Dance in the Vampire Bund

On live television, Mina Tepes, the ruler of all vampires, reveals the existence of her species to the world and states her plan to build a sanctuary in Japan for vampires, called the Vampire Bund. Using her family's wealth to pay off the nation's debt, they have agreed to let her build this safe-haven for her fellow creatures of the night. But not everyone is so easily swayed by Mina's influence, as her announcement brings about conflict with humans who believe that the queen's quest for peace is a façade.

Akira Kaburagi does not believe in vampires and gets uneasy whenever they are brought up, although he has yet to realize why. Apart from suffering a head injury a year ago, he lives on blissfully until he meets Mina. She triggers within him memories of a life he had long forgotten, and he soon begins protecting her without understanding why. But Akira's secret is far stranger than he could have ever thought possible—he discovers that he is a werewolf, sworn from birth to protect the vampire queen, even if it costs him his life. Now, as these two dance a rondo of death in the Vampire Bund, Mina and Akira find out just how deep their bond goes.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Edit

Background

No background information has been added to this title. Help improve our database by adding background information here.

Edit

Related Anime

Adaptation:	Dance in the Vampire Bund
Summary:	Dance in the Vampire Bund: Special Edition

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Tepes, Mina

Main

Yuuki, Aoi
Japanese

Kaburagi Regendorf, Akira

Main

Nakamura, Yuuichi
Japanese

Saegusa, Yuki

Main

Saitou, Chiwa
Japanese

Meiren

Supporting

Kobayashi, Yuu
Japanese

Shinonome, Nanami

Supporting

Itou, Shizuka
Japanese

Medici Borgiani, Alphonse

Supporting

Kuroda, Takaya
Japanese

Vera

Supporting

Kaida, Yuuko
Japanese

Regendorf, Wolfgang

Supporting

Nakata, Jouji
Japanese

Nero

Supporting

Tanii, Asuka
Japanese

Saijou, Takashi

Supporting

Ichijo, Kazuya
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Cook, Justin

Producer

Matsuura, Hiroaki

Producer

Oosawa, Nobuhiro

Producer

Ooshima, Miku

Assistant Producer

Edit

Opening Theme

	1: "Friends" by Aiko Nakano (eps 2-6, 8-11)
	2: "Tsumeato" by hibiku (eps 12)

Edit

Ending Theme

	1: "Tsumeato" by hibiku (eps 1-3, 6, 8-11)
	2: "Friends" by Aiko Nakano (eps 7, 12)

More reviews

Reviews

Apr 21, 2010

Detective

Mixed Feelings

In one of SHAFT's latests, Dance in the Vampire Bund, there is actually very little to dance about. SHAFT usually has a knack for finding strange source materials and then adapting them in interesting new ways that break the troupes of their genres. Usually is the key word in that last sentence. I'm trying to write a non-bias review, but it's inevitable to say Dance in the Vampire Bund is not a good anime. But! At the same time it isn't a terrible anime. But what Bund is, is absolutely average. There's nothing this anime does to set it apart from other second-rate anime about ... vampires or political conquest. At first, everything that happens you'll feel like "Hey well I kind of thought that was coming" and by the end you'll be like "Wait? Was that a plot twist?" Note that is a review on the anime only and from what I've seen of the manga, this is a poor adaption of what could have been a much better experience.

Story: 4/10
Mina Tepes, the vampire princess has decided to establish a safehaven for all vampires. Through various means she gains political ground for the establishment of "the Bund." Of course, exposing to the world that vampires exist and that they will be Japan's next door neighbor is troublesome and the events told in this story are about them. I think. Mina also happens to own some fancy Japanese High School where our protagonist attends and our protagonist also happens to be a werewolf whose dad works directly under Mina who also happens to attend her own school. Huh? I'm confused too. The story becomes derailed whenever Akira, the protagonist, is focused on, because to be frank, the anime isn't about him. It's about Mina Tepes, but SHAFT decided to make the back plot some nonsensical love story (which only resolves with loli-rape - I'm dead serious). Oh, and be warned, there's most likely a sequel coming.

