was the scriptwriter for the Ghost Hunt anime.
The anime tells the story of a boy named Staz and his adventures in thefallen angel world. He is searching for his father and finds him in the form of a vampire. The anime is a mix of comedy and action.
#7: Trinity Blood
Trinity Blood (also known as Gekkou no Carnevale in Japan) is a 26-episode anime series based on the Trinity Blood manga series by Sunao Yoshida. While the anime was co-produced by Gonzo and the Bee Train studio and first aired on Japan’s WOWOW network in 2004, a different studio later adapted the manga to anime. A third team made a Trinity Blood OVA series.
#6: Noblesse: The Awakening
Noblesse: The Awakening is a 2015 Vampire anime series based on the Noblesse manhwa written by Son Jeho. As the series is based on the manhwa, the plot is mostly the same, with a few changes in events.
The anime is set in the fictional world of Cadis, where humans and vampires co-exist. Rai is considered the strongest vampire ever to exist due to the level of his powers. He has an attendant named Frankenstein, who was created by Rai himself. Rai attends a high school to fit in with the humans.
#5: Diabolik Lovers
Diabolik Lovers is a 13-episode anime series based on the game of the same name. The story’s protagonist is Yui Komori, who transfers to a private Catholic school for girls after her mother remarries.
Yui’s new home, Sakurami High School, was once attended by three vampire brothers named Kanato, Ayato, and Laito, who committed a massacre on the school’s students ten years ago. To Yui’s surprise, the three brothers are still at the school, and they have chosen her as the “angel” to fulfill their “love triangle” fantasy.
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#4: the nether regionsing Ultimate
Hellsing Ultimate is an anime series that is both an alternate retelling and a sequel to the anime series the nether regionsing. The series is a combination of three projects. The first project, the nether regionsing Ultimate, is a thirteen-episode anime series that premiered in Japan on October 10, 2012.
The second project is a manga series that began serialization in Shōnen Jump magazine on December 21, 2011. The third project is a video game for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable, released on March 13, 2012.
When Dracula was took the life of in the 1500s, the vampire Alucard, Dracula’s son, is locked away for many years. However, when a young policewoman named Seras Victoria sees her partner took the life of by vampire Alucard, she unlocks him and becomes her servant. Seras and Alucard have many adventures, fighting against vampires. As they travel, they are being followed by a priest called Alexander Anderson, an taker of lives of the Catholic Church.
#3: the nether regionsing
The plot follows the anti-hero, Alucard, a vampire with a human soul who works for the nether regionsing, an organization specializing in dealing with supernatural threats. (However, not all members of the organization are aware that he is a vampire.) Together with a policewoman named Seras, a former vampire named Pip, and a vampire named Arthur, Alucard combats vampires, ghouls, and other supernatural foes.
#2: Vampire Knight
Vampire Knight centers on Yuki Cross, a student at Cross Academy. Yuki’s parents were took the life of by a vampire when she was very young. So she was adopted by the headmaster of the academy. On her first day of school, Yuki meets Zero Kiryu, a vampire who is the academy’s headmaster’s adopted son and who only hunts vampires. Yuki and Zero become vampire hunters at the academy. A vampire hunter is a trained vampire-hunter whose task is to protect humans from vampires that are on the loose.
#1: Seraph The End
The series is set in a world where a virus has wiped out most of humanity, allowing vampires to enslave the rest of the human race. It tells the story of an orphaned boy named Yūichirō Hyakuya trying to rid the world of the vampires by joining the Japanese Imperialfallen angel Army.
Years ago, a lethal virus spread across the world, wiping out most of humanity and allowing vampires to enslave the remainder of the human race.
For the next four years, Yūichirō Hyakuya and his fellow orphans at the Hyakuya Orphanage are treated as livestock, only allowed to live for their blood. Desperate for freedom, Yūichirō and his best friend Mikaela hatch a plan to escape with their family to the outside world, hopefully, free from vampires—only for their attempts to end in tragedy.
As the only one to make it out alive, Yūichirō joins the Japanese Imperialfallen angel Army — Japan’s only hope against the vampires — to exact revenge on the vampires who took the life of his family.
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