While on the hunt for a new job and a place to stay, Matilda is pretty sure she hit the jackpot when she winds up in a large mansion known as the “Haunted House.” Not only does she have work, room, and board, but her new boss is absolutely gorgeous! August, owner of the spooky mansion, is a beautiful, soft-spoken woman who captured Matilda's heart from the moment they met. But on her first night there, Matilda learns there's much more to August than she could have ever imagined!

I Won't Let Mistress Suck My Blood has story and art by Paderapollonorio. English translation is done by Avery Hutley and lettering by Arbash Mughal. Published by Seven Seas Entertainment (December 2, 2025). Rated T.

Bolts
Rating:

There's not a lot to say about I Won't Let Mistress Suck My Blood because, unfortunately, I don't really think it's doing much to stand out compared to other stories that have played with a similar premise before. A wholesome yet spicy romance story between the head of an expensive mansion who just happens to be a vampire and their recently employed maid? There are genuinely dozens of anime that play with that exact premise, and unfortunately, this story's existence suffers from that. There are multiple directions you can go with that premise or even play around with the meta idea, but the biggest tragedy of the story is that it doesn't go far enough in any particular direction, leaving things ultimately very bland.

There is a comedic element to the story, and I do think that's where it excels the most. There are some nice exaggerated facial features and one or two cute designs. I may have chuckled once by the time I got to the end, but even that chuckle was more from an offhanded comment one of the characters made rather than via any genuine forward attempt at comedy. The story is not exactly a slice-of-life story either because there's supposed to be this air of tension between our two leads since our titular vampire mistress doesn't want our lead to leave, as she's trying to keep the fact that she's a vampire secret.

Is at least spicy when it comes to the blood sucking and overtones? I mean, it leans in that direction occasionally, but it doesn't really do anything with them until the final couple of pages of the book, so I would have to check out volume two before I could give any definitive answer on that. But unfortunately, I don't think I'm going to do that because I think there are better things that I can do with my time. Reading this volume felt like I was eating a regular slice of bread; it wasn't bad, and it definitely passed the time, but I'd much rather eat something else to feed my hungry stomach.

Kevin Cormack
Rating:

Fans bereft of yuri vampire shenanigans following the conclusion of last year's Mayonaka Punch anime could do worse than I Won't Let My Mistress Suck My Blood, although there's less of a focus on YouTubers and more on worrisomely imbalanced master-servant dynamics. Young Matilda Lister shows up to her new role as maid for the Luttinson Estate all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to ignore the rumors about the mansion's haunted nature. Her new employer, August Luttinson, is a tall, attractive woman who welcomes her enthusiastically. August gives Matilda three rules of conduct she must follow: past midnight, she must not leave her room; she must never enter her employer's bedroom; and she must never tell outsiders about the estate's affairs. Matilda accepts these odd requests relatively unquestioningly, but on her first night breaks the first rule and wanders around the darkened mansion.

First, and perhaps most concerningly, she meets several ghosts of previous housemaids, suggesting an answer to why her position has been vacant for so long. How did they die? We don't know yet. Then she meets August wandering the corridors, her long black hair contrasted against her pale, gaunt face with glowing red eyes… Yup, August is a vampire, and true to type, she can't control herself around the exposed necks of nubile young virgins, chomping down on Matilda's quivering flesh and draining her of precious bodily fluids.

August is horrified by her actions, as it transpires she normally subsists on blood donations from the nearby hospital, and has in fact never fed on a live human being before. Although Matilda survives her ordeal, as she knows August's secret, she's forbidden from leaving the estate. So begins an awkward relationship between Matilda and August that's obviously a little more sensually charged than that between mere predator and prey. Matilda's determined to find a way to make August human again (apparently that's somehow a possibility in this world), though she's also quite excited by the prospect of August's lips upon her skin…

This manga doesn't bring anything startlingly new to vampire mythology, nor to the well-trodden upstairs/downstairs romance genre. However, it is gently entertaining, and the central relationship develops hesitatingly yet sweetly. There's a definite sexual tension between the leads from the outset, but this story errs more on the cute, comedic side of yuri romance than the angsty, emotional side that could be explored with such a premise. In that respect, this is a light and frothy manga without a whole lot of substance. The cliffhanger promises the possibility of more full-blooded romance to follow in future volumes, so I'd hesitate to call the story anemic just yet. I don't feel an uncontrollable craving to devour any more, however.