A Vampire in the Bathhouse is a sweet manga containing found-family, slice of life, and has really soft supernatural vibes to it as well. The characters are wholesome and their interactions are heartwarming to say the least. It’s a gentle, cozy read that focuses more on emotional connection than dramatic conflict, which makes it perfect for winding down. The art style complements the tone beautifully, with soft lines and expressive faces that bring the warmth of each moment to life.

Thank you to Niki Izuki, Kodansha Comics, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for a honest review (unpaid).

This was a fun little series of stories but I feel a little disappointed that we didn't actually see them deciding that Sakura didn't need to go to Yomi's Bath House permanently. Why introduce conflict to the story if it's not actually going to play out in it's entirety in the book?

5/10

This manga had so much potential but ultimately fell a bit flat. The premise is nice, a fun and cute slice of life with a handsome demon vampire that doesn't know the human realm, but the story felt rushed, the pacing was too fast and, as a result, many of those interesting ideas weren’t fully explored...
To top it off, ending on a cliffhanger was diabolical.
If you're looking for a simple, fast-paced, fun and cute manga, this might be for you.

This was cute enough as a sweet little family slice of life, but I was expecting more movement in the romance department but it was played more as just a gag. Which I didn’t love.

Also the only real conflict happened on the very last pages and was cleared up immediately in the bonus chapter so what was the point?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advance copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was so cute!!!!! I need more of these characters luka and sakura are so fun and cute. This was a quick read and would die for more of this world. A cute fun manga i recommend to anyone looking for a goofy story.

Absolutely adorable manga, with lots of humor, great characters and intriguing premise. I would love to read more adventures of those guys! The brewing "romance" potential is lovely, it's a shame it was not fully realized, but maybe it's better this way. The "will they won't they" teases the reader in best way possible.

This was a cute and fun slice of life manga! I liked the character designs and there were some laugh out loud moments. For it being only one volume, the characters felt a little underdeveloped, but they were still enjoyable. Can’t wait to see more of what this author does in the future!

This was a cute story. I enjoyed the characters and they way they interacted with one another. I will say thought that this story felt unfinished. The book ended on what seemed like a cliffhanger and then was wrapped up quickly with extra chapters. I wish we had been able to get more of this story, but it was still a fun, enjoyable read.

First of all, thank you to NetGallery and the Publisher for this ARC.

This was a fun, wholesome and easy to read slice of life manga - it is a collection of a few stories about, as the title suggests, a vampire with magic powers who travels to the human realm (and specifically, a bathhouse) and the shenanigans that follow as the vampire, Luka, discovers more about the human realm and both sides discover more about the other. The art was nice and the story had its fun moments - although note given its anthological style that there is no overarching conflict or tension, and most tensions are resolved quite quickly - so it is more of a 'fluffy' read of sorts and best suited for those who are interested in the premise and just want a mindless, almost, easy quick read than anything tense or groundbreaking. Our small cast of characters does undergo some character growth as they learn more about each other which I give credit to, but I found myself finding it a bit hard to get attached to any of the characters - perhaps due to the shorter format of the story, but I did not find them the most memorable as they did fall into a few trope-ish character stencils I have seen before. So all in all, a fun few stories that is good for a slice-of-life enjoyer who wants to enjoy a Friday night, but perhaps for someone who is looking for something more substantial, this might not be the best fit for you. Thank you again for the book and for the author/artist's hard work!

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ARC of this manga

A vampire from another realm comes to the human world and makes a connection with a human woman, this was a cute read at times and I thought the story was not too bad but I will not be continuing to read the rest of the books that come out.

This was absolutely adorable! So wholesome and fun with sweet and silly characters and scenes. The ending felt a bit abrupt, I wish it had been brought to an end more cohesively

A really cute slice of life through the eyes of a bathhouse and a vampire learning the mundanities of life. Seeing life through the Vampires eyes makes you appreciate the little things as well as laugh out loud from his absurd reactions. I loved it!

Whacky and fun. Adore the cover. Pretty lighthearted story of a vampire coming to the human world to experience the magic of a local bathhouse. Another demon shows up. Battle of pride ensues. HEA.

3 stars because non-consent. Anyone who’s been following my reviews, knows how much I despise that trope. Worse, when it’s used as comedy.
Non-consent may work sometimes for certain characters, but not when it involves sexual-like activities AND the non-consenting person clearly is uncomfortable (+ has done nothing to deserve it). Which was the case here.

