Don Dracula (Manga)

Also known as ドン・ドラキュラ (Don Dorakyura)

Tezuka’s slapstick vampire comedy, Don Dracula (1979) was published, following the conclusion of his popular Black Jack (1973-83) manga’s original run, in Weekly Shonen Champion from May to December 1979.  A minor hit, in 1982 it spawned an animated television show. Originally slated for 26 episodes, only four were broadcast before the sponsor went bankrupt.

What it’s about

Don Dracula (1979) is Tezuka’s take on the classic “fish out of water” scenario, pitting the infamous vampire, Count Dracula, against the modern-day Japan of the late 1970s.

Seeking a new life for his family – which consists of his daughter Chocola, a cute junior high school student, and Igor, his malformed but well-meaning manservant – Count Dracula has moved his entire Transylvanian manor to a quiet residential area of the Nerima Ward in Tokyo. There, the family faces numerous difficulties in fitting in, including the challenges of taking a horse-drawn carriage through Tokyo traffic towards Shibuya, and the somewhat confusing nature of the Red Cross’ “blood bank”. As such, although the Count is always in search of supple young virgins in order to drink their nourishing blood, as often as not, he’s forced to sustain himself on instant ramen noodles when things don’t quite go as planned.

Horse-drawn carriage

Chocola, for her part, does a much better job at settling in. At Matsutani Junior High, her progressive “Night School” (which is convenient since vampires tend to be burned to dust in the light of day), Chocola joins the Sci-Fi Club in the hopes of getting closer to Nobuhiko Obayashi, the cute boy who is its president. Luckily, or unluckily, depending on your point of view, Nobuhiko, despite being a firm believer in all manner of space aliens, thinks vampires are just the stuff of fanciful tales told to scare little children – a topic of debate which infuriates and frustrates Chocola‘s hot-tempered father.

Rounding out the cast are the three main antagonists who make Dracula‘s life more difficult. The first is Blonda, the overly large and loud woman next door that Dracula, insatiably hungry after his long voyage, made the mistake of biting shortly after his arrival in Japan. With a face only a mother could love, she’s now completely fallen under the vampire’s spell and regularly comes around seeking to be bitten once more – something which also helps relieve her hypertension.

The second is Professor Hellsing, the famed vampire-hunter who has relentlessly pursued Count Dracula for over ten years on his mission to exterminate vampires. Although he succeeds in landing a teaching job at Matsutani Junior High, his chronic (and often somewhat explosive) case of hemorrhoids usually finds a way to derail his carefully laid plans and keep him from his goal of destroying Dracula.

When you gotta go…

Finally, the third is Carmilla, Dracula‘s ex-wife and Chocola‘s mother. Although she is also an infamous (and rival) vampire, unlike Dracula who draws the line at killing, she drains her prey completely. When she re-enters Chocola‘s life, the two clash over parenting techniques and the proper way to raise a young vampire.

All in all, in a modern-day Japan, where no one really believes in vampires, Dracula is quite capable of getting into all sorts of mischief, all by himself – usually through a basic misunderstanding of the world around him.

What you should know

After his incredibly popular medical thriller, Black Jack (1973-83) came to its original conclusion (even though, by popular demand, it still continued to appear sporadically for a few more years) in 1979, Tezuka decided to follow it up with something completely different – slapstick comedy.

Blonda shows up

After years of “grim and grimmer” storytelling, Tezuka didn’t want to simply re-hash Black Jack (1973-83) in the pages of Weekly Shonen Champion. Instead, he decided to return to one of the bastions of his early career – screwball comedies. Of course, it is a relatively gradual shift in tone. After all, despite the slapstick premise of the series, it is still based on the somewhat grisly theme of vampires that dine on human blood. However, while most of the stories take place at night, they often end, quite humourously, in the light of day – usually with Chocola being forced, once again, to reconstitute her atomized father. This has the subtle effect of creating a “light at the end of the tunnel” feeling.

Taken within the larger context of Tezuka’s career, this somewhat innocuous comedy series, Don Dracula (1979) is an important “bridge” work. Ironically, much like Vampires (1966-69) represented a transition in Tezuka’s career from his earlier, lighter, brighter, shonen adventures like Captain Ken (1960-61) or Number 7 (1961-63) into his well-known “Dark Period” works such as Ode to Kirihito (1970-71) and Ayako (1972-73), Don Dracula (1979) represents a transition out of it. Simply put, Don Dracula (1979) to bridges the gap, especially in Weekly Shonen Champion, between Black Jack (1973-83) and lighter (but no less complex) fare such as Rainbow Parakeet (1981-82), and his later comedic series, Say Hello to Bookila! (1985).

Finally, it’s interesting to note that an American comedy movie release around the same time, Love at First Bite (1979) also features a scene reminiscent of the one in the manga where Dracula visits a disco. While Tezuka maintained this was pure coincidence, his famed reputation as an insatiable film buff might draw statement into question…

In the end, though, if you’re writing a story about Dracula in 1979, who wouldn’t have a scene with him at a disco? It’s a natural fit.  He’s already dressed for it and everything!

What else you should check out

Check out the link below for chapter summaries and more detailed publication information on Don Dracula (1979) serialization in Weekly Shonen Champion.

Don Dracula (Weekly Shonen Champion)

When the popular feature Black Jack (1973-83) came to the end of its original run in September 1978 in Akita Shoten's popular Weekly Shonen Champion, Osamu Tezuka decided to follow it with something a little different.