Review of Vampire Princess Miyu: Vol. 5

Introduction

Having just reviewed Sailor Moon from MVM, the other two anime discs from them became a rather ominous prospect. Much as I enjoy Japanese animation, after seeing the American version of Sailor Moon, any anticipation was rather watered down. But I`m glad to say that I couldn`t have been more wrong. Vampire Princess Miyu is certainly a revelation, and it`s also a side of anime that is rarely seen. Less uber action and more thoughtful, this will come as a surprise if anime just means tentacles, robots and fights to you. Vampire Princess Miyu began life as a 4 part, 2-hour video release, and this 26-part television series is built on that success, though the story is different. Once again, coming into a series in the middle is problematic, and without the back-story and background into the characters, it takes a few episodes to see where the programme is coming from. To Vampire Princess Miyu`s credit though, most of the episodes are self-contained stories and stand up to a degree in their own right.

Shinma are supernatural beings that corrupt the hearts of men and lead them to ruin. Banished in ancient times to the Darkness, a few stray Shinma remain wreaking havoc on unsuspecting individuals. But there is a Guardian to defend us, the Vampire Princess Miyu, a Shinma herself who hunts down these Shinma and sends them to the beyond. Larva, a Shinma from the West who acts as her protector, and Shiina, a small creature who acts as her adviser, help her in her duties. An enigmatic figure called Reiha also hunts stray Shinma, but it`s unclear if she is an ally or enemy to Miyu. By day, Miyu masquerades as a schoolgirl, and has even made friends, Chisato, Hisae and Yukari, but finds trying to live a normal life interferes with her duties.

There are 5 episodes on this disc, The Moray Boat, City Of Illusion, Love Of The Dolls, Butterfly Enchantment and Flag Of Shinma, all lasting 25 minutes each.

Video

Coming from a television programme, you won`t be surprised that Vampire Princess Miyu comes in a glorious 4:3 format. The transfer is clear enough, with a sharp image and good colours throughout. The animation is variable, occasionally very good and atmospheric, but sometimes the minimalism associated with anime is taken too far, with a few scenes a little too static. By and large the character design is also top-notch, but there are a few points where things look a little under par. I suppose both these flaws are most noticeable in City Of Illusion.

Audio

The sound is where this disc excels, though being a TV programme you only get DD 2.0 tracks. But note the plural, there are English and Japanese soundtracks on this disc, and while the stereo is understated, it is evocative and certainly establishes the otherworldly feel of the stories. The atmospheric music is a big part of this, and I wasn`t once tempted to skip any of the credits sequences.

As usual I chose the original Japanese soundtrack, but I did dip my metaphorical toes into the dubbed version, and the dub isn`t the usual travesty (although the main character does sound a little somnolent), and the English track does come across as just a tad crisper than the Japanese.

Features

The jacket picture that so excited me on the Sailor Moon disc is repeated here. In other words, when the disc stops spinning, the player loads up a wallpaper of the characters and displays it instead of the player manufacturer`s graphic. Also on this disc are two English subtitle tracks, one translates the various Japanese signs that may be displayed in the shows, while the other translates everything. Note I say translation, this means that the subtitles won`t match what the characters will say in the English soundtrack.

Extras on this disc include the original Japanese title sequence, as well as a Shinma gallery, which has some line drawings of the Shinma encountered in the stories.

Conclusion

As I said in the introduction, Vampire Princess Miyu came as something of a revelation. Taken at its most simplistic, it doesn`t seem like much, Miyu seeks out Shinma in their various guises and despatches them with alacrity at the end of each episode. In that respect it is definitely a monster of the week show, complete with flashy graphics announcing the name of said monster. But the thing about Vampire Princess Miyu isn`t the destination so much as it is the journey. It`s the stories and characters that raise this series beyond many other simplistic shows. It`s more about the emotions and feelings that the characters go through that are such a hook. I came to the disc expecting something like an anime Buffy or Angel, but the supernatural feel is something straight out of the X-Files and the short story format is more akin to The Twilight Zone or Outer Limits, told with anime conventions.

The characters remain ambiguous, Miyu most of all. While she is the guardian against rogue Shinma, she is fallible and her motivations remain unclear. For some strange reason, she masquerades as a teenaged schoolgirl, but I put that down to the anime conventions I mentioned. But for the most part she acts as an observer like the rest of us, while the story unfolds. The characters unique to each story are all well written, flawed characters that invite their own downfall by their failings. The Shinma are merely manifestations of their flaws, and the stories that unfold are often more interesting than Miyu`s storyline.

The disc starts strongly with The Moray Boat, which actually sees a Shinma trying to live a decent life with the man she loves, a down on his luck writer. They have an idyllic life, with her as his muse until one day Miyu turns up, to remind her that despite her best intentions, she can`t deny her nature or escape her destiny. City Of Illusion tells the story of a man ridden with guilt for a past misdeed, and who under the influence of a Shinma is creating a warped vision of the city underground, which is manifesting in problems for the real city. Love Of The Dolls tells the story of a doll artist, who divorced from the real world, falls in love with the dolls she creates. But her world is torn apart when a maid come to work for her. When a butterfly distracts Miyu in Butterfly Enchantment, she meets a tragic young girl desperate for friendship and the love of her distant father, but her father hides a secret. Flag Of Shinma sees Miyu and her companions visiting a strange village plagued by three Shinma demanding the Chief`s daughter as a bride, but unpleasant memories are awakened for Miyu.

Of these The Moray Boat and The Love Of The Dolls are good, Butterfly Enchantment is excellent, with twists and turns and a tragic ending packed into its 20 odd minutes. The City Of Illusion episode is a little let down by its lower production values, and the story isn`t as gripping, while Flag Of Shinma is the one episode on this disc that really needs prior knowledge of the characters, though it does tell a poignant story in itself.

I liked Vampire Princess Miyu a lot. The animation is used to tell engrossing tales about flawed human characters in an atmospheric and ethereal style. Yes it does have its flaws, the monster of the week format could become repetitive despite it`s short invocation at the end of each episode, and the shows themselves often seem all too brief themselves. But if all you expect from anime is blood and gore, coupled with extreme violence and action, the thoughtful and expressive side that is Vampire Princess Miyu may surprise you.