Could’ve rated it 5 stars without it, because everything else is really good. Unfortunately, the sexual harassment was used as a running gag in each chapter, one time he was even forced to have sex; while he may have agreed to it, for once, he pretty much had no real choice. (Positive Spoiler: <spoiler> they manage to resolve it without sex. </spoiler>)

The art is great, the characters are (aside from the non-consent) fun to follow around and I loved the slice of life. The latter makes it seem like it’s very slow-paced, showing ‘boring’ day tasks like cooking, cleaning, shopping etc. (which I’m a fan of). On the other hand, everything is resolved very quickly and jumps from one adventure to the next.

I would’ve wished to see more of Ume and Pequeño (cool name btw). They were such a cute duo and so much more interesting to read than the grown-ups.
Although grandpa was really sweet too, for his few appearances.
The older teens were mostly annoying tho, they’re (short) dramas were meant to be funny but not for me. Such basic, on a low level, humor that is nothing new and really could’ve been better.

Queer casualty but no queer plot – Luka mentions that demons don’t bother with gender roles or differences, also when it comes to sex or romance etc. It may be new for Sakura, who’s a human and interprets it as BL, the tropes are also very commonly Yaoi, but it isn’t really BL. Not that I minded though; I’m glad it focused on the daily life and the non-consent was just a (useless) side remark, so the book does end up having at least some charm.
There might’ve been a drag queen or trans person as a side character. I’m not sure cause she didn’t use a label, but it’s cool either way. Men being or looking feminine is normal here. (It still pulls a lot of heteronormative tropes, such as a photo shooting where they’re dressed up as a husband & wife for a wedding theme.)

~

Thank you to Kodansha on Netgalley for providing an eARC.

-06.04.25

This manga offers comfort and happiness as I read it because the them of this manga is a mix of slice of life and fantasy because of the vampires. The relationship between Luka and Sakura is adorable and funny because Luka always pisses Sakura off and his reaction is cute. It's like Luka is the troublemaker while Sakura tries to fix the mess or rather just scream.

This manga also has the usual type of 12 episode anime themes like the sports day chapter, night market with Kimono, and many more that were really cute and fun! If you're looking for a light book to read, this would be perfect for you because it was fast-paced and just wholesome!

This is an enjoyable collection of slice-of-life stories about the titular vampire and his adventures in a family-run bathhouse. I like how Luka the vampire integrates himself into the human Sakura's family, quickly establishing himself as well-intentioned fish out of water. Sakura provides contrast (and well-needed guidance) as the deadpan "straight man" to Luka's campy clown.

The manga gets cheeky at times, though a lot of focus is given to the family set-up, where Luka takes responsibility for Sakura's adorable little brother Umenosuke as well as the magical little creature called Pequeño. It gets much more interesting with the introduction of new characters, one of whom plays a more significant and intriguing role than the rest, but the promise of more information as well as more of a juicy plot unfortunately gets little to no follow-through. (It is in fact through this specific figure and a couple of side characters that we learn the most about the demon world, so I would have loved to spend more time with them on the page and see more weighty conflicts involving them play out.) There's definitely a lot of potential for developing the story, especially considering how much contact Sakura gets with Luka's world. Overall, this standalone volume is light entertainment that left me wanting more.

The art style is pleasing to the eye, and the character designs are well done. The translation felt very natural to me as an English speaker with minimal Japanese skills. I can imagine that the humor is snappier in Japanese.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Kodansha for the eARC!

Such a cute cozy, low stakes, found family, magical vibe. I read this in one sitting and enjoyed it. The art is beautifully done and made the story so appealing.

Thank you NetGalley for the E-Arc

This was a super cute & funny found family story about a vampire, who on a whim, decides to visit a bathhouse in the human world. I had a great time reading this slice-of-life manga! Luka (the vamp in question) is such a fish out of water in this situation he has procured for himself, but he decides on an extended stay with Sakura and his family at their bathhouse because he likes belonging somewhere. I thought I would probably like this one just based on the synopsis alone, but I really did fall in love with Luka, Sakura, and the rest of the gang! Every slice of life should have a dramatic vampire king like Luka, honestly. Beautiful art style and a super fun story to boot. I'm honestly just so sad it's only one volume. I would have loved to read & collect this one as a series 🥺 Instead, I'll just pick up the physical copy for my collection when it comes out later this month.

For fans of Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits (for similar bathhouse & found family vibes) and Blood and Love (a vampire BL) if you read this and were looking for a more canon gay romance.

Such a heartwarming and fun story!!! And Pequeño was the cutest little thing☺️
It's the perfect book to read in one sitting!

Absolutely delightful, laugh-out-loud funny, and brimming with charm! A vampire steps into the human world for a simple visit to a bath house—and suddenly, a whole new chapter of his life begins. Watching the characters bond was genuinely heartwarming, and the cheeky innuendos had me cracking up. Luka’s transition into the human realm was both flawless and hilarious. I’d love to see more of this story, but even as a standalone, it was pure magic. And the artwork? Stunning. Every panel was a visual treat.