English Dub Review: Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut: “Nosferatu”

 

Overview: Lev (Stephen Fu), along with Anya (Jad Saxton), helps Irina (Tia Ballard) work through some issues that are hurting her, both physically and mentally, as they put the finishing touches on their training before launch. 

Our Take: With Irina still reeling from witnessing the corpse of the test dog at the crash site of a test rocket, it acts as both a physical and mental barrier from her, testing her in more ways than one. The anxiety that fear of death manifests itself in the form of a nightmare, which, while cliché, is considerably effective in how it approaches it with a death that is eerily similar in that of how the test dogs crumbled and turned to dust. 

Affecting Irina’s performance on training, the substitutes that she has been using to sustain herself are not nearly a match for the genuine article that is blood. It is quite visible just how much pride Irina has in herself, in not wanting to stoop to such a level that she views as disgusting but especially from a random person. As a heartfelt gesture on Lev’s part, he offers some of his own making for a sweetly intimate moment that shows how comfortable they have become around each other on account of their developed trust. Lev also acts a calming reassurance for Irina’s shaken spirit with his reaffirmation of their shared dream of venturing into space and focusing on the positive beauty of their goal rather than their possible death or Zirnitra’s militaristic plans in a scene that shows how wholesome their intentions are.

The old prune of a scientist, Sagalevich has had it out for Irina since the very beginning of her training, so it was only a matter of time until he went over the deep end. After the G-Force training machine malfunctions, proving to be near fatal for Irina, Lev saves her while also damaging the machine. It causes him to hurl one too many disgusting insults at Irina, instigating her to throw some right back at him. This in turn causes the intolerant scientist to beat on her. The physical and verbal abuse, that has been plain to see, becomes unacceptable for Lev on account of their close relationship showing just how much they have grown attached to one another, but also how much he likes her. It also highlights Lev’s disgust for his race for her treatment and his honorable nature. It also nicely illustrates Irina’s closer connection in how she firmly asks him to stop while also trying to take the blame for Lev when he is reprimanded for his heroic actions. With Lev’s role in the launch up in the air and rocket’s safety still in question mere days before launch, things have only become more uncertain for the duo heading into their flight. What is not uncertain is how much you continue to root for them as they shoot for the stars, no matter how much of a longshot it may be.