Babanba Banban Vampire (Japanese: ババンババンバンバンパイア, Hepburn: Babanba Banban Banpaia) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromasa Okujima. It began serialization in Akita Shoten's shōnen manga magazine Bessatsu Shōnen Champion in October 2021. An anime television series adaptation produced by Gaina aired from January to March 2025, and a live-action film adaptation opened in Japanese theaters in July 2025.
Plot
Ranmaru Mori, a 450-year-old vampire, lives and works at a long-established public bathhouse called Koi-no-Yu. Years earlier, when he was severely injured while being hunted by vampire hunters, his life was saved by a young boy named Rihito, the son of the bathhouse owners. Since then, Ranmaru has remained at the bathhouse as a live-in worker, secretly planning to one day drink Rihito's blood, which he believes will be at its best when Rihito becomes an 18-year-old virgin.
To preserve the "perfect" conditions for this plan, Ranmaru carefully watches over Rihito's life and tries to prevent him from getting into romantic or sexual relationships. However, when Rihito enters high school and falls in love with a classmate named Aoi, Ranmaru begins interfering in his daily life in order to stop their relationship from progressing. While trying to sabotage Rihito's chances at romance, Ranmaru must also hide his identity as a vampire and deal with other supernatural threats.
Characters
- Ranmaru Mori (森 蘭丸, Mori Ranmaru)
- Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa
- Portrayed by: Ryo Yoshizawa
- Rihito Tatsuno (立野 李仁, Tatsuno Rihito)
- Voiced by: Yūsuke Kobayashi
- Portrayed by: Rihito Itagaki
- Aoi Shinozuka (篠塚 葵, Shinozuka Aoi)
- Voiced by: Mayuko Kazama
- Portrayed by: Nanoka Hara
- Ken Shinozuka (篠塚 健, Shinozuka Ken) / Franken (フランケン, Furanken)
- Voiced by: Taku Yashiro
- Portrayed by: Mandy Sekiguchi
- Nagayoshi Mori (森 長可, Mori Nagayoshi)
- Voiced by: Yuichi Nakamura
- Portrayed by: Gordon Maeda
- Umetarō Sakamoto (坂本 梅太郎, Sakamoto Umetarō)
- Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi
- Portrayed by: Shinnosuke Mitsushima
- Kaoru Yamaba (山羽 カオル, Yamaba Kaoru)
- Voiced by: Akira Sekine
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Hiromasa Okujima, Babanba Banban Vampire began serialization in Akita Shoten's shōnen manga magazine Bessatsu Shōnen Champion on October 12, 2021. The series' chapters have been compiled into fourteen tankōbon volumes as of August 2026.
In March 2026, Dark Horse Comics announced that they had licensed the series for English publication, with the first volume set to release in November later in the year.
| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 8, 2022 | 978-4-253-22973-9 | November 10, 2026 | 978-1-506-75659-2 |
| 2 | July 7, 2022 | 978-4-253-22974-6 | — | — |
| 3 | November 8, 2022 | 978-4-253-22975-3 | — | — |
| 4 | March 8, 2023 | 978-4-253-22976-0 | — | — |
| 5 | July 6, 2023 | 978-4-253-22977-7 | — | — |
| 6 | December 7, 2023 | 978-4-253-22978-4 | — | — |
| 7 | March 7, 2024 | 978-4-253-22979-1 | — | — |
| 8 | October 16, 2024 | 978-4-253-22980-7 | — | — |
| 9 | December 16, 2024 | 978-4-253-29494-2 | — | — |
| 10 | March 7, 2025 | 978-4-253-29495-9 | — | — |
| 11 | June 7, 2025 | 978-4-253-29496-6 | — | — |
| 12 | November 7, 2025 | 978-4-253-00887-7 | — | — |
| 13 | April 8, 2026 | 978-4-253-01280-5 | — | — |
| 14 | August 6, 2026 | 978-4-253-01883-8 | — | — |
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on Garlic Day on February 29, 2024. It is produced by Gaina and directed and written by Itsuro Kawasaki, with assistant direction by Takahiro Tamano, characters designed by Yukiko Ban, and music composed by Jun Ichikawa. The series aired from January 11 to March 29, 2025, on the brand new IMAnimation programming block on TV Asahi and its affiliates. The opening theme song is "Bloody Liar", performed by Blue Encount, while the ending theme song is "Ne-Chu-Show", performed by Botchi Boromaru. Netflix streams the series globally.
