History OurVampiresAreDifferent / AnimeAndManga

* Seraphim, Maelstrom/[[strike:Tomonori]]Yuki and Sarasvati/Kirara from ''LightNovel/IsThisAZombie'' are [[GratuitousNinja ninjas]]. All they need is to occasionally suck blood; their kiss helpfully makes it painless for whoever they're feeding on. Also being kissed by the opposite sex [[spoiler:equals marriage.]]
** Maelstrom even uses [[PlayingWithFire fire]] as a weapon.

* ''Franchise/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' is rather... complicated about vampires.

* ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'' takes the vampire motif in various directions, starting with Arcueid. She's a ''shinso'' which is why she survived (albeit in a weakened state) even when Shiki cut her up with his mystic powers. Demon Lords and Dead Apostles depict the vampire motifs more traditionally.
** Half of the plot revolves around a family of HalfHumanHybrids descended from [[{{Oni}} oni]]. Why are they in a story about vampires? Because as noted above, the Japanese word for vampire literally means "blood sucking oni".

* ''Anime/BloodPlus'' stretches Our Vampires Are Different nearly to the limit by including several different types of vampires -- referred to under the general heading of "chiropterans", from the word for bat -- none of which display many of the traits listed above. The vampires are communal, like bees, the mook Chiropterans are the workers, the Chevaliers are the drones, and Saya and Diva are the Queens of their "Hives".
** The source of all the various types of chiropterans are the chiropteran queens, of which there are apparently only two at a time, always born as twins. Each queen's blood is lethal to her sister (with one noteworthy caveat revealed towards the end of ''Blood+'') and to any chiropterans created from her sister's blood (in a rather gruesome way; the moment the two bloods make contact, all blood in contact crystallizes). The queens need blood to live (transfusions work fine, although drinking it makes them more powerful) and are basically immortal, but that's about where their resemblance to classical vampires ends; they have none of the usual vulnerabilities, and aside from the opposite queen's blood, the only thing that might ''possibly'' be sufficient to kill them would be complete exsanguination or decapitation. Maybe. They also alternate between a few years of activity and thirty years of hibernation wrapped in a cocoon.

* ''LightNovel/{{Vamp}}'' plays vampires fairly straight, with the addendum that there are very few catch-all traits, and each vampire is different. Some vampires are capable of unaided {{Flight}}, while others will be [[MightyGlacier very slow, even compared to humans]]. They are described as capable of VoluntaryShapeshifting into [[BatOutOfHell bats]] and [[SavageWolves wolves]], some can [[BreathWeapon breathe]] [[PlayingWithFire fire]], and some have HypnoticEyes. However, vampires rarely do ''all'' these things. This applies to weaknesses, too, as some CannotCrossRunningWater, or have no problem with [[HolyBurnsEvil crucifixes]] or garlic. Even staking is said not to be 100% reliable. The only thing all vampires have in common (no mention of drinking blood) is that they are [[WeakenedByTheLight weak to sunlight]], either to the point of turning to ash, or at the very least weakening them. The former seems to be the majority as well.

* In Suehiro Maruo's ''Manga/TheLaughingVampire'' vampires are created in two ways. The first way is by being "rejected" by the earth when you're buried. The other way is to drink the blood of a vampire. They possess vampire powers like flight, super strength, and immortality. It is not said whether or not they will die without drinking blood, it appears that drinking blood makes them orgasm. They can be killed by sunlight, being staked, or beheaded. Also while they are immortal, drinking blood causes them to age physically.

The Japanese vampire typically has very pale hair (usually blonde, though [[WhiteHairBlackHeart white]] and lavender also work) and [[RedEyesTakeWarning bright red eyes]]. This may reflect the influence of Creator/YoshitakaAmano's illustrations for the ''LightNovel/VampireHunterD'' series and for the Japanese adaptations of [[Literature/TheElricSaga Elric of Melnibone]] (which stars a handsome Albino). It may also be part of the idea that vampires are European and [[PhenotypeStereotype will look like it]]. They are also usually very "beautiful" (see {{Bishonen}} and {{Bishoujo}}), but, possibly surprisingly, they rarely [[BishieSparkle sparkle]].

