2025 is officially the year of the BL vampire, and one of the quirkiest contenders is the Japanese comedy-musical BABANBA BANBAN VAMPIRE (ババンババンバンバンパイア).
Based on the manga by Hiromasa Okujima, which began serialization in Bessatsu Shōnen Champion back in October 2021, the story is as outrageous as its title. At its center is Ranmaru Mori (Ryo Yoshizawa), a 450-year-old vampire who hides in plain sight working at a family bathhouse. His obsession? The innocent Rihito Tatsuno (Rihito Itagaki), the owner’s teenage son, whose “pure 18-year-old blood” Mori insists is the ultimate delicacy. There’s just one tiny snag—Rihito goes and falls in love with his classmate Aoi Shinozuka (Nanoka Hara). For Mori, that means panic mode: nothing can get in the way of preserving Rihito’s “virgin purity.”
From there, chaos (and comedy) reign. Ranmaru’s attempts to intervene backfire spectacularly when Aoi, a self-professed vampire otaku, ends up falling for him instead. Throw in Umetaro Sakamoto (Shinnosuke Mitsushima), a wannabe vampire hunter, and Aoi’s hot-headed, muscle-bound gang-leader brother Franken (Mandy Sekiguchi), and you’ve got yourself a love polygon more tangled than a shojo manga sketchbook.
The wild premise made the jump to anime in January 2025, airing on TV Asahi’s IMAnimation block, with Netflix handling global distribution. On screen, the casting is pitch-perfect: Yoshizawa and Itagaki play off each other hysterically, while Nanoka Hara shines as Shinozuka. Mitsushima is both comedic and creepy as Sakamoto, with Sekiguchi’s Ken is the very definition of brawny comic relief.
3/4 of the way through the film, the villain appears, in the form of Ranmaru’s estranged brother Nagayoshi Mori (Gordon Maeda). Flamboyant but dangerous, he’s fantastically evil. We just didn’t get to see enough of him. His villainy was weaksause, but in the best way possible. He was fabulous, and I kind of loved him.
With its mix of supernatural comedy and spontaneous musical numbers, Babanba Banban Vampire channels the same oddball charm as the 1989 cult classic Teen Witch – and coming from me that’s a compliment most high.
It’s campy, it’s chaotic, and it’s exactly as completely unhinged – which is everything I need in a Vampire comedy. I just wish that, instead of a film, we’d gotten a full-fledged series.
The live-action film adaptation was first announced on Garlic Day (yes, really) back on February 29, 2024. Produced by Shochiku and TV Asahi, directed by Shinji Hamasaki, and written by Yūko Matsuda, it was initially set to premiere on Valentine’s Day 2025. But after a delay due to external circumstances, the film eventually landed in theaters on July 4.
There will be more film reviews soon so…
Stay tuned!
Life In Cartoon Motion 