Art: 5/10
Oho. SHAFT is one of my favorite animation companies because they always do interesting things with their anime and try and tread new grounds by playing with color or 3D elements or optical illusions. SHAFT is also one of the most underpaid and overworked studios in the current anime market and thus they have an incredibly low budget. The only reason I can make sense of why Bund's animation quality was so low was because at the same time SHAFT had been working on the eye-candy "Hidamari Skecth Hoshimittsu." Almost everything about Bund in comparison animation-wise fails. The character movement is repulsive and over-dramatic. Every time a character does something they have a strange angle placed on them, then a zoom onto a random body part, followed by a slowed sentence that it wouldn't matter if it was even said or not. The only time you really see SHAFT's personal touch is when they zoom in on the eyes of the characters talking, which by the end of the anime was more of a nuisance than a pleasure. The clarity was also a huge problem. I started watching this anime in low quality TV rips, and then moved up to bigger and better looking files. There was no difference. The entire first episode had this weird green tint to it that made it unpleasing even to look at. The clarity fluctuates too (how fun!), so it's hard to enjoy when you have to up the brightness of your media player to view the episode normally. Oh, and other than Mina, every character looks boring. The main character looks like every other cliche male protagonist, and there's nothing even to set him apart from the other characters visually. Yuki, one of the female characters, is almost as interesting as Yuki from 11eyes (Note: Yuki from 11eyes sucks and she looks generic). I still like SHAFT's animation style, which is a plus for this anime, but the moments of camera genius that often appear in other SHAFT works are definitely missing here.

Sound: 7/10
Nothing to complain about. The opening and ending are both nice but nothing memorable. Character voices are fitting (I enjoyed Mina's) but once again aren't anything to flaunt. BGM was quiet and rather uninteresting most of the time, but nothing bad.

Character: 4/10
Vampires, werewolves, tigresses, oh my! DERP. Mina Tepes is the one interesting character in this entire anime and every other character exists solely to support her. She's the under-estimated soon-to-be queen of vampires who tries and fights the old traditions of vampires to finally reveal her people to the world so they will not longer be persecuted. Kind of like a Martin Luther King Jr. of vampires, except in the form of a ten-year-old girl and not black. Hey, strong lolita leads are cool in all (Pani Poni Dash! I'm looking at you) but SHAFT needed to realize that there were other characters in this anime. The list includes a Chinese Tigress, a blood-sucking "older sister," a vampire with massive eyebrows, a priestess, and about thirty five thousand big breasted women. There's actually very little to say about any of them except that they're bland. As soon as they're introduced you know exactly what their personality is. Mina is the only dynamic developed character, and thank god she is, because more than half of the anime is spent following her around. Akira on the other hand manages to grab as much time as Mina and ends up wasting it all. He's inctredibly undeveloped and the only point of appeal (kind of) is that he is a werewolf. COOL (BUT NOT REALLY). Even when he's a werewolf he most of the time gets the crapped knocked out of him and that's when a Deus ex Machina comes into play. Yuki is also an undeveloped annoying "for some reason it's a harem" bitch who gets in the way of the main "relationship" between Akira and Mina. She has absolutely nothing that separates her from other female characters in any anime ever and could easily be a background character that accidentally wandered onto the foreground.

Enjoyment: 5/10
SHAFT tries to do the impossible and fails when they tried to make a show about political warfare with a touch of "romance" and then ended with a harem and fighting with plot twists as original as "I AM YOUR FATHER". It's frustrating seeing how much potential this show had. I can safely say that after such a thrilling experience I wiped the anime off my hard-drive and will have probably forgotten most of it by tomorrow morning.

Overall: 5/10
That isn't to say that there aren't worse anime, because hot damn there are. I thoroughly enjoyed when Mina was on camera and thoroughly disliked whenever she wasn't. The annoying "wait for season two where we explain what the final episode was even about card" is pulled too. The only thing I can say is that for an anime about vampires, this show falls right into the pit with the other ones already out there, and unlike Hellsing, does not bring massive guns or blood. It brings one thing and one thing only - Mina Tepes - and if you don't like it, then this anime is definitely not for you.

Open

Gift

Jul 19, 2010

lonehunter88

Recommended

To be honest, it's really surprising to see so many reviews giving Vampire Bund such a low score. For me, it was absolutely the best vampire anime I've ever seen. I can't really say that I'm obsessed with vampires, but it's certainly an interesting genre. Unfortunately there isn't really a lot of animes which use this theme to its fullest. In that sense, Vampire Bund has managed to utilize all the glory of the vampire legend and myth.

Story: 10
As it goes with most vampire stories, Vampire Bund's plot revolves around the vampire princess, or vampire queen. However, it's really the subtle things that impresses me ... the most. I suppose most people would just pass them off as whims, but SHAFT has a knack at making an impression of the subtlest things which brings the plot together. Most vampire stories seem to forget that time moves, and are always trapped in one time-frame but Vampire Bund is nothing like that. Vampire Bund's story spans centuries of vampire history and glory, and the darkness within. It shows that vampires are not just creatures sleeping in coffins locked away in the middle ages, but also advance in technology and culture as humans do. It's an enormous theme and it's certainly not an easy task to depict it, but SHAFT does a great job. I suppose most people expect there would be a 2nd season because there's still another last boss and because of the manga, but if I'm not wrong, SHAFT doesn't intend on making a sequel. It's a lot better leaving the ending as it is and letting the audience imagine the story after, or just read the manga.