* In ''LightNovel/VampireHunterD: Bloodlust'' movie, the mere presence of a vampire noble causes all sorts of minor disasters -- crosses bend out of shape, mirrors crack, flowers die... They must find it hard to make any kind of casual visits which is probably why most nobles keep a retinue. Also helps in regards to the few things that ''can'' affect them.

* [[SerialKiller Himiko Toga]] from ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' is a superpower variation; her Quirk allows her to Shapeshift into whomever's blood she's ingested, and ingesting multiple people's blood allows her to switch between forms ([[spoiler: she later learns she can copy other people's Quirks as well]]). While she has sharp teeth and her costume has a collar designed to look like a grinning, fanged mouth, Toga uses [[KnifeNut knives]] and syringes for her bloodletting.

** And that's not even counting the Pillar Men from ''Manga/BattleTendency'', Kars, Esidisi, Wamuu, and Santana. Kars created the Stone Masks to make thier already-powerful species even more powerful. Needless to say, nothing short of top-tier Hamon Users can kill them, and even ''that'' takes an eternity to work. Sunlight only turns them to stone for as long as they're exposed, and even if you were to grind up the remains into dust, Hamon is still needed to finish the job. [[spoiler:Even a second of usable dark while encased can lead to a fighter's death]] as [[spoiler:Wammu did to Caesar]]. They feed by absorbing anything they touch (typically vampires and humans), and can [[LovecraftianSuperpower shapeshift their bodies around to utilize their bones and veins for weaponry]] or to fit into tiny drainpipes and stretch their body parts. Also, they have horns on their heads, and the number of horns denotes their potential power levels.

There are plenty of examples of vampires in anime, but being a cultural borrowing (much like the [[McNinja American use of ninja]]) their vampires are different. Whereas Chinese folk legend has the indigenous ''[[ChineseVampire jiangshi]]'', the Japanese supernatural tradition is notably free of blood- or lifeforce-sucking animated corpses. Being derived largely from Anglo-American twentieth-century pop culture, the Japanese vampire is based almost entirely on the "[[ClassicalMovieVampire decadent aristocrat]]" stereotype rather than the shambling horrors of European folktales. They are usually "supernatural" rather than TheUndead and, Christianity being rare in Japan, any religious elements will be used for coolness and exoticism rather than to show them as unholy and unnatural. [[KissOfTheVampire Blood-sucking]] is more likely to be treated as a source of healing or superpowers rather than a physical necessity, and in some cases isn't even included.

