If you came here to think this was some sort of supernatural tea party where everyone just happens to have fangs… you are gonna have a bad time. Vampire stories, whether they be from anime or fiction novels, always have a concept of violence, preying on others, and of course, darkness. The story builds upon itself until it is necessary to confront the final evil in the end. However, this is not always the case as you would want it to be, as in a lot of anime, the vampire is the main character! Tasked usually with doing the bidding of a human or other supernatural being, they use their powers, which are usually beyond the power of a regular vampire, and strike swiftly and powerfully to decimate those that rise against them. Not to mention too, what we would normally consider a “good guy” in a vampire story, are usually deranged individuals who make everything more difficult all while screeching or chanting bible verses. The following two anime are that. So if you love blood, gore, guts, and violence, be absolutely sure to catch the following two series.

One one side of the coin of reality, creatures of the night live to plague humans. On the other side is Hellsing, an organization headed by Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing who commands an exceptional amount of power to strike back at not only these monsters, but anyone and anything that would threaten the country of England’s existence. For the difficult job though, Integra calls in Alucard, a vampire who serves her and works against his own vampire kind to maintain peace. After he turns a human, Seras, on the brink of death into his progeny, the two being to battle anything and everything that is foolish enough to rise up against the Hellsing Organization. Alucard is able to use any of his powers at his disposal as long as he is not caught by Alexander Anderson, a priest hell bent on exorcising him. Hellsing Ultimate is the continuation of Hellsing, the TV series. The first couple episodes are more or less a recap of the series and continues to tell the story. Hellsing Ultimate is an OVA though so fair warning, it may be hard to get your hands on a copy of it, but do because this is what a vampire anime is all about. Darkness, fighting, violence, guns ablaze, and more are what you will find by looking under the hood of this anime. Alucard is a bit of a nontraditional vampire in that he serves a human, but everything else against him is not and he makes sure that the viewer is aware from the first moment he steps on screen.

Saya has a pretty good life in Okinawa with her family. She does suffer from anemia and amnesia, but they are not the worst things in life, so she gets by. One day though, she is attacked by something that wants to feed on human blood. She is saved by a man man Haji who forces Saya to drink his blood. Within an instant, her life changes as the vampire in her and her blood awakens. She kills the monster with relative ease and learns that her past is shrouded in mystery for some reason that she needs to figure out. In comes Red Shield, an organization charged with destroying these horrible monsters. She is going to have to team up with this new weird man Haji and the organization to put a stop to these hellish beasts as well as unlock whatever is hidden in her memories. Blood+ is another fantastic, hyper violent anime. Where Hellsing Ultimate gives you darkness and conspiracy, Blood+ gives you story and drama. In fact, it’s well-liked for its characterization of all things. Especially when you do not see things coming. While 50 episodes seems like a lot, even at the middle and the three quarters mark, you will be mashing the next button to see what comes in the next episode. Blood+ is like vampires with a slight twist as Saya uses her blood on her sword, yet another non-typical vampire facet, to fight. In fact, her blood itself activates the weapon. When you are done, be sure to check out Blood-C as well for a twist on the original.

That which shall not be mentioned is, to some, a scourge on the face of what romance and vampires can be when mixed. In order to be safe though, we like to view it as a starting point to show that yes, vampires and non-vampires can fall in love and have a fun journey while doing so. Oddly too, Japan loves to court the idea of a supernatural being falling in love with an incredibly average-looking and acting individual. Somehow though, they are able to overcome their differences and fall in some sort of love that will most assuredly offer some form of a bite kiss.

Tsukune Aono is your average teenager, but his grades are so poor that he could not get into any high school! As as last-ditch attempt to have their knuckleheaded son learn something, his parents enroll him at Youkai Academy. He hops on the bus and ends up at the school, but… something seems off. All of the students are transforming?! Yes, Youkai Academy is a school for youkai and monsters. The students take classes just like normal humans do, but they also take classes on how to blend in with human society. There is one rule that all students must follow on campus: If a human is spotted, they are to be killed immediately! As Tsukune has a fateful encounter with a girl names Moka, his life changes where he will not only stay at the academy, but he will start a relationship with Moka who is actually a vampire! Not to mention too, he is going to have a slew of other girls who want a piece of him and his heart as well. What will he do! Yes, this is just like what you would expect with the harem and ecchi genres meeting the supernatural ones. Moka is a vampire in this series. And to top it off, she’s the most popular girl in school, well-sought after, and her father is a monster both in reality and figuratively. Tsukune definitely has his work cut out for him because for a while, he has to fake being human. Moka’s necklace keeps her vampire alter ego hidden inside her, but it does pop out from time to time creating even more drama. This vampire ecchi romcom keeps the vampire theme going but makes it more lighthearted.

