Anime Review: The melancholy world of VAMPIRE PRINCESS MIYU

Vampire Princess Miyu

Director: Toshiki Hirano
Starring: Naoko Watanabe, Kaneto Shiozawa 

Japanese horror thrives when stories work as folklore. Think of Masaki Kobayashi’s film Kwaidan or the anthology like nature of manga like GeGeGe no Kitaro by Shigeru Mizuki and Orochi by Kazuo Umezz.All works where various flavors and textures of horror reveal a greater truth. Even more modern horror like The Grudgefunctions like an anthology. 

While intentionally episodic, Vampire Princess Miyufits into this tradition. Based on the manga written by Toshiki Hirano (who also directed this series) and Narumi Kakinouchi, each episode functions like a folk story with different monsters and horrors taking place. Yet all of the stories in this four episode series reveal a truth. That truth? The life of a monster is a lonesome one and human existence is just that fleeting. 

Horror in Vampire Princess Miyu comes from ordinary people putting one foot into the world of otherworldly beings called Shinma. These are monsters who hide among humans who often wish for immortality or to cheat death in some way. These are, of course, choices that come with horrific strings. And immortality? Anyone granted immortality only becomes their worst self.

Connecting all of these stories are the spiritualist Himiko, who stumbles into this world, and the vampire Miyu. Miyu isn’t really a protagonist in the traditional sense. Instead, she functions as a catalyst for the majority of the episodes. She haunts outside the main action, mainly observing, interfering when required. 

While Miyu’s name might be in the title, Himiko functions as unholy witness. Her spiritualist powers occasionally prove useful fighting shinma. However, her role throughout the series is to watch as these creatures ruin lives. 

But all of these characters want to connect, or feel a sense of loss in some way. A deep feeling of loneliness runs throughout these four episodes. All of the monsters spend their time desiring or in some cases mourning another person. Himiko’s need to find Miyu throughout the series seems as much out of a desire to learn about the world of the shinma as it is out of a desire to see Miyu once again. Even Miyu, who stands outside of the action most of the series, has an episode about her need for a friend. Even monsters need companionship.

Like many anime made for the Original Video Animation market in the 80s and 90s, this is a truly gorgeous spectacle, especially in this new blu-ray release. The designs of each shinma are so unique, from Miyu’s companion Larva to the creepy doll shinma Ranka. Every cape has a million folds and flows with life. The demon armor from episode 3 has multiple armor plates and looks massive. Each background is gorgeously rendered. Vampire Princess Miyu is a reminder of the visual power of this era.

All of that beauty, though, is a stark reminder of how fleeting everything is. Even the fact that this series only runs for four episodes seems fitting for a show about the brevity of life and the desire for more. While there would be a TV series later, this series seems like a perfect encapsulation of that theme. Vampire Princess Miyuwants us to desire more, and to learn more about that world. But as this series shows, that desire and longing can only lead to darker worlds.