** For starters (as established in both ''Manga/PhantomBlood'' and ''Manga/StardustCrusaders''), the most powerful ones are created by artifacts called the Stone Masks which have mostly been found in {{Mayincatec}} ruins in Mexico. While Vampires have fangs, they feed through their ''fingers''. They are not adversely affected by water, but direct exposure to sunlight means instant disintegration and permanent death for them. They don't need to drain blood constantly, but doing so heals their wounds, keeps them young and, if the person they drain was particularly powerful, it makes them exponentially stronger. Those killed by Stone Mask vampires rise again as Zombies; this variety has a simple personality based on their most outstanding personality trait and, unlike Stone Mask vampires, cannot heal wounds. Stone Mask vampires ''can'', however, create other Stone Mask vampires by giving a human (including centuries-old corpses) their blood (as Dio did to Tarkus, Bruford, [[spoiler:and Vanilla Ice]]). The only method short of sunlight or [[SupernaturalMartialArts Hamon]] that slays a vampire, Stone Mask or Zombie, is grievous head trauma; decapitation merely leads to a living, severed head [[spoiler:that can then attach to and take over any handy body,]] as [[spoiler:Dio did to Jonathan Joestar]]. While it was never 100% explained why blunt head trauma was deadly to the vampires, it is most likely due to the fact that the vampires in [=JoJo=] were originally humans that had specific points in the brain exposed to a severe acupuncture, which awakened what was supposedly a human's "[[NinetyPercentOfYourBrain true potential]]". That being said, getting punched in the head really hard may damage one of the activated brain points. Their powers are also outside the norm, including (but not limited to) the ability to shoot high-pressure fluid from their eyes, absorbing ambient heat to freeze any living being that touches them, and the ability to walk on walls and ceilings.
*** ''[=JoJo=]'' Vampires are not killed by physical damage to their heads. Only Zombies are due to their lack of regeneration. Jonathan merely assumed it would work, though he was partially correct: the head is their weakness but it takes Hamon or sunlight to truly kill them. [[spoiler:Vanilla Ice and DIO (TWICE!) both had their heads split in half to no permanent effect and required Sunlight to finish them off for good. And further into the series, even when DIO was defeated and split into pieces by Jotaro shattering his [[FightingSpirit Stand]], The World, (Completely separate from his vampirism, mind you) he STILL didn't die (losing so much blood simply slowed his ability to recover). They had to expose his remains to sunlight to finish him off, because Joseph hadn't recovered yet, and Jotaro and Polnareff did not know how to use Hamon]].
*** Dio is also shown crushing a crucifix in his bare hands to nix that weakness.
** And that's not even counting the Pillar Men from ''Manga/BattleTendency'', Kars, Esidisi, Wamuu, and Santana. Kars created the Stone Masks because their favorite food are ''those'' vampires. Needless to say, nothing short of top-tier Hamon Users can kill them, and even ''that'' takes an eternity to work. Sunlight only turns them to stone for as long as they're exposed, and even if you were to grind up the remains into dust, Hamon is still needed to finish the job. [[spoiler:Even a second of usable dark while encased can lead to a fighter's death]] as [[spoiler:Wammu did to Caesar]]. They feed by absorbing anything they touch (typically vampires and humans), and can [[LovecraftianSuperpower shapeshift their bodies around to utilize their bones and veins for weaponry]] or to fit into tiny drainpipes and stretch their body parts. Also, they have horns on their heads, and the number of horns denotes their potential power levels.

The Japanese vampire typically has very pale hair (usually blonde, though [[WhiteHairBlackHeart white]] and [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair lavender]] also work) and [[RedEyesTakeWarning bright red eyes]]. This may reflect the influence of Creator/YoshitakaAmano's illustrations for the ''LightNovel/VampireHunterD'' series and for the Japanese adaptations of [[Literature/TheElricSaga Elric of Melnibone]] (which stars a handsome Albino). It may also be part of the idea that vampires are European and [[PhenotypeStereotype will look like it]]. They are also usually very "beautiful" (see {{Bishonen}} and {{Bishoujo}}), but, possibly surprisingly, they rarely [[BishieSparkle sparkle]].

* In ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'', their vampires ''aren't'' different. Not from normal people anyway. Presumably, we haven't met any since they're apparently in hiding, but we're informed that they're just like normal people; They love, live, laugh etc. The only thing that separates them from regular humans are their immortality, need to drink blood and unlimited magical power. Also the fact that they're immune to classical weaknesses such as crosses and sunlight. Due to their magical power, they are highly sought after by magicians such as Aureolus Izzard, whom he uses Himegame's Deep Blood ability to lure and capture one and study it's brain. Vampires are also sought after by magicians since they can use their knowledge to perform Ars Magna, which requires what amount to centuries' worth of knowledge to be molded into a chant (Since they're immortal they can store a millennia's worth of information in their brains without their bodies breaking, as such Aureolus wanted this specific property of vampires to save Index, and stop the need for erasing her memories) but when executed can bring out thoughts into the real world, essentially, making those who can accurately simulate or mold the real world would be able to control it. Aisa Himegame is rather horrified with her [[PowerIncontinence natural ability]] Deep Blood to draw them in and then simply kill them due to something about her blood.

