Like all other cultural portrayals of mythical creatures, vampires also face misrepresentation. Or at least they are at risk of becoming caricatures or hollow objects thrown in just for effect. I suppose the real underdog here are zombies; people hardly ever dedicate a movie from their point of view. Well, I wanted to list my three favorite vampires from an anime series. These guys give me hope that the blood-sucking undead can evolve and grow to be interesting contributions to any given show. Other than, you know, being a useless prop whose sole purpose is to jump up and bite an artery.

1. Abel Nightroad

He is Mr. Lovable to his friends and evil personified to his enemies, it's Abel Nightroad! He is one of the vampires from the anime Trinity Blood. For those who are unfamiliar with the story, here's the gist of it – humans and vampires are fighting an ugly battle for survival. The Vatican uses certain types of vampiric folk to shield humans from vampire attacks. Abel is one such character, a form of fighter known as Crusnik.

Alright, so he's not your everyday vampire. After all, he works for the Vatican and only drinks the blood of other vampires. Having said that, I must admit that Abel is one of the best depictions of an anime vampire I have come across. He has that brooding “troubled with the world” atmosphere, he always tries to do the right thing and let's not forget, he can really hold his own in a fight. The creepy slashing moves, the levitation act, the whole caboodle! Put him in a cage fight against three evil vampire lords and still the chances of winning are in favor of Abel. Then again, if you are the sort to bet on him whilst he is thrown into a cage, I would advise running really far before he notices your shenanigans. After all, he is not the type to forgive and forget, at least not that easily and not without a decent sob story to back it up.

2. Kaname Kuran

It turns out, the next on the list is also of the brooding, thoughtful variety. We need more Spike-types in the anime genre. Well, for those who are thinking “Kaname who?”, he is the pure-blooded lord of the blood-sucking type from the series Vampire Knight. This anime revolves around a love triangle involving two humans, Zero and Yuki, with Kaname Kuran thrown in as the handsome and yet aloof third party. The story is set in a boarding school where vampires and humans have a kind of truce between them. Thus, you see the fanged ones attending night classes and the source of their hunger pangs attending the day classes.

Kaname Kuran plays the typical high school idol that all the human girls are fawning over. I must admit that the overall love angle with Yuki tends to decrease his street-cred just a little bit. This means that you might spend a bit of time watching the emotionally wrought conversations between him and Yuki. But there's a reason for Kaname making this list. Being a pureblood means having immense power and abilities which roughly translates into fantastic fighting capabilities. Well, a lot of people are envious of Kaname's powers whilst others fear it. And you are not disappointed when he finally rolls up his sleeves to do his part for peace, harmony and all that.

3. Jiro Mochizuki

So who is this Jiro? He's the stylish and somewhat flamboyant vampire from Black Blood Brothers. Similar to Vash (from Trigun), he dons a fancy red coat with matching pants. By the way, he is known for his swashbuckling moves with his katana so expect to see a few of them when you watch the series. What is the series itself about? It's slightly cliché; the city in question has a safe haven for vampires which lets them co-exist alongside humans. Unfortunately, there are a group of evil vampires of the “we take over everything and everyone” kind who are plotting to enter/destroy this area. Jiro is one of the legendary folks who fought in the first battle, not just against that group (a.k.a Kowloon Children) but their big bad boss. Well, it looks like he might have to whip out his katana again for another major event.

More about Jiro. He is one of the more recent vampiric depictions in anime and yet, there is something decidedly old school about him. You know, the puns, the way he flirts with Mimiko, the human compromiser, and of course, the need to protect his kin in a patriarchal manner. I am assuming that his personality is influenced by his 19^th Century morals and mannerisms. It doesn't matter since all these aspects add to the appeal of Jiro.

These are just some noteworthy vampires that I have thrown into the mix. There are others, some that I have yet to discover, and others that didn't quite make to my faovrite list. So, which ones are your favorite fanged fellows from an anime series?