Anime Best Anime about vampires

[Aerain]

Ok, I am really looking forward a good anime about vampire something ala Castlevania. However, I doubt something that GOOD would even exist. I am not looking for an anime with it's weekly monster, I am looking forward an anime with a GREAT storyline that may make me hooked for a while.

[AzureWolf]

[COLOR=blue]You are looking for an [B]anime[/B] that is [B]on par[/B] with Castlevania?! O_o Goodluck.

There's Tsukihime, but that doesn't really focus on the vampire aspect of things as much as you would imagine. Well, it does, but not in the way Castlevania did. Vampire Hunter D, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, and Hellsing just don't compare to Castlevania, IMO. I think there's Blood: The Last Vampire, but that just sucks even if you don't compare it with anything else.

Anyway, those are all vampire-related animes, but again, if you are looking for something like Castlevania, Hellsing is your best bet. Unfortunately, even that won't satisfy you, provided you are looking for a Castlevania-ish anime.[/COLOR]

[Dagger]

I have not played Castlevania, so I'm just going to mention some of the vampire anime I've enjoyed. That having been said...

My favorite vampire-related anime is the film [b]Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust[/b], which features character designs by Yoshitaka Amano (of Final Fantasy fame). The story is strong and the animation is superb. For a single stand-alone movie, it also manages to feel rather epic (and this is helped along by the lavish visuals). One possible point of interest: the novels upon which the film (as well as its predecessor, Vampire Hunter D) is based are going to start coming out in English sometime this summer. I'm eagerly looking forward to reading them; the prose is supposedly very elegant.

The four-part [b]Vampire Princess Miyu OVA[/b] is episodic, but it's incredibly atmospheric and a great example of older animation (it dates back to 1988). The enigmatic title character and her masked servant are anime icons. However, you should avoid the more recent television series at all costs; it has moments of brilliance but is ultimately forgettable and sloppily put together.

Even though you're obviously not looking for a comedy, consider taking a gander at the [b]Master of Mosquiton OVA[/b] when it comes out on DVD this July. Like Miyu, it too was followed by a comparatively awful TV anime. But the OVA itself is great, and a bit longer as well (with six full episodes).

As for more recent shows, [b]Lunar Legend Tsukihime[/b] has a strong over-arching plot and fantastic characters. It may not be exactly what you have in mind (it's quite untraditional in terms of how it deals with vampire mythology, for example). Despite that, you might want to give it a chance, as it's an excellent series in its own right. Like the other anime I've mentioned, it's pretty short, with only twelve episodes.

~Dagger~