The Best Vampire Anime of All Time

1. Vampire Hunter D
Based on the graphic novels by Hideyuki Kikuchi, the Vampire Hunter D films are one of the most popular of all vampire anime out there. In the distant future the world is run by cruel and ruthless vampires, and there’s only one willing to put an end to their wicked ways, a dark loner known only as D.

2. Blood: The Last Vampire
About Saya, the last true vampire, who battles the bloodthirsty creatures attacking an American base in Japan during the Vietnam War. This highly influential and innovative movie is famous for being Japan’s first fully digital animated film.

3. Nightwalker: Eternal Darkness

In this film, mankind is threatened by a race of creatures known as the Nightbreed, people who have, either willingly or through deception, succumbed to supernatural beings. Hunting them down is Shido, who is a detective, a warrior, AND a vampire.  With the help of an urban spirit, his naive secretary, and a police agent assigned to special cases, Shido stands against the Nightbreed.

4. Vampire Wars
Directed by Mitsuki Nakamura, this is one of the grislier anime flicks out there. When a brutal terrorist attack on a NASA installation is linked to the death of a CIA operative in Paris, the French Secret Service hires international criminal and spy Kousaburo Kuki to investigate. When the trail leads him to film super-star Lamia Vindaw, Kousaburo finds he must protect her from both the CIA and a bizarre vampire cult that believes her blood holds the key to resolving an ancient dispute between warring factions.

5. Night Warriors: Darkstalkers’ Revenge

This film is based on the fighting game from Capcom called Darkstalkers. In this action-packed movie creatures like werewolves and vampires threaten all of humanity, which leads to sword-wielding warriors to hunt them down and destroy them.

                                                  Vampire Hunter D Returning in Live-Action Form

The big news in the anime world is that Hideyuki Kikuchi’s Vampire Hunter Dmay be hitting the silver screen soon. Woo!  According to a report in the horror magazine Rue Morgue, Kikuchi is working on a live action Vampire Hunter dfilm in addition to a new anime feature.The story also says that Hideyuki Kikuchi and a producer from the  (aka ‘Resident Evil‘) video game series will be working with one another on the live-action film.Originally published in 1983 as series of novels by Kikuchi and illustrator Yoshitaka Amano, Vampire Hunter D focuses on lone warrior named “D” in a post-apocalyptic world that combines elements of pulp genres: western, science fiction, horror, high fantasy, folklore and occult science. The planet is overrun by vampires and other supernatural beings, as well as mutants, technological creations and so on. As a dhampir (half-vampire/half-human), D is one of the best vampire hunters out there.˜Vampire Hunter D is probably best known in the U.S. for the popular anime adaptation which was released in 1985. Another animated film ˜Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust came out in 2000. Additionally, the very long-running novel series has also been adapted into several manga volumes.An international sensation for more than two decades, the now-legendary monster killer known only as “D” has conquered the worlds of movies, comics, and, since the publication of the first novel in English in 2004, is becoming just as popular in America and the English-speaking world as he has been in Japan for more than a dozen novels. Now, for the first time, go behind the scenes of the phenomenon. With rare artwork from Yoshitaka Amano and interviews that shed light on the inspirations for the memorable stories, you’ll have a front-row seat at the creation of the two animated adventures of Vampire Hunter D, and learn new secrets about the novels through detailed summaries

D wanders through a far-future post-nuclear Earth that combines elements of pulp genres: western, science fiction, horror, high fantasy, H. P. Lovecraftian mythos, folklore and occult science. The planet, once terrified by the elegant but cruel Nobles (vampires), ancient demons, mutants and their technological creations, is now slowly returning to a semblance of order and human control — thanks in part to the decadence that brought about the downfall of the vampire race, to the continued stubbornness of frontier dwellers and, to the rise of a caste of independent hunters-for-hire who eliminate supernatural threats.

The year is approximately 12,090 AD. Some time in 1999, a nuclear war occurred. The Nobility were vampires that planned for a possible nuclear war and sequestered all that was needed to rebuild civilization in their shelters. They use their science combined with magic to restore the world in their image. Nearly all magical creatures are engineered, with a very small number being demons who survived the holocaust. Despite their technology being great enough to create a blood substitute as food, they still prefer to feed on humans. As such, they create a civilization where vampires and humans coexist, eventually developing the planet into parklands and cities. The society eventually stagnates when vampire technology perfects scientific prophecy, which determines they are at their zenith of existence and thus are doomed to fall, overthrown by humans. The human race was also transformed at this time, with fear for the vampires being woven into the genetic level, and the inability to remember vampire weaknesses such as garlic and crucifixes.

Unlike vampires from traditional lore, the Nobility have the ability to reproduce sexually, although their offspring will permanently cease aging after reaching physical maturity, having inherited their vampire parent’s immortality.

