The vampires you find in anime are both familiar yet not. Unlike ninjas and yokai, which are inspired by Japanese culture, vampires are creatures of the dark rooted in European folklore—and it's interesting to see how anime approaches this character type.
Anime vampires are often modernized with cool and classy outfits, able to blend in with their respective societies and slip right by without turning any heads. But most of all, they're charming and likable.
Vampires can appear in any genre of anime, even if they mainly feature in horror and dark fantasy series. That makes sense, of course, since vampire tales often involve gratuitous blood and violence.
Here are my picks for the best vampire characters I've seen in anime and why they're so memorable!
16. Staz Charlie Blood (Blood Lad)
Staz Charlie Blood isn't your ordinary vampire character. Though he's a powerful vampire who rules the Eastern District of the Demon World, he's pretty much the same as normal humans like us.
Instead of wanting more power and feasting on human blood, he indulges himself in manga, video games, and anime—you know, the typical otaku lifestyle. To prove he's a die-hard manga and anime fan, he even almost used the famous Kamehame Wave!
15. Adrian "Alucard" Tepes (Castlevania)
Adrian "Alucard" Tepes is the son of Dracula and a human mother, making him a dhampir (a vampire-human hybrid). Just like his father, Alucard grieves the death of his mother—but unlike his father, he vows to protect humanity against his father's evil plan.
While he inherited his father's intellect and deadly battle prowess, he has the kindness that he inherited from his mother. That perfect blend of power and kindness is what earns him a spot on this list.
14. Yoshino Soma (Bleach)
In Bleach, Bounts technically aren't vampires... but they do bite their targets to suck their souls out. So, in some sense, they are vampires of souls—and they're worth including, if you ask me.
While there are other powerful Bounts in the story, Yoshino Soma tops them all because of her doll, Goethe, which is a fiery humanoid creature that utilizes the fire element in badass ways. But, more importantly, she has a special bond with Goethe.
While other Bounts think of their dolls as tools and weapons, Yoshino and Goethe trust each other in a way that allows them to use a greater power during her final fight with Jin Kariya.
13. Arystar Krory III (D.Gray-Man)
Arystar Krory III technically isn't a vampire, but his parasitic-type Innocence makes him look and act like one, particularly in the presence of Akumas (which are artificial creatures made of human souls).
His Innocence replaced his original set of teeth, taking the form of sharp fangs that are able to rip and bite through Akuma skin. On top of his powerful teeth, he also has enhanced physical strength and speed.
What makes him even more vampire-like is that he can drink Akuma blood without suffering any bad effects, and he also has a blood manipulation ability called Bloody Krory that lets him manifest a winged mannequin that can drain blood without needing to bite.
12. Shalltear Bloodfallen (Overlord)
Shalltear is a true vampire and one of the Floor Guardians of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. She has a flirtatious personality, causing awkwardness between her and her peers (like Albedo and Yuri Alpha). But on top of that, she's a capable fighter and a loyal subject of Ainz Ooal Gown.
As a vampire, she's a bloodthirsty individual who gains greater power the more blood she has spilled with her Blood Frenzy, but she also loses control if there's too much.
11. Cain Madhouse (To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts)
Cain Madhouse (real name Cain Withers) is the antagonist of To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts. He's the one responsible for releasing the uncontrollable Incarnates in a bid to take over the country.
Cain is a Vampire Incarnate who possesses the power of immortality, meaning he can heal and regenerate broken, missing, or exploded body parts. This anime also features Hank Henriette, his former friend who's a Werewolf Incarnate and now his archnemesis.
10. Mikaela Hyakuya (Seraph of the End)
Born as Mikaela Shindo, Mikaela Hyakuya of Seraph of the End was turned into an incomplete vampire and could only achieve full vampire form if he drank human blood. Of course, he's a noble vampire so he refuses to take human blood, even to his own detriment.
9. D (Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust)
Like Alucard of Castlevania, D of Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is a dhampir who was born the son of a vampire and a human. He possesses the positive qualities of a vampire and almost none of their weaknesses, which is great because he's a hunter of vampires, not humans!
8. Hagi (Blood+)
While the main vampire—or chiropteran, as they're called in this series—in Blood+ is Saya Otonashi, we're featuring her chevalier and love interest, Hagi. Aside from being loyal and dedicated to his Queen (Saya), he's also introduced as a good musician.
