Before you ask—no, this isn’t Baban Baban Ban Vampire. But this new Kodansha manga does, as the title says, follow A Vampire in the Bathhouse. The bloodsucker du jour is Luka Edelmondt Finsternis, a creature of the night who visits the human world to heal his aches and pains. In order to use his vampire magic, he bonds with Sakura, the eldest son of the Full Moon Bathhouse. And wacky hijinks ensue… including clarity on what being a vampire’s bond actually requires!

This single-volume story fills a Japanese bathhouse with paranormal creatures, yes. But it also highlights the simple pleasures of modern Japanese life. From summer festivals to sports days to (of course) bathhouses, this manga covers it all. It’s a sweet, gentle story accented by beautiful art. If you want a cozy paranormal read, this is a must.

Ok this was delightful! A fun, some hat slice of lifey manga surrounding a vampire who discovers a bathhouse and the family who owns it. Sakura and Luka have great chemistry and the banter is hilarious. The cast was funny and the plot was short and fun. I wish this wasn’t a one shot manga! I’d love to read more of this! But definitely recommended to people who want a one and done fun manga!

Thanks very much to Kodansha and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

It was a fun one. I'd wish there was more happening between Luka & Sakura. I know it's the first chapter, and it's Slice of Life but coooome oooon give us something!

Anyway, it was a cute little read.

I'd like to send my thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free pdf version of this manga in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to netgalley for allowing us to read this title.

What can I say about this manga... I found it very enjoyable! It's clearly the kind of story you'd want to read to forget daily life for a few moments. It's funny, cute and WTF all at the same time. You're quickly taken in by this story, which has no head or tail at first, but which gradually develops a little plot that's quite funny. We get attached to the characters, but we also smile a lot at the secondary characters in the background, who live their own lives.

The drawings are classic, but I liked the slightly “princely” moments of one character, which contrast with the rest. Mind you, the cover and title are funny, but this isn't really a romance, with no nudity or anything like that. It's just fun!

Fluffy, cute story. Cuter than I was expecting. Bits reminded me of Yuri on Ice and somewhat Spirited Away esque due to the setting. The art was really solid, loved the look of the characters.
Has a bit of found family and domestic shenanigans. And vampires are always a plus.

(Thank you to Kodansha and NetGalley for the arc)

Thank you NetGalley for the ebook, it was throughly entertaining and quite the quick read. Definitely looking forward to the next installment.

I really enjoyed this book. I would totally read more volumes of this if it came out. I enjoyed the characters and the cozy story of the bathhouse and the family that owns it.

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the digital ARC of “A Vampire in the Bathhouse” by Niko Izuki! This was such a cute single volume manga, the cast of characters at Full Moon Baths were so fun. Basically Luka the beautiful vampire lord from the demon realm is experiencing the human realm, kinda like a foreigner on vacation in Japan, but with some magical twists. Sakura, the eldest son of the bathhouse, has a sweet deadpan personality that contrasts well with Luka’s vampire extravagance. There’s a bit of romatic flirtation, but it doesn’t go far unfortunately, since the focus of the manga is humor. The only downside is that the repeated testimonials to the power of a relaxing bath house visit left me feeling very jealous that I don’t have one to visit… If you’re looking for a funny manga with a little bit of a spooky twist I’d give this manga a go!

Thank you, NetGalley, Kodansha Comics, and Niko Izuki for this Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Final rating 3.5

I have to say that there were various parts of this manga that I found quite enjoyable. I enjoyed the characters; I found their family/friend dynamic quite adorable. There were many moments that I physically “awed” or laughed out loud to, and I found myself wanting to continue reading just to see how it would end.

