In the darkness, there roam the evil Shinma- shape changing demons hell-bent on chaos and out for a little human blood. Vampire Princess Miyu has been chosen by "the powers that be" to combat this evil and send the Shinma back to the darkness. Joining her on her mission is former rouge Shinma Lava and a cute creature called Shiina. Tokyopop has released the first three episodes of the series on DVD appropriately titles INITIATION.

Episode 1
The Fang Knows A schoolgirl lies dead under a flickering streetlight. Fellow student Matchiyama finds the body and notices two teeth marks on her neck. Matchiyama also sees another girl who vanishes in a shroud of mist. He knows the killer must be a vampire! The next day, this same mystery girl enrolls at his high school. Her name is Miyu. Matchiyama convinces himself that she is a vampire and the killer. Meanwhile, their teacher Ms. Yanigahara suffers cruelty at the hands of some of the other girls, who tease and ridicule her. She bears a terrible secret. That night, Matchiyama tries to follow Miyu, but instead finds another victim. Unseen, Miyu observes him while Lava suggests she bite him to get him out of their way while they search for the evil Shinma. After Matchiyama warns her with his vampire theory, Ms. Yanigahara confesses to her pet iguana that three girls saw her shoplifting, and continue to hassle her with ill-gotten "gifts" to remind her of her misdeed. Now two of those three girls are dead. Is Matchiyama mistaken and Ms. Yanigahara responsible for the murders? Could she be the Shinma?

Episode 2
At the Next Station On a subway train, a young woman is approached by a handsome man who offers to make her "beautiful." When the train reaches the station, she is gone, yet attendants hear her mournful cries from the tunnel. Miyu attends another high school, and becomes friendly with three girls: chatty Chisato, brooding Yukari and brainy Hisae. The group rides in the subway and Chisato comments how single woman have been known to disappear from the last car. Later that night, Miyu contemplates a friendship necklace Chisato bought for her, bur Lava reminds her not to get too close, being that she is a vampire and all. The next day Miyu rides alone in the last car of the subway train, and is approached by the handsome man. Miyu reveals that she knows he is the evil Shinma Roh-sha, but he manages to escape. Miyu and Lava follow him to an abandoned station, where Roh-sha plans his next attack.

Episode 3
The Forest Calls A young man, Koichi, has a nightmare concerning a tribal mask that was recently sent to his family. His sister Yuko confides in Chisato, Yukari, Hisae and Miyu that she thinks the mask is driving her brother mad. They try to help, but find that Koichi's father is a control freak and refuses to believe any evidence that the mask is evil. Miyu shows the mask to Lava, who reveals he had once fought a creature wearing that same mask years ago. Lava believed he had killed the creature, but the mask had disappeared. Shiina senses the mask is causing trouble - it has taken possession of Koichi and he attacks an innocent man. However, the man defeats Koichi and returns him and the mask to his home. Still, "Daddy" won't admit anything is wrong. Miyu grabs the mask and locks herself in one of the rooms. Now the true battle begins.

Well, if you're looking for intense, complicated plots and non-stop action on a grand scale, you won't find it in VAMPIRE PRINCESS MIYU. The stories are fine, but nothing special. The animation is fine, but nothing special. The characters are fine, you get the picture. While there is nothing "bad" about this series, there is nothing unique, either. There have been God knows how many anime vampire movies and series, and VAMPIRE PRINCESS MIYU fits in right in the middle. The creators do a nice job of trying to develop the characters, but with each episode running only 25 minutes, that doesn't leave a lot of time for development. This series is a "new take" on the Vampire Princess Miyu character made to attract new fans. I have not seen the original, but I've heard she's big in Japan. The creators of this series wanted to "refresh" the characters and add nuances to the traditional evil villains. This particular facet is really only evident in the third episode (which is the best one, too.) As it stands, the three shows here give an adequate foundation for a new series. VAMPIRE PRINCESS MIYU is not a waste of time, but it leaves one wanting something more, something memorable. Perhaps when I see the whole series it will be more satisfying. We'll see…

VAMPIRE PRINCESS MIYU is presented with a very clean picture and crisp sound, but there are not any Dolby or surround options available for the critical listener. The DVD extras included are a picture gallery of most of the main characters, as well as a booklet describing the development of each show's Shinma. There is an episode search with motion menus, and previews of other Tokyopop titles available. The DVD is full screen (3x4 aspect ratio), and can be heard in English or Japanese, with an English subtitle option. The show is not rated, but contains only a few violent scenes, so it's o.k. for teenagers.