Customer Reviews

Vampire Princess Miyu - Ultimate Set (Complete Series + CD)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Vampire Princess is 26 twisted episodes. Disturbing and twisted, with suggested relationships and unhappy endings. I loved it. This is what vampires are all about. Oh, there is violence and some nudity, but you can find that ANYWHERE. And while the voices of Wendee Lee, Lex Lang, Sandy Fox and Steve Blum are always a delight you could also find them ANYWHERE.
But what made it for me was the stories. The endings were rarely happy ones and most never even came close to being fair ones. Even for the Japanese these stories were sad, in which good guys, bad guys, victims and even bystanders, were either hurt, killed or had their lives destroyed. Bird-demons, giant spiders and flesh eating mermaids turn dreams into nightmares. Nobody ends up happy or untouched and it really makes me think how much BETTER horror movies could be if it was more like this.
Miyu has some feelings for close friends, but also she is a vampire and seems to feel no strong feelings for those outside her inner circle. She allows dozens of people, if not more, to die before taking action against the Shinma. Is she slow to stop the Shinma because she needs proof or because she just doesn't care?
A must for vampire or anime lovers.

The first thing to do is not confuse the TV series with the OAV. While there are similarities, there are obvious differences. Vampire Princess Miyu has these scenarios:
Scenario 1) Miyu Yamano (the protaganist) arrives at junior high school.
Scenario 2) Unexplainable events begin to occur around her.
Scenario 3) The Shinma (shape-shifting demon-gods) in the city are banished, there's a little betrayal, her past is opened up, and Miyu continues on her endless journey.
This series is pretty episodic and fans of Gasaraki and Lain will miss the "flow" and "transition" from episode to episode. VPM is a show where she waits for things to happen and doesn't make them happen herself which surprisingly works out very well in this series. The animation is rarely unsmooth and while the subtitles are not entirely accurate, they suffice. Also as add-ons to this boxset, you receive a charm and the soundtrack. I assure you, the musical score from Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell) is amazing and sets the mood beautifully.
The strange thing about this show is that in the first 75% of the series, Miyu barely has but a few minutes of screentime. Most of the episodes are comprised of development of the storyline itself, such as developing the relationship between a wife and her husband for most of the show only to have Miyu show up at the last minute to banish the Shinma. While this may seem eccentric, it works very well in this series. Just about every element is smoothly implemented.
So we reach the bottom line. Is it worth your money? If you're a fantasy fan and liked the darkness in Lain, this may just be for you. With beautiful animation, music, and storytelling, this series is well worth the bucks. But if all you like is the Ranma 1/2 and Sol Bianca approach, then the mysticism and dark of this show might be lost on you. So which are you?

In this series, unlike the original, Miyu is more of a schoolgirl than a menace, but the series overall is still engaging. Just when the plot started to become predictable (mysterious happening leads Miyu to the Shinma, then a battle), the episodes started to focus on the victims of the demons. The two-part Light of the Sea was also a winner.

Great attention was paid to the details of costumes and creatures, and the DVD inserts about the monster designs are a welcome extra. The music CD is heaven itself - what a great combination of moods and styles! I've listened to it dozens of times and still enjoy it.

The addition of pretty-boy Larva was disconcerting at first, since it removed a great deal of his menace. But the character works overall. The only clunkers are Reiha and Matzukaze. Their constant taunts and threats became repetitious and their actions were predictable, and it was not helped that Miyu did not have a complete victory over her rival(s).

This is one of most interesting anime series ever.
Its about a girl from an unsealed bloodline of vampire demons whos job is to protect earth from any demon that might escape from the sealed abyss.
This series isnt really horror,its more like dark drama-action.
She would drink blood in order to live and grant them eternal life.
A must see for all vampire movies fans.

The Vampire Princess Miyu TV Series is definitely one of the best anime series ever. The original 1980s Vampire Princess Miyu OAV Series is also great, but at only four episodes leaves the viewer wanting for more. The 26-episode TV Series allows for far more character development, and additional characters, while somewhat changing the background story for Miyu and her servant Larva (and also giving Larva a voice and a personality). In addition, the TV Series' music by Kenji Kawai (of Ghost in the Shell fame) is simultaneously absolutely haunting and exquisitely beautiful.

That the Vampire Princess Miyu TV Series has finally been released as a DVD Box Set is one of the greatest triumphs for commercial releases of Japanese animation in North America. The DVD Box Set includes six DVDs (each with an insert detailing the shinma from that DVD's episodes), an official North American release of the soundtrack for the TV Series (no more need to import the soundtrack from Japan!!!), and a "Mystery Friendship Charm" like the one shared by Miyu and Chisato throughout the series. The box itself is sturdy and distinctive, and nicely encloses the contents of the DVDs, charm, and CD.

Unfortunately, the first DVD in the set ("Initiation") is not chaptered very well. Also, the first few DVDs have inserts with episode synopses, but this is missing from the final few DVDs in the set. Also, it would have been nice to have volume numbers printed on the spine of each DVD, to quickly identify each volume should they ever be placed out of order in the box. Finally, the charm does not include a keyring (as in the series) or a chain to be worn as a necklace, meaning that the viewer must instead pay even MORE money to be able to actually use the charm as anything but a small paperweight.

Overall, the Vampire Princess Miyu TV Series should be seen by EVERY fan of Japanese animation, and will also make an excellent part of any fan's collection. Plus, the charm makes for an interesting conversation piece :-)

Tokyopop did a pretty lousy job on these DVDs if you prefer watching them in Japanese.
Their translation quality is worse than most of the other american companys these days. They also completely change scenes with Japanese text, often replacing them with poor English translations, so the original meaning is lost. I won't be buying another Tokyopop DVD.

I hated these dvds and could hardly sit through them. The art is lazy and sloppy. I truly regret that this company and their animators got their hands on it. The original story in the mangas/OAV is SO much better. Do yourself a favor and skip this one if you liked the original macabre story. This dvd series is just awful awful awful.

A little confusing at times. Also, the story lines are not great. It is a little more violent than needed at times too.

this product shows you the advancher of a young vamipre who saves the town she is in from shinma. But it also shows keep your friends close but you enime closer type deal nere the end and shows you the choice you have to do in order to make the one thing in you life to be complete and that is be a slave to your destiny or to choose your life.

I just managed to get my hands on the Ultimate boxed set and I can say I am far from being impressed after watching the first volume. Although it is one of my favorite anime series, the DVDs were poorly done. Half the DVD players I tried wouldnt even play them properly, the bitrate seems to be quite low, and the Ops and Eds were cut to only be displayed during the first and last episodes on the DVD. Hell, Id almost think I had gotten a bootleg by mistake. Even more disappointing is that it appears noone even bothered to translate the ed lyrics. Overall, I would say I paid alot more then I should have for the boxed set.