Vampire in the Garden

It's a shame that this anime isn't longer or paced better. There are a lot of things that I find enjoyable about this anime; the music, the heavily implied sapphic romance between the two characters (only to find out Momo is 14 years old), vampires, the search for a better place among a world in ruins. I love many of these tropes and wanted so badly to rate this as an 8 by the last episode, but I was still left feeling like this anime could have done so much more than what it gave. This anime reminds me a lot of Wolf's Rain in the way that the main characters are being chased through a world that's been pushed to its limits, while searching for a rumored land that may or may not even exist. Vampire in the Garden dubbed this peaceful place "Eden," where vampires and humans can live together. What I find interesting is that in the beginning Momo and Fine are searching for a geographical location that they can physically go to. However, by the end of the show, Eden is implied to be wherever Momo and Fine are together. The idea that together they are their own Eden (and something seperate from the war) is a strong message to end on that also makes sense considering both Momo and Fine are only their true selves around each other. While the narrative implies a romance, or at least deep connection, between Fine and Momo, it's worth mentioning that Momo is 14 years old vs Fine whose age is unknown (but most likely much older). The problem is that there is a disconnect between the characters and the audience. This show does not take the time or have the time to let the characters connect with each other (in turn, let the audience connect with them too). I think this is a problem in lack of run-time. Coming in at 5 episodes -- less than half a 12-episode season of anime -- this anime can't afford to spend much time on memorable, slow scenes with the characters that would otherwise make the ending really impactful. Aside from the plot and pacing problems, the music is absolutely fantastic! I really like the musicbox song and the piano/singing duet. And I think music being part of the vampire culture is a nice touch to the world building. Even if it was never really explained why Vampires claimed music as their own. All in all, could have been a good show. But the short amount of episodes hinders this anime's chances of being anything more than decent.

Before looking at this series as short, think of it as a movie that has been spliced into 5 20 minute episodes. That being said, WIT absolutely out did themselves with this anime. The story is fairly straight forward, but is fleshed out through the emotions presented from each character. I don't think I need to say much about the art considering this is WIT, but what stood out was the backgrounds. Each scene told a story of its own, whether it was the dusty ruined halls of an abandoned mansion, or an extravagant clean dance hall. The sounds for the most part were good, but noticed they used the same sound for pulling a grenade pin and opening a syringe. With the music topping the cake, Vampire in the Garden felt like an impactful experience with a very fitting ending. Short, but sweet. 9/10

I loved it. Beautiful worldbuilding, art, sound and a solid bittersweet story with meaningful characters. It does feel cut short in some points and there are some minor flaws execution wise, otherwise I would rate this a 10 because what defines a “Masterpiece” in the end other than subjective taste and opinion anyway? The tale of them seeking humanity and solace is a very sad but timeless and hopeful one and it is executed in a simple, beautiful way. This mini series doesn’t try to be something it could never be, it just is what it is: A solid work of art, which makes it already stand out to me in the neverending sea of meaningless, target-audience pandering slop.

This is one of those series that I hope someday will get remade with a much bigger budget. You can see that all the right ingredients are there, it's just unfortunately undercooked. A la Wolf's Rain, it's a heartfelt story about hope in a world that seems all but hopeless, and about the enduring power of love and art. The world is full of tantalizing ideas, and the characters are relatable and likable in all the best ways. The design gorgeous and makes the most of an obviously thin animation budget. What it lacks is time to really explore the plot and the nuances in its own narrative. You see characters doing and feeling things, but you only get hints as to why and how. There's a whole world that begs to be explored but 5 episodes just wasn't enough. The idea of vampires as the stewards of culture—of a world that was and should be again—is fascinating and beautiful. So, unfortunately, the series leaves me wanting, even as I look at it and think "yeah, that we was really nice...". You can tell that the writers hand their hearts in the right place, so I hope they will go on to do more stuff like this.

