Tsuki To Laika To Nosferatu - What We Know So Far

Japanese anime continues to grow in popularity around the world, with new shows and films coming out all the time. While there are plenty of fantastic series to watch in a variety of genres on streaming platforms like Hulu and Netflix, where you can check out the sci-fi classic movie "Akira" or the super popular "Demon Slayer" series, there's also a lot of exciting anime releases on the horizon. If you really enjoy science fiction and fantasy stories in particular, the upcoming adaptation of the light novel series "Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu," written by Keisuke Makino and illustrated by Karei, should definitely pique your interest. 

First announced back in March 2021, the new series "Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu" is an amalgam of many different genres, so expect adventure, futuristic sci-fi, and vampires. What more could you ask for? The new show is well on its way, with the first official teaser already released, and fans of the original light novel series and manga adaptation are thrilled to finally see the story make it to the screen.

Here's everything we know so far about "Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu" Season 1. 

For both new and old fans of "Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu," the show is very close to coming out, with a release date of October 2021 (via Crunchyroll). The vampire cosmonaut series is directed by Akitoshi Yokoyama with music composed by Yasunori Mitsuda, but there is no word yet on how many episodes will be in the first season, or how long each episode's runtime will be. Hiromi Kato serves as character designer, Yuji Kato as art director, and light novel author Makino is the show's writer. 

"Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu" will air on the Tokyo MX, BS NTV, KBS Kyoto, and Sun TV channels in Japan, although it is unclear as of yet how the series will be distributed internationally. Fans around the world hope to hear word on how they can tune in for the anime in their country when it premieres in October. Other notable anime that have release dates the same month include "World Trigger" Season 3, "Yashahime Princess: Half-Demon" Season 2, and "The Faraway Paladin," among others. 

"Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu" is centered around a young vampire named Irina Luminescu, voiced by Megumi Hayashibara ("Paprika," "Neon Genesis Evangelion"), who becomes a test subject for Project Nosferatu, which will send her up into space to test conditions for future human missions. Irina starts getting astronaut training from a man named Lev Leps, voiced by Koki Uchiyama ("Soul Eater," "My Hero Academia"), who is a backup astronaut for the experiment and the person assigned to watch Irina 24/7 until the day of the secret space mission. The main cast is then filled out by Satoshi Hino as Mikhail Yashin, Mikako Komatsu as Roza Plevitskaya, and Hina Kino as Anya Simonyan. 

Both Mikhail and Roza are fighting for Lev's spot as the first human astronaut in space. Lev previously flunked out of the astronaut path, now delegated to be Irina's guard, while Mikhail and Roza are skilled Air Force Lieutenants who are strict and very self-disciplined. Meanwhile, Anya is a researcher at the Air Force Medical Research Institute whose job it is to monitor Irina's health, and initially he is the only one who truly treats the girl like a real person, as described on the official Tsuki to Laika to Nosheratu anime site.

According to the official anime synopsis, "Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu" tells the story of how "After the end of the World War, the two superpowers that divide the world, the Union of Zirnitra Republics in the East and the United Kingdom of Arnak in the West, have turned their territorial ambitions to space. The two nations engaged in a fierce development race, and now... The year is 1960." In an alternate reality where vampires exist, the leader of the Union of Zirnitra Republics is attempting the "Mechtat (Dream) Project," which will be the first manned space flight. 

But before sending out a human to test their technology, the leader initiates "Project Nosferatu," which will train and send vampire Irina up into space to ensure the safety of the project, with Lev as her trainer. Through this space race story, "Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu" will explore how Lev and Irina, two very different people on the surface, are actually simply "humans and vampires, watchdogs and experimental subjects – they are at the mercy of race barriers and national egos, but they share a pure desire for space, and set out to explore it together."