The 8 Best Classic Vampire Anime Series and Films

Japanese animation covers everything. From high school romances and sports clubs to international spy dramas and superheroes, there really is an anime series or movie for everyone.

Here are our picks for the best and most notable vampire-themed anime series and films for those anime fans looking for something on the dark side of life. They span a variety of sub-genres within the vampire genre though such as vampire horror and vampire action-adventure and even vampire romantic comedy! There really is an anime for everything.

Edited by Brad Stephenson

01
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Vampire Hunter D / Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust

Vampire Hunter D Anime still

 Madhouse

Hideyuki Kikuchi's light-novel series, about a half-vampire engaged in the dirty business of exterminating vampires in the far future, definitely lent itself to an animated adaptation.

The original OAV (Original Animation Video released directly to VHS, DVD, or Blu-ray), an hour-long version of the first novel in the manga series, feels dated in parts but it's still hugely entertaining and has some stellar visual touches.

The Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust anime movie is a spectacular feature film that expands a good deal on the third book in the series and is directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri of Ninja Scroll and REDLINE fame.

02
of 08

Blood: The Last Vampire

Saya in Blood: The Last Vampire cover
Production I.G

Monster hunter, Saya, looks like a regular teenage girl but she has been hunting vampire-like monsters for decades.

This stunning film may only run for fifty minutes, but it crams more into its runtime than many films twice its length. Blood: The Last Vampire has also spawned a live-action adaptation and several anime series such as Blood+.

03
of 08

Blood+

Saya in Okinawa in Blood+
Production I.G

Blood+ is an expansion and revisitation of Blood: The Last Vampire as a two season anime series.

The series reboots several ideas introduced in the original animated film and places Saya in tropical Okinawa.

Blood+ is a great series not just for its action (and there's plenty of it) but also for its endearing cast and compelling storytelling. Blood+ has also spun-off into its own manga and light novel series which are worth reading for fans of the franchise.

04
of 08

Hellsing

Hellsing Anime Series sover
Gonzo / Digimation

Sir Integra Wingate Hellsing is a vampire who fights to protect England against a vampiric horde created by a coven of Nazis.

Trouble is, the Vatican's also in the same battle, and would just as soon see Hellsing out of the picture. Even worse, he's now got a new sidekick, the formerly-human cop Seras Victoria, who's having a little trouble coming to terms with her newly-found bloodsucking lifestyle.

Loaded with tons of over-the-top violence, this supernatural anime series tells its story in both the Hellsing TV series and in a series of OVAs named Hellsing Ultimate (which more closely follow the original manga series' storyline).

05
of 08

Trinity Blood

Trinity Blood cover
Gonzo

Father Abel Nightroad is a Crusnik, a super-vampire who can feed on other vampires, but you'd never know it from his bashful, unassuming exterior.

He lends his skills to the Catholic Church of a far-future, half-devastated Earth, where the vampiric Methuselahs are in constant warfare with humanity.

Trinity Blood is known for its dark atmosphere and characters and its fast pace should please many anime fans after something action-packed.

06
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Karin

Karin / Chibi Vampire Anime Series cover
WOWOW

Also known as Chibi Vampire in its manga/light-novel incarnation, Karin takes many vampire tropes and turns them on their head.

Karin's a girl born to a vampire family, but unlike other vampires, she generates blood instead of sucking it and has to give it to others to keep from overflowing! This creates problems especially when she becomes attracted to a male classmate and discovers that her blood is a lot more valuable than she thinks.

Perfect for anime fans looking for a vampire series with a sense of humor.

07
of 08

Vampire Princess Miyu

Vampire Princess Miyu Anime cover
Studio Ironcat

The vampire princess of the title, along with her companion Larva, hunts down and destroy the Shinma who prey on humans.

She's been doing this for centuries, and now she's among us in our modern day and age. The four episode OAV version is brief yet intriguing but the 26 episode anime series is much more rewarding and is regarded as a near-classic by many.

08
of 08

Nightwalker: The Midnight Detective

Nightwalker: The Midnight Detective Anime Series cover
AIC / TV Tokyo

A lesser-known 12 episode anime series, Nightwalker: The Midnight Detective is about a vampire who works as a private eye and his supporting cast of various human and inhuman buddies who help him out in his various missions.

A mix of the supernatural and crime noir, Nightwalker is an anime that offers something quite different than the norm.