Kyuuketsuhime Miyu

Vampire Princess Miyu (the 1988 OVA) is a masterpiece of gothic horror. It is the legendary "Dracula anime" that you have been waiting your whole life to see, without so much as knowing that it ever existed. If all you're looking for is a quick recommendation, then you have my blessing to go and watch it right now; I have already given this OVA my highest possible endorsement, so you can stop reading here and thank me later. Your time is sacred, and so too is beautiful artwork. If you are looking for a more thorough introduction, read on.

Vampire Princess Miyu (the franchise) is also ... one of my favorite IPs of all time. Without spending too much time discussing the specifics of the OVA, I'd like to explain a bit as to the matter of "why" that is, as well as express my strong feelings about the Miyu IP in a more general sort of way. This will require discussing both this OVA and the 1997 revival TV anime series, which I will do in an entirely spoiler-free way and at no great depth. To that end, this may read a bit as a heartfelt history lesson, moreso than a review... At first. My hope is that you will eventually see some of what made/ makes this series appeal to me, decide on a watch order, and experience "Miyu" for yourself.

And now, a brief history of "Miyu in the West."

In the West, knowledge of Vampire Princess Miyu (the franchise) would have mostly been confined to an older generation of otaku, who happened to be very active during the dog-days of VHS hunting... The era when all anime were considered "obscure," by Western standards, and some happened to be less obscure than others. These individuals would have likely been between the ages of 15 and 30-something years old around the time of the OVA's release and, further still, likely also had some direct or indirect connection to Japan, through which they were able to source their anime. That is already a very exclusive group of people, and the problem only gets worse as time goes on... I shall continue. While I was not alive at that time, going off of the various second-hand accounts that I've obtained through former hardsubbers, I have developed the understanding that, while Vampire Princess Miyu (the OVA) was 'known of' amongst Western otaku, it was still a fairly obscure IP at that time. This seems to have been a result of being buried by other anime which were popular at that time... Namely, Maison Ikkoku, Kimagure Orange Road, Urusei Yatsura, etc... as well as having the problem of needing to be translated, in order to be understood.

In summary... In order to watch this OVA, in the West, at the time of its release, you first would have needed to:
1 - Have been an active otaku VHS-hunter.
2 - Have known that Vampire Princess Miyu (the OVA) exists. This process would usually involve either direct mention from another otaku, with some connection to Japan, or buying a physical Japanese-language catalogue and attempting to read it.
3 - Have been actively hunting for the VHS.
4 - Have successfully sourced the VHS, likely either from a college club, or else directly from Japan.
5 - Have devised a way to consume the content. This could have involved knowing how to speak Japanese, getting a Japanese-speaking friend to translate it for you, obtaining a rare, hardsubbed VHS from an anime club, obtaining a synopsis write up and/ or consuming the anime without actually understanding any of its contents.

Failing any of that... And you likely would have failed, somewhere along that chain... You would have to wait until 1996, when AnimEigo released a dubbed version of the OVA to VHS, and either buy it or rent it from your local video store (Ie: Blockbuster,) assuming it was locally available. This would have been the easier way to watch this OVA, by far, all the way up until AnimEigo released it as a DVD in 2001. If you missed that, then you probably would not be watching it until anime entered the fully digital age, sometime between '07 & '12... At which point, somebody would have likely uploaded it to an early streaming site.

Even then, at this late stage, you most likely would not have known about the existence of "Miyu" (the OVA.) By this point, this OVA would have been over 20 years old, and a bygone phenomenon. Yes, there was a made-for-TV anime series, but this did little to draw attention towards the OVA, which pre-dated it by around ten years. Unless you were an extremely early MAL-user, or you were otherwise introduced to the OVA by some other friend, website, or happy accident, then there was only one other way to learn about it. This final way would have been to somehow catch the dubbed version of the 1997 revival TV anime series, enjoy it enough to care about the franchise, and eventually come to learn about its superior counterpart later in life, as a result of your dedication.

