The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess (novel/manga/anime)
The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess (Japanese: ひきこまり吸血姫の悶々, Hepburn: Hikikomari Kyūketsuki no Monmon) is a Japanese light novel series written by Kotei Kobayashi and illustrated by Riichu. SB Creative began publishing the series in January 2020, with 13 volumes having been released as of March 2024. A manga adaptation by the novel’s illustrator began serialization in Monthly Big Gangan in December 2021. As of November 2023, the series’ individual chapters have been collected in three tankōbon volumes. This series follows a female vampire who awakens after three years to find she’s been appointed as a military commander in the Mulnite Imperial Army.
An anime television series adaptation produced by Project No.9 aired from October to December 2023. Outside of Japan, it is licensed by Sentai Filmworks through Section23 Films in North America for home video distribution and the series is streaming on Sentai’s Hidive video on demand service.
Characters
- Terakomari Gandesblood (テラコマリ・ガンデスブラッド, Terakomari Gandesuburaddo)
- Voiced by: Tomori Kusunoki (Japanese); Brittney Karbowski (English)
- The protagonist of the series, she is a fifteen-year old vampire who previously lived a shut-in life. Despite being a vampire, she is not fond of consuming blood, leading to her powers being weaker than that of other vampires.
- Villhaze (ヴィルヘイズ, Viruheizu)
- Voiced by: Sayumi Suzushiro (Japanese); Donna Bella Litton (English)
- A girl who was hired to work as Komari’s personal maid. She has a big crush on Komari and constantly tries to seduce her, much to Komari’s annoyance and disgust.
- Karen Helvetius (カレン・エルヴェシアス, Karen Eruveshiasu)
- Voiced by: Yoko Hikasa (Japanese); Kira Vincent-Davis (English)
- Nelia Cunningham (ネリア・カニンガム, Neria Kaningamu)
- Voiced by: Fairouz Ai
- Karla Amatsu (アマツ・カルラ, Amatsu Karura)
- Voiced by: Miyuri Shimabukuro
- Sakuna Memoir (サクナ・メモワール, Sakuna Memowāru)
- Voiced by: Manaka Iwami
- Millicent Bluenight (ミリセント・ブルーナイト, Mirisento Burūnaito)
- Voiced by: Sora Amamiya (Japanese); Natalie Rial (English)
- Melca Tiano (メルカ・ティアーノ, Meruka Tiāno)
- Voiced by: Reina Ueda (Japanese); Annie Wild (English)
- Tio Flat (ティオ・フラット, Tio Furatto)
- Voiced by: Saku Mizuno
- Gertrude (ガートルード, Gātorūdo)
- Voiced by: Rina Hidaka
- Koharu Minenaga (峰永 こはる, Minenaga Koharu)
- Voiced by: Hina Kino
- Chaostel Conte (カオステル・コント, Kaosuteru Konto)
- Voiced by: Natsuki Hanae (Japanese); Scott Gibbs (English)
- Belius Innu Cerberus (ベリウス・イッヌ・ケルベロ, Beriusu Innu Kerubero)
- Voiced by: Masaaki Mizunaka (Japanese); Andrew Love (English)
- Melakonsi (メラコンシー, Merakonshī)
- Voiced by: Tasuku Hatanaka (Japanese); Greg Ayres (English)
- Johan Helders (ヨハン・ヘルダース, Yohan Herudāsu)
- Voiced by: Yūsuke Kobayashi (Japanese); Jack Stansbury (English)
- Arman Gandesblood (アルマン・ガンデスブラッド, Aruman Gandesuburaddo)
- Voiced by: Jun Fukushima (Japanese); Brandon Hearnsberger (English)
- Flöte Mascarail (フレーテ・マスカレール, Furēte Masukarēru)
- Voiced by: Riho Sugiyama
- Prohelia Zutazutsky (プロヘリヤ・ズタズタスキー, Puroheriya Zutazutasukī)
- Voiced by: Aoi Yūki
Media
Light novel
Written by Kotei Kobayashi and illustrated by Riichu, SB Creative began publishing the series on January 11, 2020. As of March 2024, 13 volumes have been released.
