Just out this month on Netflix is Wit Studio’s “Vampire in the Garden.” I’m always game for an emotional anime with a female lead and I’ll admit it, I’m a sucker for vampire stuff too (pun partially intended) so I decided to try it.
The animation was beautiful! The art team did a fantastic job. The art really brought the story to life. You could see the pain, anguish, or happiness on the characters faces. The settings looked like they could be real places. You can almost feel the icy wind of the northern region they go to. Some of the industrial areas actually reminded me of the mako reactors and Shinra areas from Final Fantasy VII so if you enjoy those visuals, you may want to check this out.
The cast also did an excellent job. Megumi Han (you know her from shows like “Hunter x Hunter” and the “Gundam” franchise) brings the main character, Momo, to life. From arguing with her mother about the world to singing with Fine, Han brings the childlike innocence to the character’s voice. Yū Koboyashi (you know her from shows like “Mob Psycho 100” and “Gintama”) voices Fine, the vampire queen and other main character. You can feel the wisdom of Fine’s years, but also her years of hurt, thanks to Koboyashi. The whole cast was wonderful though from the anger of Allegro to the arrogance of some of the soldiers and vampires.
While I enjoyed the show overall, I do have some complaints. The storyline seemed rather rushed, being crammed into just 5 episodes that are around 30 minutes each. I definitely think that Netflix and Wit Studio could have added a few more episodes to let the story build in a way that simply was not done due to the shortness of the season. This also means that the characters’ relationships were not able to grow or be shown as much as they could have been. I would have liked to know more about Allegro and Fine’s relationship as well as Momo’s relationship with her mother and why her father is not mentioned at all. We also did not get to learn much about the background of some characters; I would love to know more about Fine being vampire queen but there is a counsel that seems to dictate over the vampire world. Again, more episodes would have allowed time to build these backgrounds and relationships in a way that would answer many of the questions that I, and I’m sure many others, have after watching the show. It also seems that this will be the only season as the show seemed to wrap up nicely. There is potential for a spin-off based on the ending but with the way Netflix tends to go, this is pretty unlikely. Overall, I really enjoyed “Vampire in the Garden” and recommend it. 3/5
Anna
anna@comicattack.net
