Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu (Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut)

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Moon, Laika, and the Bloodsucking Princess

Japanese: 月とライカと吸血姫

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Information

Type: TV

Episodes: 12

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Oct 4, 2021 to Dec 20, 2021

Premiered: Fall 2021

Broadcast: Sundays at 01:35 (JST)

Producers: Shogakukan, BS Japan, Bandai Namco Arts, ADK Marketing Solutions

Licensors: Funimation, Travel Compass

Studios: Arvo Animation

Source: Light novel

Genres: Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Themes: Historical, Military, Space, Vampire

Duration: 23 min. per ep.

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Statistics

Score: 7.31¹ (scored by 48,943 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #2494²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #1497

Members: 139,902

Favorites: 689

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@LAIKA_anime

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7.31

Ranked #2494Popularity #1497Members 139,902

Fall 2021TVArvo Animation

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Synopsis

On November 23, 1957, the whole world witnessed the Federal Republic of Zirnitra's monumental achievement of sending the first live animal—a dog—to outer space. Since then, the space race between the confederacy and its competitor, the United Kingdom of Arnack, has intensified; the two countries hope to one day send humans to the cosmos above.

As a dog's biology is inherently different from a human's anatomy, there is no way to perfectly identify the risks involving space travel and its effects on an individual's body without actually sending someone for observation. However, Zirnitra's government has a potential solution: to experiment on vampires, whose biological similarity to humans is too significant to ignore.

Despite being forcibly taken from her home in the mountains, vampire Irina Luminesk shows no resistance and is even willing to train as a test subject. Lev Leps, a former top candidate to become the first human cosmonaut, is designated to accompany Irina and act as her guide. Through their time together, Irina and Lev begin to develop a mutual love for outer space, bringing them closer together.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu was released on Blu-ray from January 26, 2022 to March 29, 2022.

Episode Videos

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu
Other:	Arifureta Itsuka

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Luminesk, Irina

Main

Hayashibara, Megumi
Japanese

Leps, Lev

Main

Uchiyama, Kouki
Japanese

Simonyan, Anya

Supporting

Kino, Hina
Japanese

Plevitskaya, Rosa

Supporting

Komatsu, Mikako
Japanese

Natalia

Supporting

Inoue, Kikuko
Japanese

Korovin, Slava

Supporting

Hashi, Takaya
Japanese

Gergiev, Fyodor

Supporting

Ogata, Kenichi
Japanese

Harlova, Ludmila

Supporting

Ichimichi, Mao
Japanese

Rimsky, Zhores

Supporting

Natsume, Kyouhei
Japanese

Sagalevich

Supporting

Kashii, Shouto
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Cook, Justin

Producer

Kondou, Shuuhou

Producer

Maruyama, Hajime

Producer

Herek, Samantha

Assistant Producer

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Opening Theme

"Hii no Tsuki (緋ノ月)" by ALI PROJECT

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Ending Theme

"Arifureta Itsuka (ありふれたいつか)" by Chima

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Reviews

Dec 23, 2021

literaturenerd

Not Recommended

Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut. Just the title lets you know this is going to be a weird one. I went in having absolutely no idea what to expect, but I was still somehow disappointed by this one. I’m going honest and upfront. This isn't very good.

Brought to you from the director of Cutey Honey Universe and a first-time writer, this is an alternate history version of the space race told through the perspective of the Soviet Union. Isn’t that literally just the plot of Royal Space Force? Gainax already did that shit in 1987 during the Cold War. Irina adds one new element to the ... formula by adding vampires. What do vampires have to do with space exploration? Absolutely nothing. However, Irina wants to preach a message about racism and does so in the most tone deaf, incompetent way possible.

When we first meet the vampire girl Irina, she is being used as a test subject by the Soviets. She has fangs and must sleep in a coffin, so you would think the portrayal of vampires will be somewhat traditional. Instead, we learn that vampires don’t have any magical powers. They don’t attack humans or drink blood. They’re just a hated and oppressed ethnic minority who happen to have fangs and sleep in coffins for no reason. During the Bubonic Plague, vampires were falsely blamed for poisoning wells and were hunted down in pogroms. After that, the vampires lived in isolated communities and over hundreds of years many racial myths and negative stereotypes were created about them. This is seriously the route the anime goes in! They basically just made the vampires a stand-in for Jews. It's not subtle about this at all.