Cross Academy has two types of students that enroll at their school: Those who are part of the Day Class and those who are a part of the Night Class. It seems like the elites attend classes at Night while the normies attend class during the day. However, that could not be farther from the truth. These classes are actually human classes and vampire classes, and they even live in different dorms. Yuuki and Zero are the two who work together to maintain order. Yuuki has a crush on the head of the Night Class Dorm, Kaname. Zero hates vampires, so surely someone somewhere along the line is about to trip up, but where? Vampire Knight is actually shoujo, so while Hellsing and Blood+ feed your violence and vampire stereotype needs, Vampire Knight is going to crank up the drama and romance to new heights, and boy do they ever. The secrecy of keeping the humans ignorant and the vampires secluded from them hangs in the balance as romance unfolds which you know means one thing: DRAMA. Get ready for an adventure.

We open the list with an anime that is not precisely about baseball but shows exactly how Japanese see baseball compared to other sports. Shippu! Iron Leaguer occurs in a far future where humans no longer play games, but instead, have an “Iron League” where different robots compete in diverse sport events for humans’ entertainment. The Dark Organization, a team that prefers cheating rather than good sportsmanship, controls the league; but the Silver Castle, a team formed by older robots, wants to win by following the old rules. The reason why this anime is on the list is because the leader of Silver Castle is Magnum Ace, a leaguer who specializes in Baseball. Besides that, Baseball is one of the main sports in the League’s tournament, together with Soccer and Hockey. So, in general, we get to see a lot of the king of sports, without it being the only focus so it is a great gateway anime for those who aren’t enamored with baseball but want to see how Japan sees it.

No baseball anime list would be complete without one based on Mitsuru Adachi’s works. Slow Step is one of the less known outside of Japan, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth looking for it. Here, we meet Minatsu, a young girl who really hates being chased by both Shu Akiba, and Naoto Kadomatsu, who are members of the boxing club; and also by Yamazakura sensei, the softball and boxing club’s coach. This leads her to perform crazy stunts trying to hide her identity, while also participating in both clubs. While baseball (or, in this case, softball) is not the main focus of the story, it is part of many of the most important scenes and plot points in the anime. The baseball action in the OVA is short but sweet. We can see that Adachi really loves the sport and it shows in how it’s depicted. Yes, two of Minatsu’s suitors are boxers, since Adachi also enjoys it, but it’s in the softball scenes where we can see the art shine. Also, in the anime, unlike the manga, Minatsu decides to marry Yamazakura sensei, and their interactions are more in the softball diamond.

Love for baseball usually runs in the family. A perfect example of this is Hyouma Hoshi, a young pitcher who learned the sport with his father, Ittetsu Hoshi, who used to be an incredible third baseman until he had to retire due to a terrible injury. Hyouma has more talent in the pitching mound, and he is soon drafted to the Yomiuri Giants where he realizes that sheer talent is not enough to be a baseball star. Still, he tries even harder to take his team to the championship, in honor of his father, and his team. Created originally by Ikki Kajiwara and Noboru Kawasaki, Kyojin no Hoshi (Which can be translated to Star of the Giants) is a classic baseball manga that was created to popularize the sport back in the sixties. It was commissioned by the Yomiuri Group, the owners of the Yomiuri Giants, and depicted a fictional group of players to play in the real team. It grew so popular that the series had not only six movies, but also three sequels; one made in 1977, one in 1979, and the most recent in 2002. A real treat for any anime and baseball fan who also has a taste for the classics.