In August 2021, Yen Press announced that they licensed the series for English publication.
Volumes
| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 11, 2020 | 978-4-81-560465-3 | April 19, 2022 | 978-1-97-533949-4 |
| 2 | May 14, 2020 | 978-4-81-560551-3 | September 20, 2022 | 978-1-97-533951-7 |
| 3 | September 11, 2020 | 978-4-81-560743-2 | December 13, 2022 | 978-1-97-533953-1 |
| 4 | January 14, 2021 | 978-4-81-560890-3 | April 18, 2023 | 978-1-97-533955-5 |
| 5 | May 13, 2021 | 978-4-81-560985-6 | September 19, 2023 | 978-1-97-537260-6 |
| 6 | September 14, 2021 | 978-4-81-561203-0 | February 20, 2024 | 978-1-97-537964-3 |
| 7 | January 14, 2022 | 978-4-81-561378-5 | June 18, 2024 | 978-1-97-537966-7 |
| 8 | May 13, 2022 | 978-4-81-561642-7 | October 15, 2024 | 978-1-97-537968-1 |
| 9 | October 14, 2022 | 978-4-81-561643-4 | — | — |
| 10 | January 14, 2023 | 978-4-81-561910-7 | — | — |
| 11 | May 15, 2023 | 978-4-81-562137-7 | — | — |
| 12 | October 14, 2023 | 978-4-81-562138-4 | — | — |
| 13 | March 15, 2024 | 978-4-81-562139-1 | — | — |
Manga
A manga adaptation, illustrated by the novel’s illustrator Riichu, began serialization in Square Enix‘s Monthly Big Gangan magazine on December 25, 2021. As of November 2023, the series’ individual chapters have been collected in three tankōbon volumes.
The manga adaptation is published in English on Square Enix‘s Manga Up! app.
Volumes
| No. | Japanese release date | Japanese ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 23, 2022 | 978-4-75-757986-6 |
| 2 | January 25, 2023 | 978-4-75-758363-4 |
| 3 | November 25, 2023 | 978-4-75-758919-3 |
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced at the “GA Fes 2023” livestream on January 5, 2023. It is produced by Project No.9 and directed by Tatsuma Minamikawa, with scripts supervised by Keiichirō Ōchi, characters designed by Tomoyuki Shitaya, and music composed by Go Shiina. The series aired from October 7 to December 30, 2023, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme is “Red Liberation” by fripSide, while the ending theme is “Nemurenai” (眠れない) by Miminari feat. Tomori Kusunoki.
Sentai Filmworks has licensed the series outside of Asia. Nada Holdings / Remow licensed the series in Asia-Pacific. In March 2024, Hidive announced an English dub for the series, which will premiere its first two episodes at Anime Boston on March 29 before releasing on the platform starting on April 15.
