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Year: 2008
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Supernatural
Episodes: 26
Rating: 2 out of 5
Vampire lore has been around for a long time. There is the OG in the world of Dracula, the first king of vampires. Through the many years, vampire lore has changed repeatedly. In each story, vampires and their powers and weaknesses have changed. It’s gotten to the point that you really don’t know what they do besides drinking blood. Recently, the thing has been vampires and humans living together. Can these two species co-exist?
Overview
Vampire Knight revolves around the story of Yuki Cross. Yuki’s life seems to have started ten years ago, as her earliest memories are hazy. The only thing she remembers is a stormy night in the winter when she was attacked by a rogue vampire and rescued by Kaname Kuran, a Pureblood vampire who is considered the Prince of all Vampires. Yuki was adopted by Kaien Cross, the headmaster of Cross Academy, and has become a guardian of the vampire race.
Ten years later, Yuki Cross is a cheerful student and a member of the disciplinary committee at Cross Academy. Her disciplinary committee partner in crime is the moody and always frowning Zero Kiryuu. Cross Academy houses two very different classes: the Day Class and the Night Class. Yuki and Zero are tasked with upholding order between the classes when they switch out. The job seems easy for the Day Class students, but unbeknown to them, the Night Class are gorgeous vampire students. Led by the Kaname, the vampires have renounced their murderous ways. Nothing seems to last as secrets are soon revealed. Yuki will quickly find out what her past really is. Will she be able to handle the truth?
Review:
When I go into an anime that has over the usual twelve or thirteen episodes, I am thinking that it will be a decent anime as it typically has two seasons. I don’t know what I was expecting when watching Vampire Knight for the second time since it first came out. I thought it was boring trash when it first appeared on the scene, and all these years later, it is still an uninteresting pile of garbage.
This anime is a slow burn of Yuki running around most of the time, fearing for her best friend, Zero, and having a major crush on vampire pureblood prince Kaname. The story starts off blah, with the setting being at a school and having the vampires attend school. The humans are in the day class, and the vampires are in the night class. Hey, the portrayal of the vampires being these beautiful creatures, as all the students lust after them, is acceptable. Had no problem with this. It just seems that it took forever for anything to happen.
The first was getting to know the characters, but the actual storyline is that Zero was bitten by a pureblood vampire four years ago and is turning into a Level E, the lowest of the low vampire. Yuki spends her time and episodes worrying about Zero. The Kaname has this creepy way of never showing emotions but caring for Yuki. It seems like a love triangle, and at the end, we find the vampire who bit Zero, and Kaname kills her also, Zero’s twin brother shows up.
I don’t know what happened, but the second season of Vampire Knight Guilty really picked up. There was far more action, and the master plan Kaname had come to fruition. We discover that Yuki is Kaname’s younger sister and that purebloods marry their siblings (nasty). The villain in this one is Kaname and Yuki’s uncle Rido who is technically king of the vampires. The Night Class must help defend the academy against Rido forces. Like I said, season two really picks up, but we also spend a lot of time wondering what is going on with Yuki until her transformation. Maybe this anime isn’t dull for others, but it was for me.
The vampires in this anime seem to hold lore over what is standard now. There is a distinct hierarchy in the vampire world. Purebloods rule at the top, and there seem to only be seven of them. Then below them are the nobles, and all the way at the bottom are the Level E. Purebloods are the badass of the groups who can control others and have beyond vast powers. The nobles have powers but can’t hold a candle against the purebloods. Does this make a difference? Yes, because no matter how strong the noble students are, they bend their will to purebloods.
The animation of this anime is quite interesting. Is it crisp and eye appealing? Nope, not in the slightest bit. The humans are designed in simple ways with somewhat distinctive features but nothing that makes you say wow. The vampires are drawn with distinct features and make them seem grand. They all have different colored eyes but will glow red at night. What I found interesting is that the humans wear black uniforms, and the vampires where black uniforms. You never get a reason why the color scheme was chosen but hey, nothing to stress over.
The characters are some of the most boring characters I have ever seen in an anime. I will only discuss the three main characters as I could be here all day. First, there is Yuki Cross. Yuki is the adopted daughter of the Headmaster of Cross Academy, Kaien Cross. At the start, you think she is a human as she runs around with her trusted rod while protecting the day class from the night class. She has caring feelings for Zero but a major crush on Kaname. We learn that she has no memories until it is discovered she is a vampire. She is quite annoying as a character.
Then we have Zero Kiryu. Zero is one that is the bad boys in the school. He is unique, as he seems like a hardass. He is unique and troubled because he is a vampire hunter and a vampire. His past is pretty tough as his family was slaughtered by a pureblood only to find out that his twin brother rolls with a pureblood. This causes a deep hatred for the vampires and a strain on his relationship with Yuki.
Finally, there is the boring and emotionless Kaname Kuran. Kaname is a Pureblood vampire who saved Yuki from an attack by a Level E when she was a child. Kaname worked with Kaien Cross to establish the Night Class with the goal of promoting peace between vampires and humans. Kaname is an interesting character because he views the world as a chess game, and everyone around him is a chess piece. In the first half, he spends much of his time protecting Yuki. In the second half, homeboy shows his power by obliterating vampires like they were mere gnats.
Overall, there are far better vampire anime series out in the world. This one tried. I feel like I should have a cake that said, “At least you tried.” The story is a slow, slow buildup to a massive fight that gets resolved rather quickly. The characters are meh. Each one is someone you can forget quickly. Watch this anime if you want, but I would pick Shiki over this one.