Cats are usually adorable. That’s pretty much the reason why Neko Pitcher exists, where we meet the very first cat pitcher in the Japanese Baseball league. Now, this is not a Zootopia-like world where cats are forbidden from playing for some reason. No, in a world full of humans, a normal house cat is now a starting pitcher. Of course, he can pitch like a pro, but he also does things that normal cats do, such as finding the most comfortable place to sleep that is also the place where he won’t let anyone else do anything, or use the bats as scratching posts. Neko pitcher is a cute collection of short situational jokes around cats and baseball. Every episode is about 2 minutes long, which is perfect to make you smile. There are also small factoids about baseball at the end of each episode, which can be educational if you don’t know much about the game. Consider this series a small snack that will let you know if you have a taste for baseball anime that is longer.

We’ve been talking about shows that showcase people that love baseball; however, Moshidora is the exception to the rule because Minami Kawashima, the main character of Moshidora, hates baseball with all her heart. But when her best friend Yuuki Miyata can’t be the manager of their school team anymore, she immediately volunteers to make her friend happy. Problem is, as she hates the sport, she has no idea how to manage a team, so she decides to buy a book to give her some pointers. Second problem? She picked up a business management book, not a baseball management one. Moshidora is the perfect anime for someone who doesn’t like baseball but kind of wants to know why it’s so popular as a subject for stories. It has everything a sports anime has, with the addition of a main character that just won’t let her personal issues get in the way of her friend’s wishes. It’s an amazing tale of friendship and sportsmanship that is sure to entertain both baseball fans and those who don’t like it.

Baseball can be many things for many people. It’s a sport, and a form of entertainment, and, of course, a business. Gurazeni is one of the few baseball anime that touches the business side without much exaggeration. Our main character is Natsunosuke Honda, who despite being a professional player is only a relief pitcher for the Spiders. Similar to how it works in the real world, the team has a very clear rule: the player’s salary is determined by their performance in the field. Natsunosuke is one of the highest paid players in the team, and so, he continuously judges other players by their salary, ready to challenge them and remain in his comfortable position in the team. While most baseball anime focuses on the love of the sport and the teamwork, Gurazeni is special since Natsunosuke tends to be more of a loner. He wants to keep his high salary, and for that, he has to be the best. This is why he keeps challenging others rather than looking for their friendship. We have here a more cynical look at the sport, but at the same time, a very enjoyable slice of life anime that will make you smile as we follow the Spiders and their players.

Tarou “Dokaben” Yamada wasn’t sure he wanted to continue his judo career when he entered high school, so he let his friends and new classmates talk him into joining the baseball club at Meikun high. There, he discovers that his judo training will not go to waste, as his arms are very powerful and soon get him a place in the team as the heavy hitter, the player they all can count on him for long fly balls to the outfields and homeruns when the time is needed. So he and his equally exceptional friends are ready to take the Koshien by storm. Dokaben is a classic baseball anime that has wormed its way into the hearts of many viewers thanks both to the exciting stories, the dynamic way in which the games are presented, and the unique-looking characters. Although it’s not well-known to casual viewers, it’s usually cited in anime books and stories because it influenced authors such as Takehiko Inoue, and it’s even mentioned in Understanding Comics as the main example of how the sport genre works in Japan. Just for that, if you have the chance, watch this amazing series.

Every baseball fan knows that sometimes, life throws you a curveball and that when that happens, the only thing you can do is grab the bat tightly, keep your eye on that curve and hit it with all your might. This is exactly what happened to Yuki Mizuhara when she enrolled in college wanting to become a veterinarian and instead got drafted to become the first female pitcher for the Japanese Mets. So instead of complaining, once she debuted, she decided to show everyone that women are as good as men at the King of sports. Yakyuukyou no Uta, together with Dokaben are two of the oldest baseball anime, and both are based on manga by the same author, Shiji Mizushima. While Dokaben focuses more on how men see the sport, Yakyuukyou no Uta derives most of its comedy from how the point of view of a woman can see things differently. Now, make no mistake, this is a shounen, not a shoujo, so the action is always on the sport and not on romance.

