Watching classic Hollywood movies featuring blood-sucking vampires has always been a thrilling experience since our childhood days. Now that vampires films are well past their peak days, the anime industry is gradually adopting this ‘age-old formula of success.’ It’s no surprise that some vampire anime gained a groundbreaking response from the fans and progressively emerged as a whole new genre.
Like many others, I started exploring vampire anime with Castlevania and was instantly hooked by it. Vampire anime not only brings back the good old nostalgia of classic 90s films but also blends it with the intense storyline, eyegasmic animation, and jaw-dropping action scenes. In case you want to start with vampire anime, we have brought you the top ten list, and each of them is a complete package of entertainment. Just try not to blame me if you don’t feel like going back to the typical shonen genre after completing this list.
10. The Case Study of Vanitas
Didn’t expect such a recent anime to make a place in this list? You won’t be surprised after you complete its first season. Vanitas no Carte or The Case Study of Vanitas is a perfect balance of comedy, thriller, mystery, romance, and every other thing that you expect from a vampire show. Apart from that, the anime gifted us with some of the most beautifully animated scenes we have seen this year. Despite the show’s not so conventional storyline, fans loved it so that that the next season is already under production and is expected to hit anime silver screens by Winter 2022.
The story revolves around the mysterious ‘Book of Vanitas’ created by the Blue Moon Vampire himself to bring extinction upon the entire vampire race. But surprisingly, a human named Vanitas shows up with this book and claims to be a vampire doctor. Is he really trying to save the vampires? Find it out yourself by watching the anime.
9. Vampire Knight
Just like many other schools in Asia, the Cross Academy is divided into day and night shifts. But the only catch here is, the night classes are exclusively for the infamous blood-sucking vampires. Well, I do appreciate the attempt to enable education for vampires too, but does it really solves all the problem? Can these two naturally opposite species ever co-exist peacefully? I don’t think that would be so easy.
The arrangements are all well and good, but it seems that the vampires haven’t renounced their murderous mindset towards humans and vice versa. The protagonist, Yuki, is caught up in a situation where one wrong step can lead to something worst than death. Moreover, she wants to know about her past and how she ended up here. Although it’s an anime from 2008, it has everything that the anime audience is searching for today.
8. Strike the Blood
Strike the Blood takes us to a futuristic world where you can see a man-made island just for vampires to rule over. It revolves around Kojo Akatsuki, a normal vampire boy suspected of being the Fourth Progenitor, a powerful vampire that could potentially disrupt the power balance among the world’s three ruling progenitors. The story may sound like that of Avatar: The Last Air Bender series, but these two shows are poles apart in every other aspect.
Initially, Kojo was an ordinary high schooler before becoming a vampire and is reluctant to use the powers which he barely controls. His peaceful life turned upside down as he started realizing his significance.
7. Blood Lad
This story revolves around the most powerful vampire named Staz in the Demon World, but unlike other vampires, he doesn’t enjoy drinking human Blood and rather prefers to live like a typical otaku. However, this laid-back story gets interesting when Staz when Fuyumi Yanagi’s ghost starts haunting him at night, thereby making it his top priority to bring.
Unlike most vampire series that resume the old version of blood-thirsty vampires, Blood Lad is quite unique in showcasing the characters. It poured some cuteness and sense of humor into the characters, making them more acceptable to the new generation.
6. Seraph of the End
You can say that this show was years ahead of its time from the fact that it is set in a world that has been terrorized by a deadly virus. Well, the post-apocalyptic situation is far worse in the anime since the virus killed most of the human population, leaving only children of age 13 or less alive. Meanwhile, the vampires make the most of this chaotic situation to gain control over the world.
In this new world ruled by vampires, children are treated as livestock, where they are forced to serve the vampires. One such survivor, Yuichiro Hyakuya, joins a veteran vampire-killing unit and sets out to rid the world of evil vampires.
This show draws attention to the dark side of humanity, where children are often considered incompetent. Apart from its unique outlook, the anime has top-notch fight scenes, overpowered villains, and just enough humor to break the heaviness of the story. Although fans are a bit upset about its abrupt ending, it’s still worth giving a shot.
Also Read: Castlevania Spin-Off Is Officially Announced: Everything To Know
5. Bakemonogatari
Bakemonogatari follows the life of Koyomi Araragi, a high-schooler who barely survives a vampire attack but somehow manages to retain his sanity. This just keeps getting worse from here. Koyomi gets involved with a gang of girl with strange intentions, ultimately prompting him to resort to supernatural guidance.
The anime highlights real-life issues like bullying in school, teenage depression, family problems, etc., thereby making it stand out from any other generic vampire anime.
4. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
George Joestar, a son of a rich man who was living a very comfortable life until one fateful day when he acquires an adopted brother named Dio, who makes most other villainous vampires look pretty tame. Dio seeks to usurp Joestar and steal the family fortune, but this already malicious plan becomes much more when he uncovers a mysterious stone mask with ancient powers.
Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure is the most ‘anime’ anime that ever exist. In other words, if you are looking for a show that has hype in almost every other scene, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is the show you should go with. I guess you have figured that much out by now, considering that the internet is always flooded with Jojo memes. I could have placed it a bit higher up in the list but didn’t because it isn’t a typical vampire anime and rather consists of too many other elements to focus on.
3. Shiki
Shiki is undoubtedly the creepiest vampire anime on this list, and if you want to watch a vampire anime just for its horror elements, Shiki should be your go-to option any day. It revolves around a small rural town called Sotoba, which becomes the site of a number of grizzly deaths. The mystery intensifies with the arrival of the mysterious Kirishiki family, and it soon becomes apparent that supernatural forces are at work.
There’s no doubt that the kirishiki family hides a very dreadfully secret and almost looks like they are living corpses. The anime is filled with spooky music, graphic scenes, and a sense of eerieness throughout, so don’t forget to have someone beside you while you watch it.
2. Hellsing Ultimate
Vampires are scary, true, but possess an array of superpowers that are often not fully utilized. Helling Ultimate is an anime that revolves around an organization dedicated solely to hunting down supernatural creatures with the help of powerful vampires like Alucard, who are ready to fight against their own kind. I am telling from experience that the anime will make you question the concept of good and evil.
From Alucard to the newly turned vampire Seras Victoria, all the characters are extremely well-written and fit perfectly in the story. The series is full of massive plot twists, and you may never know what will or can happen next.
1. Castlevania
As I said in the very beginning, Castlevania is the show that made me fall in love with vampire anime, so seeing its name at the top shouldn’t be much of a surprise. It is based on the classic video game, the story of a vampire hunter named Trevor Belmont and how he saves the human world. He teams up with the magician Sypha Belnades and the extraordinary vampire Alucard and forms the invincible trio whom even Dracula couldn’t beat.
Action fans get ready to be hyped up as Castlevania has some of the most incredible fight scenes in any vampire anime. Who would have thought that a character could look this cool just with a pair of a whip and a shortsword can look this cool? Miraculous artwork, well-choreographed fight scenes, and engaging music make the anime an absolute treat to watch.
Also Read: 10 Anime Like Castlevania That You Should Watch
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