Vampire in the Garden
| Vampire in the Garden | |
 Promotional poster | |
| ヴァンパイア・イン・ザ・ガーデン (Vanpaia in za Gāden) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Dark fantasy[1] |
| Created by | Wit Studio |
| Original net animation | |
| Directed by |
|
| Produced by | Hitoshi Itou |
| Written by | Ryōtarō Makihara |
| Music by | Yoshihiro Ike |
| Studio | Wit Studio |
| Licensed by | Netflix |
| Released | May 16, 2022 |
| Runtime | 24–30 minutes |
| Episodes | 5 |
Vampire in the Garden (Japanese: ヴァンパイア・イン・ザ・ガーデン, Hepburn: Vanpaia in za Gāden)[2] is an original Japanese net anime series produced by Wit Studio.[2] Originally set for a 2021 premiere on Netflix,[3] the series was delayed to May 16, 2022.[4][5]
Characters[]
- Momo (モモ)
- Voiced by: Megumi Han[4] (Japanese); Xanthe Huynh[6] (English)
- A human teenager and trainee soldier who struggles with the constant war between humans and vampires. Meeting the Queen of the Vampires on the battlefield she embarks on a journey where she learns to love life and experience music for the first time.
- Fine (フィーネ, Fīne)
- Voiced by: Yū Kobayashi[4] (Japanese); Larissa Gallagher[7] (English)
- Queen of the Vampires who resists her role as Queen and wishes the war would end. Having lost the human love of her life, Aria, to the war she often wishes to die. Meeting a young human who resembles Aria she fosters her growing love for music and leaves the war behind as she learns to live again.
- Allegro (アレグロ, Areguro)
- Voiced by: Chiaki Kobayashi[8] (Japanese); Paul Castro Jr.[9] (English)
- Fine's childhood friend and loyal servant. He despises humans as he knows a human was the cause of Fine's heartbreak and does everything he can to try make her happy and bring her home when she leaves.
- Nobara (ノバラ)
- Voiced by: Rika Fukami[8] (Japanese); Lipica Shah[10] (English)
- Momo's mother and General of the human army. She has shown she loves Momo but prioritises her position as General over motherhood, even willing to charge Momo with treason to suit her political goals.
- Kubo (クボ)
- Voiced by: Hiroki Tōchi[8] (Japanese); Connor Fogarty[11] (English)
- Nobara's brother and uncle to Momo. Also a General in the army he prefers fighting to politics and wields a katana in battle. His hatred of vampires runs deep as the woman he loved was turned into a vampire and he was forced to kill her. He is fond of Momo and criticises Nobara for being a bad mother to her.
Production and release[]
The series was first announced back in March 2019 by Netflix, with Wit Studio handling the series' production.[12] Ryōtarō Makihara served as director with assistance from Hiroyuki Tanaka.[13] Tetsuyo Nishio designed the characters and Shunichiro Yoshihara served as art director for the series.[13] Yoshihiro Ike served as the series' composer.[14] Vampire in the Garden was released worldwide on May 16, 2022, on Netflix.[5]
Episode list[]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Episode 1" | Ryôtarô Makihara | Ryôtarô Makihara | May 16, 2022 | |
| Following a war against vampires the remnants of humanity resides in a city surrounded by a wall of light. Due to vampires sensitive hearing all music is banned. Young soldier Momo hesitates to kill a vampire child who hands her a music box. Momo’s mother Nobara, General of the Army, is jubilant vampires have begun injecting a drug during battle that enhances their strength at the expense of quickly dying, suggesting they are growing desperate. Fine, Queen of the Vampires, frequently disregards her duties to attend lavish parties. In secret, Fine is ill from refusing to drink blood and is depressed. Nobara discovers the music box and flies into a rage, causing Momo to run away. The vampires attack the city to destroy the tower powering the lights. Fine witnesses Momo listening to the music box, begging to die to escape the world’s misery. Momo’s friend Mirena is killed. Despite Momo being in the crossfire Nobara orders her men to shoot Fine. Also tired of the constant war Fine offers to help Momo survive and she agrees, fleeing into the wilderness together. The vampires are forced to retreat when the attack fails and the lights return. | |||||
| 2 | "Episode 2" | Hiroyuki Tanaka | Ryôtarô Makihara | May 16, 2022 | |
| Nobara sends her brother Kubo to find Momo. Hiding in her mansion Fine tries to introduce Momo to music but she is too upset over Mirena’s death. Momo finds a picture in the music box of a place called Eden where vampires and humans enjoy music together. Fine’s friend and servant Allegro is charged with bringing Fine back. Fine has a nightmare of Mirena’s death so Fine plays another song and explains that music is a way to express emotions. Kubo trades blood to starving vampires and learns of the castle. Momo thanks Fine for trying to save Mirena and asks her to help sing to mourn her death, so Fine teaches her the lyrics that accompany the song from the music box. Kubo attacks the mansion with his men at the same time as vampires arrive, A battle ensues and Fine tells Allegro she refuses to return. Fine saves Momo when she is almost killed and they escape in a car. They laugh as they realise they both are running away from their unhappy lives. With the mansion destroyed Momo suggests they find Eden. Fine agrees to search for it, though she is sure it doesn’t really exist. | |||||