D is a dhampir, the half-breed child of a vampire father and human mother, the ideal vampire hunter. He is renowned for his consummate skill and unearthly grace, but feared and despised for his mixed lineage: born of both races but belonging to neither. Often underestimated by his opponents, D possesses surprising power and resourcefulness, having most of the strengths of the Nobility and only mild levels of their common weaknesses. It has been seen in both movies that his power is not only physical, but extends into the magical realm as well. His supernatural powers make him one of the strongest beings in the world, if not the second strongest second only to his father. However, D prefers his physical abilities, only using his magic in times of great need. Unlike most dhampirs, D is able to live as a “normal” human; however, he is marked by his unearthly beauty and exceptionally powerful aura, and thus rarely accepted by human settlements. In terms of weaknesses, he is randomly susceptible to sun-sickness, a severe type of sunstroke, about once every five years (far less than most dhampirs). D also recovers from it at a rate far greater than other dhampirs. Usually it takes several days to recover from sunlight syndrome, longer if the dhampir is exceedingly powerful, but D recovered in a few hours (around 1–6 hours approximately) despite being one of the strongest if not the strongest dhampir alive. Otherwise, D does not appear to suffer from other vampiric weaknesses usual to dhampirs, being able to physically restrain opponents with his aura and having godlike reflexes surpassing even those of Nobles.

His symbiotic left hand states, in Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust: “Dracula became impatient with the Bloody Countess, and your father, The Vampire King, became impatient with her gluttony. And impaled her on ‘The Sword'”. Speculation on whether “The Sword” is D’s sword or not is debatable. It is important to note here, however, that the movie differs sharply from the book it takes its story from, Vampire Hunter D: Demon Deathchase, and future entries in the novel series do not differentiate between Dracula, The Vampire King and D’s father, proposing that they are one and the same.

The symbiote that resides in D’s left hand

D is the host for a sentient symbiote, Left Hand, a wise-cracking human face residing in his left palm, who can suck in massive amounts of matter through a wind void or vacuum tunnel. Left Hand enjoys needling the poker-faced D, but only appears as needed, rarely witnessed or heard by anyone other than D, yet aware of many of D’s thoughts and actions. At all other times, D’s left hand appears normal. Besides providing a contrast to D’s reserved demeanor, Left Hand is incredibly useful, possessing many mysterious powers such as psychometry, inducing sleep, determining the medical condition of a victim, and the ability to size up the supernatural powers or prowess of an enemy, even beyond D’s keen senses. In the first and second novels, Left Hand can also revive D when his physical condition is suffering, by consuming the four elements and converting the resulting energy into life force. This ability even saved D from the usually fatal stake through the heart he received from Rei-Ginsei in the first novel. Left Hand has its own mind and will, and acts as D’s guide and sole permanent companion, providing a reservoir of knowledge pertaining to the lost Noble culture. So far, Left Hand’s origins are unknown, and it is unclear how they came to be joined. However, some of its nature is revealed in the third book, which features a similar creature; it is implied he was one of the Barbarois (human/monster hybrids) who served in the personal retinue of Count Dracula.

 

                                                        The Four Best Vampire Animes

 Hellsing -Hellsing actually follows Dracula, –er, Alucard, and a descendant of the original van Helsing, who formed the Hellsing Organization, which kills and controls the vampire population. How? Well, because the latest in the Hellsing line is a hardcore, cold female who keeps Alucard on a short leash, and turns him out as an agent to kill his own kind. Alucard doesn’t seem to mind, and he does a damn good job. There are two animes, and a manga; the manga came first, detailed, original, stylish, then the first anime. Sadly, the first anime sort of sucks; the animation is herky jerky, and sources say, doesn’t really follow the manga very closely at all. Though it has a damn catchy theme song. Hellsing Ultimate is a shorter series, with better quality animation, that sticks to the manga story throughout.

Vampire Hunter D – D for Dhampir, he follows and hunts vampires, some classical some not. Think of it as a gothic vampire Western, that just happens to be anime, and you’ll have arrived at the general style. There are two films, 1985, 2000, a video game, a comics series, and an audio drama! Hunt down both movies and check them out, if you’re in the mood for some dhampir-on-vampire crime fighting madness.

Trinity Blood – A totally confusing anime that every seems to love, –also featured on Adult Swim for a short period before its cancellation. The story involves vampires, aliens, earthlings, and Catholicism, –as well as the Vatican playing a major military role, in the future. It’s science fiction gone to extremes, and if you can follow it, you have my lifelong admiration. As for me, I’ll happily settle back with something a bit more one-dimensional any day.

Vampire Knight – If you’ve got the usual hard-on for anime schoolgirls in pleated skirts, –you know you do, don’t lie, –and just happen to have a dash of vampire fandom sprinkled in with the rest of your secret anime obsession, then you’ll love Vampire Knight. It takes place in academy surroundings, where minimal school uniforms and anatomically anime girls abound. There’s action, romance, moody vampires, and vampire hunters; more than enough to fulfill your vampire anime romance fantasies for years. Plus, there’s manga, fanfic, audio drama, short novels, and even a video game!

