Vampiric References in Anime

Here, you'll find common anime terms and words that you'll hear on most vampire anime shows. So, get yourself ready and let's power up your anime knowledge!

Kyūketsuki 

If you have watched any of the vampire-themed anime mentioned here, chances are you’ll hear this often. It’s the Japanese term for vampire.

Hellsing 

The Royal Protestant Knight Hellsing Agency is said to be continuing the legacy of Professor Abraham Von Helsing, the vampire hunter/researcher in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Why Hellsing and not Helsing? Probably just overlooked or the double-L adds more mystique and appeal via a reference to the underworld.

Nosferatu 

The Hungarian term for a restless corpse which also meant “The Undead”. Also appears in the first vampire movie ever entitled Nosferatu: Eine Symphone Des Grauens (Nosferatu: A Symphony Of Horrors) in 1922, directed by DW Murnau, in Germany. The vampire, in this case, looked like the creature in folklore with hairy palms, large bat-like ears, and so on. The full name of the vampire in Hellsing is a reference to the term.

Dracula 

Stoker’s vampire based on Vlad Tepes Dracul. Hellsing’s operative, Arkard or Alucard or Arucard, may be named after him since his name is somewhat an anagram of or has a phonetic reference to Dracula.

Carmilla 

In Vampire Hunter D, this aristos is a long dead countess who owns a castle where Meier Link and Charlotte Elbourne seek asylum. Her name is based on J Sheridan Le Fanu’s vampire named Carmilla Karnstein. In Le Fanu’s story, Carmilla also uses anagrams of her real name when introducing herself to her victims, for example Mircalla, Millarca. A reference was also made of her in Hellsing as the vampire “Karmina”.

The Carriage 

Meier Link used a carriage to transport himself and Charlotte. They race against the rising sun since Meier will not be able to survive on direct sunlight. This mode of transport is a recurring theme in vampire literature like Dracula, with probably the earliest reference in Burger’s Lenore.

Laura 

The main character in Le Fanu’s Carmilla. Laura was the last of Carmilla’s victims but the vampire failed to kill or turn her. In Hellsing, a character named Laura turns out to be a spawn of the vampire Karmina. Laura infiltrated the Hellsing compound by successfully claiming to be Integral’s sister (she doesn’t have one).

Dhampir 

Legends tell of the use of dhampirs, or children of vampires and their widows, in searching for vampires. D is a dhampir (danpiru or sometimes dunpeal) and some say he may be stronger than the vampires since his hybrid form is not susceptible to the limitations of vampires, e.g., he can withstand sunlight. It is also hypothesized that his father is none other than the legendary Dracula.