Shout Out / Rosario + Vampire

• Tsukune's state as a ghoul seems to follow closely to that in the Vampire: The Masquerade RPG setting, though he has the benefit of feral vampire-like Unstoppable Rage
  • Also, the bus driver is a pretty clear Expy of Caine from Vampire: The Masquerade of the same franchise.
• (Inner) Moka and her mother are Shinso vampires, which is what Arcueid is called by other vampires in the visual novel. Uber-powerful vampires with sealed powers? check. Having a "sister" (or sisters in Moka's case) who is also a powerful vampire and wants to kill you? Aqua and Altrouge, check. Having a progenitor who is also uber-powerful? Akasha and Crimson Moon Brunestud check.
  • Hell, Moka and Arcueid even got their own normal human boyfriend, Unwanted Harem and all, with some exceptions (Tsukune succumbed to become a ghoul and later becomes a Shinso himself, while Shiki Tohno is a thoroughbred, if stunted, supernatural assassin with Magical Eyes that can see through death, though he hasn't turned into a Dead Apostle {yet}).
• In the manga, Nekonome-sensei claims to be "thirty years younger", thus "seventeen years old", a joke often used by her voice actor, Kikuko Inoue. Yes, the manga shouts out to a voice actor.
• In the anime episode Body Measurement + Vampire, when Ruby is playing the doctor, she seems to have been taking fashion tips from Ritsuko Akagi
• Chapter 15 of the second manga serialization introduces the magical whip "Belmont", complete with title cover and panel done in the style of an early Castlevania game, which even features Goddamned Bats. The whip's power of magic canceling is identical to that of the Vampire Killer, the whip the Belmonts wield. Except that Belmont doesn't burn/kill vampires with a touch, like Vampire Killer does. Good thing, since Inner Moka is the one who uses it.
• In episode 5 the soccer players' shirts are nearly identical to those worn by Nankatsu team
• How about in chapter 23 of part II of the manga: Tsukune catches a big-ass phoenix by the beak. Even some minor similarities - after everyone's finished gaping (because the phoenix is supposed to be really powerful), it's getting ready for another go, and someone else steps in and takes it down.
• Is the bus driver really riding a giant frog? Why yes, he is!
• Chapter 25, page 27, first panel is practically copied from the old video game "Dig Dug". You can even see the fire from the dragon like creature in the right side of the panel.
• Chapter 26 has Giant Robo's Fitzgerald.
• In the first issue of the second season, Yukari's magic item is an obvious shout-out to Lala's inventions in To Love Ru, being very similar in both presentation and naming convention.
• Tsukune's cousin Kyoko wears a T-shirt printed with a string of musical notes under the word "Cantabile."
• In the second manga series, Chapter 19, Tsukune and Kurumu play a game of Balloon Fight on Famicom, and plush versions of Oogie Boogie and Barrel can be seen on Kurumu's bed.
• In season 2, chapter 28 Kurumu gets attacked by a Junji Ito-thing, Leatherface, and a wall-mounted Saarlac full of tentacles.
• How could everyone forget Kokoa's methods of stalking the sealed Moka in the human world, described in episode 2 of Capu 2? She dressed as Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees and Ghostface, and used a Chucky doll.
• During the school festival, a saibaman can be seen in the crowd.
• In Rosario+ Vampire II in Ch 29, In quite possibly the most obvious shout out to Rumiko Takahashi ever, The third dark lord asks Inner Moka to cosplay as Lum from Urusei Yatsura (without telling her what the costume is until after she's wearing it, of course), only because he is One of Us.
• Chapter 27 of Season 1 of the manga has Tsukune fight a centipede monster by the name of HyakuShiki.
• Aqua seems to know how to use Nanto Rokuseiken. or at least something that looks like it.
  • Hokuto Kaneshiro is a blatant Shout-Out to the same series' major martial art and main character.
• As is only appropriate for a manga with vampires, chapter 31 has a nice little homage to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure when Aqua scares Moka with the Stone Mask. Which is also some nice Foreshadowing for Aqua's true nature, though a Red Herring for Aqua's relationship with Moka.
• Episode 10 of Capu 2 shows us there's a Piranha Plant at the lunch room. It's plainly seen in the background when Kotaro saves Yukari from falling after she slips on a banana peel.
• Ah, heck! They somehow managed to sneak Akira in for some reason...
• During the fake raid on the Wong family's mansion, the "Yuusei Hitou" creature bears an almost perfect resemblance to the detached head from John Carpenter's ''The Thing''.
• Extremely hard to see in the scanslated chapter online (it's clearer in the Viz translation due to it being easier to get an closer look at it)but in chapter 3 season 2 if you look close at Kokoa's face in the last picture on this page look at the mask she's wearing.
• In the same page as the second Akira Toriyama Shout-Out mentioned above, the Handicraft Club (where they have gone to solve Kokoa's "problem") not only has a board reading "Cosplay Club" clear as day (much to Kokoa's dismay), there's also Jotaro's jacket at the door.
• In Chapter 41, Touhou Fuhai's inner monologue reveals that he's out of energy, which apparently is like "A Robotic Cat without its pockets."
• In Chapter 52 Touhou Fuhai is briefly seen watching Laputa: Castle in the Sky on a tablet.
• Everybody: "Love and peace!"
• Mizore as Oscar the Grouch on the last panel.
• Jack Frost looks like a creepy version of the Shin Megami Tensei mascot.
• Rubi's fight takes place in a corridor that resembles the one where Neo fought Bane/Smith likely because both fights feature electricity.
• The "Meaningless End-of-Volume Theater" Omake for Season II Volume 6 includes a scene where the girls adopt appearances based on characters from other series. Kurumu is wearing Odango with the little covers, Rubi has Holo's ears (and tail), and Mizore has on a North High uniform.
• Xia-Long of the Miu family has an attack called Guns N' Roses. It's Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
• Episode 9 of the second season features the line "kneel before Kokoa!"
• Chapter 59 of Season II is called "The Black Parade."
• And the next one is "The Dark Side of the Moon".
• In Chapter 8 of Season II while looking at clothes for Kokoa to wear while she's in her child form, she briefly dresses up as Arale from Dr. Slump.
  • In the same chapter, the nature of Yukari's growth drops is explained in a manner similar to the way the various martial arts in Sakigake!! Otokojuku are explained.
• One chapter appears to have been inspired by the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 3 "Tower of Gray" arc as the main cast travels to Hong Kong, but is intercepted along the way by an assassin and then survive the plane crash
• The design of Alucard's serpentine form is basically a Xenomorph head on a Leviathan body.
• This song from the anime's OST. Yes, it's name is indeed "Speed Racer"
• The controls for Youkai Academy’s Pocket Dimension barrier appear to be modeled after the control panels from Atlantis.