One of the most important parts of a baseball team is the battery: the pitcher and the catcher. Sure, the whole team must be united and understand that if one makes a mistake, they all suffer for it; but the battery is the center of their defense. The pitcher gets the ball rolling and the catcher must see the whole field and make quick decisions for the game, knowing that the pitcher will trust him. Takumi Harada, a young high school pitcher, knows that Go Nakagura is the catcher who can keep up with him. So he convinces Go to join the team at their school, decided to become the best battery high school baseball has ever seen. Unlike other sports anime, Battery focuses much more on the relationship between the characters than in the actual game, so we see little of the sport being played. Still, it is a touching story about teammates and working together for a mutual goal. Not only that, but it avoids falling into some of the traps of the genre: Takumi is far more interested in becoming a good battery with Go than in winning, so that changes a lot of what we’ve come to expect. Add to that nice animation and good music, and you got a highly enjoyable series, even if you’re not a big fan of sports anime.

If there’s a fictional player that understands that a pitcher is nothing without his team, it’s Eijun Sawamura. He’s naturally talented at the change-up pitch, which means that in his local junior high school, he’s the best player around and the one who tries to get the whole team to nationals, despite the fact that the other players aren’t that good. But when Seidou High School offers him a scholarship and a place in their prestigious team… he refuses. It takes all his friends and family to make him accept that he can do better at Seidou, and that if he reaches the Nationals, it can be in his friends’ name. So he changes schools, and it’s at Seidou where he finds out that natural talent is not enough to win, and that one player alone doesn’t define the team. From its first season, Ace of Diamond has been one of the best baseball anime on Japanese TV in modern times. While at some points it can be considered a bit cliché with the resolution of some arguments, at the end it shows a very good grasp of baseball and high school teams, managing to balance both the drama among teenagers –who are highly competitive and know that every game must be won if they want to reach the Nationals- and the actual game play, which can keep you on the edge of your seat just like real baseball games do.

Oh no! A Cliched anime? Tell me it isn’t so! Anime lives and breathes around countless tropes in order to be able to tell us stories. Sure, a lot of them overlap, and honestly if you switched names and hairstyles, you could probably get a work or two past fans with little to no effort. However, demon anime really has sort of stretched across every genre. Sure, we have the typical demon anime with action and supernatural elements, and there are the fantasy ones was well, but demon anime can also be like we said where someone meets a devil, Satan himself, or devils, and then suddenly it’s like bam, everything is cool and they are helping the demon who is ignorant of the world and its ways as if it’s no big deal. The strange or rather, unique thing about Japan is that Christianity and all other major world religions have only had a brief stint in Japan due to their own polytheistic religion blended with Buddhism being enforced for so long. Because of this, Japanese people are not losing their minds like a white family from say… Mississippi would be if a demon or the devil appeared in front of them. That is what makes these stories so unique, is that people rarely do lose their minds over this thing. Let’s take a look at a few series that really drive home the concept of a devil character in anime.

The human world is not the only world out there. Assiah is the name of the human realm and Gehenna is the name of the devil world. A thin barrier separates the two worlds and demons are sometimes able to make it to the human realm. However, Satan is too powerful and always destroys whatever vessel he inhabits. So, he sends his children to be born into the human world to one day be vessels for his reach to extend to the human world. Rin and Yukio are two twin boys who happen to be the sons of satan. Yukio is an exceptional exorcist and works with an organization to regularly purge the human world of demons. His twin Rin, however, is a bit troubled and the truth has been hidden from him until one day when all of that comes to a screeching halt as Rin loses everything other than his brother to demons. Facing the truth that he is the son of Satan, Rin decides to become the best blue flamed exorcist there is and destroy Satan for ruining his happiness. Ao no Exorcist sounds like something right out of The Exorcist. You have a character who is born and learns that he is the son of Satan and will become a vessel for his father to one day walk on Earth. Demons are everywhere in the series and it is laden with fights and plenty of supernatural action; just what you would expect from a demon anime. The heat is turned up further with the battles including the end of the season where everything reaches a zenith. As one would expect from a stereotype of devils, Rin has horns and the ability to make blue flames appear around him when he is ready to attack. Angels do not play as much of a role as one would expect in a series like this, but bar none, this series is an excellent, profound, and moving demon anime.

