Kyûketsuhime Miyu

This incredible series of animated short stories makes the best use of feeding information to the audience. It supplies enough of a storyline to keep the plot moving, but witholds enough information to maintain a mysterious aura about the characters. Many people will find it creepy or disturbing, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. It gives the original manga characters a little more bite without thoroughly destroying their appeal.

Visually interesting, this series borrows from early German expressionist film. The scenes set in the real world are similar to Murnau.

The wild lines and intense contrast of he supernatural world fit the plots of the four sections of this movie. Plotwise the stories are good because there is the idea that good and evil exist without having any characters that are all one or the other. Characters tend to be deep without necessarily having their pasts revealed to us, and depth does not keep them from being killed off. The way in which things work out makes sense, but is not predictable, or contrived, so the movie has a realistic feel to it.

The world of Miyu is based on Japanese mythology, but knowledge of this subject is not necessary to understanding the film. Also although I am not familiar with Japanese mythology, I did notice that the reference to Lemuria was part of a completely different mythological system, so there are other random elements.

The film is suitable for children, but made for adults. Moral issues are addressed. Although Miyu says, ÒI do not judge humans.Ó, she cannot help but get involved in situations in which she must decide whether to kill them or make them immortal by drinking blood from them or how far to go to save them from the Shinma. She must drink blood to live so this device is used to solve tie up loose ends.

As opposed to the 1988 show this shows MiyuÕs good side, and her actions are motivated by mercy towards the people who have been changed by the Shinma.

I highly recommend seeing this.

Kyuuketsuki Miyu - "Vampire Princess" Miyu. A young girl with strange and extraordinary power, with an even stranger mission. This is one of the most engagingly written Japanese animations I have ever encountered. The desire to dissect the enigma that is Miyu is personified in the "spiritualist" Himiko.(not mentioned in these credits). "Miyu" is a very dark and foreboding animation about a young girl with vampire heritage who must dispatch stray Shin-ma back to their endless slumber in The Dark. She is ageless, and very, very much a realist. Miyu does not give pity, does not show remorse, but manages to still have a human side. It takes many episodes to see the stories unfurl and the history reveal itself, and ends in classic Japanese style. That is to say, you are as likely to see the protagonist and innocent bystanders extinguished as the villains destroyed. This is a "Tom and Jerry" cartoon, after all. This is presented as real life with a demonic and heartless twist. The dialogue and cinematography make this a classic tragedy, but it's depth and subject matter may take a bit to stomach. Do not expect to laugh at their exploits, everyone here is very serious and has a great deal both ahead and behind them. The characters are strong enough that you really want to see more, just to know who they are. Not for the faint of heart :)

Let me write a better review for this great anime. Kyuuketsuki Miyu (Vampire Princess Miyu) is a television adaption of the underrated OAV series of the same title. In the TV version, Miyu, a vampire whose duty is to vanquish demons called Shinma, enrolls into a school under the name of Yamano. Being the Guardian and all, Miyu watches out for acts of the Shinma, who like to prey on the innocent and toy with their emotions and lives. Along with her allies- Larva, a good yet mysterious Shinma, and Shiina, a rabbit-like Shinma who can seek out others of its own kind, and the ghostly yet competitive Reiha -Miyu faces a long battle. The TV series, in my opinion, is extremely darker than the OAV ever could accomplish. Miyu, despite her rule of not caring about people but only the Shinma, begins to feel more human towards people and accepting their ways. The horror is increased heavily in here, giving some the creeps. Hopefully one day, this splendid series can reach the US for commercial release. It's too good to miss out on.

To me this is not as visually interesting as the 1997 movie, but it has a similar visual style. The plots are complex and not cliched. Just because a character is one of the main characters doesnÕt mean that they might not be killed off. The plots are less heavily based on Japanese mythology that in the later movie version. They are the short ironic plots sort of like in television series like Tales From the Crypt, or The Outer Limits. This is not in terms of genre, but main characters die, and there is usually a bit of irony, also this series is better than the earlier two because the plots are less

predictable, respectively you donÕt always know that people will die, and the earth will be destroyed. It is also important to point out that this is geared towards adults. This is not a slapstick cartoon, but actually addresses philosophical and moral issues, and in fact has no comic relief. Miyu has the ability to grant immortality, and the decision of whether or not to do this in specific cases is an issue. In action is not an option because she must drink to live. There are also characters who parralell aspects of MiyuÕs life, most obviously the girl who can live believing that she killed her mother or die, as Miyu would without taking blood. Miyu is allowed to determine her fate. As opposed to the 1997 movie this shows Miyu as darker and more evil, and shows more of here past. She must drink blood and does so for food, not to give people release in the form of death, or immortality. Also there is an element of greed to feeding. All in all I would say that this is worth watching, and recommend it.