When you think of annual events in October, you think of Halloween.
“Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Fes 2021” was held on site for the first time in 2 years on October 30 and 31.
Among the costumes for Halloween, one of the most popular are vampires. Vampires are said to feed on humans’ blood and frequently appear in anime and games.
They are depicted in many ways: some of them live for years and years, and others bring many followers or are just ordinary humans that call themselves vampires.
Therefore, Anime!Anime! conducted a reader survey titled “Speaking of a ‘vampire’, who comes to mind?”. During the survey period from October 16 – 23, a total of 417 responses were received. For the gender ratio, the females were the majority with about 80% while the males were about 20%. For the age distribution, we received the majority of responses from the young readers: about 55% were from teens, and 25% were from those in their 20s.
■New vampires have ranked in!
1st Place
1st place went to Dralc from “The Vampire Dies in No Time”. The support rating was about 25%.
Dralc, a higher vampire, attracted many readers with his imbalance of being immortal yet physically fragile. The comments received include, “Immediately after he dies from a little shock and burns up, he comes back alive. He is such a weird vampire, and I have no idea if he is powerful or powerless”, “He is so eye-opening that I think such an extremely weak vampire like him has never existed before”, and “He is arrogant, but he dies in no time just as the title says, which is hilarious”.
His friendly personality and the unexpectedly straight-ahead side also contributed to his popularity as the following comments show, “He is a gamer and a pleasure-seeking person with common sense, which is very like modernism and I like it” and “He never forgets to turn to ash after dying. Isn’t he more typical than any other vampire else?”.
2nd Place
2nd place went to Sakuma Rei from “Ensemble Stars!”. The support rating was about 9%, and he slipped off from the top that he got last year.
Sakuma Rei is a self-proclaimed vampire idol. He looks like a real vampire, which attracted a lot of fans. The comments received include, “As he calls himself a vampire, he looks lethargic during the day and vulnerable to the sun. He has items related to vampires such as a coffin, where he sleeps” and “I cannot help laughing when he speaks like an old man, but it makes sense as vampires have a long life-span”. His younger brother Ritsu tied for 7th place. The popular vampire siblings also received a comment, “They are very vampire-ish in that they are not morning people but get energetic at night”.
3rd Place
3rd place went to Noé from “The Case Study of Vanitas”. The support rating was about 7%.
Noé is a vampire boy that seeks for the book of Vanitas. The comments received include, “I am fascinated by the gap between him being serious and cool in the battle and being curious about many things with his shining eyes!” and “His apparently superhuman physical capacity, humble behavior without bragging about anything, and bewitching charms that cannot be completely hidden. I think a new image of a vampire is portrayed in him”. As the title is broadcast in 2 cours, the readers will be hyped up for the 2nd cour.
■Let’s introduce other comments!
Hyakuya Mikaela “Seraph of the End”
“He has a very humane side in that he tries not to feed on human blood even after becoming a vampire and keeps caring about the protagonist Hyakuya Yuichiro.”
Saga Latour “Visual Prison”
“The scene where he feeds on blood in episode 1 is memorable. His dignified manner, aura that intimidates other people, calm low-toned voice, personality full of confidence… I cannot think about anyone but Saga-sama these days.”
Irina Luminesk “Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut”
“She is a bit of a tsundere vampire girl. I like the voice of Hayashibara Megumi-san, so I was really glad when she was chosen to be the lead actress.”
Todo Yurika “Aikatsu!”
“Her catchphrase ‘I’ll suck your blood!’ is cute. She likes tomato juice, which is also typical of vampire characters and cute.” The idol character has also received some votes.
In this survey, multiple characters from the titles broadcast in 2021 have ranked in. The results show that the new vampires gained popularity as well.
■Ranking Top 20
－Speaking of a “vampire”, who comes to your mind? 2021－
1. Dralc “The Vampire Dies in No Time”
2. Sakuma Rei “Ensemble Stars!”
3. Noé “The Case Study of Vanitas”
4. Todo Yurika “Aikatsu!”
5. Oshino Shinobu (Kiss-shot Acerola-orion Heart-under-blade) “Bakemonogatari”
5. Dio Brando “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure”
7. Sakuma Ritsu “Ensemble Stars!”
7. Hyakuya Mikaela “Seraph of the End”
9. Sophie Twilight “Ms. Vampire Who Lives in My Neighborhood”
10. Mukami Kou “Diabolik Lovers”
11. Sakamaki Shu “Diabolik Lovers”
12. Saga Latour “Visual Prison”
13. Alucard “Hellsing”
13. Dracula “Kaibutsu-kun”
15. Irina Luminesk “Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut”
15. Ferid Bathory “Seraph of the End”
15. Lilia Vanrouge “Disney: Twisted-Wonderland”
18. Yuki Ange “Visual Prison”
19. Araragi Koyomi “Bakemonogatari”
19. Jeanne “The Case Study of Vanitas”
19. Mihai “Kemono Jihen”
（Survey Period: October 16 – 23, 2021）
*This survey is intended to research the readers’ “interest in anime and characters today”. It is not intended to discuss the relative merits of each character nor work. I would be glad if this article can help you develop an understanding and interest in anime and characters.