We’re told that vampires are just a harmless minority early on, but the same researcher who tells us this still hates vampires for no reason and is completely ok with killing them in medical experiments. In the world of Irina, the leading Soviet officials and most of their scientists still believe medieval era myths about the vampires for some reason. Myths that any semi-educated person would have stopped believing centuries ago in a world where vampires are real. That would be like in our world if all the Soviet Union’s top scientists in 1960 believed that Jews have horns and that’s why they wear yarmulkes.

Despite showing the space race from the Soviet POV, this anime is Red Dawn levels of anti-Soviet. Every Soviet character besides “nice male MC harem lead” is an evil bastard. They want to use Irina as a guinea pig and make her the first person in space, then kill her and send an ethnic Russian into space. This is not only stupid, but incredibly tasteless and insulting to the first cosmonauts who risked their lives for human progress. Why would you shit on some of the greatest heroes in history?

The answer is simply to tell a monster girl story. Remember Monster Musume and how it tried to have this shoehorned anti-racism message? Only the MC is nice to the monster girls, while everyone else is ridiculously horrible to them. Elfen Lied is also kind of guilty of this admittedly. This would be fine in a purely fictional setting, but Irina goes out of its way to use real historical figures where only 1 letter in their name is changed and directly reference real historical tragedies like the Nedelin Disaster of 1960. It wants the audience to think this is basically a 1:1 retelling of the space race only Soviet minorities have been replaced with monster girls.

This is especially problematic since the CIA ran a propaganda campaign in the 1960s that the Soviets constantly went through cosmonauts like tissue paper and only achieved historic firsts because they cruelly threw away the lives of their explorers. To back this up, an Italian plant produced faked recordings of Soviet cosmonaut death screams that he somehow recorded off a ham radio. These were later found out to be forgeries. It is absolutely true that the Soviets rushed frantically to achieve their goals and covered up 2 high casualty events that were only discovered later, Nedelin being one of these. Unsurprisingly, the Soviets were not purely innocent. However, they didn't constantly go through cosmonauts, which would be highly impractical considering the time and resources required to train them. The Soviets also never put a self-destruct bomb into their landing capsule in order to prevent the Americans from discovering the easiest part of space exploration and kill their own guys in the process. They also didn't use fatal medical experiments on ethnic minorities. On the other hand, NASA was very confident about survival data such as the exact time humans can survive in zero pressure. That's because NASA had some pretty bad dudes working for them such as notorious war criminal Hubertus Strughold. A man whose best friend was executed at Nuremburg for doing the same experiments.

While the Soviet Union did a LOT of bad things during its history, the Soviet space program was one time they were actually the loveable underdogs. They used their own scientists unlike the US, who kissed some a-SS and made a deal with the devil in order to win. The Soviets started from behind and had a small fraction of the money and resources, but miraculously achieved some of the finest feats in the history of engineering. Yet, here we have an anime that wants to repeat propaganda from the Cold War, completely ignore all wrongdoing by NASA, and portray the Soviets as stupid, brutish monsters. All so it can tell a Monster Musume style love story. Fuck this anime.

When it isn't being clumsy and totally pointless propaganda, Irina does have some sweet moments. If you like Monster girl stories, the romance between Irina and Lev is serviceable. There are some sweet scenes here and there like Irina going ice skating where the anime is allowed to be kind of good. The show also makes a last-minute decision to reveal some of the Soviet scientists were good guys and have them rebel against the Kremlin. So, in the last episode, it decided to not character assassinate Sergei Korolev. The source novels aren't actually finished BTW, so this was an anime original ending. Whoever wrote the anime at least made a last-ditch effort and I'll give him credit for that. I even raised my rating by 1 based on the last episode alone.

Sadly, as a space exploration story, Irina really isn't very good. It's not even comparable to an anime like Royal Space Force or Space Brothers. Both of which are excellent. The monster girl romance detracts from the space focus and the series often veers either intentionally or through sheer ignorance into pretty hateful territory with its historical portrayal. As a monster girl story, it also doesn't work because it's weighed down by its need to tastelessly reference real life tragedies like the Nedelin launch failure that killed around 300 people. It's not quite as bad as when the writer of the Sonic comics tried to tell a 1:1 Holocaust parallel with overly sexualized echidnas, but it's pretty tasteless.

So, would I recommend Irina? I'm going to have to go with no. I thought the premise was unusual enough that it had some potential. I don't normally watch seasonals while they air, but Irina hooked me with its bonkers plot alone. As I've covered in this review, the execution leaves much to be desired. It's possible a lot of the problems present in this 12 episode anime aren't quite as bad in the LNs. I've not read them, so I can't say who is to blame for Irina's issues. Unfortunately, this rocket never quite achieves orbit.

