A Vampire in the Bathhouse - Manga

 

Rating: 3 

My Thoughts:

Luka is a depressed pretty boy vampire who comes into the human realm to try out the healing powers of an onsen, the Full Moon Baths, now run by oldest son Sakura. Sakura cannot be bothered by Luka's lure because he has a brother and a bath house to take care. Luka makes Sakura his pact partner by sucking a bit of his blood, but in return, Luka must help to manage the bathhouse, which he does with relish. Luka brings in lots of customers with his allure, until another demon vampire comes to try and take the bathhouse and Sakura back with him. 

It is a YA, but only in the creepy sexual innuendo way that Japanese manga are YA. They seem to have a different tolerance for even hinting at interspecies forced sex. 

Like the original manga, these characters are both gender fluid and more European looking than Asian. It is a whole story and the younger brother and the little demon are precious, however, this may be a story that just ends here. I am not sure if this is an actual series, although there can be more adventures ahead.

From the Publisher:

Luka Edelmondt Finsternis is your picture-perfect vampire--he’s good looking, he’s regal... He’s also usually incredibly hungover and exhausted, and wants nothing more than a change of pace from his routine! When he takes a peek into the human world, he finds just the cure he’s looking for--a relaxing Japanese bathhouse that will surely cure him of his hangover and rejuvenate him from head to toe. To blow his fatigue out of the water, Luka pays a visit to Full Moon Baths where he meets the bathhouse’s eldest son, Sakura. But between the bathhouse being short staffed and taking care of his little brother, Sakura has enough to worry about without a bougie vampire being added to the mix!

Publication Information:

Author/Illustrator: Niko Izuki

Publisher: Kodansha Comics (April 29, 2025)

Paperback: 208 pages

Otaku Vampire's Love Bit, Volume 1

 

Stars: 4 for cute factor plus a little bit of tension to make it interesting

My Thoughts:

Hina Alucard is a hermit of a vampiress in Romania who still lives with her dad. She has not been out of the house in 30 years and will only drink blood from blood bags. Despite her age, she eternally looks and acts like a very young, sheltered girl (mostly because she has not left her house/castle in 30 years). Her father is desperate. He gives her a BlueRay of an anime series Vampire Cross and Hina is instantly love struck by the Mao character.

She becomes so obsessed with Mao and collecting Mao merch that she moves to Japan so she can really focus on her obsession with Vampire Cross and anything Mao related. In Japanese terms, she becomes an otaku with a very singular obsession not just on anime, but for Mao. She hoards so much merchandise that her apartment becomes a dusty nest of boxes.

Being an otaku in Japan is not unusual so we are introduced to the idea of anime show cafes which cater to otaku like Hina by offering a special menu just for the day of anime inspired food or drink items. When customers purchase this, they get a souvenir coaster to take home. They also sell raffle tickets with prizes. The last ticket gets a special prize. Hina would love to go to these events, but as a vampire, she cannot eat human food. Instead, she needs to find a friend. That proves difficult because she is socially awkward, until she bumps into her neighbor Kyuta whose blood smells so sweet AND looks like Mao.

He reluctantly seems to go along with her schemes even if he is appalled at the dust in her apartment from the boxes and her hoarding habits of buying multiple items that look exactly the same and just leaving them in their boxes.  

Hina is also not aware that Kyuta has his own vampire mistress in his apartment who is keeping him as a slave. Tension 1. Kyuta's mistress is none too happy about this outsider taking up Kyuta's time. She feels like she is a very high ranking vampire in Japan, so even if she finds out that Hina is also a vampire, she will destroy her.

Tension 2. Hina away from Kyuta is so awkward and naive that she gets herself lured into situations that she should not be in. With her frequent calls to her father in Romania, father vampire lord is sending a babysitter, bodyguard, party pooper to Japan just when Hina is starting to socially figure things out in her own way. 

Volume 1 ends on a cliff hanger with another obsession worthy character, so this is a definite series to grab a hold of.  The kawaii factor and the badass factor are both in this manga. No sex or violence, or nudity. It is middle school friendly.

From the Publisher:

Hina Alucard is a modern vampire who drinks blood from bags instead of from humans. But she’s also a complete shut-in who hasn’t left the house in 30 years. In an effort to reach her, Hina’s dad does something that changes her life—he gives her a DVD of the Vampire Cross anime! Hina is instantly obsessed, especially with the character Mao. But it’s difficult to fangirl as hard as she wants from her bedroom in Romania, so now Hina is out of the house and off to Japan to live her otaku dream!

Hina’s so busy collecting Mao merch that she almost doesn’t feel bad about missing out on the Vampire Cross cafes. If only she had a human friend who could eat all the themed food for her! But connecting with humans isn’t easy until Hina literally bumps into her neighbor Kyuta, a prickly boy who looks just like Mao. Having her best friend live next door will be so convenient! Now if she can just convince him to actually be her friend…

Publication information:

Author: Julietta Suzuki

Publisher: VIZ Media LLC (October 1, 2024)

Paperback: 176 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1974747283