The Spring 2025 Manga Guide

A Vampire in the Bathhhouse

What's It About? 

Luka Edelmondt Finsternis is your picture-perfect vampire--he's good looking, he's regal... He's also usually incredibly hungover and exhausted, and wants nothing more than a change of pace from his routine! When he takes a peek into the human world, he finds just the cure he's looking for--a relaxing Japanese bathhouse that will surely cure him of his hangover and rejuvenate him from head to toe. To blow his fatigue out of the water, Luka pays a visit to Full Moon Baths where he meets the bathhouse's eldest son, Sakura. But between the bathhouse being short staffed and taking care of his little brother, Sakura has enough to worry about without a bougie vampire being added to the mix!

A Vampire in the Bathhouse has a story and art by Niko Izuki, with English translation by Jacqueline Fung, lettered by Lys Blakeslee. Published by Kodansha (April 29, 2025). Rated 16+.

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Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

First things first, this is not the same vampire-in-a-bathhouse story as Baban Baban Ban Vampire. There are a few superficial similarities: both stories feature a vampire hanging out at a traditional bathhouse and both have something of a queer romance angle. But A Vampire in the Bathhouse is 99% creep-free and while the relationship between the vampire and the human isn't enthusiastic from both ends, it's also not predatory. Sakura is an adult and Luka generally takes no for an answer; although he mentions that sex is what he really needs with his pact partner, he also doesn't push Sakura. In fact, they never go that far, and this may be better billed as “BL flavored” rather than actual BL.

It's also surprisingly cute. Luka shows up at the Full Moon Bathhouse (owned by Sakura's grandfather) because he's heard that the human realm has a magic way to soothe body aches, and he's so excited about it that he decides to form a pact with Sakura and stay. Sakura's not thrilled at first, but since the only other worker just went on paternity leave, he's also not stupid enough to refuse the help. He tries to rein in some of Luka's more flamboyant tendencies, but as the single-volume story goes on, it's clear that the two of them are forming not just a friendship, but a co-parenting partnership for Sakura's much younger brother Umenosuke. Watching Luka become more attached to the little boy is charming, and it's clear that Umenosuke is really enjoying have two big brothers, to say nothing of a new friend in Luka's familiar, Pequeño, an adorable little batlike creature.

The biggest issue here is that it's only one volume. Creator Niko Izuki introduces lots of characters and concepts that simply have no place to go, like the late introduction of Yomi, a demon whose storyline is never really resolved, or the twins Chante and Crente, who are just sort of…there. If all you want is a little bit of silliness and lots of sculpted nude male bodies (without the salient bits, naturally), this is perfectly fine and actually pretty fun. But it's like the appetizer for a meal that doesn't exist, and the lack of even a slightly deeper story is a problem. It's surface-level all the way through, which is fine, but I did finish the book wishing that there had been a little more.