The Depiction of Vampires in the Emiverse

Emiko Hosokawa’s interest in vampires can go off the rails at times – noticeable in works she has written for the Emiko Anthological Universe (Emiverse).

In these works, how such beings are depicted vary drastically from how they are often depicted in most media around the same subject matter – with different Emiko Anthological Universe works having different interpretations of vampires: Some of the unreleased Helligbard prototypes interpret vampires as an extraterrestrial species, whereas the rest of the works she made for the Anthology depicts them in a fantastical manner much akin to the vast majority of vampire fiction. In her most recent Anthology works, the depiction of vampires typically include these traits:

• While the vast majority of vampires behave like what they usually behave in mainstream media – such as being active only at night and being repelled by holy objects – there is an incredibly rare minority of vampires who are immune to these weaknesses, as well as genuinely expressing devotion to all that is heavenly. Exact term for this minority remains unclear, although they are frequently (unofficially) referred as “ascended vampires” or “vampiric ascendants” by Hosokawa herself.
• If a vampire can actually go out in broad daylight (usually restricted to “vampiric ascendants”), they would become lethargic, indicated by dull and / or darkened pupils. In this state, they move around much slower than usual, but still considerably fast to a human’s perception. This might be circumvented if there is sufficient shade surrounding them that can lower the light level beyond a certain threshold.
• Regardless of being “ascended” or not, vampires always have luminescent pupils that shine in the dark and incredibly smooth skin. These traits are inspired by the physiology of vampires in Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles series and Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga, according to Hosokawa.

If visual kei’s influence on one particular vampire character in the Anthology isn’t enough, then it also influences the general appearance of the Anthology‘s vampires – Sporting an incredibly beautiful and youthful appearance, and are often sharply dressed. In fact, the vampire characters Hosokawa has designed so far sport outfits similar to magical girl outfit designs, modified to suit the general Gothic entendres of these beings.

Upon being sired, they tend to develop a personal ability, called a “Quirk”, which is based off aspects of their life as a human. Additional abilities might be acquired through various means such as age or becoming an “ascendant”.

They lack many bodily functions, such as digestion and perspiration. However, a noticeable trait is that in spite of their inability to sweat, they can still shed tears, but the tears are made out of blood. This trait isn’t unique to her own interpretation of vampires – In fact, several media featuring vampires allude to this phenomenon as a (possible) trait of these creatures, with the Castlevania series having a track referencing it in its title.

As with many mainstream vampire fiction, the Anthology‘s depiction of vampires are usually depicted sleeping inside coffins – a classic trope used ever since the original publication of the novel Dracula. However, it is implied they can sleep in normal beds like regular humans do – even in beds deliberately shaped like coffins, as Hosokawa herself often jokes about.

Overall, depictions of vampires in Emiko Hosokawa’s works are significantly more detailed than what Drillimation Systems envisioned for depicting this species within the Drillimation Danmaku Universe, with inspirations ranging from the most evident (vampire fiction) to the most niche (2000s visual kei). Read more about how Drillimation depicts these beings here for comparison.