To be completely honest, I found that I wasn’t very impressed by the story. That is to say, that there was no actual story present. After reading the author’s notes, I understand why, as this was never intended to be a full-length story, and it shows. I found myself disappointed with this because the synopsis states that this is a full story contained in one book. However, most of the chapters were simple one-off stories with mild connections. If you’re expecting decent world-building, you’re only going to find enough for you to say, “All right then,” and move on. If you’re expecting amazing character development, you’re not going to find that here. It ended so incredibly abruptly, that I expected there to be another volume, and felt lukewarm in the end when I realized there wasn’t one. Overall, if you enjoy slice-of-life content with mild fantasy elements and a simple story, then you will enjoy this book.

One final element of this book is the romance between Sakura and Luka. If you could call it that. It seemed more like a gag than anything and certainly like it was tacked on for fanservice. I felt like that part of the story could have been completely left out and we wouldn’t have missed it. This is unfortunate because there were various ways I saw a potential romance could have elevated the story in terms of impact.
Final verdict: if you want a quick, low-stakes read, then this story is for you. If you want something a bit deeper, then it won’t be your jam. The art is very nice though and I look forward to seeing other things the mangaka creates!

Again, thank you NetGalley, Kodansha Comics, and Niko Izuki for this Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Gave quite a few laughs, from the beginning alone. I didn't expect what happened. I'm giggling now still thinking of it. The characters were very likable. Takes place in like a small bathhouse a d the MMC is completely thrown off by the situation as I know one would be in the same situation haha it was quite a good read!

This was an enjoyable slice of life vampire story. Luka Edelmondt Finsternis is a vampire who in an attempt to cure his hangover goes to the human realm to visit the famous Full Moon Baths to attempt to restore himself. Luka ends up staying and helping the eldest son Sakura run the bathhouse and take care of his younger sibling. This was cute and a pretty contained story. I enjoyed the various adventures they went on and the different kinds of demons we were introduced to. I was expecting a little more development or discussion about the pact between Luka and Sakura though.

Overall, this was enjoyable though and if there was another volume I would probably read it.

This book had an interesting premise and an adorable art style. As was expected with a title like A Vampire in the Bathhouse it was over the top and quirky but still a solid manga.

A Vampire In The Bathhouse had a really nice art style and was a cute and funny story. It had some really sweet family moments and I enjoyed the slice of life charm that it held. It had some innuendos, but was mostly just a cute romance between a vampire and a human guy.
I recommend reading if you enjoy fantasy and cute romance stories

With such an intriguing premise, I read A Vampire in the Bathhouse in one sitting! This was such a cute and lighthearted read, with lots of funny moments throughout. I loved the location of the bathhouse because it felt so cosy.

The artwork was absolutely gorgeous, and I felt that it matched the tone of the plot really well. Obviously, there were magical moments, but this story leaned more towards being slice of life. I loved the strong found family theme and the relationships that developed between each of the characters. I had a great time with this manga.

I loved this manga. It was a very interesting storyline. I could see myself picking up the of the series when it comes out. I loved the art work and the cover just tied it all together. The ending definitely makes me want to keep going through the series.

This reads like a cute, quirky, and light manga for days in during the weekend. The character interactions were adorable and amusing to experience, I loved the art style and I liked that the story didn't take itself so seriously. Exactly what I was looking for when I picked this up.

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for this eARC!

This was SUCH a cute story! This is the perfect slice of life manga to lose a couple hours to. The overall story was extremely well written and the art style is beautiful. I loved seeing the relationship between Luka and Ume. I really wish though we would have gotten more scenes of Luka and Sakura as you could see there was a possible relationship there but it never really developed. The banter between characters was witty and fun and Luka is a very charming character. Hope to see more from these characters!

This was such a silly and cute story. The artwork is really well done and lovely, the story was really good, and the characters were so fun.

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for letting me read this manga early!

okay this was WAY better than I expect it to be. This bizarre story was queer, cozy and entertainment. From the draw stile to ghe writing one! Can't wait to read volume 2!
I appropriate the translation note

Thank you Kodansha and Niko Izuki for the ARC.

This was a super sweet little slice of life paranormal story. I loved that the story wrapped up in one volume and made for a quick and fun little read.