Vampire Princess Miyu (TV) DVD

To the students at her school, Miyu Yamano is a quiet, slightly unusual girl who transfers in and keeps mostly to herself. To the supernatural world, she is something far older and far more dangerous: the Guardian, a vampire born of human and Shinma blood, eternally frozen at the age of fifteen, charged with hunting down stray Shinma — spirit creatures that have slipped from the darkness into the human world — and banishing them back to the eternal void from which they came. At her side is Larva, a Western Shinma who was once sent to destroy her and instead became her silent, masked companion; and Shiina, a small rabbit-like Shinma with an ability to sense others of its kind. Opposing her is Reiha, an ice-wielding Yuki-onna who considers herself a superior guardian and regards Miyu with cold contempt.

Each week Miyu moves through a Japan steeped in folklore and shadow, drawn into the lives of humans whose grief, longing, and desire have made them vulnerable to Shinma who feed on those emotions — and she dispatches them with a flame that burns away all darkness, sometimes with mercy, sometimes without. 

Vampire Princess Miyu is one of the most distinctive horror anime series of the late 1990s — atmospheric, melancholy, and deeply rooted in Japanese mythology and folklore. The 26-episode TV series, based on the manga by Narumi Kakinouchi and Toshiki Hirano, was produced by AIC and directed by Toshiki Hirano himself, with music by the legendary Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor). Where the 1988 OVA was episodic and impressionistic, the TV series builds a cumulative emotional arc across its run, using its anthology-style Shinma-of-the-week format to gradually reveal the truth about Miyu's origins and her inevitable fate.

Originally released in North America on DVD by Tokyopop in 2001–2002, the complete series was later rereleased in a single boxset by Maiden Japan in 2013. 

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director: Toshiki Hirano (Apocalypse Zero, Iczer-One)
Original Manga: Narumi Kakinouchi & Toshiki Hirano
Series Composition: Noboru Aikawa
Studio: AIC (Anime International Company)
Music: Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor, Saikano)

Cast:
- Miki Nagasawa as Miyu Yamano
- Shin'ichiro Miki as Larva (Arjuna, Escaflowne)
- Megumi Ogata as Reiha / Matsukaze (Evangelion, Sailor Moon)
- Mika Kanai as Shiina
- Asako Shirakura as Chisato Inoue
- Ryotaro Okiayu as Garline (Burn Up W, Nadesico)

DVD Features

- Clean Opening Animation
- Clean Closing Animation
- Maiden Japan Trailers

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: 吸血姫 美夕 (Kyūketsuki Miyu)
Runtime: ~650 Minutes (Complete Series, 26 Episodes)
Director: Toshiki Hirano
DVD Release Year: 2001–2002 (Tokyopop); Complete Series Boxset 2013 (Maiden Japan)
Original Release Date (Japan): October 6, 1997 – March 30, 1998
Publisher: Tokyopop /