There are plenty of examples of vampires in anime, but being a cultural borrowing (much like the [[McNinja American use of ninja]]) their vampires are different. Whereas Chinese folk legend has the indigenous ''[[ChineseVampire jiangshi]]'', the Japanese supernatural tradition is notably free of blood- or lifeforce-sucking animated corpses. Being derived largely from Anglo-American twentieth-century pop culture, the Japanese vampire is based almost entirely on the "[[ClassicalMovieVampire decadent aristocrat]]" stereotype rather than the shambling horrors of European folktales. They are usually "supernatural" rather than TheUndead and, Christianity being rare in Japan, any religious elements will be used for [[CreepyCoolCrosses coolness and exoticism]] rather than to show them as unholy and unnatural. [[KissOfTheVampire Blood-sucking]] is more likely to be treated as a source of healing or superpowers rather than a physical necessity, and in some cases isn't even included.

* In ''Manga/DragonGoesHouseHunting'', Vampires are basically human-sized, bipedal bats who can use magic [[{{Humanshifting}} take human forms]] for a limited amount of time. They also lack the typical vampire weakness of sunlight, silver and holy water, although they dislike minty smells. This is lampshaded a few times when Letty and Nell questions if Victor is really a vampire because he behaves so differently from what they expect a vampire to be like.

* According to ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'', a vampire is an S class monster, and as such one of the most powerful monsters in existence. Vampires have super strength and super speed, and a huge amount of ''youki'' (monster energy). Sunlight does not seem to bother them, nor garlic. Religious icons only weaken/limit them. They are, however, extremely vulnerable to water due to its purifying properties; even touching it will cause immense pain. To compensate for this, water used for bathing and cooking is treated with herbs. Vampires do not need blood to survive, but they find it a delicious treat and can consume it alongside regular food. Human blood is supposed to be especially tasty to vampires, compared to that of a monster (and because Tsukune was Moka's first taste of human blood, it kinda got her hooked). Vampires can also shapeshift, but most consider it a lost art due to vanity. Lastly, ''shinso'' exist and are naturally the strongest of the strongest: the ultimate monsters in this world. The BigBad of the second year is one. [[spoiler:Moka's mother was one also, Moka eventually becomes one herself. So does Tsukune. By the third year, Moka and Tsukune are the only two ''shinso'' alive.]]

* ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}'' prominently features vampires, and their abilities hew fairly close to the Stoker template with some changes to fit them into the setting's rules about "aberrations" (supernatural beings like demons and ''yokai''). Vampires are in fact nicknamed the "kings of aberrations" for their incredible power. They drink blood, have super strength and heightened senses, and can shapeshift. [[CannotCrossRunningWater They can't swim]]. They're weak to sunlight and crosses, but also have a HealingFactor which is powerful enough in some vampires to [[FromASingleCell overcome these weaknesses]]. Some less orthodox abilities include hiding in people's shadows, EnergyDrain, and, of all things, TimeTravel. Koyomi Araragi, the main character, spent some time as a thrall to one of the strongest vampires in history and still allows her to suck small amounts of blood on occasion, meaning he still has heightened (but not extreme) strength, senses, and healing ability.

* In an early episode of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' Misty pulls out a crucifix, some garlic, a wooden stake, and a hammer to attempt to ward off a Gastly. Since Gastlys are sort of ghosts and not vampires, it doesn't work, although the sun rises and drives him away immediately afterwards.

In ''Manga/TheCaseStudyOfVanitas'', vampires are an advanced human subspecies that came into existence because of the catastrophe of the TowerOfBabel. Because of their direct connection to the World Formula, they have abilities similar to magic that allow them to increase their physical strength and stamina, and in the case of more powerful vampires, use ElementalPowers and such. They apparently won't die unless directly killed via decapitation and their bodies [[ReducedToDust instantly turn to dust]] after losing their head. Drinking blood is not a necessity for them and they can easily suppress their blood cravings unless they become Curse-Bearers, which are vampires that had their true name corrupted and made them go insane.

* The vampires of ''Manga/SatouKunToTanakaSan'' are cold-blooded, like reptiles, and cannot stomach human food without having to regurgitate it later. They also have two seperate kinds: first generation, which are stronger and can withstand sunlight, and vampires who have been bitten as a human, and are therefore weaker.