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Storyboarded by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | “The Shut-in Vampire Goes Outside” Transliteration: “Hikikomori Kyūketsuki, Soto ni Deru” (Japanese: 引きこもり吸血鬼、外に出る) |
Kazuo Nogami | Keiichirō Ōchi | Tatsuma Minamikawa | October 7, 2023 |
| 2 | “A Sudden Insurrection” Transliteration: “Gekokujō, Boppatsu” (Japanese: 下剋上、勃発) |
Kiyotaka Takezawa | Keiichirō Ōchi | Hiroaki Takagi | October 14, 2023 |
| 3 | “The Darkness of the Shut-in Vampire Princess” Transliteration: “Hikikomori Kyūketsuki no Yami” (Japanese: ひきこもり吸血姫の闇) |
Kōsuke Shimotori | Keiichirō Ōchi | Tatsuma Minamikawa | October 21, 2023 |
| 4 | “The Mercy of the Lonely Crimson” Transliteration: “Kokō no Tomurai” (Japanese: 孤紅の恤) |
Kentarō Tanaka | Keiichirō Ōchi | Hiroaki Takagi | October 28, 2023 |
| 5 | “Sakuna Memoir and the Seven Crimson Lords” Transliteration: “Sakuna Memowāru to Shichiguten-tachi” (Japanese: サクナ・メモワールと七紅天たち) |
Kazuo Nogami | Satoru Sugizawa | Hitomi Ezoe | November 4, 2023 |
| 6 | “A Roundtable of Lowlives” Transliteration: “Kusemono Zoroi no Entaku Kaigi” (Japanese: 曲者ぞろいの円卓会議) |
Ayumi Takagi | Keiichirō Ōchi | Hidetoshi Takahashi | November 11, 2023 |
| 7 | “The Scarlet Stage” Transliteration: “Sukāretto Sutēji” (Japanese: スカーレット・ステージ) |
Kentarō Tanaka | Satoru Sugizawa | Noriaki Saitō | November 18, 2023 |
| 8 | “Wheels of Asterism” Transliteration: “Asuterizumu no Kaiten” (Japanese: アステリズムの廻転) |
Kiyotaka Takezawa | Keiichirō Ōchi | Tsutomu Miyazawa | November 25, 2023 |
| 9 | “A Warblade Tea Party” Transliteration: “Senryū Chakai” (Japanese: 翦劉茶会) |
Kazuo Nogami | Keiichirō Ōchi | Noriaki Saitō | December 9, 2023 |
| 10 | “The Princess of Aruka Kingdom” Transliteration: “Aruka Okoku no Ohimesama” (Japanese: アルカ王国のお姫様) |
Ayumi Takagi | Satoru Sugizawa | Noriaki Saitō | December 16, 2023 |
| 11 | “The Dream-Crushing Paradise” Transliteration: “Yume no Tsuieru Rakuen” (Japanese: 夢の潰える楽園) |
Akari Ranzaki | Keiichirō Ōchi | Akari Ranzaki | December 23, 2023 |
| 12 | “A Golden World” Transliteration: “Ōgon no Sekai” (Japanese: 黄金の世界) |
Kentarō Tanaka | Keiichirō Ōchi | Tatsuma Minamikawa | December 30, 2023 |
Reception
In the 2021 edition of Takarajimasha‘s annual light novel guide book Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi!, the novel series ranked 17th in the new work category.
Both the manga and anime have received generally mixed to negative reviews from critics. Demelza from Anime UK News liked the illustrations, while harshly criticizing the story and characters. Rebecca Silverman from Anime News Network liked the illustrations and thought the writing was “solid”, while also criticizing the characters, especially Vill and Komari.
Notes
- ^ Home video rights through Section23 Films and streaming rights through Hidive (also in Australia and British Isles)
- ^ Hikikomari is a pun on the Japanese word hikikomori and the main protagonist named Terakomari.
| The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess | |
First light novel volume cover, featuring Terakomari Gandesblood
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| ひきこまり吸血姫の悶々 (Hikikomari Kyūketsuki no Monmon) |
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|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Light novel | |
| Written by | Kotei Kobayashi |
| Illustrated by | Riichu |
| Published by | SB Creative |
| English publisher | |
| Imprint | GA Bunko |
| Demographic | Male |
| Original run | January 11, 2020 – present |
| Volumes | 13 |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Kotei Kobayashi |
| Illustrated by | Riichu |
| Published by | Square Enix |
| English publisher |
|
| Magazine | Monthly Big Gangan |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Original run | December 25, 2021 – present |
| Volumes | 3 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Tatsuma Minamikawa |
| Written by | Keiichirō Ōchi |
| Music by | Go Shiina |
| Studio | Project No.9 |
| Licensed by |
|
| Original network | Tokyo MX, BS NTV, MBS, AT-X |
| Original run | October 7, 2023 – December 30, 2023 |
| Episodes | 12 |
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