is a 2017 Japanese nine-part horror

television miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. " Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

written and directed by

Sion Sono Sion may refer to * an alternative transliteration of Zion People * Sion (name) or Siôn, a Welsh and other given name and surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Shion or Sion, a Japanese given name Plac ...

. All episodes (episode 8 was split into two parts for streaming) were originally released on

Amazon Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...

on June 16, 2017. A special feature-length cut running 2 hours and 22 minutes was shown at various festivals, including the 2017

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

. The theme song "Tokyo Vampire Hotel" is performed by the Japanese

math rock Math rock is a style of progressive and indie rock with roots in bands such as King Crimson and Rush as well as 20th-century minimal music composers such as Steve Reich. It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (includi ...

band tricot.

Plot

Manami is targeted by the rival vampire clans the Draculas and the Corvins on her 22nd birthday. That night, young men and women are invited to Hotel Requiem for a special coupling party held by Yamada, a Corvin vampire who lives in and operates the ornately beautiful, palatial hotel with his partner Elizabeth Báthory. Yamada declares to the gathered crowd that the world is ending and only the people inside the hotel will be saved. The Dracula vampire K, who possesses tremendous power, struggles against the other vampires to save Manami.

Cast

Ami Tomite AMI or Ami may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media *AMI-tv, a Canadian TV channel **AMI-télé, the French-language version * AMI-audio, a Canadian audio broadcast TV service *''Ami Magazine'', an Orthodox Jewish news magazine Businesses ...

as Manami * Yumi Adachi as Empress *

Megumi Kagurazaka is a Japanese actress and glamour model. She is married to the director Sion Sono and has starred in some of his films. Career Kagurazaka has appeared in films such as ''Cold Fish'', ''Guilty of Romance'', and '' The Land of Hope''. Filmograph ...

as Elizabeth Báthory * Kaho as K *

Shinnosuke Mitsushima is a Japanese actor. He graduated from Okinawa Prefecture Koza High School. He is represented with Humanitè. Mitsushima's older sister is former Folder and Folder 5 member turned actress Hikari Mitsushima. His younger sister is model Minami Mit ...

as Yamada *

Akihiro Kitamura is a Japanese actor and director, who appeared in '' The Human Centipede (First Sequence)'' and ''Cobra Kai'' as Young Sato. Early life After moving to the United States at the age of 18, Kitamura studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse ...

as Gen * Ayumu Yokuyama as Dre *

Nana Mori is a Japanese actress and singer from Oita Prefecture, Japan. Biography Mori was born in Osaka on August 31, 2001 and brought up in Ōita. In 2016, she was scouted by the talent agency ARBRE. In 2021, she signed a contract with SMA (Sony Music ...

as Akari

Episodes

Development

The series was developed as part of a push by Amazon Prime Video to release more Japanese titles. James Farrell, head of Asia Pacific content, Amazon Prime Video, said, "Our focus is to work with the content creators to be innovative and deliver a content experience only available on Amazon. Right from the first episode customers will see something they haven’t seen before that’s awesome and different. With his unique voice and baroque style, Sono puts his mark on any genre." Sono himself said, "I had wanted to make an original vampire movie for a long time. I approached it as if making a movie. I am proud to say we've produced something that has never been done before either as TV drama or feature film."

Filming

In addition to filming in the elaborate hotel set constructed in Tokyo, Sono also convinced Amazon to let him film in Romania. The series features

Bran Castle Bran Castle ( ro, Castelul Bran; german: Schloss Bran; hu, Törcsvári kastély) is a castle in Bran, southwest of Brașov. It is a national monument and landmark in Transylvania. The fortress is on the Transylvanian side of the historical bo ...

(commonly known as Dracula's Castle), the Salina Turda salt mine, and other spots in Transylvania, where Sono and his crew filmed for five days. "If we didn't film in Romania, the series wouldn't have any power," Sono told ''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched b ...

'', "I had to do it. Just shooting in Tokyo would have been no good."

Release

All episodes were originally released on

on June 16, 2017, with episode 8 split into two parts for streaming. A special feature-length cut running 2 hours and 22 minutes was shown at various film festivals, including the 2017

References

External links

Official website
* {{Amazon Video original series Japanese television miniseries 2017 Japanese television series debuts 2017 Japanese television series endings Japanese horror fiction television series Films directed by Sion Sono Television series set in the future Television series set in the 2020s Television series by Amazon Studios Vampires in television Films shot in Romania Films shot in Tokyo Amazon Prime Video original programming