Arka Mukhopadhyay
With writer-director Ryōtarō Makihara at the helm, ‘Vampire in the Garden’ is an enticing post-apocalyptic action anime that makes a powerful and dynamic protagonist out of a pacifist child character. The winter has been quite long for the humans, as vampires rule the city with abundant blood. Humans plan to stage a large-scale attack on the vampires to reclaim society at this juncture. A young cadet struggles to cope with the losses of war while the vampire queen takes her to safety. The unlikely affair is fated for damnation, and in the end, a bloodbath ensues. Allegro and Kubo are two crucial characters in the anime, and you must be wondering about the finality of their fate. In that case, we have you insured. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Are Kubo And Allegro Dead or Alive?
Allegro is a trusted associate and friend to Lady Fine, who has been tasked to take care of Fine since she was a child. In the process, Allegro witnessed Fine’s past relationship with the human artist, who showed her love and acceptance only to betray her. However, even though supposedly a cold-blooded vampire, Allegro seems to have a kind heart. After Fine disappears with Momo, Allegro gets the duty to hunt the pair down. He travels with his pet pug to advise Fine against using the self-destructive drug.
Allegro calls Momo an “angel of death” as she brings grand human artillery on her tail. On the outskirts of the village Volskaya, Kubo, Momo’s mother, and other humans appear with heavy machinery. Allegro is fatally injured in the battle, seemingly dying on the spot. The pet pug comes down from the hill, attempting to wake its master, but Allegro does not respond. Therefore, we conclude that Allegro becomes a martyr of the human invasion.
On the other hand, Kubo is a trusted human marksman with an unwavering aim. As he is Momo’s uncle, it gives him all the more power in the story. However, following her mother’s early disregard for her life, it does not seem that Kubo cares much for Momo. For him, it is seemingly just another job to ward off the vampiric horde. And as much as he attempts to charm Momo, she looks through his personality.
Consequently, Momo holds more grudge against Kubo for the violence of the war than a familial kinship. As Lady Fine injects the self-destructive drug on her neck, the act gives her a final push to exert graphic violence on Kubo and the horde. Towards the end of the battle, Fine thrusts Kubo onto the floor and progresses to kill him. However, in the finality of the fight, Lady Fine lets Kubo live since the drug has not completely overpowered her yet.
Therefore, Kubo lives while Allegro dies, and the outcome makes us question the futility of war and how it creates villains in the outside world to hide the demons within. Since humans are oppressed, they only have the language of violence and the offering of blood. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with the human inclination toward the destruction of the vampire society unless you see it through the pacifist and musical mind of Momo. In this series, evil is all the more ordinary since we see it through a mother-daughter dynamic in the middle.
In a world where a mother does not protect her child, is getting rid of vampires going to magically re-establish peace in the society, the series asks. The barren ice-cold backdrop also metaphorically presents a ground where life cannot thrive. The music of the music box seems to be the only respite for Momo in the blood-drenched setting of the bleak world. At the same time, the different outcomes of Kubo and Allegro make us think about the injustice inherent in sporadic violence.
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