The List

7 Vampires That Don't Suck

Bram Stoker's Dracula and F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu immortalized vampires in the public consciousness as dangerous, shape-shifting monsters living off the lifeblood of virginal humans. Sexually-charged metaphors aside, some theories have argued that the legends are merely derived from real cases of porphyria, like what afflicted King George III. Whatever the case, recently the popular monsters of folklore got cleaned up, rolled in sparkles, and viewed in a more sympathetic light. This week's list looks at vampires you wouldn't mind inviting in through the window at 3 a.m.

7. Hazuki (MoonPhase) Put frilly cat ears on a gothic lolita vampire and she loses much of her intimidating aura. Hazuki acts like a typical, sheltered 13-year-old girl being both selfish and petulant to her human "slave" Kōhei. Hazuki's problems mostly lie in her alternate personality. Known as Luna, she lacks much the human aspects of Hazuki and is far more manipulative. Eventually both personalities merge and Hazuki goes back to being her regular, adorable, tsudere self.

6. Moka Akashiya (Rosario + Vampire) Moka's external personality, the one her classmates are most familiar with, is cheerful and outgoing. It wouldn't be wrong to say she's well-liked by her peers, not only for her agreeable personality but her attractive looks and good grades. Like Hazuki though, Moka has an alternate personality. This version of Moka has the aristocratic attitude usually associated with long-lived vampires. Her enhanced martial arts abilities also make her threat, albeit to other supernatural enemies instead of humans.

5. Staz (Blood Lad) Staz would be right at home hanging out with a bunch of humans. He finds the mortal realm much more interesting than the supernatural one, especially video games, anime, and manga. It's not that Staz doesn't have the capabilities to cause harm—it's just that he's too lazy to fulfill his vampire potential. He'd rather work on imitating Goku's Kamehameha or get that cute ghost girl her body back than fulfill his duties as the boss of the Eastern district of the Demon World.

4. Pachira (Renkin 3-kyuu Magical? Pokahn) On a dark, stormy night in 2006 I watched a few episodes of Renkin 3-kyuu Magical? Pokahn, a fanservice slice-of-life comedy show about four supernatural princesses that I doubt anyone else remembers. The show is one of two that studio REMIC was in charge of producing and the company seems to have quietly folded. It's never made it stateside, but it stars a witch, a werewolf, and the vampire princess Pachira. Pachira has all the common problems facing most vampires, many of which are played up for comedy. She wears a cardboard box on her head to avoid exposure to sunlight and while she craves blood, she usually supplements with tomato juice. Her primary concern is her chest size though, and the show chronicles Pachira's various attempts to increase her bust.

3. Ranze Eto (Tokimeki Tonight) There was never any real chance for Tokimeki Tonight to get too scary. The anime is based on the 1980s manga that ran in the pre-teen targeted magazine Ribon. Protagonist Ranze Eto is the child of a vampire and and a werewolf, so her blood-sucking powers are a little off. Instead of a bat, a black dog, or a wolf-girl, Ranze can transform into both people and objects if she bites them and has to sneeze to turn back. This is used for comedic effect with transformations ranging from tanuki, baseballs, birds, and the anime classic: toast.

2. Yōko Shiragami (Actually, I Am…) Yōko is technically a dhampir, having only one vampire parent. Many of her vampire characteristics are less serious compared to traditional vampire stories. For instance, Yōko tans very easily while in direct sunlight and she has a strong taste aversion to garlic. She does have the trademark sharp canines, and bat-like wings sprout of her back when she's excited. But she doesn't seem to have a mean bone in her whole body. Like any good romcom lead, Yōko is completely dense when it comes to the feelings of her admirer, Asahi.

1. Karin Maaka (Karin) Karin is a vampire in reverse who instead of feeding on the blood of others, needs to inject the excess blood she produces. It's similar to how a snake injects venom, although Karin's blood has an sedative like effect that calms the victims and makes them feel happy. If she isn't able to accomplish this at least once a month (hurr), Karin spews blood out of her nose. This becomes exacerbated when she starts hanging around Kenta, a down-on-his-luck guy whose depressive aura triggers her blood-making. Since Karin is nice instead of predatory like her ancestors, she opts to do whatever she can to improve Kenta's situation.

The new poll: What anime doctor would you never trust to perform your surgery?

The old poll: What was the best summer 2015 show/series that ended this month?

1. My Love Story! 21%
2. School-Live! 14.9%
3. Charlotte 13.8%
4. Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma 13.8%
5. Snow White with the Red Hair 13.7%
6. Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers 12.9%
7. Durarara!! ×2 The Second Arc 12.3%
8. Prison School 11.0%
9. GATE 10.8%
10. Overlord 9.0%
11. Non Non Biyori Repeat 8.7%
12. Wagnaria!!3 7.4%
13. Monster Musume 7.1%
14. Ushio & Tora 7.0%
15. Gangsta. 7.0%
16. The Heroic Legend of Arslan 6.9%
17. Gatchaman Crowds insight 6.8%
18. SHIMONETA: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn't Exist 4.7%
19. Himouto! Umaruchan 4.2%
20. Junjō Romantica 3 3.3%