Vampire in the garden - the garden of eden where everyone happily coexist together. i overall enjoyed this small series for it's entire 5 episode run. Artwork : 9/10 the visuals were great from the design of the characters to the use of shadowing in the snowy world, in particular were the designs of viines castle, very well done giving it that gothic vampire aesthetic contrasting with the industrialized human civilization fighting to keep survive. Characters : 8/10 The bond that momo and viine shared was beautiful and sad at the same time, they looked out for eachother each hoping to find the place where they could live in peace together away from the threat that the two waring races posed. the supporting cast wasn't much to right home about, only two having a glimpse of a backstory but explaining well enough their reasons for fighting, all in all momo and viine were the only two people who could look past the war and see the big picture. Story: 7/10 it was a good story but it suffered a bit from the pacing, i believe if they just fleshed out the story a bit and gave it a bit more detail and explanation they could have turned this into a masterpiece. a twelve episode run is what would have been best for the show but the show as it stands was still an enjoyable watch. if your looking for a vampire story set in a dystopian world where two lost souls come together then your in the right place just be warned sometimes the path to Eden can only be found by wading through a river of blood

My opinion on Vampire in the Garden: Man, what can I say about this anime? The animation is excellent, the dubbing in my language is also very good, and I even like some of the characters. But without a doubt, what really hooked me was the relationship between the two protagonists — intense, tragic, agonizing. Actually, that's the best word to describe the anime: anguish. From beginning to end, it's a weight on your chest that never lifts. When the anime came out, I saw people saying they could make a sequel focusing on other characters, but honestly? After that ending, all the appeal was gone. Any desire to watch anything related to it just died right there. In the end, it was the relationship between the two that carried the whole work on its back. Without them, all that's left is a pretty — but empty — package.

A beautiful sad story that's well worth watching. It has heart felt emotional moments, action, and a little bit of world building. It's also a bit of a tear-jerker. At five episodes, the series is quite brief, and very easy to binge. Some have compared it to a long movie, honestly it reminds me of an OVA. Each episode tells a relatively self-contained story that fluidly bridges into the next one. A lot of the reviews criticize the series for being short, which I think is actually one of its strengths. The series quickly makes you invested in the characters, particularly the leads Momo and Fine. Their struggles and relationship are the core of the story the show is trying to tell, and I think it does a good job of organically fleshing out both over its runtime. If it was significantly longer I think it would risk dragging or feeling padded. The setting, with its freezing landscapes, post apocalyptic elements, and human-vampire forever war, is also engaging, but clearly secondary to the protagonists and their story. This oddly ends up working in its favor, as the world benefits from being shown on-screen rather than explained through exposition. I've re-watched the show a few times, and found something new to like about it each time.

In a nutshell, this anime was Romeo and Juliet except Romeo is a queen of vampires. Art and sound: 10/10 You can tell the production team put oodles of love into creating this piece of art. The animations were fluid, backgrounds were uncompromised, and action scenes were well planned out. The detail put into the storyboarding details was immaculate and well worth the watch. Story and character: 5/10 The writers tried to put too much in 5 episodes. The story may have been great if it had 5 more episodes worth of work put into giving convincing motivations behind the character's actions. Otherwise, it does feel like the whole story was motivated by two rebellious teenagers. Enjoyment: 8/10 The story was not well-motivated, but the ending scene still had me crying... and I didn't understand why. So the only way I can interpret it was that the storyboarding really created enjoyment and had me invested in the scene. I Overall: 7/10 I would watch only for the art, that's how good it was. If you enjoy vampire thrillers and beautiful action scenes, I would recommend you watch this anime. If you like well-grounded and reasoned plot lines, this series will drive you nuts.

Vampire in the garden is one of those anime that comes out of nowhere and just blows everyone away. While the story had it's flaws like everything else and the art style seemed a little bland but the anime was trying to tell a story and have some very good music to go with it. They were not trying to make the next big action block buster. I'm not an emotional person but this five episode anime honestly made me cry at the end. I don't remember the last time something evoked emotions in me like this anime did so good job wit studio this anime is a hidden gem and I'll definitely be recommending it.

This went from anime of the year to meh in five episodes. Let's start with what I liked. The art and setting is gorgeous. I really go the look and feel of the world they live in the vibrant use of dull color palettes makes you feel the setting. I loved the use of music as part of the plot device. I do knock it though for having background music where I felt there shouldn't be. Music shouldn't play behind characters ignorant of it. The story is good despite the shallow predictable ending. The thing I didn't like is the characters. Everyone is so one dimensional and single minded. It's so bad there's not much to speak of. No spoilers but let's just say every character's stated intention/goal, is the depth of their character. Why doesn't Fine want to be queen? Why does Momo's mom want her back so bad, when you were willing to sacrifice her to kill a vampire? The lack of world building and character depth is a shame as it's only five episodes. Would one more episode worth of world building been too much to ask? What exactly are the strengths and weaknesses of vampires? Why can't literally anyone else be queen? TL;DR, Three great episodes followed by two meh ones

