Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut
We have heard and seen stories of Vampires from relatively early ages. They were one of the prime examples of Monsters and Supernatural beings who instill terror and horrors alike, especially throughout the holidays like Haloween.
There is no shortage of books, movies, games, series, and creative works surrounding this blood-sucking kind, and when it comes to Anime, they managed to make us fall in love with them.
Anime Vampires are hot, powerful, intelligent, and daring, having unique stories to portray. Loving them, love to hate them, or anything in between, Vampire characters put forth a different perspective for humanity to look from and work as eye-openers to new aspects.
“Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut,” also known as “Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu” or “Moon, Laika, and the Bloodsucking Princess,” is a 12 episode TV Anime series that aired from the 4th of October until the 20th of December, in Fall 2021. It was produced by Shogakukan, BS Japan, Bandai Namco Arts, and ADK Marketing Solutions and brought to life by Studio Arvo Animation.
It features the core genre of Sci-Fi alongside the themes of Space and Vampires. The main staff behind it includes Yokoyama Akitoshi as Director, Keisuke Makino on Script, Hamano Takatoshi as Sound Director, and ALI PROJECT on Theme Song Performance. It received a rating of PG-13 for teenagers 13 years or older.
Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut is adapted from the Light Novel of the same title. It was published across seven volumes from the 20th of December 2016 until the 19th of October 2021. It was spawned from the creative mind of Author Masano Keisuke and Artist Karei.
The main Anime series was released on Blu-ray from the 26th of January until the 29th of March 2022. Additionally, a Music video for the song “Arifureta Itsuka” by Chima was released on the 4th of October 2021. This 4-minute song was produced by Lantis and catered to the Fantasy genre. This song was utilized as the first ending theme of the TV Anime series.
The story of Irina is set in an alternate past involving space studies. On the 23rd of November 1957, their entire world witnessed how the Federal Republic of Zirnitra made their monumental achievement of sending the first-ever living being, a dog, into the untouched reaches of outer space.
The competitive space race between the confederacy and its worthy rival, the United Kingdom of Arnack, only intensified further. The two countries thus hoped to someday send humans into the mysterious cosmos above one way or another.
There was a big barricade: an animal like a dog's biology is inherently different from a human's anatomy; as such, there was no way to ideally identify and assess the significant risks to humans involved in space travel.
The actual effects of space travel on an individual's body became near impossible to determine without actually sending someone up there for observation. Zirnitra's government came up with a potential solution though: to experiment on vampires instead, whose biological and anatomical similarity to humankind was far too significant to ignore.
Thus the screen shifted to the vampire Irina Luminesk who, despite being forcibly taken away from her home in the mountains, showed no resistance to the venture and even willingly took up training to become a test subject.
Joining her is Lev Leps, who was a former top candidate to become the first-ever human cosmonaut but ends up being designated to accompany her and act as her guide instead. As the two spend more and more time together, they begin to develop a mutual love for outer space and even come closer together as individuals….
Like many people in the real world, some characters dream about soaring through the unknown reaches of space and even touching the brilliant stars they gaze enviously at every day. Everyone had felt similar feelings at some point in their lives, but how many of them imagined taking their significant other along for the game-changing ride?
In this Anime’s case, it's a peculiar Vampire girl who occasionally wears a muzzle joining them in space. Overall, Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut is a decently written, interesting, unique, and well-produced take on a series about space, with a few intermittent fantasy factors.
This Anime uses the central themes of the historical space race between humanity’s various nations and its associated controversies to portray interesting historical benchmarks in space travel. In this historical fantasy, the USSR is akin to the Federal Republic of Zirnitra as the USA is to the United Kingdom of Arnack.
There are many dark and ugly sides to this space competition, and this show explores many of them. Each side possesses its own shady secrets to get ahead: the United Kingdom of Arnack seems to be using alternative timeline versions of messed-up crazy scientists to build their rockets, while the Federal Republic of Zirnitra makes plans to experiment on and send vampires into space instead.
Irina is one of those fateful (and unfortunate?) vampires. She volunteers herself for the daring task all because she wishes to go to the moon before humanity has a chance of defiling it. She is not alone on her journey either, as her handler Lev Leps must do his best to train her well enough to test pilot a rocket before sending an actual human.
Storywise, it has a sturdy plot, a simplistic premise, is well-paced (slow but in a good way), good worldbuilding, and believable progression per its genres.
The Characters of Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut mainly revolve around the leading duo: Lev and Irina, a genuinely lovable pair. They two have fantastic chemistry, and their romance blossoms ever so naturally, all while being well-paced and satisfying. Irina tends to be stubborn, stand-offish, and somewhat juvenile, but her desire to go into space does not pale compared to Lev.
As if in stark contrast, Lev is kind and headstrong at the same time. He is not some wimpy pushover as one might expect, and it’s a given that his drive for space travel is no minor wish either. He is a soldier who takes himself and his mission very seriously.
The remainder of the cast lack screen time and aren't as significant or memorable, except for maybe Anya. The best way to describe her is as a vibrant cinnamon roll who doesn't seem to belong there, serving the cute girl trope.
Everyone else in this communist military regime is either prejudiced or hostile against Irina or aggressively competitive towards Lev. They add to the series by satisfying viewers whenever the main duo overcomes them or shows them up. So this isn’t necessarily a lousy cast overall.
The Art and Animation of Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut are pretty polished. The characters' designs suit the setting and atmosphere well, and their animation is fluid. Some backgrounds and sceneries are stunning, making the overall visual appeal skyrocket. CGI animation is decently handled.
The Sounds and Music department may not be as potent as the Visual aspects, but it is still good. The OSTS exude a ‘60s vibe and have a relaxing feel.
The Opening theme is "Hii no Tsuki" by ALI PROJECT, and the Ending theme is the aforementioned "Arifureta Itsuka" by Chima. The prior is a beautiful composition with a nostalgic style for veteran fans, while the latter is more chill and is more of a cute pop ballad.
Overall, Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut is a surprisingly good series that is enjoyable all the way. Its well-paced and exciting story, alongside its convincing romance set in a country full of pitchforks and knives, is something truly unique and entertaining.
Thus, this series is recommended as a breath of fresh air from all the overused tropes in Anime. If you’re a fan of the genres, and themes and like the premise, do not hesitate even for a second to dive right in!
Correction: In the original blog post published on April 8, 2022, we mistakenly credited Gabriela Stampacchio as a scriptwriter. This oversight has been updated to accurately credit Keisuke Makino. We updated the post to fix our mistake on April 13, 2022. Apologies for the oversight.
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Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut Official Trailer