| 3 | "Episode 3" | Ryôtarô Makihara | Ryôtarô Makihara | May 16, 2022 | |
| They travel for days, listening to music constantly and becoming close friends. A subdued singalong occurs to “To Have You Around” by Trapper Schoepp. Nobaru is blamed for Momo betraying humanity. They enter a city where humans and vampires uneasily co-exist trading blood for gold. Momo begins learning the piano. Fine becomes ill so Momo cuts herself to let Fine drink but Fine refuses. Momo risks crossing the river to ask the humans for blood, but is rejected so she steals it instead. Vampires invade the hotel, believing more humans must be inside. Allegro captures Momo and tortures her for Fine’s location, revealing Fine was once close to another human who betrayed her. Momo escapes as the vampires destroy the hotel and burn the music box. Fine hallucinates Momo is the human she once loved, Aria, before Momo finds her and they escape. Momo forces Fine to recover by injecting blood into her veins and Fine apologises for almost letting herself die. With the car ruined they travel by boat up the coast, though eventually they pass out during a blizzard. Momo awakens in a bed next to a painting of the picture from the music box. A young vampire girl tells her she has reached Eden, an island off the coast. | |||||
| 4 | "Episode 4" | Ryôtarô Makihara | Ryôtarô Makihara | May 16, 2022 | |
| The girl, Alicia, shows her there is electricity, farms, and the humans donate blood. A vampire suffering from blood addiction is confined in an old submarine, making Fine uneasy. Kubo tracks Momo to the island. Allegro appears and points out if Fine only wants to relive her past with Aria; she is being selfish towards Momo. Nobara joins Kubo to invade the island and arrest Momo, caring more about her own reputation. Fine leaves a note and her dagger for Momo, but when Alicia learns Fine has left the islanders hunt her down. Momo is almost killed by Alicia, so she hides in the submarine. She frees the addict vampire who reveals his healing power generates the islands electricity. Pictures like the one in the music box are traps, luring vampires to Eden to be used as batteries so the humans and vampires living there can maintain the façade of co-existence. Alicia kills him and chases Momo. Kubo reaches the island and battle ensues. Explosions cause the submarine to begin sinking and Momo stabs Alicia with the dagger to escape then drops a torpedo on her, destroying the submarine. Momo begins to drown as Fine is locked in a prison. | |||||
| 5 | "Episode 5" | Ryôtarô Makihara | Ryôtarô Makihara | May 16, 2022 | |
| Fine dreams of losing Aria before escaping and saves Momo. They try to fly away together but Fine is shot and forces Momo to escape, promising to find Eden together, but when humans shoot her again she injects herself with the vampire drug. Momo is attacked by Allegro who is shot in the heart. Dying he tells her to save Fine. Kubo duels Fine, turned into a monster by the drug. Momo tries to stop them but Fine is beyond reason and savagely bites her. Overcome by memories of Aria and love for Momo, Fine lets Kubo live and flies away with Momo. Partially returning to normal, Fine tells Momo of Aria, who taught her to paint, dance and play music, but was later killed by humans. She apologies for treating Momo like a replacement for Aria as she has come to love Momo during their time together. Before dying she asks Momo to mourn her with a song. Carrying her body down the mountain Momo thanks Nobara for helping her discover the life she wants to lead, then walks away, ignoring her pleas for Momo to return. Years later, Momo has founded a real Eden for humans and vampires and teaches her children to sing and to dance. | |||||
References[]
- ^ Steen, Emma (April 27, 2022). "5 best Japanese films and series coming to Netflix in May 2022". Time Out. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Tantimedh, Adi (March 12, 2019). "Netflix's New Anime Slate Includes Dragon's Dogma, SPRIGGAN and Vampire in the Garden". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
- ^ Morrissy, Kim (October 27, 2020). "Vampire in the Garden Anime Reveals Staff, 2021 Debut, Teaser Screenshots". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Pineda, Rafael (November 8, 2021). "Vampire in the Garden Anime Reveals Cast, More Staff, 2022 Debut". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Pineda, Rafael (March 27, 2022). "Netflix's Vampire in the Garden Anime Unveils New Trailer, May 16 Debut". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- ^ Huynh, Xanthe [@ItsXanthor] (May 17, 2022). "I voice Momo in #VampireintheGarden out on @NetflixAnime! It's so beautiful and poignant with lots action all packed in!! Huge thank you to @nyav_post @stephaniesheh @MSinter @artyler2 for having me and director @KyleMcCarley for being mindful of my vocal health!