It could be well-developed anime, but as always in Netflix series something is wrong. But I still enjoyed it and even cried a bit at the end, so it's not so bad after all. I think the worst part is that this anime is too short. Some of the storylines could be interesting, but they're not developed enough. For example, Momo's uncle's background could be entertaining, but they're only shown a few scenes of him and his vampire wife. Or the storyline of Fine girlfriend (?), could be also interesting, but we know for sure that they know each other and that she is dead. Also, the journey which Momo and Fine had to take is too short, they're traveling for one full episode. I thought it will be more about the differences between humans and vampires and trying to be together even if another person has disadvantages. But they kinda love each other after the second talk. Also, this village is too sus. From the first moment you know they're hiding something shady and paradise won't be paradise. I think it would be better if it was less obvious. Anyway, it's pretty anime and it has a good soundtrack. Momo and Fine are ok characters, but their relationship is too fast. Like, for real, Momo's girlfriend was killed by a vampire and after a few hours, she has fun, singing and playing piano with Fine. But even after that ending is emotional and probably makes you wanna cry. So I think it's good anime if you don't have anything better.

Vampire in the Garden is good and bad. I think that’s my conclusion. Allow me to explain. There’s definitely a lot to like on display. The music and sound design are great, no problems there. The art is very strong despite simple, slightly uncanny character design. The character dynamic between the two leads grew on me as the story progressed, and I found that their emotional beats really resonated. I love me a good road trip, even though this one was kept pretty snappy. In fact, the show’s rather economical storytelling allows quite a lot to happen in a mere 130 minutes. The fast pace rarely lets up, including some rip-roaring action scenes that I thoroughly enjoyed. It is this economical storytelling that also leaves much to be desired, though. Many scenes lack proper flow, with a couple actually leaving me questioning what happened. The world lacks cohesiveness as well, with many specific details about humans and vampires either not making an impact where they should, or not making particularly much sense to begin with. Heck, character decisions and motivations don’t make a lot of sense and are largely driven by the plot. And oh lordy, the plot. Let’s just say the writers didn’t let a silly thing like physics get in the way of what they wanted to happen. Just like the whole show, the animation is good in parts (the dancing!) and bad in parts. So I feel like I’m stuck giving it a 5 outta 10. I would give it a 6, but what kind of vampire story doesn’t have anyone actually turn into a vampire? Seriously!

This story was ok. As someone who absolutely loves vampire ANYTHING, when I logged onto Netflix and saw it I could hardly contain my excitement. The first episode was pretty good, things were still fairly original and there were a lot of little placements of things that left the possibility of more things happening. the first episode put a lot of detail into the world like a first episode should, it left me with questions and the series opportunities to build on them, but the questions weren't ever built on! And if they did happen to be, it was a recycled and predictable explanation. This series uses becomes so bland if you are familiar with any anime or media tropes. the pacing of the story was alight, but the wow factor that could have so easily been reached if there was any sort of individuality. The art and sound redeemed things a bit, it was visually done really well and any sort of cgi didn't bring down the quality toooo much. every character was meh besides maybe finee, and the uncle. This show tries and tricks you into thinking the main characters have a lot of depth through their relationships with the side characters, but we learn nothing meanful about their relationships to them or why they should matter to make this work. The mom, the friend in the beginning, the brother to finee, these would help the characters out so much if we were given a actual reason to how they really effect the characters. Also, 5 episodes. so dumb, go big or go home. If we were given a series that was longer or this were simply a movie it would have been so much more memorable. this series is fine, finee? lol. watch it or don't, it likely won't stick.

Romeo and Juliet, but with 2 girls, one human, the other a vampire, both trying to flee from the burdens of expectation, put on their shoulders by their respective families/races, in a world drowned in war. Both of them meet each other on amidst of a conflict, trying to flee from themselves and each other's chaos, then being forced to travel together, they start to learning from each other's lifes, knowing each other and starting to appreciate the peacefulness of a free life, far from the encumbrances of war or bigotry, while they try to bring back the life of song and love of music into a silent sad world, searching for a paradise. Its a good and interesting show, focused on developing the relationship between the two main protagonist, while also showing effects of a war on the daily lives of commom people and vampires, that mostly just want to live their lifes. Most characters are well written, with clear motivations, evn tough some are implicit, none of them fall completelly flat, but some of them could have received a little bit more attention, and others could have just received less time, but overall they are all well done.

