Review of Vampire Princess Miyu: Vol. 6

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. Disc 6 is the final instalment in the series, and the five episodes on the disc actually stand together as a storyline arc follows through to the series conclusion, beginning with the first episode on the disc.

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.

The five episodes on this disc are Once Upon A Time, Confrontation, The Boy Who Returned, The Last Shinma and The Eternal Sleep, 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.

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 episodes.

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. While the earlier stories were more stand alone tales that only hinted at character development and an deeper plot, to conclude the series, the final five episodes have a plot arc that ties up all the ambiguities and questions hinted at by earlier episodes. There is also a greater emphasis on the regular characters, so we get to learn more about Miyu`s human friends, her history and the other characters. This disc is a reward if you have stuck with the series thus far.

Disc 6 begins with Once Upon A Time, and tells Miyu`s story, establishing her upbringing, her mystical heritage, and how Miyu was given the burden of Guardian and also why Reiha harbours such animosity towards her, despite them apparently working to the same ends. This animosity comes to a head in Confrontation, when Reiha can bear her feelings no longer and challenges Miyu once and for all, meanwhile Miyu`s school friends begin to get suspicious of the introverted one in their group. The Boy Who Returned refers to Chisato`s older brother, who after a long time returns home, but he is literally a changed man, and Miyu must choose between her role as Guardian and her friends, and she can`t live her secret life forever. The Last Shinma is the final story, and Miyu`s world begins to fall apart as one of her friends is killed, and she is the prime suspect. But soon Miyu will be facing her toughest adversary yet, someone she doesn`t want to fight. This story is concluded in The Eternal Sleep.

The first episode conveniently fills in the gaps about the characters, and we get to learn about what motivates them, so this disc does stand well enough on its own. The following episodes build on what we learn about Miyu, and the ongoing tale is gripping to say the least. While I quite enjoyed disc 5`s short story formats, this disc with its deeper storyline about the main characters is actually more fulfilling, and the monster of the week style is hardly noticeable.

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. The series concludes in explosive style, and given the melancholy feel of the stories, don`t expect a happy ending. 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. It certainly has surprised me and I`ll be keeping an eye out for the first four discs.