Vampire Princess Miyu
Volumes 1 and 2
Animeigo DVD
(aka: Kyuuketsuki Miyu)
(1997)
review by Head Cheeze

Going back to the late 1980's, the original Vampire Princess Miyu series was phenomenally popular, and a must-own title for the serious Otaku. Unfortunately, the only way to get the series back then was on dodgy VHS import tapes with serious dubbing issues and a picture that looked as though it were being shown through a layer of vaseline coated cellophane. Now, over a decade later, Vampire Princess Miyu is now more popular than ever, with her early adventures as well as the 1997 relaunch of the series available from Animeigo.

Miyu is a young vampire, whose lineage dates back to the dawn of Japanese Empire. A special sort of vampire, Miyu can walk in the daylight, is immune to religious iconography, and holds sway over virtually all other creatures of the night. Miyu is also different because she isn't exactly good or evil-just sort of naive. She likes to observe humans, oftentimes longing for the feelings and experiences she missed out on when she became the princess of the undead.

In this multi-volume series presented on DVD by Animeigo, Miyu is falsely accused by Himiko, a paranormalist investigating a rash of vampire murders in a small village. Miyu captures the investigator and tries to explain that she isn't responsible, but then Himiko sees a young man that Miyu has turned into a vampire and recognizes him as one of the first victim's boyfriends. Miyu thought that turning the boy, and thus relieving his grief, was a favour (once again, a sign of her naivete') but the investigator becomes more certain that Miyu is responsible for the vampire attacks than she was before. Meanwhile it becomes apparent to Miyu that the real culprit is the evil elder vampire Shinma, a creature so powerful that even Miyu doubts he can be stopped. This backstory plays out over the course of the episodes presented here, with each episode introducing a new, self-contained antagonist against which Himiko and Miyu form an uneasy alliance.

The DVD's from Animeigo each contain 2 episodes of the series (Volume 1: Unearthly Kyoto/A Banquet of Marionettes and Volume 2: Fragile Armor/Frozen Time) , presented in full frame (they were made for television, after all!) with remastered stereo soundtracks. The video quality is fair, although there are several moments on Volume One where the image seems to "jump" when the backgrounds are static. I've seen this before, most notably with the Starblazers DVD's, and can only assume it's an issue with mastering. Other than that, the colours are rich and vibrant, and the stereo audio track is fine. The episodes are presented in both dubbed and subtitled versions, but I recommend the subtitled track because the English dub seems to lose a bit in the translation.

Of the four episodes, Fragile Armor stands out as my personal favourite, but each is essential to fully understand the world of Miyu. If you like your anime with a tinge of classic horror and traditional Japanese mythology, Vampire Princess Miyu should considered an essential addition to your collection.