* According to ''Manga/RosarioToVampire'', a vampire is an S class monster, and as such one of the most powerful monsters in existence. Vampires have super strength and super speed, and a huge amount of ''youki'' (monster energy). Sunlight does not seem to bother them, nor garlic. Religious icons only weaken/limit them. They are, however, extremely vulnerable to water due to its purifying properties; even touching it will cause immense pain. To compensate for this, water used for bathing and cooking is treated with herbs. Vampires do not need blood to survive, but they find it a delicious treat and can consume it alongside regular food. Human blood is supposed to be especially tasty to vampires, compared to that of a monster (and because Tsukune was Moka's first taste of human blood, it kinda got her hooked). Vampires can also shapeshift, but most consider it a lost art due to vanity. Lastly, ''shinso'' exist and are naturally the strongest of the strongest: the ultimate monsters in this world. The BigBad of the second year is one. [[spoiler:Moka's mother was one also, Moka eventually becomes one herself. So does Tsukune. By the third year, Moka and Tsukune are the only two ''shinso'' alive.]]

* ''LightNovel/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'': Vampires are a monster race and are in the top-tier of the power rankings by that general scale, and they follow an aristocracy lead by their VampireMonarch [[spoiler:True Demon Lord Ruminas Valentine]]. Physically they're practically indistinguishable from humans aside from their developed canines to drink blood for life force, which they don't actually need a lot of (to the point a normal feeding doesn't kill the victim) but it is necessary to maintain their otherwise eternal lives, and [[StrongerWithAge older and more powerful vampires need less and less blood until it's more of a want than a need]]. Humans are their preferred "prey", and uniquely they get more nouishment and better taste based on the emotional state of their target at the time, with it providing the best effects when humans are happy. [[spoiler:That's why Ruminas established the human-centric Holy Empire with [[GodGuise with herself as its "god"]] and her closest vampire servants as the major political figures and turned it into an ideal and prosperous civilization, thus creating the ideal feeding ground for the ''underground'' vampire nation beneath the empire that she gives strict orders to never feed ''too much'' in order to avoid disturbing the peace.]] Their power-set includes SuperStrength, SuperToughness, SuperReflexes, a HealingFactor, [[ShadowWalker Shadow movement]], paralysis, [[CharmPerson charming]], VoluntaryTransformation, and other skills unique to specific vampires in question. Their VampireMonarch, can outright [[spoiler:manipulate life and death through her Ultimate Skill, allowing her to heal fatal injuries or even revive the dead within a limited scope, while also instantly killing those weaker than her with nothing but intent.]] Also, they (or at least the truly powerful ones) have no issue standing directly in sunlight or weakness to crosses ([[spoiler:Ruminas]] flat out wears one), but their strength is weaker on nights of a new moon, they share a similar vulnerability to holy attacks as most monsters (though their HealingFactor compensates), and their hearts are a noticeable weakpoint [[spoiler:as proven when Laplace crushed Roy Valentine's heart to kill him]].

* ''LightNovel/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'': Vampires are a monster race and are in the top-tier of the power rankings by that general scale, and they follow an aristocracy lead by their VampireMonarch [[spoiler:True Demon Lord Ruminas Valentine]]. Physically they're practically indistinguishable from humans aside from their developed canines to drink blood for life force, which they don't actually need a lot of (to the point a normal feeding doesn't kill the victim) but it is necessary to maintain their otherwise eternal lives, and [[StrongerWithAge older and more powerful vampires need less and less blood until it's more of a want than a need]]. Humans are their preferred "prey", and uniquely they get more nouishment and better taste based on the emotional state of their target at the time, with it providing the best effects when humans are happy. [[spoiler:That's why Ruminas established the human-centric Holy Empire with [[GodGuise with herself as its "god"]] and her closest vampire servants as the major political figures and turned it into an ideal and prosperous civilization, thus creating the ideal feeding ground for the ''underground'' vampire nation beneath the empire that she gives strict orders to never feed ''too much'' in order to avoid disturbing the peace.]] Their power-set includes SuperStrength, SuperToughness, SuperReflexes, a HealingFactor, [[ShadowWalker Shadow movement]], paralysis, [[CharmPerson charming]], VoluntaryTransformation, and other skills unique to specific vampires in question. Their VampireMonarch, can outright [[spoiler:manipulate life and death through her Ultimate Skill, allowing her to heal fatal injuries or even revive the dead within a limited scope, while also instantly killing those weaker than her with nothing but intent.]] Also, they (or at least the truly powerful ones) have no issue standing directly in sunlight, but their strength is weaker on nights of a new moon.

