We can expect a good barrage of new anime series and movies in Netflix this year, since the streaming platform seems to have set out to compensate on this front and plans to release 40 titles this year. The trickle of premieres has already been arriving in spring, and this week it has landed on the platform a quirky review of vampire stories.
Vampiric dystopias and the search for paradise
‘Vampire in the Garden’ is one of the platform’s bets of the year with an original miniseries developed by Wit Studiothe studio responsible for ‘Ranking of Kings’ and the first three seasons of ‘Shingeki no Kyojin’.
The anime miniseries It presents us with a dystopian world where humans have had to take refuge in large cities protected by artificial light in order to defend themselves against vampires, with whom they are at constant war. Vampires only need blood to survive, so they multiplied rapidly and ate up the humans.
Human society has become a militaristic culture where each individual has a role and music and art are banned to avoid the attention of vampires. In the midst of this open war, a young woman named momo he wishes he could live a different life where music is not a crime. When Momo meets finea vampire who wants to get away from the conflict, both decide to run away together and find a place where vampires and humans can live in peace.
One of the most fascinating aspects of ‘Vampire in the Garden’ is precisely its review of vampires, demolishing some of the myths about it and balancing the portrayal of sophisticated beings with bloodthirsty deformed monsters. The visual aspect of the anime is one of its strengths, with animation at the spectacular level that the studio has accustomed us to and a character design that, although simple, manages to innovate on several fronts and give us very attractive and characteristic designs.
You have to warn that although it is an emotional anime, with a lot of emotional and even contemplative charge, ‘Vampire in the Garden’ is also raw and heartbreaking, with very explicit scenes that do not cut a hair to show us the darkest side of the world where it takes place.
And it is that the world of ‘Vampire in the Garden’ has a lot of potential and in part it is what gets you hooked on the story, with a militaristic dystopia where art is a remnant of vampire culture and fantasy and science fiction find a balance. It is a story that moves through its characters, and that on many occasions it even becomes intimate as it revolves around two characters, their relationship and their dreams.
It must also be said that although ‘Vampire in the Garden’ starts with great force and an intriguing approach, unfortunately it ends up stalling a bit in its final stretch and losing part of this energy to become much more chaotic. Yes indeed, the weak points in the plot are compensated with action and combat scenes where the animation studio puts all the meat on the grill.
This limited series initially has only five episodes and is planned almost like a movie that lasts around two hours, so it is perfect to follow the story in one go. For now there is no news of a second season and (without giving you spoilers), ‘Vampire in the Garden’ can stay that way, with a somewhat bittersweet but satisfying resolution that does not need to expand the story further.
Although who knows with Netflix, maybe it will give us a surprise to continue exploring the world and history of Fine and Momo, even if it is with more limited miniseries.