Art: 8
It doesn't get any better in abstract animation than with SHAFT. They make the simplest scenes look cinematic and grand. It seems they have been slacking a lot since ef, though. Basically, there's very little movement and lots of shadows. Vampire Bund seems to be lacking in the shadow effect SHAFT loves so much, however. In a sense, it could have been a lot better. However, it's still very impressive nonetheless.

Sound: 7
The OP and ED are not the best you can get from anime songs, but it's complimentary. On the contrary, the sound effects are excellent, as expected from SHAFT. Many scenes would have been very empty and felt meaningless without the sound effects, but SHAFT always makes it worthwhile with the perfect timing and tone.

Character: 8
As it is, the story revolves around one person, the vampire queen. But this doesn't mean everyone else are just pawns. Yes, the side characters may seem to have very little screen time, but they make a powerful impression every time they come onto the chess board. Unorthodox as it may be, Vampire Bund never depicts the mains as powerful and unbeatable. Instead it shows that they bleed and feel the pain, and don't live on their own but are supported by various characters.

Enjoyment: 10
Vampire Bund is one of the few animes I've managed to finish in just a day. It's so enjoyable and interesting that I couldn't take my eyes of it. The conversations, culture, history, philosophy, and action makes every minute worthwhile. I haven't read the manga, and I probably would in a while, but I doubt I would enjoy it as much as the anime. It's beyond my mind that the beautiful abstract animation by SHAFT can be depicted in manga form.

Open

Gift

Jun 13, 2010

lovethemtodie

Recommended

I was hesitant to watch Dance in the Vampire Bund, after all the bad reviews and ratings it was given, but I was surprised to find myself entertained by it. So much that I finished it all in one day.

I decided to give a summery of the anime because I dont believe the synopsis is fair to it.

Story:
A 17 yr old boy has had all his memories erased due to an incident that happened a year and a half ago. What he does remember is a promise he made to this girl seven years ago, to always be together. That girl turns ...

Open

Gift

More stacks

Interest Stacks

Ecchi With Nudity Every Episode (18+)

by AnimeBeefs

47 Entries · 744 Restacks

Halloween Anime For Spooky Month

by Shimapan-chan

25 Entries · 8 Restacks

Only female Vampires allowed in here

by Bogdi

39 Entries · 51 Restacks

More recommendations

Recommendations

View All

More news

Recent News

North American Anime & Manga Releases for October

Here are the North American Anime & Manga releases for October Week 1: October 6 - 12 Anime Releases Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero Complete Collection DVD (S.A.V.E....read more

Oct 7, 2015 8:49 AM by trebmeg | Discuss (23 comments)

FUNimation Acquires Baka Test & Dance in the Vampire Bund

According to the official blog, FUNimation acquired Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu and Dance in the Vampire Bund. English-subbed episodes will be streamed on http://www....read more

Mar 4, 2010 2:57 PM by dtshyk | Discuss (169 comments)

More discussions

Recent Forum Discussion

Season 2 xsilicon9 - Nov 3, 2012	6 replies	by Yui_Suzumiya69 »» May 13, 12:28 AM
Danxe in th vampire bund worth watching? bex - Jun 2, 2012	3 replies	by Yui_Suzumiya69 »» May 13, 12:26 AM
VoiceActors for the anime MrTerrorist - Sep 4, 2009	3 replies	by Yui_Suzumiya69 »» May 13, 12:15 AM
trap or not? "Mina Tepes" Nozila - Jan 14, 2010	15 replies	by Yui_Suzumiya69 »» May 9, 8:12 PM
Poll: Dance in the Vampire Bund Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) ShanaFlame - Mar 31, 2010	166 replies	by gannoncannon55 »» Mar 2, 10:21 PM

Recent Featured Articles

Top 10 Rich Anime Characters

Fiction is filled with the adventures of the super rich, from renegades like Zorro, geniuses like Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man), and lonely rich kids like... Richy Rich. Anime is no exception to this rule and has loads of characters with money as a key defining characteristic.

by NicWat10

88,356 views

Spoiler

Collection

Top 15 Anime Wolf Characters: Howling in the Night

Whether noble or savage, wise or feral, wolves have always had a place in our hearts. In this list, we'll showcase 15 of the most famous anime wolf characters. Read on to see if your favorite made the list!

by Kvasir369

687,787 views

Collection Animals Monsters Supernatural

Dance in the Vampire Bund

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Tepes, Mina

Kaburagi Regendorf, Akira

Saegusa, Yuki

Meiren

Shinonome, Nanami

Medici Borgiani, Alphonse

Vera

Regendorf, Wolfgang

Nero

Saijou, Takashi

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

Recent Featured Articles

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Dance in the Vampire Bund

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

Recent Featured Articles

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-