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Dec 19, 2021

Rachiba

Recommended

“The path of a cosmonaut is not an easy, triumphant march to glory, as some people make it out to be. You have to put in a lot of work, a lot of sweat, and have to get to know the meaning not just of joy but also of grief, before being allowed in the spacecraft cabin”
- Yuri Gagarin

The Cold War lived between two opposing blocs, the beginning of a space and arms race, the dangers of a possible nuclear war and its end in the early nineties inspired many writers, artists, cartoonists and the media to create different works that sought to explain, ...

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Dec 19, 2021

KANLen09

Recommended

Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu a.k.a Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut is a show that if you'd ask me how can I recommend this series to anyone, I would say this: "Imagine if the actual "Man of the Moon" historical feat never happened with the US of A's Neil Armstrong's iconic "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind." sentence. The Space Race during the Cold War happening between 1955 and 1975 is instead won by the USSR a.k.a the Soviet Union in the same but alternate historical time period, using not just animals but vampires instead." And this is exactly what ... novelist Keisuke Masano had in mind when he penned this sci-fi fantasy light novel, that sadly went under the radar, only to be forgotten and swept under the rug when this is all said and done.

It's a shame really, because this series is actually quite unique, and something that I don't really remember seeing before on a wide spectrum, much less authors going out of their way to create something different rather than sticking to the run-of-the-mill stories that we see many too often these days. Really though, props to Keisuke Masano for being the one-in-a-million author to have a work that truly stands out in an intriguing fashion. And truth be told that Keisuke Masano actually did research on the whole Space Race topic of the conflict between the US and USSR, even going as far as to validate the point that mammals were used before sending humans into space, case in point: the US using monkeys and apes, while the USSR used dogs, specifically the first dog that was successfully deployed into space: Laika (that's where you understand why Laika exists in the title).

And that's where the story begins: the space race set in the same time period of the 1950s between the alternate US vs. USSR (United Kingdom of Arnack vs. the Republic of Zirnitra a.k.a UZSR) to see who can get their subjects to space first, and their spaceflight experiment dubbed the Nosferatu Project, lies with their trump card: a test subject in the form of the vampire N44, otherwise better known as Irina Luminesk. And in order for her to sustain the growth of trainings until she's of perfect use, the human candidates going after her will supervise that growth, and one young cosmonaut by the name of Lev Leps is assigned to be her handler from start to finish.

If you know anything out how the USSR a.k.a the Soviet Union operates back in this time period, it's that anything and everything goes in order to proclaim their superiority in any shape of form. And in this case, it's the usage of test subjects like Irina the vampire as their statement piece, and once they're done with them, their existence is wiped off the earth in favour of humans achieving their prosperity instead. It's definitely a cruel world to imagine how people were like living in the Soviet Union, much less if you're one of the military and/or candidate that witnessed the horrors of going all lengths to prove the possibility of making radical ideals. And Irina being a vampire, the popular legend that vampires prey on humans for their blood only solidifies those who abhor her presence, going as far as to have mitigating measures like cloves of garlic hanging around them to repel Irina's presence away from them. You can't really blame these people for having that claustrophobic mindset of a racist superstition in a time such as this, but harming Irina because of her vampiric roots is just going too far and being too harsh on her. And Lev overseeing her development for the Nosferatu Project is just like what a gentleman should be, protecting the girl from harm in whatever situations and circumstances.

If anything, watch this show for the character development, because it's really engrossing. The main vampire lead Irina is a really nice character if you can dismiss most of her intended shortcomings. More than being a test subject, she is undoubtedly human as well, that is if you attach Lev to her side and showcase all of her vulnerabilities and obscenely cute and sweet moments between each other. Irina's origin lies that her parents were both killed in the World War, and that she has always been fascinated by the moon (Tsuki), and from there on, volunteers for the (Nosferatu) project because like the mammal counterparts (Laika), she also has the dream of being the very first being to reach space, even before humans do, at the cost of her own life.

It's for this reason that her decision to enter the project comes at the price of being scoffed at by most of the military who deems her existence as a forlorn entity, and that's where Irina's dream would be substantiated by the young Lev Leps, who's a lieutenant in the UZSR's Air Force, whose dream is to fly as well. And oh look, the Nosferatu Project has a position for him to achieve his dream, and thereso sets the crossing of paths between vampire and human. Lev has a strong sense of justice and rebels against unreasonable things, which explains the irony of him protecting Irina when she is being forced to go on unsubstantiated training procedures that are deliberately set to push her limits to the breaking point. That same sense of justice is what is truly lacking in a lot of MCs in this day and age, and Lev really earns my thumbs up for standing up to the cruel amounts of abuse that she got, just because she is a vampire first and foremost.