Lo' and behold, that is exactly what happened to me. I got my first taste of "Miyu" (the 1997 anime) as a teenager in the later 00's, via its release to Comcast's infamous 'DVR' selection, not ever knowing that OVA existed until just recently. For those not familiar, Comcast would occasionally release anime titles to a dedicated subsection of their On-Demand video titles, called "Anime On Demand" or just "Anime." These titles often included that which was far beyond the pale of what your average kids would have been familiar with at that time, or been groomed to expect at their local video stores. You would often see titles with extremely dark themes released to this platform, without any warning whatsoever to the consumer. While by no means the worst offender, "Miyu '97" was no exception to this pattern, and this is precisely what I liked about it as a teenager. The format of the "Monster of the Week" also worked well for a release to DVR, because anime releases to DVR came in batches, and were never consistent. In other words, you were very likely to be missing episodes, in between updates to the catalogue. Considering the format, that didn't matter so much, and it was okay by me at that time.

I recently revisited that anime for the first time in fifteen years, rounding off the episodes I had never seen, and ultimately completing my rewatch just prior to watching this OVA. Half a lifetime had passed, in the time since I had last seen it... And yet, I was surprised to see how well most of the episodes held up over the years. While its visuals and the school setting are somewhat dated by today's standards, the 1997 anime boasts an utterly impressive soundtrack, excellent Japanese voice acting, an often-excellent episodic structure, and a unique aesthetic feel that has stuck with me all my life. The titular heroine, Miyu, is a complicated character, but mostly likeable and very unique. Her motivations are so unlike other heroines in anime, and that is what I find so fascinating about her. Without going into depth, Miyu can be called neither good nor evil. So marked are Miyu's and Reiha's actions throughout the duration of the '97 anime, that I am forced to laugh any time that a mid-wit poseur claims Madoka Magica to be a """deconstruction""" of the magical girl genre, in any way whatsoever. Yes, it is true that, among the 26 episodes, there are a handful of stinkers. Episode 18 comes to mind, as does the very end of the series (which I appreciated, for what it was, but did find unintentionally funny at times.) Even those episodes were charmingly awkward and/ or funny, and were inoffensive in the grand scheme of things. But of course, the number one thing which makes Miyu '97 so noteworthy-- and this does carry over to the OVA-- is that almost every episode, no matter how good or bad, hits you with an ending that absolutely slaps you in the face. Just watch episode 2 and tell me that I'm wrong. Miyu '97 may not be the bloodiest show that you will ever watch, but it will always deliver some of the coldest, most brutal scenarios and episode-endings that you will see put to anime. This brand of horror-factor is the main appeal of the franchise, as I see it, and thus I have elected to underline it here. You will be creeped out, and thrown off.

Queue my contemporary introduction to this OVA, through MAL, and I have totally fallen in love. The OVA completely does away with all of the nonsense that the TV-anime did not need, and leaves you with only the undiluted essence of what makes "Vampire Princess Miyu" (the IP) so great. There is no more school setting, no Pikachu-esque mascot character, no convoluted re-writes of established source material, no episode padding, no occasionally-terrible artwork, and no bullsh!t. All four episodes are fantastic. This is a beautiful anime; the soundtrack is once again excellent, and may I just say that it really does show that the entire thing was drawn on cels. Best of all is that Miyu completely drops her TV-anime stoicism act for this OVA. Miyu is an evil little b!tch, and you will love every second of it. She is totally different from the Miyu in Miyu '97, and that's an incredible thing to see once you have that context. The final product is easily a 9/10; maybe a solid 10, under weaker standards. The fact that this OVA not only scored lower than the TV anime series which it easily surpasses, and no higher than a 7 at the time of my writing this review... while crap like Freiren sits on top of the whole pile... is such a funny joke that I forgot to laugh.