Honestly, I really enjoyed this. I mean, I'm a sucker for vampires (haha) but I think it holds up regardless. However, it's not without its flaws. Main story is about a human girl and the vampire queen, both sick of the constant fighting and killing on both sides, deciding to flee and search out an 'eden' where humans and vampires can live in harmony. The plot doesn't break the wheel or anything but the real focus is on the two main characters, both their bond and their personal trauma. While it's compelling I feel that this show would have really benefitted from more episodes, both to give more time to their developing relationship and delving into their past. I would have loved to see more of Fiine's past (and the people in it, yeah you'll know who I'm talking about). I also think if there had been more time spent seeing Momo pushed to breaking point her decision to run would have made more sense (as it is she's dissatisfied with her job, gets in one argument with her mum, then decides to leave her settlement for what she's been assured is certain death). And of course, seeing more of Fiine and Momo connecting would have been a treat. We get some montages, but overall they go very quickly from strangers to people completely dedicated to one another. More episodes would also allow us to see more of the world, get a greater sense of distance travelled and the people out there... Both protagonists are likeable (though I particularly enjoyed Fiine), but the side character suffer from a lack of development due to the limited screen time. Would have been nice to understand more about Allegro and his relationship to Fiine. Would have also been nice for Momo's uncle and his crew to be more than a plot point (there to hunt them down rather than be characters in their own right). And an antagonist I won't name for spoiler reasons turns out to be pretty one dimensional, when adding more nuance to their behaviour and motives would work in the story's favour. The art is lovely, and the animation has some absolutely beautiful segments (I adore how fluid the vampire's wing transition is, and how they fly). Music is good, backgrounds are pretty, no complaints there. Visually this show is very strong. Now, the ending may not be for everyone... personally it didn't do it for me, felt a little bleak in a way that contradicts the idea the protagonists (and the show tbh) seem to push - that humans and vampires can live together peacefully. But I suspected for a while that things may go that way. Maybe it would feel better if we'd had more time to follow their journey. Unfortunately, that's something we can't know. Overall I really enjoyed the show though, and it's a shame it's not longer. If you're on the fence, give it a shot, it's not a long watch and there's plenty to love about it, particularly if you're a fan of vampires.

“Vampire in the Garden” is an extremely emotional anime that tells a tragic but hopeful story of two people’s search for a peaceful world. This anime has a strong relationship between these two main characters and their desire to sacrifice everything for a world of peace. The tragic ending of this anime, where Fine dies in the end, is very sad but also hopeful. Seeing Momo stand up to her mother and do her own thing was a strong scene, showing that Fine’s dream would live on through her. “Vampire in the Garden” is a very sad but emotional story, but it is also very meaningful. It is a very powerful story of the desire for peace in a world filled with hatred and war.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7,5 Spoiler-free review The series follows a pair of outcasts: a human and a vampire. The couple resides in a version of Earth where most of humanity is forced to live in a fortress. It is evident from the first few minutes that humans have been engaged in a decades-long conflict with the vampire race, which surpasses them both in strength and numbers. If it weren't for the use of a large spotlight in the center of the human fortress, and those that surround it, that center would have been destroyed years ago. The war has led humans to prohibit all their "noisy" culture (music, movies, etc.) because "vampires have superior hearing," and therefore a hidden fear of music, especially, arises. Humanity is a closed, cold, and repressed society whose main goal is survival. I find the soundtrack fascinating, and in this work, it has a greater importance than in other works because, as mentioned above, humanity does not listen to anything, and there are kids who don't even know what it is. In this regard, the anime manages to immerse you in this "mud" with a mix of soundtrack and real music in the film, simply perfect, just as excellent is the animation in general in all five episodes. The two protagonists are well-written, and what they do is believable, which is a great merit of the work. They interact and live in this world. In these five episodes, the studio manages to tell a story that has a beginning, an end, and that is always interesting. It is not afraid to exploit dead times, such as that of a song played on the piano that could be a waste of time, here instead everything serves a purpose. However, there is a problem with the characters' relationships. As already mentioned, the relationship between the protagonists is well-written and engaging, but unfortunately, the other relationships seem to be developed superficially and unconvincingly, if not even nonexistent. This represents a weak point of the work, as the relationships between the characters can be fundamental for the success of the story and for the empathy that the audience can feel towards it. The series also suffers from a lack of depth in the world and the story that surrounds it. Viewers are thrown into a complex reality without many explanations, and there are too many details of the story that remain unknown or unexplained. Personally, I really liked the world created for this anime, in my opinion, they should have extended the series to fully experience the story and setting. In general, "Vampire in the Garden" seems to be a series that has had production and writing problems. Although the result is a good product, and the animation is of high quality. In conclusion, I can say that the plot of this work is original and exciting, it is definitely worth giving it a chance.

