Vampire In The Garden: Season 1/ Episode 5 [Finale] – Recap/ Review

Sadly, the end of this meek Romeo & Juliet-styled anime doesn’t compensate for all we’ve seen thus far.

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Aired (Netflix)	5/16/2022
Directed By	Ryōtarō Makihara
Written By	Ryōtarō Makihara
Introduced This Episode
Arya	TBD

This content contains pertinent spoilers.

Summary

From what it appears, Fine’s experience with Momo was partly to regain the hope lost when Arya died. She was supposed to be the replacement, but eventually, she grew into something new, and all Arya taught Fine about music, dancing, art, and flowers, Fine was beginning to give to Momo. However, their time was cut short. Just as before, as is now, Fine couldn’t find somewhere safe to be with the person she cared for.

The same could be said for Kubo. He was to marry a vampire till things went south, and it seems for him, like Fine, that he couldn’t find peace because of the prejudice of the outside world. Though not to be outdone, Allegro, who placed a ring on Fine’s finger when they were younger, also lost the love of his life.

Hold up, how? Well, Fine did everything she could to keep Momo safe and free, and she paid for it by getting shot up, cut up by Kubo, and even with Momo saving her, even after taking that drug which amplifies vampire’s strength, it was over. No amount of blood could save Fine, but by showing how much she loved Momo, she gave Momo what she needed to reject her mother’s final plea to return, and seemingly Momo created the utopia she and Fine dreamed of.

Things To Note

• There is an after-credits scene

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Was that a baby vampire? How would a vampire baby work?
2. What vampire rules is Vampire In The Garden working from?
3. So is Allegro king of the vampires?

Review

Highlights

We Got A Decent Amount Of Background Information

From seeing Kubo’s wedding ruined, Arya and Fine’s time together, to Allegro placing a ring on Fine’s finger, we got a further understanding of tidbits or relationships mentioned in the past. Now, does it feel like we should have had this information before? Never mind, could the show have gone deeper? Yes.

However, with it being unknown how many episodes were ordered and other constraints, you could be grateful for what we got, even if it felt like it wasn’t enough.

Low Points

It Was A Lackluster Finale

There is always the hope that, in the clutch, we’ll get what we longed for, and the potential seen previously would be realized. That didn’t happen here. Yes, we did get a few extra details, mainly to set up more scenes of people getting killed. But as for giving Vampire In The Garden a beating heart? That wasn’t done.

The anime still skirted around its yuri element with both of Fine’s relationships. Also, it didn’t develop the mutual prejudice between vampires and humans or their political systems. Where does Allegro stand in the pecking order? What powers do the elders sway over vampires as a whole? These questions go unanswered.

Then with Momo’s mother, is she not only a commander but someone who holds the top political office? How did she get there, and how large is the effort to usurp her? That all goes unanswered, just as much as why she personally is prejudiced against vampires?

All of this, and more, leaves us to feel, again and again, that Vampire In The Garden presented so much that could have made this a good show, but some unknown constraint kept it from living up to its potential.

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