English Dub Review: Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut: “A Cold Spring”

Overview: Lev (Stephen Fu) and Irina (Tia Ballard) share some alone time together to celebrate each one of them. 

Our Take: Irina and Lev going on a date is exactly the kind of wholesomeness each of them have earned that you can’t help but love. Irina’s pure childlike wonderment and excitement at seeing her first movie about space travel are adorable. Their picnic at the lake where they first bonded is a nice way to bookend it in a way I was not quite expecting. Irina making Lev kholodets to celebrate his possible space departure is a sweet gesture, but Lev wanting Irina to bite him caught me off guard with how much it differed from your everyday kiss.  However, their past history reflected on in this episode nicely shows the level of unique painful intimacy it invited in between the two, making for an even more romantic heart-to-heart.

With Lev and Mikhail chosen as the final two candidates, they go to the city of Sangrad where they are supposed to show off their “everyday lives.” This is an engaging story beat that demonstrates how, similar to the Soviet Union, they must control the narrative of every aspect of their country to what they feel is necessary and to their liking, while also protecting their military secrets like the Laika Forty-Four, where the UZR builds and facilitates cosmonaut technology and candidates. Irina and Anya also go to Sangrad, unbeknownst to Lev, and get excessive force from two agents of the UZR which transitions nicely into Irina’s current situation with the fascist government. With her lying to Lev about going to work for the design bureau, but still undergoing physical exams, her fate seems sealed once a human goes to space and they have no more use for her. However things start to become interesting as to what the real plans are for Luminesk when Lyudmila gets involved and sees her potential as a weapon.

Lev being selected as pilot of the ship for his heart in shouldering the dreams of the motherland, despite him not being as physically capable as Mikhail, is a nice albeit expected outcome. What really excites is what comes during his expedition as he prepares for launch and reunites with the comrade chief, who wants to help Lev pick out a call sign. With Lev inquiring about Irina’s, the flower Lycoris, which stands for the hope that two will meet again as the chief wanted her to come back home safe and sound. Lev’s flower, the Aster, makes for a romantic and momentous follow up/callback to Irina’s encrypted message to Lev in space that signifies the longing of one’s safety even if separated. With Irina having Lev on the brain whilst singing about him, and even imagining Anya was him, these two love birds reunion becomes that much more anticipated.