Now, the question is: Do you watch the OVA first, or the TV anime which succeeded it? Personally, I would elect to do as I did, and watch the TV anime first, assuming you have the time and interest to do so. Otherwise, just watch the OVA if you're short on time. If you can manage to get through the TV series first, however, you'll really appreciate both products more, both on an individual and a collective level. The most compelling reason to do this is because the TV anime does possess a slew of great episodes, but is also a flawed series. Trust me when I say that you will not want to miss '97's best episodes, or its best "mic-drop" moments. I also appreciated the creative process behind the '97 anime much more in retrospect, after watching its source material unfold before me in real time. But you won't want to bother completing a 26-episode slog, if you watch the OVA first only to find yourself disappointed with what comes next. Either way, definitely watch the OVA no matter what, if for no other reason than the visuals.

Vampire Princess Miyu is an interesting case, beyond just being a fun vampire anime. As each decade of anime has its strengths and weaknesses, this OVA stands as a quintessential representative of the 80s, with all its ups and downs. While bearing this identity of the time in which it was made, it manages to tell a rich, action-packed story that remains engaging to this day. Indeed, it remains superior to the full-length anime it would receive nearly a decade later, which would dilute the personality of Miyu and the general mystique of the OVA. This stands as a testament ... to the quality of the original, which I will review here. Right off the bat, the story is my favorite aspect of this show. It builds an intricate world without going into laborious detail, which nonetheless obeys certain rules and keeps everything in relative context. It deftly unfolds across its 4 episodes, revealing things at the perfect moment for story progression and viewer satisfaction. As Himiko unravels the mystery of Miyu, the viewer is taken along each step of the journey, resulting in pitched battles and confrontations with unique challenges, each one distinct from the last.

Speaking of which, the art is quintessentially 80s. That is to say, it features painstakingly detailed backgrounds, electric fight scenes, and a tactile sense of presence, all the while suffering from noticeable production artifacts and subpar facial animation . Characters here suffer from what I term the 'dreaded mask', a fairly common problem in anime which appears throughout its history, where character's faces often fail to portray sufficient emotion, despite its obvious presence in a given scene. However, the best aspect of the art has to be the design of the Shinma, who appear visually striking and well-designed throughout.

The sound design is competent, with the music being a good, if sometimes cheesy, accompaniment. The voice acting and sounds of life meet the standards of the time in which they were made, but the music elevates the whole thing and makes for a more engaging experience. The work of Kenji Kawai, his style shines through in spades, and is reminiscent of the work he would later do for Higurashi. While it does date this show quite a bit, with heavy synthesizer and motifs common at the time, the fact it dates it doesn't really detract from the experience. As I said before, it elevates it, and lends the show a certain aesthetic quality that is unique to itself.

The characters are tailor-made for the world in which they inhabit, embodying that 80s stylistic flare coupled with an outlook on life which is nuanced in the face of unknown horrors. My favorite characters have to be Miyu and Himiko, which may be expected given that they receive the vast majority of screentime. Their interplay lends a lot of interest to the OVA and provides a driving force which moves the story along. At first, I didn't really like Miyu's character, but as she develops she becomes a more multifaceted, tragic character, and is as a result far more interesting by the end. Overall, Vampire Princess Miyu is a solid watch that I can easily recommend, especially if you're a fan of the time period.

Kyuuketsuhime Miyu is an OVA series that features a compelling, unpredictable plot and interesting characters all shrouded in a cloak of mystery. The animation is of high quality, but the excessive panning and zooming techniques undermine the talent of the animators, resulting in missed opportunities for dynamic scenes. The main character is complex and well-written, contributing to the series’ appeal and making her a standout character. However, while the plot is engaging and builds up suspense, it remains unresolved, adding to the air of mystery but leaving the viewer feeling dissatisfied and yearning for a more conclusive ending. Ultimately, Kyuuketsuhime Miyu is a peculiar series ... that meets expectations in all aspects but fails to truly distinguish itself, ending up as a competent but forgettable production.