Vampire Knight

Main characters

Yuki Cross

Yuki Cross / Yuki Kuran is the adopted daughter of the Headmaster of Cross Academy, Kaien Cross. She begins as a human, and wields the Artemis rod. Yuki is extremely close to Zero Kiryu, who she becomes determined to help once she learns he has become a vampire. Her other significant relationship is with Kaname Kuran, whom she has been in love with since he saved her from a vampire attack as a young child and later found out that Kaname was her brother and fiancé. She is generally a kind, caring, cheerful, and comedic character, but she is naive and careless, and performs poorly in her studies due to spending most of her nights as a Guardian. She is often kept ignorant by other characters who know more about on-goings, which gives her immense guilt for being unaware of the suffering of other characters. Later in the story, it is revealed Yuki is a Pureblood vampire and the daughter of Haruka and Juri Kuran. Even after becoming a vampire again, Yuki’s personality remains largely unchanged. After Kaname sacrifices his heart to the furnace that creates anti-vampire weapons, Yuki gave birth to a daughter that she conceived with Kaname and sometime later, another child with Zero. Unfortunately, Zero dies before he could meet their son. After her children reached adolescence, Yuki sacrifices her life to turn Kaname into a human and thus resurrect him, leaving her children with a message that describes the world he will see the same way she saw it. Hino Matsuri has described Yuki as a healing and soothing character, who exemplifies her justice side.

Voiced by: Yui Horie (Japanese); Mela Lee (English)

Zero Kiryu

Zero Kiryu  is unique being both a vampire hunter and a vampire. Yuki’s close friend and a Cross Academy Guardian, he was trained to be a vampire hunter by Toga Yagari. Zero lives with Kaien Cross and Yuki, after being bitten by a Pureblood vampire, Shizuka Hio, who also murdered his family. Due to the attack, Zero developed a deep hatred and distrust of vampires, despite originally being a gentle character by nature; however, he retains his kindness beneath his scowls, always looking out for the Day Class students in case the Night Class “misbehaves”. He has a tattoo on his neck that allows him to be restrained by a charm that temporarily immobilizes him and allows him to enter the Hunters’ Association’s headquarters. Zero also holds a deep hatred for Kaname Kuran, who tells him that he is simply a shield for Yuki. Zero is deeply in love with Yuki, but chooses to hide it; his feelings left him temporarily confused after Yuki was revealed to be a Pureblood vampire, but Zero continued to love her. In the anime’s final episode, Zero lets her drink his blood, allowing Yuki to see how he feels about her. He is one of the few vampires whose body refuses blood tablets, leaving him constantly thirsty for blood; Yuki often gives him her blood to satisfy his thirst. After the time skip, Zero is being considered for the position of president in the future for the Association, and he also drinks the blood of vampires he hunts to satisfy his thirst. He later dies protecting Yuki and their unborn son. Matsuri Hino described Zero as exemplifying her hesitant nature.

Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano (Japanese); Vic Mignogna (English)

Kaname Kuran

Kaname Kuran  is a Pureblood vampire who saved Yuki from an attack by a Level E when she was a child. Kaname is revealed to be one of the original vampires and founder of the Kuran family. He was raised as Haruka and Juri’s son after being reawakened by Rido Kuran, who used the Kuran’s first child as a sacrifice, making him Yuki’s brother and ancestor. He worked together with Kaien Cross to establish the Night Class to promote peaceful co-existence between vampires and humans. During the first arc, Kaname spends his time working to protect Yuki, which includes killing Shizuka Hio and fostering Zero Kiryu’s powers. During Rido’s assault on the school, Kaname destroyed the Senate. Following the time skip, Kaname begins a plan to eliminate all Purebloods aside from Yuki, even willing to place his own heart in the furnace that produces the anti-vampire weapons. The night before he sacrifices his heart to the furnace, Kaname sleeps with Yuki. His body is preserved in ice by Hanabusa. Kaname’s notes on transforming vampires into humans without sacrificing a Pureblood are found by Hanabusa, who perfects it. After centuries pass and the furnace is to be shut down, Kaname is resurrected by Yuki as a human; their biological daughter Ai Kuran, along with Yuki and Zero’s son Ren, passes on a message from Yuki saying that the world he sees as a human is just as how she saw it.

Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio (Japanese); Ezra Weisz (English)

Headmaster Kaien Cross

Kaien Cross  is over 200 years old, the oldest and most powerful known vampire hunter, nicknamed “The Fangless Vampire”. In spite of being a vampire hunter, Kaien maintained friendships with several Pureblood vampire families, especially the Kurans. Kaien adopted Yuki and also took Zero into his home after his parents were murdered by Shizuka Hio. When Kaien retired as a vampire hunter and became the Headmaster of Cross Academy, he established the Day Class and Night Class with Kaname Kuran with dreams of promoting peace between humans and vampires. Kaien is an eccentric character who often provokes Zero and irritates other characters with his silly mannerisms, though he is a serious character when it comes to matters he cares about. He carries a hidden anti-vampire weapon,which he uses to fight against the President of the Hunters’ Association who had turned corrupt from drinking Rido Kuran’s blood.

Voiced by: Hozumi Goda (Japanese); Christopher Corey Smith (English)