While less popular than vampires or witches in supernatural and gothic anime, werewolf characters are no less intriguing. Often, werewolves are supporting characters in anime centering around vampires, but there are a few anime where the werewolf is the main focus.
Werewolf characters can be unique; some are genetically modified, and others are vampire-werewolf hybrids. They traditionally change from human to wolf with the full moon, while in some anime, werewolves can change at will. Common werewolf traits in anime are superhuman strength, magic use, and elevated hunting abilities. Like vampires, they tend to be at odds with humans.
10/10 Kiba The Wolf Wrestles With His Idealism
Wolf’s Rain
Kiba has one quest in Wolf’s Rain, to find the key to opening a place called Paradise. The key is a pale, night-blooming flower called the Lunar Flower, which also takes on a human form. Wolf’s Rain is a romantic story heavy with allegory that explores themes like pride, melancholia, and longing.
The protagonist is a werewolf and his whole journey centers around wolf-kind. Cheza is the Luna Flower maiden who is awakened by the wolves’ presence. She and the wolves’ paths merge eventually as they try to find Paradise together.
9/10 Ginei Morioka Threatens Vampires When The Moon Is Full
Rosario + Vampire
In Rosario + Vampire, Ginei Morioka is a side character werewolf who’s at his strongest under the light of the full moon. While the full moon aids his abilities, Ginei can transform from human to wolfish form whenever he wishes. He can also change individual parts of himself at a time, like his head or his tail.
As a werewolf, Ginei has supernatural speed. His ability to outrun the wind rivals even the vampires in Rosario + Vampire. Ginei can also heal himself whenever he sustains an injury.
8/10 Cain Warlock Is Both A Vampire & A Werewolf
Black Blood Brothers
Supporting character Cain Warlock of Black Blood Brothers is a hybrid vampire and werewolf. He also hails from a long line of witches. His main classification is a vampire, but his blue-coated wolf form is powerful. He has blood-tracking abilities and can hypnotize people. In his vampire form, his spiky gray hair and angled brows give him a bestial, almost lupine essence.
Beyond lycanthropy, Cain has the vampiric ability Hide Hand, which allows him to move and break objects. He also served as a protector to the oldest vampire of the Black Bloods, Alice Eve.
7/10 Mashira Has Unique Mutations In His Werewolf Form
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Mashira of Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is unique; a second, fanged mouth erupts from his stomach when he’s in his were form. He’s a vicious, terrifying force to fight.
There are other werewolves in the Vampire Hunter D world, like the werewolf Garou, who served Count Magnus Lee in the first movie. Mashira’s enhanced senses, his mutation, and his brute strength outstrip Garou’s abilities. Mashira may not be a werewolf in the book the movie was based on, Demon Deathchase, but in the movie adaptation, he’s a grisly threat.
6/10 Shira Switches Between Her Human, Were, And Full Wolf Modes
Tokimeki Tonight
Shira Etoh is a female werewolf whose howls can summon snow and storms in Tokimeki Tonight. Her human form is dainty and sweet, with long blonde hair and an unassuming expression.
Shira sometimes lingers between human and wolf. In her were form, small pointed ears grow from the crown of her head, and her canines sharpen into small, lethal points. Her demeanor changes as the moon waxes, and she can be a little grumpy. When she fully transforms into a wolf, her fur is dark brown.
5/10 Free’s Called The Legendary Wolf Man
Soul Eater
Free is an antagonist from Soul Eater. He’s an immortal who has lived for over 200 years and is considered one of the strongest werewolves. For someone so old and powerful, his personality errs toward the silly side. Aside from his might, he’s known for stealing the eye of the Grand Witch, which earned him a stint in witch prison.
Free also has a talent for magic, including elemental magic, where he can summon and manipulate water and ice. His human form is muscular and imposing, but when he changes into his beast form, his opponent is up against a hefty challenge.
4/10 Half-Werewolf Yuliy Devotes Himself To Hunting Down Vampires
Sirius The Jaeger
The protagonist of Sirius the Jaeger is Yuliy Jirov, a half-werewolf whose father was a werewolf and whose mother was human. He carries a great hatred for vampires because they’re responsible for ravaging his home. To avenge his people, Yuliy becomes a “Jaeger,” a vampire hunter.
While placid on the outside, still waters run deep with Yuliy, and his calm exterior fades when he’s up against a vampire. Yuliy is called a Sirius werewolf, which is a reference to the “Dog Star,” Sirius in the constellation Canis Major.
3/10 Akira Can Change His Wolf Form At Will
Dance In The Vampire Bund
Akira Kaburagi Regendorf is the love interest in Dance in the Vampire Bund. He’s a teenage werewolf with control over his transformation. He can remain in a humanoid wolf form or change fully into a wolf.
Akira’s main role is as a protector to his love interest, Mina Tepes, Princess of Vampires. He helps Mina in her goal of forming and maintaining “the Bund.” In the Bund, vampires and the princess’ werewolf protectors all live together, while some humans visit the Bund in peace as a kind of trial run of Mina’s vision for an inclusive future.
2/10 Wolf Struggles With Being A Half-Werewolf
Blood Lad
Blood Lad’s Wolf is a hybrid born of a werewolf and a demon. He has the super strength commonly associated with werewolves, but his wolf form is affected by his half-lycanthropy. When he transforms, he still looks very human, with humanoid limbs covered in dark fur.
Wolf’s feet grow long, and he develops long claws, a snout, pointed furry ears, and a tail. His status as a half-werewolf fuels his ambition to test his skills against other strong warriors and overthrow as much of the Lower Demon World as he can.
1/10 Hana, A Human, Raises Two Werewolf Children
Wolf Children
Wolf Children is a bittersweet story about love and loss, as a human woman named Hana grieves the death of her husband and tries her best to raise his werewolf children. She must knit her children into the human world while keeping them protected and their secret safe.
Yuki, Hana’s daughter, is a dutiful sister who also wants to experience more of the human world. Hana’s son, Ame, prefers the natural world away from civilization, where he can run, explore, and learn from the other animals that live in the woods.