The Reductivist Legacy of “Bury Your Gays”: On Queer Tragedy in Vampire in the Garden

I had the realization when I finished the 5th episode of Netflix’s Vampire in the Garden that I didn’t resent the ending as much as I imagined I should have, given that it fell pray to an age old trope that I, and most of the internet, find worn thin and mired in controversial sentiment. I couldn’t bring myself to dust off the old pitchfork and lament about the too-tragic ending for our two arguably queer protagonists, and I was curious as to why I felt I should be angry at all.

Vampire in the Garden is a beautiful show. It has a fascinating world and aligns visually and stylistically with many of my other favorite recent anime offerings, which include the likes of Sirius The Jaeger and Children of the Whales — beautiful, short-lived shows that struck me as important. Vampire in the Garden is directed by Ryōtarō Makihara, of Empire of Corpses fame, who also had a hand in Fullmetal Alchemist Conqueror of Shamballa’s key animation and worked on Tatami Galaxy and directed the movie Hal. What Hal, Empire of Corpses, and Vampire in the Garden have in common is that they speak to the tragedy of love and its loss, remembrance, and failure of resurrection.

I understand that interpreting Vampire in the Garden as queer is, technically, a Take, given the eventual 11th hour age gap…