It’s not hard to understand why Vampires are considered sexy by so many people. Power, as they say, is an aphrodisiac. And Vampires have power over us puny mortals. (My brain is sighing “Oh, gawd…” as I type that. I just want you to know. lol) Vampires were originally seen as very traditional European royalty, but somehow in the last couple of decades have morphed into poser Gothlings. A sad fate for Vampires, I say. But today we come not to eulogize Dracula, but to completely, totally ignore him, and speak instead of Miyu, a young girl with a mission that makes her a “Vampire” only in the broadest possible sense.

Miyu is completely inhuman, which of course makes her instantly attractive to those puny mortals that even notice she exists. As we discussed in regards to the Miyu OAV, to know her is to obsess about her. :-) Her powers include sucking the memories out of people along with their blood, hence the vampire thing.

In Volume 1 of Vampire Princess Miyu, we are introduced to this iteration of Miyu, and her position as guardian and hunter, fated to walk through our human world to snare random escapee spirits, cage ’em and send them home – kind of like the Animal Cops, only with inhuman spirity things instead of stray dogs.

The general tone of Volume 1 is, well, creepy. Depressing and creepy. With extra creepy on top. That alone makes this a great volume – but you might find that the double helping of irony at the end of the first three episodes has a bitter taste.

Miyu, in between stoping Shinma and sending them back to their dimension, pretends to be a schoolgirl so she can…wear a uniform? Pass as a human, although why that’s important now, isn’t really delved in to. We meet Miyu’s faithful bishie in Volume 1, Lava, so the straight girls have something to watch, too. (For the record – I totally approve of lavender hair on bishies.)

In Volume 2, we get the addition of Reiha, a snow spirit with a tragic backstory, an obsessive grudge against Miyu, and a doll with a rude mouth. Both Reiha and her doll Matsukaze are voiced by my beloved Ogata Megumi. It’s a little-known fact that the characters were specifically written for her and that she recorded them in real-time, switching back and forth between Reiha’s Keigo-speaking girly voice and Matsukaze’s boyish crude tone without pause. Listening to them talk makes me adore MO even more than usual.

Yuri in these early episodes is implication only. Reiha, like Himiko in the OVA, seems to have trouble thinking about things that are not Miyu. And while nothing explicit has yet begun to occur, there’s a vibe with Miyu’s classmates that reads Yuri to those of us who are motivated to read it that way. Again, like the OAV, these volumes are totally Nioi-ke. Sure, we’re making it up, mostly, but it works for us, so who cares? :-) Be patient – there is more to come. Promise.

A meal of Miyu makes a nice change of pace in my school-girl heavy diet, and it’s always good to interject a little creepy into one’s life from time to time, so one does not begin to take happy for granted. Above all – how nice to see girls who look like girls, women who look like women, boys who looks like boys and supernatural lavender-haired bishies who look like…ah, you get my point.

Ratings for Volume 1 and 2:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Irony – 7
Yuri – 2
Service – 2

Overall – 8

Personally, I totally favor the arrogantly sexy, tuxedo-clad silver-haired gentleman Vampire to the leather and velvet-clad pouty-faced twenty-something set.

Thanks to Ziggr for sponsering today’s review of Red Garden, Volume 3!

In this third volume of Red Garden, the four girls struggle not with life in general, but with specific relationships – with the men in their lives.

Rachel is having serious issues with her boyfriend Luke, who is trying to break through the wall she’s built between them. She’d like to confide, but instead watches helplessly as he drifts away from her.

Claire carries the bonus share, by having not one, but three men with whom she needs to address things – Ewan (called Yuan in this release, but that seems less likely to me,) her brother and her father. We learn that, despite all evidence to the contrary, Claire is not actually dirt poor. Her pride goeth so she need not fall, this time.

Rose and her friend decide to track down Rose’s father, whose absence comprises half of the burden on her family. We learn that he is not *gone,* per se – he is simply absent. Rose decides that his presence is more important than the money he sends to support the family.

And Kate gets to be the target for the schemings of Herve’, who is angry that his sisters are dying and being ignored for Lise. Herve’ decides to scout the enemy by pretending to go out with Kate. Unfortunately for him, Kate is a genuinely nice girl and he’s bound to be disappointed in his attempts to hate her. (Well, not, but you know what I mean.)

Yuri in this episode is once again expressed in Paula’s quiet caring and obsession about Kate. Nothing is stated explicitly, but it is not hard to read the text, sub or not.

This volume was captivating. Nothing *happened,* but what was going on on the screen captured my total attention. I forgot to write a single note as I watched – but I recall each episode clearly. An excellent volume of an excellent drama.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 8
Characters- 8
Yuri – 2
Service – 1

Overall – 8

Kate, to her sister: “I’m all about lemons these days.” LOL

And the cover copy – “Buffy the Vampire Slayer with more visual flair.” Whah? Do these reviewers even watch this stuff before writing words down? Guess they have to say something, but huh??