From classic novels to modern movies, the media has enchanted audiences with the seductive figure of the vampire for centuries. The fascination with these creatures of the night hasn’t faded one bit; in fact, a new adaptation of the classic Dracula-inspired Nosferatu just dropped in theaters this Christmas Day! Japanese animation is no exception to the love of sexy blood-sucking monsters. Here are 10 anime about vampires!
Vampire Knight (2008)
Before Twilight, we already had a story about a brunette girl becoming entangled in a love triangle with two supernatural beings. Instead of a vampire and a werewolf, though, Yuki Cross’s love interests are both vampires. This anime was one of the juggernauts of the 2000s and was many anime lovers’ first anime; however, I can’t recommend this series in good conscience without warning you that it does contain incest. (Although the anime doesn’t lean into it quite as heavily as the manga does, at least.)
This anime has 26 episodes split into two 13-episode seasons. Both seasons are available for streaming on Peacock in Japanese with English subtitles and on Hulu in sub and dub.
Karin (2005)
Based on the manga called Chibi Vampire, Karin is a romance anime about a girl who is essentially a reverse vampire: instead of drinking blood, Karin produces too much of it, so when she bites people it’s to give them her extra blood rather than to take their blood. Despite this condition, Karin tries her best to live the life of a normal high school girl, which includes falling in love with a normal—and human—high school boy.
This anime has 24 episodes. Unfortunately, it is currently unavailable for streaming in the United States.
Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase (2004)
The 2000s were chock-full of vampire romance anime! In Moon Phase, Kouhei Morioka, a photographer with a knack for capturing the supernatural on camera, is sent to a castle in Germany with the task of photographing a mysterious young girl. This “girl” turns out to be a 1300 year-old vampire named Hazuki. She bites Kouhei with the intention of making him her slave, only to find that he is immune to vampire bites. Despite not being bound to Hazuki by a blood pact, Kouhei decides to take her back to Japan with him.
This anime has 25 episodes plus 1 special. All 26 episodes are available for purchase on Amazon Prime in English dub.
Hellsing (2001)
If you’re not a fan of romance and prefer a darker, grittier portrayal of vampires, try Hellsing. The legendary Dracula, renamed Alucard in this series, has served a family of vampire hunters called the Hellsings for centuries after being defeated by their patriarch. As the most powerful vampire in the world, Alucard is an invaluable asset to the Hellsing Organisation’s mission to exterminate malevolent vampires and other dangerous supernatural creatures.
This anime has 13 episodes. There is also a 2006 remake called Hellsing Ultimate, which follows the plot of the original manga more closely than the 2001 series and has 10 episodes with a 49-minute runtime each. Both versions are available for streaming on Crunchyroll in sub and dub.
Seraph of the End (2015)
The protagonist turning into the enemy species is a fairly common trope in anime, such as Eren Jaeger becoming a titan in Attack On Titan or Denji becoming a devil in Chainsaw Man. In Seraph of the End, it’s the protagonist’s best friend rather than the protagonist himself that becomes a monster. This anime takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity is driven underground by their new vampire overlords. Believing that the vampires killed his best friend (when in reality they turned him into one of their kind), Yuichiro Hyakuya joins a vampire extermination unit to seek revenge against the monsters that slaughtered his adoptive family.
This anime has 24 episodes split into two 12-episode seasons, plus 1 OVA. The first season is available for purchase on Amazon Prime in Japanese.
The Case Study of Vanitas (2021)
The titular character of this show, Vanitas, is a human with a flippant personality despite his tragic past. In this world, vampires can be infected by a lethal condition called Malnomen that transforms them into curse-bearers, which are bloodthirsty berserkers with no sense of self. Vanitas possesses a mythical book with the ability to cure curse-bearers, and his goal is to save all vampires so that none are ever killed by Malnomen again.
This anime has 24 episodes. The full series is available for streaming on both Crunchyroll and Hulu in sub and dub.
Servamp (2016)
The seven deadly sins are personified in quite a few anime, including Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and, well, Seven Deadly Sins. In Servamp, the sins (including an eighth sin that was never meant to exist, Melancholy) are represented by vampires called Servamps. These vampires have the ability to form contracts with humans in exchange for access to their blood. The main character, a high school boy named Mahiru Shirota, accidentally forms a contract with the Servamp of Sloth after mistaking him for a stray cat.
This anime has 12 episodes plus 1 movie. The main 12 episodes are available for streaming on Crunchyroll in sub and dub.
Diabolik Lovers (2013)
If hot, sadistic anime men are your guilty (or not-so-guilty; no judgment here) pleasure, then Diabolik Lovers is the reverse harem for you. The depraved Sakamaki brothers put the protagonist, Yui Komori, through hell and use her as their personal blood bank, and all of them are twisted in their own special ways. The sequel, More, Blood, adds four more cruel vampires to the mix, contributing to Yui’s nightmare (or paradise, if this is the kind of thing you’re into).
This anime has 24 episodes with a 15-minute runtime each, split into two 12-episode seasons. It used to be available for streaming on Crunchyroll, but unfortunately was dropped from the service’s library in 2022.
Delico’s Nursery (2024)
Instead of using their fangs to suck blood, the vampires in Delico’s Nursery bite people to gain “initiative” over them, which essentially means they brainwash them into doing their bidding. After Dali Delico’s wife is bitten by an enemy vampire and killed before she can be forced to kill her own husband, Dali vows to raise their two sons with as much love and attention as possible. However, Dali also belongs to an agency that is tasked with investigating a string of murders that are being committed in an attempt to gain the attention of True of Vamp, the god-like entity that is the progenitor of all vampires. Dali and his colleagues therefore must try to balance fatherhood with saving vampirekind.
This anime has 13 episodes. The full series (plus a midway recap) is available for streaming on Crunchyroll in sub and dub.
Noblesse (2020)
Adapted from a popular WEBTOON, despite its appearances Noblesse is an unexpectedly hilarious comedy anime. When a pureblood vampire noble named Cadis Etrama Di Raizel wakes up from an 820-year sleep, his faithful, near-immortal human servant enrolls him in high school to teach him about the 21st century world. Raizel quickly grows to love his human classmates—and also ramen noodles. While his immense powers were once used exclusively to protect (and exterminate) fellow vampire nobles, he now also uses his strength to protect his new human friends.
This anime has 13 episodes plus 1 OVA. Both the main series and the prequel OVA are available for streaming on Crunchyroll in sub and dub.