The 3rd party is Anya Simonyan, Irina's right-hand girl who is a researcher at the Biomedical Research Institute, who specializes in studying the biology of vampires, such as with the case of Irina recording her data to the further implementation and uses of the research institute. I know I shouldn't call Anya a 3rd party, but being the winggirl would be the best description to fit her stance because more than checking up on her, she can understand Irina and is not afraid to treat her in a friendly manner. It's like she's a comedy character meant to splice in-between the growing relationship of Lev and Irina, and for that alone, I really greatly appreciate her inclusion to break the mold even for a fair bit.

I also know that I don't always try to pair ships in shows, but this is also yet another reason why this show is also quite good and deeply satisfying to watch. Watching both Lev and Irina be paired together from the start, there's lots of tulminous nervousness of how a vampire would react to a human that she has never seen before, only for the same baby steps to reconcile the mindset of the cooperation-turned-relationship between both vampire and human. Irina feels harsh from the get-go because of the preconceived microcosm legend that humans were the ones who burned vampires on the stake, and it largely affected how she would get along with someone like Lev, whom she didn't know would be an ally with or an enemy against her in the venture towards outer space. Thankfully, Lev's sense of justice keeps her afloat even at the worst of times, and seeing this relationship grow to expose Irina's vulnerable-but-sweet side of her to him is just an absolute delight. Examples like lemon soda (or seltzer) telling of the fact that she finds it salty, or that her constant pouts of jealousy that Lev isn't treating her like he should, Irina is just a sweet soul-satisfaction of a vampire girl that even Lev knows what triggers her innerd soul when it comes to love: blood-sucking, the equality of mere humans' tendency akin to kisses. Seriously though, Irina is a demi-human waifu worth protecting, and may the love between Lev and Irina last forever till eternity.

The other characters which are the higher-ups of generals and majors all are just plot devices to reinstate the importance of getting Irina up in space by hook or by crook, no second chances are given if it fails, because the love for the motherland is priority before self indulgences. There're too many to account for steam-rolling around the central characters, except for some like Lev's comrades also vying for the position to be the first cosmonaut in space, so less importance is weighed on them until the time they're needed for action.

This is Arvo Animation's second venture as a sole studio outside of the Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai a.k.a We Never Learn series, and while Summer 2020's Monster Musume no Oisha-san just looked incredibly cheap and mediocre, Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu is the exact opposite with the same decent animation but gorgeous visuals to boot, especially for such an unique series like this one. The visuals may look dull as heck, but the artwork is just on a whole other level that reminds me of how the modern day Soviet Union a.k.a Russia would actually look like, especially with scenes that point towards the sky out of symbolism. Really though, respect for the amount of work put into this work that's full of originality. Sound design is really well done too for the most part with ALI PROJECT's OP that gives a Final Fantasy-esque sound vibe to it, and Chima's solemn but blissful ED that just nudges my heart from deep within.

When it call comes down to it, Keisuke Masano's Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu is a work of art that unless and heavily recommended, it's the epitome of a blasphemy of a total unknown. You most likely won't even budge an eye to see what is this series all about, even more so that the light novel itself hasn't really been fan-translated yet (I've heard that an English translation will come soon, but don't get your hopes all too great) and the target audience really wearing thin. That said, of all the shows in the Fall season, I really, REALLY, have to recommend this show because it's a dark horse and a total breath of fresh air over the many iterations and imitations of genres rehashed before. Try it, you might like it.

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Poll: Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Koshi_Inaba - Dec 18, 2021	106 replies	by Quintessence »» Mar 1, 4:39 PM
The LN has been nominated for the 2022 Seiun Award Koshi_Inaba - May 27, 2022	6 replies	by Tacsk0 »» Jan 5, 2:51 PM
Poll: Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu Episode 6 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Nov 7, 2021	59 replies	by DylanStait »» Oct 27, 2022 1:32 AM
Poll: Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu Episode 5 Discussion MadanielFL - Oct 31, 2021	48 replies	by DylanStait »» Oct 27, 2022 1:04 AM
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Luminesk, Irina

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Simonyan, Anya

Plevitskaya, Rosa

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Korovin, Slava

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Harlova, Ludmila

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Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu

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