Copyright © Mosquiton Project / Nippon Columbia

He's gloomy. He has fangs. He can fly. He has two henchbeings who shoot fire or ice respectively. And he has a seventeen year-old, immortality-obsessed girl telling him what to do. He's the vampire Mosquiton, and he's the focal point of this fun and funky release from A.D.V. Films.
It certainly is refreshing to see a vampire featured as something other than nasty wooden stake bait, and MASTER OF MOSQUITON - THE VAMPIRE is most definitely a comedy—a fairly wacky and inventive one at that. The quirky characters and ludicrous situations combine to create a welcome change from melodramatic and/or perverted horror animes, although that's not to say MOSQUITON can't elicit the occasional heartfelt emotion, the embarrassed blush or a true sense of suspense. Most importantly, MOSQUITON doesn't take itself too seriously, and succeeds in bringing laughs and wonderment like two quick incisors to the neck.
Set in the 1920s, this first volume traces how young heiress Innaho Hitomebore indentures Mosquiton to her service with a drop of her own blood. She is seeking out the fabled "O-parts" that can grant their owner eternal life. Of course, Mosquiton is already immortal and his melancholy wisecracks show his suspicion that eternal life isn't "all it's cracked up to be." With Mosquiton's vampire abilities at her disposal, and the magic of his two elemental servants, Hono (Japanese for "flame") and Yuki ("snow"), Innaho quickly drags the band to London where a mysterious pyramid has suddenly appeared. There they encounter a shape-shifting centaur, a long-fingered old man named Rasputin and the O-part's large-breasted guardian Sphinx. Then much chaos ensues.
One of the central motifs of the anime is Mosquiton's need for Innaho's blood to truly release his powers. Naturally, that creates a great deal of dramatic tension and no little source of humor. In one terrific scene Innaho wails to Mosquiton, "All you ever wanted my body for was as a beverage! You never cared about me as a human being, you just wanted a quick snack!"
However it is Yuki and Hono who almost completely steal the show. They are Mosquiton's servants, not Innaho's, and their wry perspective on her childishness is a constant source of hilarity. For some unexplained reason they appear in child forms themselves, until Mosquiton forces them into battle where they quickly and vividly mature into adults to go elemental on their foes.
The animation is simply fabulous. The action scenes are complex and terrific, with quickly shifting viewpoints and minimal use of those tired freeze frames. The main characters are richly illustrated, even if the minor ones are given short shrift before they meet their cannon fodder fates. The music is saxophone-driven jazz that gleefully maintains the show's light and fast-paced moods. Even the dubbing was well done, with Mosquiton's variously glum and enraged delivery contrasted with Innaho's selfish exuberance. Hono and Yuki are perfectly cast as well, and extremely funny as the voice actor's inflections change excellently when the characters suddenly grow up.
My only complaint is one joke, made in truly awful bad taste, when Yuki is fighting the sphinx. I can't relate what happens here, but it would make even Beavis and Butthead cringe. However, I was nicely surprised to notice that, with the exception of the questionable sphinx woman, there wasn't even that much fan service in this volume. However, looking at co-creator Akahori Satoru's track record (SABER MARIONETTE J, BAKURETSU HUNTER) there's probably more to come in later episodes.
All in all, if you're looking for a goofy and original anime to pass away 60 minutes of your non-immortal life, you could do much worse than this show. Unlike so many other vampires out there, MOSQUITON doesn't suck!

A.D.V. Films
Approximate Running Time: 60 minutes.
(VHS Color/Stereo Hi-Fi)
DUB: $19.98, CAT # VHSMM/001D
SUB: $29.95, CAT # VHSMM/001S
Available Now in North America
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