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Storyboarded by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Vampire of the Public Bathhouse" Transliteration: "Sentō no Kyūketsuki" (Japanese: 銭湯の吸血鬼) | Itsuro Kawasaki | Itsuro Kawasaki | January 11, 2025 |
| 2 | "The Unpleasant Vampire" Transliteration: "Fuyukai na Kyūketsuki" (Japanese: 不愉快な吸血鬼) | Takahiro Tamano | Itsuro Kawasaki | January 18, 2025 |
| 3 | "Franken and the Vampire" Transliteration: "Furanken to Kyūketsuki" (Japanese: フランケンと吸血鬼) | Itsuro Kawasaki | Itsuro Kawasaki | January 25, 2025 |
| 4 | "The Vampire's Slumber Party" Transliteration: "Zakone no Kyūketsuki" (Japanese: 雑魚寝の吸血鬼) | Takahiro Tomano | Itsuro Kawasaki Takahiro Tamano | February 1, 2025 |
| 5 | "The Vampire of Fate" Transliteration: "Shukumei no Kyūketsuki" (Japanese: 宿命の吸血鬼) | Itsuro Kawasaki | Hiromitsu Kanazawa | February 8, 2025 |
| 6 | "A Vampire Put on The Spot" Transliteration: "Semarareru Kyūketsuki" (Japanese: 迫られる吸血鬼) | Takahiro Tomano | Hiromitsu Kanazawa | February 15, 2025 |
| 7 | "The Cornered Vampire" Transliteration: "Happō Fusagari no Kyūketsuki" (Japanese: 八方塞がりの吸血鬼) | Itsuro Kawasaki | Itsuro Kawasaki | February 22, 2025 |
| 8 | "A Gal and the Vampire" Transliteration: "Gyaru to Kyūketsuki" (Japanese: ギャルと吸血鬼) | Takahiro Tomano | Itsuro Kawasaki, Takahiro Tamano | March 1, 2025 |
| 9 | "A Certain Family and the Vampire" Transliteration: "Toaru Ikka to Kyūketsuki" (Japanese: とある一家と吸血鬼) | Itsuro Kawasaki | Hiromitsu Kanazawa | March 9, 2025 |
| 10 | "Mr. Sakamoto and the Vampire" Transliteration: "Sakamoto-sensei to Kyūketsuki" (Japanese: 坂本先生と吸血鬼) | Raita Sunaga | Itsuro Kawasaki | March 15, 2025 |
| 11 | "Love, the Cross, and the Vampire" Transliteration: "Koi to Jūjika to Kyūketsuki" (Japanese: 恋と十字架と吸血鬼) | Ryota Tamura | Ryota Tamura | March 22, 2025 |
| 12 | "And Thus, A New Vampire" Transliteration: "Soshite Arata Naru Kyūketsuki" (Japanese: そして新たなる吸血鬼) | Itsuro Kawasaki | Itsuro Kawasaki | March 29, 2025 |
Live-action film
A live-action film adaptation was also announced on Garlic Day on February 29, 2024. It is produced by Shochiku and TV Asahi, directed by Shinji Hamasaki and written by Yūko Matsuda. It was originally set to premiere in Japanese theaters on February 14, 2025, but was later delayed due to "various circumstances" related to Ranmaru's actor, Ryo Yoshizawa, and his 2024 trespassing incident. The film opened on July 4, 2025.
The film was also selected at the 24th New York Asian Film Festival, which was held from July 11 to July 27, 2025, for its North American Premiere.