# Vlad Love

Vlad Love (Japanese: ぶらどらぶ, Hepburn: Burado Rabu) is a Japanese original net animation (ONA) anime series created by Mamoru Oshii. It was animated by Drive and produced by Ichigo Animation. The series was directed by Mamoru Oshii and Junji Nishimura. It was originally scheduled to premiere in October 2020, but it was delayed due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first half of the series was released online in February 2021, while the second half was released online in March 2021. The series is a slapstick comedy centred on a vampire girl and a high school girl.

## Characters
### Mitsugu Bamba (絆播 貢, Banba Mitsugu)

    Voiced by: Ayane Sakura

### Mai Vlad Transylvania (マイ・ブラド・トランシルヴァニア, Mai Burado Toranshiruvania)

    Voiced by: Rina Hidaka

### Chihiro Chihmatsuri (血祭 血比呂, Chimatsuri Chihiro)

    Voiced by: Romi Park

### Nami Unten (雲天 那美, Unten Nami)

    Voiced by: Yū Kobayashi

### Maki Watabe (渡部 マキ, Watabe Maki)

    Voiced by: Saori Hayami

### Kaori Konno (紺野 カオル, Konno Kaoru)

    Voiced by: Kanako Takatsuki

### Jinko Sumida (墨田 仁子, Sumida Jinko)

    Voiced by: Yoko Hikasa

### Masumi Katsuno (勝野 真澄, Katsuno Masumi)

    Voiced by: Kenta Miyake

### Okada (岡田)

    Voiced by: Kaito Ishikawa

### Kambara (神原)

    Voiced by: Ryūnosuke Watanuki

### Horita (堀田)

    Voiced by: Tarō Kiuchi

### Mai's dad (マイのパパ, Mai no papa)

    Voiced by: Hiroshi Iwasaki

### Mitsugu's pops (貢のとーちゃん)

    Voiced by: Jouji Nakata

## Production and release

The series was created by Mamoru Oshii, who is also credited as chief director, and was directed by Junji Nishimura. The screenplay was written by Oshii and Kei Yamamura featuring character designs by Issei Arakaki, and Kenji Kawai composing the series' music. Oshii announced that the series would focus on five young girls and had no prominent male characters. The series was first announced in May 2019, with further details being revealed in June 2019. The concept and characters originated in the 2013 mobile game Chimamire Mai Love.
The series was funded by a single investor, Ichigo Animation, a subsidiary of Ichigo Inc., a new financing arrangement in Japanese anime that replaces the "sclerotic production committee system" and gives directors like Oshii and Nishimura more freedom, according to The Japan Times.
The opening theme for the "Mai Version" of the series is "Winds of Transylvania" by Lovebites, chosen by Oshii and Nishimura because they felt the band's members and concept were similar to the series' main character and unconventional themes. Lovebites' members appear in the anime's opening credits, which also features Vlad Love's fictional characters performing the song in a sequence that the animators based on the band's. "Where You Are" performed by Kanako Takatsuki and Karin Isobe as part of the vocal and dance unit BlooDye is used for the "Mitsugu Version" of the opening sequence. alan and Ayasa performed the ending theme "Akai Ame" (赤い雨) for the Japanese version of the series, while Ayasa alone performed the instrumental "Shingetsu" (新月) for the ending of the international versions. A CD including all four theme songs was released at Ichigo Animation's CulZone stores on January 9, 2021.
It was scheduled to premiere in April 2020, but it was delayed to October 2020. On May 8, 2020, it was announced that series was delayed again due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first episode of the series had an advanced streaming debut on December 18, 2020. On December 28, 2020, it was announced the first half of the series would be released online on AbemaTV, Amazon Prime Video Japan, and various other streaming outlets on February 14, 2021 (Valentine's Day). It was hoped by series producers that the anime would first broadcast on television, but that plan never came into fruition. The second half was released on March 14, 2021 (White Day). Crunchyroll licensed the series.

### Episode list

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | "A Vampire Girl Becomes Excited" Transliteration: "Kyūketsu Musume no Chi ga Sawagu" (Japanese: 吸血娘の血が騒ぐ) | Shōta Hamada | Mamoru Oshii | February 14, 2021 (2021-02-14) |
| 2 | "Love Takes Flight at Night" Transliteration: "Ai no Yakan Hikō" (Japanese: 愛の夜間飛行) | Yūjirō Abe | Kei Yamamura | February 14, 2021 (2021-02-14) |
| 3 | "Sabbath Night Fever" Transliteration: "Sabato Naito Fībā" (Japanese: さばと・ナイト・フィーバー) | Toshiyuki Sone | Mamoru Oshii | February 14, 2021 (2021-02-14) |
| 4 | "Salamander's Night" Transliteration: "Saramandā no Yoru" (Japanese: サラマンダーの夜) | Mizuho Nishikubo | Mamoru Oshii | February 14, 2021 (2021-02-14) |
| 5 | "Daddy Came" Transliteration: "Tōchan ga Kita" (Japanese: 父ちゃんが来た) | Sachiko Kanno | Kei Yamamura | February 14, 2021 (2021-02-14) |
| 6 | "Castle of Vania" Transliteration: "Akuma no Shiro Dorakyura" (Japanese: 悪魔の城ドラキュラ) | Shōta Hamada | Mamoru Oshii | February 14, 2021 (2021-02-14) |
| 7 | "Day for Night" | Sachiko Kanno | Mamoru Oshii | March 14, 2021 (2021-03-14) |
| 8 | "A Long Story" Transliteration: "Rongu Sutōrī" (Japanese: ろんぐすとおりぃ) | Junji Nishimura | Kei Yamamura | March 14, 2021 (2021-03-14) |
| 9 | "Bolted" Transliteration: "Boruto-shiki" (Japanese: ボルト式) | Mizuho Nishikubo | Mamoru Oshii | March 14, 2021 (2021-03-14) |
| 10 | "My Fiance is an Artificial Human" Transliteration: "Kon'yakusha wa Jinzō Ningen" (Japanese: 婚約者は人造人間) | Toshiyuki Sone | Kei Yamamura | March 14, 2021 (2021-03-14) |
| 11 | "Midsummer Night’s Mystery" Transliteration: "Manatsu no Yoru no Kaiki Dai Sakusen" (Japanese: 真夏の夜の怪奇大作戦) | Tomoe Makino | Kei Yamamura | March 14, 2021 (2021-03-14) |
| 12 | "Interview with Mai" Transliteration: "Intabyū wizu Mai" (Japanese: インタビュー・ウィズ・マイ) | Shōta Hamada | Mamoru Oshii | March 14, 2021 (2021-03-14) |