🚀 go-pugleaf

This article provides background information on
the Vampire Princess Miyu videos and the Vampire
Miyu manga and drama CDs specifically as they
relate to "Miyu's Legacy of Power", a work of fan
fiction I just posted.  For those who would like, 
I can E-mail the whole short story as a single 
file. It was originally posted as eight short 
episodes.  When RAA.creative opens back up, I 
will post it there also.
     
For those of you who followed Gunsmith Cats
Crisis, "Miyu's Legacy of Power is a completely
different kind of work.  I don't even regard
Gunsmith Cats Crisis as fan fiction.  It started
as a parody and eventually acquired a plot and a
cast of characters.  It's primary purpose,
however, was to provide a medium to hash over
anime and RAA in-jokes.  It was episodic in nature
so that it would always be dealing with topical
issues.  "Miyu's Legacy of Power" is pure fan
fiction.  It is serious and intense.  The only
humor is coincidental.  I posted it in eight parts
only because of newsreader and Usenet constraints.

I wrote it as a continuous story and only divided
it after the fact.

The Vampire Miyu stories in their various formats-
-manga, OAV, book, and drama CD--are the work of
Kakinouchi Narumi and her husband Hirano
Toshihiro.  With only a couple of exceptions, all
my named characters are their creations.  Although
my story line is original, it is set in the world
that Kakinouchi and Hirano created.  My work is
not copyrighted, but I would appreciate people
respecting the copyrights of the original
creators.
    
Miyu is a Shinma (God-Demon) who serves as a
guardian for other Shinma (Shinma can be either
singular or plural like most Japanese nouns)
allowing them to rest in peace in the 'Dark'. 
Since the world was turned over to humans, Shinma
are prohibited from intruding and it is Miyu's job
to return 'stray' Shinma who violate this
prohibition to the Dark. 

Miyu is assisted by a mysterious Shinma.  AnimEigo
transliterated his name as Larva.  I prefer Lava
which I used in the fan fiction.  In the manga,
his name is written in katakana using the syllable
'ra', the sound 'v' followed by a subscripted 'a'
syllable.  That would make his name either 'Rava'
or 'Lava'.  Since the first syllable is short and
there is no 'ru' second syllable, I don't agree
with the 'Larva' transliteration, although
AnimEigo says the author, Kakinouchi Narumi, gave
it her approval.  I have used 'Lava' not only
because it is a more accurate transliteration but
also because I would much rather the connotation
of the name be one of molten rock rather than that
of an insect.  I make a comment in the fan fiction
that Lava's name is from an ancient tongue and can
only be approximated in modern languages.  This
explains the various transliterations in addition
to making his name seem mysterious.

The four OAV episodes of Vampire Princess Miyu
were released by AnimEigo about four years ago in
subbed format on two tapes or one LD.  The LD,
unfortunately, is out of print.  Within the  next
couple of months, AnimEigo is scheduled to release
dubbed tapes and hybrid LDs.

Dark Horse published the first manga series in
Enlish in  six comics.  I still see them available
on the shelves of comic book stores so they are
not that hard to find.  The later manga, in my
opinion is much better, but Dark Horse has no
plans to translate it at present.  Also
untranslated are a series of six drama CDs and a
short novel.

Miyu's art and atmosphere is visually stunning. 
Some people have criticized the series for being
weakly plotted.  Those who are accustomed to the
rivers of blood of American horror films and some
other manga and anime will be disappointed.  In
Miyu, the struggles are primarily internal.  Miyu
and Lava are each very powerful and normally have
little difficulty dealing with their opponents. 
The conflicts are therefore emotional and
psychological rather than physical.

For the action oriented, I deliberately set
"Miyu's Legacy of Power" immediately after she had
'awakened' as a vampire and been appointed as the
guardian of the Shinma.  She is much weaker at
this point and faces real challenges to survive. 
Miyu and Lava are not fully bonded yet and Miyu
cannot call on Lava's powers at will.

Although I have introduced action and physical
conflict into the plot, that does not mean that I
don't feel that a psychological struggle is just
as legitimate.  I find the OAVs, the later manga,
and the drama CDs very compelling.  I consider the
OAVs, in particular, to be one of the finest works
of anime ever produced, strong in every aspect
including plot.

True to the nature of the series, although I have
plenty of action in the fan fiction, psychological
turmoil, character development, and inner strife
are also there.  The later manga and the drama CDs
deal with the sruggle between eastern and western
Shinma.  I use this theme in the fan fiction.  I
think you'll find Miyu battling a conspiracy to be
more compelling than just confronting a sequence
of 'stray' Shinma.

Although I provide some insight into Miyu's
background I have deliberately avoided including
outright spoilers for people who have not seen,
heard, or read the original series in its various
media.  However, I must point out that someone who
has read the fan fiction will be better prepared
to anticipate some of the plot revelations of the
OAV, especially episode 4 where Miyu's origins are
revealed.  However, this is not the only account
of her origin and I draw on all accounts and
attempt to reconcile some of the inconsistencies.

Miyu means "Beautiful Evening".