Vampire Knight

By Matsuri Hino

Vampire Knight is a teenage take on the war between humans and vampires. Set at the fictional Cross Academy, Vampire Knight focuses on three characters, Yuki Cross, the adopted daughter of the academy’s headmaster, Zero Kiryu, the headmaster’s other ward’ and Kuran Kaname, an attractive, popular student. Yuki and Zero are tasked with guarding Cross Academy’s Day Class – comprised mostly of human girls who love the Night Class – from the Night Class – made up of, in Matsuri Hino’s words, of “an elite group of good looking students” who just so happen to be vampires.

Yuki and Zero’s job is complicated in two ways. First, the Day Class students are unaware of the Night Class true identities- the “beasts in human form”, and second, the vampires’ charm and beauty inspire the bolder members of the Day Class to break curfew. Now, aided by Kaname, President of the Night Class and Head of the Vampires, Yuki and Zero must keep the secret at all costs.

Instead of delivering another funny manga, Matsuri has concentrated on bringing us a gothic and dark story which mixes romance, despair, danger, and hope. The vampires are all beautiful beings and almost every scene that they are in is charged with danger and seduction. The two main young men who Yuki is torn between are suitability gorgeous and the general artwork is very attractive. The story is also a welcome change from the usual shoujo manga tales.

However, the plot makes some rather far-fetched assumptions about vampires and the overblown vampire angst is used just a little too much, and can get tedious, especially since, for a while at least, there is no particular explanation for it. Matsuri’s gothic artwork is undoubtedly beautiful, but it has to be said, some of the vampires have such similar faces it’s hard to tell those pretty boys apart.

Also, the character of Yuki can seem very ditzy. After the third or fourth time a cute guy has come to her rescue, she just becomes tiresome; would anyone entrust someone so feeble and foolish with the serious responsibility of guarding the Night Class? In most Shoujo manga cases, this would be okay if the heroine was a rookie, but Yuki is not. She had many years of training – enough to make herself respected by the vampire population in the school – but still the way she is portrayed makes seem nothing short of inept.

Nonetheless, it is a haunting yet beautiful tale of forbidden love, family secrets, and the unending battle between Vampires and Humans. Vampire Knight takes a topic we’ve seen entirely too much of – Vampires – and does manage to breathe new life into it. Yuki is not the most compelling heroine, but fortunately she doesn’t have to carry this book by herself. Her partner, Zero, and the leader of the vampires, Kuran Kaname, draw as much of the reader’s attention as she does, which prevents this book from becoming a one-trick pony.

Don’t let the words “Shoujo” or “Vampires” deter you…this is a great story that prevents the final nail from being driven into the vampire story coffin.

Vampire Knight is published by Viz Media and is available from Amazon, Blackwell and all good book stores.

Review by Jessica Grant