*** And the Stone Mask's true purpose for the Pillar Men was to unlock an even further potential than they already had and become an immortal [[UltimateLifeForm Ultimate Being]], with the abilities of and resistance to all life on Earth [[spoiler:including the sun and Hamon]], which can only be attained if a certain flawless Red Stone of Aja is in a Stone Mask and its wearer is exposed to [[spoiler:natural or artificial]] sunlight. A semi-religious sect of Hamon warriors protect the flawless Super Aja to prevent the Pillar Men from becoming Ultimate Beings. There is no way to defeat an Ultimate Being, outside of [[spoiler:hubris and managing to get it outside Earth's atmosphere and having it become an [[AndIMustScream unthinking half-living half-mineral]] creature floating through the vacuum of space; after all, nothing ''on Earth'' can stop one.]]

* The vampires of ''Manga/DailyLifeWithMonsterGirl'' take after vampire bats, with batlike wings for arms that enable them to fly but suck for fine manipulation, pointed batlike ears, and the ability to produce ultrasonic waves they can apparently use to control bats. Their digestive system can only take in nutrients in liquid form, requiring them to drink blood, and they have sharp teeth to enable them to feed. They have sensitive skin, so the sun's ultraviolet light is very dangerous for them, they show allergy-like reactions to garlic and silver, and Ms. Smith puts their issue with crosses down to a cultural taboo (though they do seem to like upside-down crosses). They do tend to sleep in coffins -- Ms. Smith hypothesizes it's partly because they need to keep out of sunlight and partly species-wide habit -- but they can't turn into mist, and they do show up in mirrors. Actual supernatural powers are ambiguous -- one of them showed supernatural abilities, but that might have been just that one. As a species, they're on the verge of extinction, since the vampire virus has a very low infection rate, and their numbers have been steadily decreasing. Like zombies, they can infect humans with the virus, but it does not cause a physical transformation and only makes the human a new vector for the virus. This has led to in-universe speculation that vampires are actually bat liminals who were infected long ago by "true" vampires, a liminal type that no longer exists.

* From ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' we have the Myotismon lines and [=GranDracmon=]. Myotismon (who's Japanese name is Vamdemon - Vampire Demon) is basically the traditional aristocratic vampire hiding as a gentleman interpretation. He is weakened in the sun, controls bats, sucks blood (or data), controls the weather, and has Telekinetic powers. His evolution, [=VenomMyotismon=], is representative of the Beast from Literature/TheBible, and seemingly loses all of his vampire traits. [=MaloMyotismon=] continues in this vein, being more like the Devil than a vampire. [=NeoMyotismon=] brings back the bat look. [=GranDracmon=] is another vampire Digimon, but looks more like an EldritchAbomination than Dracula.

* The only example of vampirism in ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' is the true ancestor Evangeline A. K. [=McDowell=], an AntiHero mentor figure for the main character. As far as vampiric traits go, she's fairly lacking: Rather than being bitten by another vampire, while she was asleep on her tenth birthday a mage used a ritual on her, causing her to awaken and slaughter the inhabitants of the castle before regaining control. Much to her annoyance, she's now stuck at that age, though her body doesn't seem to be undead nor does it require blood to sustain itself. She is no longer vulnerable to sunlight (although it does make her sleepy), is unaffected by holy symbols and can create vampiric spawn as well as return them to normal. Finally, as a vampire she has immense resistance to dark magic and seemingly limitless regenerative ability. Coupled with being one of the three strongest mages in the series it's quite understandable why she would be so feared.

* ''LightNovel/TrinityBlood''

* In ''{{Manga/Uzumaki}}'', the pregnant women at the hospital are an interesting example. Their behavior is based off of mosquitoes more than on traditional or mythological vampires.