Up to episode 2 and half of episode 3 this was a solid 7. Xanthe's and Larissa's voice acting was out of this world, easily on par with the japanese cast. It may have even been an 8 had there not been so many plot holes. But after that the whole thing fell apart. They kept using the same plot gimmicks to pull at your emotions, and when Fine's about to die by the 5th time it gets old real fast. So that's why this wound up as a 4. I'll rewatch up to episode 3 to get the bond between them, but other than that don't watch past episode 3.

I was looking forward to this when I saw it’s trailer on Netflix, but I am quite disappointed with the turn out. This will be a short review. Story:- 2/10 What story? Momo only apparently discovers music from a music box she finds while on a mission and really likes it. Enough to want to leave the home she’s known for years and her Mother? What motive is that? She also decides all of a sudden to go with a vampire when she’s been brought up to hate them. The whole plot is the two running away from both vampires and the military it was a great premise, but the execution was awful. It was a mess. Art:- 7/10 The one thing that kept me watching was the amazing animation and art that Wit Studio always puts out for their Anime, but that’s the only thing good about this show. Sound:- 1/10 I can’t recall a single piece of significant music that I found awe-inspiring. Character:- 2/10 There was not one character I like in this. The human characters I hated, the main characters were boring and there weren’t really any other vampires that got screen time a part from one. The only character I like was Allegro because he was the only interesting character in the whole show with his past relationship with Fine, his hatred towards humans and he had a dog too. A vampire who likes dogs and cares about them is different than them just being used for food; though we didn’t get the dog’s name sadly. The Uncle seemed interesting, but his development was at the end and I really didn’t care anymore. Momo and Fine I could care less about. Momo’s Mother was borderline abusive due to the fact she didn’t understand why her daughter ran away in the first place and continued to have her soldiers hunt her down; even crazy ones who would get her hurt either by accident or on purpose. Enjoyment and Overall:- 5/10 Even if this review has been fairly negative I enjoyed it quite a bit, but only to a certain extent. And it’s mostly due to everything I wrote above. I give this Anime a 5 because of the lackluster writing in the motivation of the characters, the lack of knowledge of who the characters are and not letting the audience care about these characters enough. You can watch it if you’re a fan of vampires but I advice don’t. It’s a waste of five episodes you can waste on something else.

I'm still not sure what happened, but it feels like they forgot to make the other half of the show. Vampire in the Garden is a breath of fresh air for the vampire genre, or at least that's what I expected it to be. The motif of "predators trying to co-exist with their preys" has been overused so much in the last decade to the point they don't even know how to exploit it anymore and it SHOWS in this series. It had a good start building up the relationship between the Momo and her bestfriend, and WIT just nailed it again with the grim post dystopian world being portrated very beautiful and immersive. But as the show went on all of those just became a backdrop for this very weird plot development and pacing from one short episode to another rapidly, to the point by episode 4 I had already forgotten everyone's name except for the 2 main characters, or was that they were never mentioned? Five episodes is nowhere near enough time to make you feel anything for these people, and also because of that nothing was ever fully explained. Fine's backstory was revealed about 30% at best, her brother/lover/prince's non existent, Momo's non existent, her mama's non existent, her mama's brother's non existent, the evil village's non existent. The entire show was literally about the duo fleeing across the continent from one place to another and suddenly our main girl decided to went above and beyond to protect her predator after what felt like the 10 minutes they just met. I would recommend people to watch this, only if they had a free afternoon. And don't try to linger long afterward because there is really just nothing to process, everything is all laid down in an extremely simple way. 3.6 not good, not terrible.