Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut

Episode 7

Forget today's jerkwad billionaires, the person I'm happiest to see succeed in space flight recently is a communist anime vampire. That's right, no more training, delays, or fake-outs—this week Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut does in fact make it to the cosmos. Granted, we're actually only seven episodes into the series, so this clearly isn't going to be the end of Irina's adventures in space-faring experimentation. But it still represents the apex of the first arc of her and Lev's adventures. The procedures of everything we saw them go through was leading to this, so apart from any of the other dramatic distractions other bits have tried to introduce, the reward for those efforts was always going to be the achievement of a successful launch. Or should that be lunch?

Yes, it probably says something about the ultimate ambitions of tone for this show that the amusing little cooking codes Irina is supposed to read as communications during her orbit represent the biggest complication introduced at this stage in the story. All the other little wrinkles get soundly smoothed out basically before the opening credits even roll this week. Lev is cleared of his previous charges and allowed to be on-hand for the test flight, and his previously-seen allergic reaction to Irina's love bite goes unremarked on. It does feel a little chintzy that, after all the effort expended on the segment of Lev getting detained last week (regardless of how well I think it was actually presented) it's just made to 'go away' in a couple of lines here. It definitely reinforces the interpretation that that whole aside was kind of a cheap device to kill a few minutes and drive up cheaper dramatics.

The reward then is Vampire Cosmonaut proving it never needed that sort of distraction to begin with. With Lev back and able to connect with Irina in one final moment before the launch, we get to simply reflect on an earnest appreciation for their efforts. Space flight is an amazing dream of human accomplishment, and Vampire Cosmonaut is at its best, I think, when it's depicting the simple power of that. We witness much of that miracle in this episode from the confines of the communications room as Lev and the others anxiously monitor Irina's progress, and in those moments there's no need for artificial outside sources to drive up the drama of what's going on there. The raw depiction of the launch after everything we saw getting there in all these past episodes is simply awe-inspiring enough.

There are imperfections to the process, of course; momentary issues pop up to remind us of everything that could go wrong. It's only rocket science, after all. But that's the point: issues like losing contact with Irina at a key apex, causing Lev to do his best "Can you hear me Major Tom?" rendition, are totally compelling story setpieces on their own. And it pays off wonderfully with that initially-askance communication conception, resulting in the cutest presentation of a space-based vampire cooking show you've ever heard. And following on from that, the writing renders a bonus bit as Irina uses her recollection of the drinks she and Lev have shared to surreptitiously impart her feelings to him. Like those lemon seltzers, it's a perfectly sweet microcosm of Vampire Cosmonaut's appeals: Earnest, caring sentiment necessarily layered underneath practiced procedural codes. Even though this is only the seventh episode, this delightful cosmic ballet genuinely comes off like the point everything, even the aside distractions, had been leading up to.

So effective is the mood communicated by that achievement this episode that Vampire Cosmonaut's unremarkable presentation is as forgivable as it always has been for the tone of the show. That said, things do seem to shift into a more overly-clipped depiction once the much stressed-over reentry portion of the mission occurs. Very little mind is actually paid to what Irina experiences in this moment, with only a few cuts skipping over her pod's landing before we focus on Lev's worried search for her. It's a choice that I can comprehend in terms of this show's continuously clinical mission statement, avoiding dramatizing the actual act and instead honing in on the grounded suspense on Lev's part in the aftermath. And from his point of view, I think the delivery works, as he simply internally realizes that the team's efforts and Irina's parachute training paid off, letting him eventually find her having landed on the ground just fine. The separated search is instead used as a platform for internal reflection by Lev, questioning how much Irina actually means to him, and the significance of the personhood he inherently sees in her. As with those earlier glossed-over plot complications, there are no massive melodramatic convergences here, simply some beats showing a man having to go out and find this girl he cares about.

It all works for the very specific kind of cartoon that Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut is trying to be, and in this culmination, delivers probably the best episode of the show yet. But how could it not be? It pointedly jettisons the excess components that previously weren't working as well, and instead delivers a payload of what does: Rocket-science procedural, understated character connection drama, and vehicle for showcasing cute cosmonaut activities. The significance of what Irina accomplished in-show, espoused by Lev at the end, speaks to this story arc's victory in that context: Perhaps no one will ever get to know of her accomplishment, but after everything they've been through, coming back home to Lev is the biggest win either of them could hope for right now.

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Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut is currently streaming on Funimation.

Chris is a freelance writer who appreciates anime, action figures, and additional ancillary artistry. He can be found staying up way too late posting screencaps on his Twitter.