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EP. REVIEW: Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut


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L'Imperatore



Joined: 24 Mar 2014
Posts: 821
PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 2:41 pm Reply with quote
For All Man(Vampire?)kind: The Anime? Smile

Anyway, does the LN show the space race from the not!US' side?
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09jcg



Joined: 19 Sep 2006
Posts: 522
PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 3:27 pm Reply with quote
The "catnip" effect the reviewer mentioned is in full effect with me, as this show came out of left field to become one of my favorites of the season. It also helps that find both the female and male MCs to be pretty endearing. With Irina we have the cute tsundere vampire I didn't know I needed and with Lev you get the rather stoic but still normal MC that seems to be in short supply in anime. Hopefully it keeps it up
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MFrontier



Joined: 13 Apr 2014
Posts: 10946
PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 4:07 pm Reply with quote
Who knew a Vampire Cosmonaut Romance could be so cute?

It's nostalgic to hear Ali Project again.

I'm enjoying the interplay between the actual Space Program stuff and the developing relationship between Irina and Lev.

It's nice to see that Megumi Hayashibara as a seiyuu legend can still get a female lead role in a modern anime that's not just a reprisal and show off once again that she hasn't missed a step after all these years.

(Also seiyuu 20-years apart playing love interests just always kind of amuses me).
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 4:16 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
just makes me concerned that the story won't do much with the fantastical elements it's supposedly predicated on, instead just adding one more piece onto the pile of plausible-deniability faux-historical fiction


Well that's disappointing, my biggest complaint of the first episode is that it spent so much time on the vampire side of thing which ultimately added literally nothing to the story. So I was hoping future episode would at least justify this aspect of the story but it doesn't sound like it. It really seem like its just a marketing gimmick or even a late addition by editor worried that a story about the space race wouldn't be good enough as a premise.
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Jafwasw



Joined: 22 Feb 2014
Posts: 12
PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 5:23 pm Reply with quote
It feels a little bit to me like it's less that Vampires in this story are not the blood suckers of myth and legend and more that Irina's people have chosen not to be that way any more. The other thing that I thought was interesting was in the second episode during the running segment it was almost as if Lev was having a moment of primal fear on an instinctive level.
This was one of the series I was looking forward to this season and I'm interested to see where the series goes from here.
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dm
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Joined: 24 Sep 2010
Posts: 1346
PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 5:45 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
the original Japanese moniker of Tsuki to Laika to Nosfaratu comes off just a bit more poetic


There's a lot going on in that title.

Laika was a dog launched in Sputnik 2 to be the first animal to orbit the Earth. As the anime says, she died from overheating, and no provision had been made to recover her.

Nosferatu, the name of a famous vampire, is the furigana reading given for the kanji 吸血姫 (kyuuketsuki, vampire), usually written as 吸血鬼. The kanji substitutes 姫 (hime, princess) for 鬼 (ma, demon), producing "Vampire Princess" just as Narumi Kakinouchi did when she used those kanji in the title of Vampire Princess Miyu.
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MFrontier



Joined: 13 Apr 2014
Posts: 10946
PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 7:31 pm Reply with quote
Jafwasw wrote:
It feels a little bit to me like it's less that Vampires in this story are not the blood suckers of myth and legend and more that Irina's people have chosen not to be that way any more. The other thing that I thought was interesting was in the second episode during the running segment it was almost as if Lev was having a moment of primal fear on an instinctive level.
This was one of the series I was looking forward to this season and I'm interested to see where the series goes from here.

Yeah, Irina said that they don't drink blood anymore because it's "barbaric" but that it's part of their coming-of-age ceremony. She said she felt more energized and powerful when she drank the animal blood, so it seems like drinking blood still has an effect on them, they just don't crave it because they have milk as a valid alternative.

I think something in the plot is going to happen that forces her to drink Lev's blood.
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xevius



Joined: 06 Sep 2021
Posts: 32
PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 7:51 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
I think something in the plot is going to happen that forces her to drink Lev's blood.


spoiler[In the trailer, it looks like Irina is in a hospital bed and Lev lets her bite his neck.]
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LadyKuzunoha



Joined: 18 May 2011
Posts: 91
Location: United States
PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 9:12 pm Reply with quote
The Command & Conquer reference in the review does not go unnoticed and is much appreciated.
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zrdb





PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 11:36 pm Reply with quote
A vampire becoming a cosmonaut in a fictional analog of old Russia-only in anime could something like this occur. But I really like it, the story and characters so far are hitting all the right notes. It'll be interesting to see if the series continues to develop in this very interesting vein.
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Dop.L



Joined: 23 Mar 2007
Posts: 713
Location: London
PostPosted: Wed Oct 20, 2021 7:08 am Reply with quote
dm wrote:
Quote:
the original Japanese moniker of Tsuki to Laika to Nosfaratu comes off just a bit more poetic

...
Nosferatu, the name of a famous vampire...


The first episode had a really nice shout-out to F.W. Murnau's classic silent film.
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Sinsekihokimchiansu



Joined: 02 Aug 2021
Posts: 159
PostPosted: Wed Oct 20, 2021 1:09 pm Reply with quote
I find the vampire wanting to be an astronaut story very weird, like it's just doesn't go together but the characters are interesting and I guess over time you'll get used to it
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michizure



Joined: 28 Jun 2006
Posts: 177
PostPosted: Sun Oct 24, 2021 12:57 pm Reply with quote
MFrontier wrote:
(Also seiyuu 20-years apart playing love interests just always kind of amuses me).

It wouldn't be out of the question for a long-lived species like a vampire to be much older than she appears, making this truth in fiction -- but that's apparently not the case here.

On the other hand, how seriously should we take the Episode 4 revelation that spoiler[she's really 17 years old], when the cast already includes Inoue Kikuko?

I wonder why the subtitles translated "chuu-i" as "private," when it's really "first lieutenant"? Did I mis-hear?
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MFrontier



Joined: 13 Apr 2014
Posts: 10946
PostPosted: Tue Oct 26, 2021 9:52 am Reply with quote
Have they confirmed how old Lev is? I'm kind of wondering if there's any age difference between them at this point. Although if he can drink he's got to be 16+.

Drunk Irina was hilarious. No surprise she's a lightweight, but she finally calls Lev by name.

I'm at least glad Irina went willingly because she wanted to go into space and not because her people sold her out, although it seems like what happened to her parents is why she distrusts humans so much.

That ice skating scene was beautiful. Who knew Irina had the skills of a pro figure skater? I'm half-imagining a spinoff where Levi is her ice skating coach.
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njprogfan
Collector Extraordinaire



Joined: 08 Feb 2007
Posts: 1155
Location: A River Named Toms
PostPosted: Tue Oct 26, 2021 10:19 am Reply with quote
I agree totally Chris about your feelings during Irina's ice skating. It could have been cut by a half and the point would have been made, but yes, some nice animation. I am looking forward to the relationship progressing, yet hoping it's a slow burn. Irina's such a hard edge character so for her to fall for him too quickly would be a shame, I'm enjoying her steely stares and overall dedication to her duty. I didn't know what to expect with this series, but it's been a pleasant surprise so far.
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