Summary: "At one time, gods and demons were as one. They were sealed away in the abyss of distant memory. The hearts of humans who feared the dark brought this about. For the present, let us call these beings "Shinma." Now they have awakened from their slumber, and gathered together. On the final night of that gathering, when the Dark, the Shinma, and humans met, a young girl strayed into their midst. This is her story. Her name is Vampire Princess Miyu." Thus opens the OAV episodes of Vampire Princess Miyu, the story of the young vampire girl, and Himiko, the spiritualist investigator who is both intrigued and frightened by the young girl. Is Miyu a demon herself? Or does she fight to protect humanity from the Shinma?

Review: The four part OAV series of Vampire Princess Miyu is a fairly standard dark anime. Unlike other fantasy stories, there is no "good" versus "evil." Because there are so few episodes in this series, there is little in depth information given. We start out knowing nothing about Himiko and by the end of the series still know nothing about her. Miyu herself is more fleshed out, with the last episode in the series devoted wholly to her past. The description of the Shinma in the opening is all the information you receive about them. There is no over-arching plot line beyond Miyu's commitment to send the Shinma back to the dark from whence they came and Himiko's obession with discovering the truth about the mysterious young vampire. The animation is very strong, both eerie and beautiful.

Ratings: Characterization: 6 Plot: 7 Animation: 8

Things to note: Vampire Princess Miyu is actually not very violent considering that it is about vampires. It gets a little creepy if you think about it too much, but overall I think that it is appropriate for all ages interested in the occult.

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