Like all other chiropterans in the series, he can transform into his deadly and bloodthirsty form, but he refuses to for the sake of Saya. He fights with daggers and the very case that holds his cello and Saya's sword.
7. Dio Brando (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
Dio Brando is the antagonist of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, who was turned into a vampire using the powers of the Stone Mask. Aside from his violent behavior and supernatural abilities, he owns not just one but two Stands due to having Jonathan Joestar's body for his own.
With "The World" Stand, he can stop time for a few seconds, which is enough to deliver fatal blows to his opponents. No wonder he's the most troublesome vampire in the entire series.
6. Abel Nightroad (Trinity Blood)
Whereas the aforementioned Adrian "Alucard" Tepes and D are dhampirs, Abel Nightroad of Trinity Blood is a Crusnik (a character based on the krsnik, which is the mythical archnemesis of the vampire).
Though he appears to be a "normal" person who's clumsy and silly, he's a vampire—not one who was infected or born as one, but turned into one using nanomachines called Crusnik Bacilli.
Another thing that makes Abel so badass and different from other anime vampires is his craving for blood—not the blood of humans but the blood of other vampires. As a Crusnik, he has the power to create a death scythe from his blood and even generate electricity.
5. Cadis Etrama Di Raizel (Noblesse)
The Nobles in Noblesse aren't bloodsucking vampires, but they possess abilities and attributes similar to those of vampires: immortality, blood manipulation, supersonic movement, and enhanced strength. They resemble vampires, just without the thirst for blood.
Raizel is the only known Noblesse—a title much higher than Noble—and thus possesses abilities even greater than the Nobles have. He was asleep for 820 years before waking up, and now he needs to adapt to the new world that has evolved throughout the duration of his slumber.
His calm but cold demeanor hides an overwhelming power that no other being can rival, whether another Noble or a modified human. Despite this, he's seen to be caring towards human beings and often acts as the series' comic relief due to his ignorance of technology.
4. Yue (Arifureta)
It may look like Yue is too young to be the love interest of Hajime Nagumo in Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest. But hey, she's a 300-year-old vampire!
Aside from being a cute little vampire, she's also unique in that she can manipulate mana without the need for spells and magic circles. Plus, she has an affinity to all elements and can use lots of different element-based skills, which is interesting to see.
She was sealed in one of the levels of the Great Orcus Labyrinth and was released by Hajime, freeing her from her destiny and loneliness.
3. Kiku Hoshimi (Call of the Night)
Call of the Night features many vampires worth mentioning on this list, but I'm going to stick with Kiku Hoshimi as my top pick from this series because she's clearly different from the rest.
Kiku Hoshimi is one of the oldest vampires in Call of the Night, having lived for almost half a millennium. She wants to become a human again and believes a certain theory will help her achieve her goal.
She believes that when a vampire drinks the blood of a human they love, they will revert to being a human—and so she tries her best to fall in love with a human, several times throughout her hundreds of years.
Unfortunately, instead of becoming a human herself, she simply turns those whom she bites into her vampire underlings.
2. Fine (Vampire in the Garden)
Throughout works of fiction, royal vampires tend to want total dominance over humanity. Some even want the human race to be annihilated. But not so for Fine.
In Vampire in the Garden, the vampire queen Fine wants to put an end to the war between vampires and humans. Furthermore, she refrains from drinking human blood, even though it makes her weak and sickly.
When with her fellow vampires, she exhibits a cheerful and playful personality, but it's just a facade to hide her depression caused by a tragic incident involving a human from her past. Thankfully, a young human girl named Momo helps her regain her will to live.
1. Alucard (Hellsing Ultimate)
Alucard, the Ultimate Weapon of the Hellsing Organization, is the legendary Dracula himself. The way he's drawn and animated perfectly fits the dark plot and storyline of Hellsing Ultimate.
His sinister eyes, laughter, and behavior are mirrors of his sadistic side, and every gunfight he's in ends up being awesome and badass. Sure, he might be a monster when it comes to his enemies, but he also has a soft side for those who are close to him.
On top of the gun he wields, he has a few other abilities up his sleeve, including blood manipulation and immortality. He also has the ability to turn normal humans into vampires.
