Master of Mosquiton

Original Title: マスター モスキートン
Romanized: Master Mosquiton
Literal:

Plot Synopsis

Part vampire, part human, Mosquiton is a powerful being who is able to control his vampire blood and use his powers for good, so long as his thirst for blood is not aroused. As an immortal, he cannot die--it takes only a drop of blood to resurrect him, and he will be bound to serve whoever's blood it is.

Therein lies the rub: Mosquiton's current master is a 17 year old treasure hunting girl who's absolutely determined to find an ancient artifact that will grand her the eternal life (and youth) that she needs to spend the aeons with her Moskie. As if that weren't bad enough, Mosquiton isn't exactly the angst-ridden paragon of vampirehood, either--he's got a soft spot for his new master, at least when she's not forcing him to crank-start her biplane or carry her to safety. Joined by Mosquiton's two supernatural sidekicks, the crew set out to capture eternal life. Or something like that.

Their quest gets a pretty obvious jumpstart when an immense pyramid suddenly pops up in the middle of London. Now for those pesky traps and guardians ancient pyramids always seem to be full of...

Quick Review

Rating: 3.5 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2006-08-01

Master of Mosquiton the Vampire isn't exactly higher entertainment. It's not even very clever. It is, however, the cure for all those dark, gothic, angst-soaked vampire movies. Not that the world and villains aren't all of the above, it's just that the main characters are so self-absorbed they have absolutely no time to pay attention to the angst, and the series just doesn't take itself very seriously. Loaded with cheap jokes and lots of banter, Master of Mosquiton has its heart in the right kind of wrong place, and more than enough spunk to support the laughs. Add to that a small cast of silly but likable characters, a very funny dub, and exceptionally attractive art (even if the action is underwhelming), and you've got yourself a fun romp.

Master of Mosquiton a fine adventure romp in the grand anime tradition. It's no doubt too silly for some people, but for fans of light adventure and good banter, it's definitely worth checking out.

US DVD Review

The hybrid DVD (from Media Blasters) doesn't list any special features.

Content Guide

A fair amount of crude humor and some bad sphinx stuff make for at least a 13-up.

Violence: 3 - Violent, but not overly so.

Nudity: 1 - Nothing much.

Sex/Mature Themes: 2 - Some vampire-related eroticism and tasteless humor.

Language: 1 - Not much worth noting.

Notes and Trivia

Based on a concept by Hiroshi Negishi and Satoru Akahori, the manga version (art by Tsutomu Isomata) began its 4-book run shortly before the OAVs hit the market in 1996 and continued through the end of 1998. There is also a TV series that retells a version of the same story, Master Mosquiton '99, which somewhat ironically aired 1997-8. Neither the TV series or manga is currently available in the US.

Availability

Available in the US from Anime Works on a single hybrid DVD collection. Was previously available on three subtitled or dubbed VHS volumes from AD Vision, now out of print.

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