Akira Fudou is a good friend to some and a pain in the neck to others with his propensity to help everyone. This makes him a bit of a bleeding heart. However, naturally curious, he gets sucked in immediately when his genius friend Ryou asks him to help him investigate demons. He gets way in over his head when he realizes that Ryou has brought him to not only a demon summoning ground, but a demon feeding ground at that. Demons generally take over the body of the human they acquire and feed on other humans, but for some reason, Akira’s will is so strong, that he is actually able to take over the demon’s powers and thus, get powers of his own. Now, he is Devilman and he has the power to defeat the demons around him. Akira forgives and now works with Ryou to defeat evil and understand more about himself. Devilman Crybaby is on this list for a lot of reasons, but it shocked the anime world when it debuted for how compellingly and interestingly a story it told. You are immediately shown scenes that can only be described as depraved beyond all measure as you dive in meaning that you are not only surprised at what you see, but you also are learning more and more with each passing moment. The devils here are summoned in a more traditional, and biblical if you will, fashion by having a scene full of human depravity; sex, drugs, alcohol, carnal nature uninhibited, and more. This leads to the devils being able to hop into the bodies of humans. They then are able to cause havoc. As Akira learns more and more about what these devils are, the revelation will be all that much more shocking to him. Not to mention, too, they all have strange bodies and fantastic powers.

Like we mentioned in the intro, you do not necessarily need to have a serious, action-packed anime like Ao no Exorcist or Devilman Crybaby. Sometimes, it’s more fun to kick back, have a laugh, and watch as demons, devils, or even Satan himself, tries to make sense of the world around him. More often than not though, this ends up being something where they make a fool of themselves much to the delight of the viewer. However, this puts us in this weird paradoxical situation where the viewer is to enjoy the growth of this demon or Satan in the human world. Something we would not do in real life, but in anime, it seems alright. Let’s take a look at two staples of this kind of demon anime.

Satan is making his move on a land in order to conquer it with his numerous allies and armies. However, he was not powerful enough, and with his back up against the wall, he does what any demon would do and flees through a portal to regroup. He and Alsiel, a general, land in the human realm but are stranded! They cannot seem to get back to where they were, and speaking of, they cannot even go back to Hell! They are stuck! So, Satan tries to make the best of it and goes by Sadao Maou. He even gets a job to cover expenses while in this world and to survive. Sadao ends up working at MgRonald’s and suddenly realizes that there is something in this world that can be conquered: the corporate ladder! All he needs to do is make customers happy and satisfied and he will be set! Meeting after resolving their issues, Emi helps spur him along even further. Order up! So there are a few plot holes we should mention right away, namely being that Satan can speak Japanese no problem despite being from another dimension. He also fails to use his powers to make himself wealthy. In the meantime though, he is Satan in this world as he tries to come to grasps with this strange new world and their customs in Japan. He makes us laugh over and over again as Emi tries to help him while he just densely crashes through everything. Somehow, it does manage to go well most of the time, but Emi sure has lost of explaining to do as well. For a lighter take on demon anime, Hataraku Maou-sama! is a must.

Gabriel has come to Earth tasked with the mission of studying humans so that she can become a full-fledged angel. This kind of goes her way until one day, she accidentally clicks a game and becomes sucked into it. No longer caring about earth, Gabriel, or Gabe, is lazy, rude, messy, and a shut-in. Heck, she even calls herself a fallen angel. This drives her devil classmate Vignette nuts. She tries her hardest to get Gabriel back on track despite the fact that Vignette is a demon and the natural enemy of angels. Pile that on with Satanichia another demon who is playing with half a deck of cards at best, and Raphiel, a terrifyingly sadistic angel who is not that far off from Gabriel, and you have a surefire recipe for comedy. Gabriel DropOut follows this group of unlikely friends as they live in the human world. This too takes a very lighthearted approach to the concept of demons and even introduces angels as well. While yes, the series does center around Gabriel, Vignette and Satanichia are both front and center with her leading to hilarious situations every time. Vignette is too straight-laced and a goody two shoes meaning that she struggles incredibly to do bad things as is her mission. Meanwhile, Satanichia has so much misplaced confidence that it’s hilarious watching the other characters set her up while she thinks that she has the upper hand. Watch out for the cockroach blurs and the floating panties though! If you want a good laugh that also looks at how angels and devils could be reincarnated as Japanese girls, then run, don’t walk to this comedy masterpiece from 2017.