DUN DUN DUUUUN!

Katt: The plot in Vampire Knight is starting to escalate again! The last few chapters were pretty dry since we just came out of a major arc, but the second arc is starting to reveal itself. With the upcoming ball, all of the characters we know from Cross Academy, as well as a few new faces, will be together again. Does this mean that Zero will act on his murder threats? That Sara’s intents will be exposed? All I know is that, in Vampire Knight, when there’s a fancy party, shit’s gonna happen. This clearly means I am excited.

The new Cross Academy teacher

In this chapter we’re introduced to a new teacher at Cross Academy. His appearance seems along the same lines as Yagari’s way back when because he and Zero are aquaintances of the past through the hunter association. Apparently this guy, Kaito, appears in the Vampire Knight novels, which Sagakure explains in a side note in the scanlation. But I am figuring that Hino Matsuri isn’t going to assume  that her manga fans have all read the novels, so I chose not to read up on Kaito and to learn about him as the manga progresses.

For the moment, he’s…an odd one, really. Hard to read. He apparently shares Zero’s disdain for purebloods; however, while Zero always seems to find excuses not to go on the pureblood killing-spree that he always threatens to, Kaito seems serious. This, coupled with Zero’s reference to the fact that Kaito killed his own brother, leads me to be very suspicious of this new character. The first impression that he gives certainly isn’t a good one, but then again, Yagari was kind of the same, wasn’t he? The angry vampire hunter who teaches ethics… We’ll have to see how this plays out. For now, I am keeping my eye on Kaito with suspicion.

A moment to appreciate Yori

Yori’s significance seems to be growing and growing! I am so pleased. After my concern that she would just disappear from the series after Yuuki left Cross Academy, seeing her getting a larger role than ever is great. Her gutsy actions in this chapter add to this character that I already loved: confronting Zero and Kaito about the tense mood at the academy and its relation to vampires, her agreement to sneak into a vampire gettogether… you go Yori! Don’t get eaten!

So remember in my last Vampire Knight blog entry, when I rambled on about how Yori should become closer friends with Zero? I-Is is actually happening? The two definitely seem to be talking more, and their mutual understanding of Cross Academy’s underlying purpose adds to their bond. Sure, the roots of Yori’s interest in this whole vampire-human situation is Yuuki, but Zero’s involvement in it can cause the two to become closer as Yori tries to learn more.

I’ve also come to accept the fact that my ideal somewhat-cracky pairing is Zero/Yori. Yeah, I know, you’re all thinking, “Ummm, Katt, aren’t you pretty diehard Zero/Yuuki?” Well, you know what? Yuuki has gotten on my, and many other fans’, nerves lately–Zero has always been my favourite and he should get the best chick, and until Yuuki straightens her mind out, the best chick is Yori. I’ll be waiting for the day when Yori answers “yes” to Kaito’s question in that scan over there. …I sound so resolute now, but I bet once the plot gets moving even faster, I’m going to be completely conflicted with Zero pairings.

Kaname likes giving manicures/pedicures

The fact that Kaname has a talent for doing nails was supposed to make me laugh, right? Please say I’m not alone in this! Honestly, it made me appreciate Kaname on a new and strange level. I’d let him give me a manicure, for sure.

But really, the guy’s still as hard to read as ever. The entire scene in which he has a meeting with the hunter association shows this, I find. He goes through all of this effort (and bloodshed) to disband the council, but essentially admits that there is no guarentee that he can do anything to control the other vampires…? Except kill some more if they misbehave? It doesn’t sound like a very peaceful coexistence to me. Points for trying, Kaname, but I am not sure that you’ll ever reach the end of this long road to coexistence with such a tactic. Also, I am not impressed with the low-blow Kaname gives by mentioning Yuuki the moment Zero shows up! Seriously, man. When you were all in Cross Academy, did Zero ever go up to you and say, “Oh hey, Kaname! Hey hey! Guess whose blood I just drank: YUUKI’S!” I get that Kaname is insecure about his relationship with Yuuki, but that’s kind of assholeish.

As an aside, Kaname always used to ask Yuuki to call him ‘brother’, but in this chapter he is insistent that she just call him ‘Kaname’. Is this representative of something? Is he distancing himself from her, or trying to place them on more equal ground by them simply calling each other by their first names? Thoughts, opinions?

Reunions

SHIKI AND RIMA! Where have you been all my life?! I’ve missed you! Still waiting for the day that you guys get a chapter to yourselves the way that Kain and Ruka did. I’m getting off-topic, though, aren’t I?

I should have been anticipating the return of these two what with the grand ball and all, though it still threw me off in the best way possible. Their loyalties have never been to Kaname the way that Aidou, Kain, Ruka, and Seiren’s have. Shiki and Rima were always closer to Ichijou, who admittedly was also loyal to Kaname, but had ties elsewhere as well. These days it’s hard to say where Ichijou’s loyalty lies, though I get the feeling that wherever it is, Shiki and Rima will follow suit.

And how convenient that Ichijou showed up! I missed him, too~ If he is here, though, Sara must be close by… Also, is he working as a waiter? Um. Sara really has turned him into a servant, hasn’t she?

The other night class members are all present, too. Aidou sticking close to Kaname, Kain seeming to silently keep watch, and Ruka kind of serving as Yuuki’s lady-in-waiting. Can’t wait for all of these young, noble vampires to get together again!

The party’s about to start…

So as it stands, we have:
Zero and Kaito together, the guardians/security at this ball and yet both with desires to kill purebloods?
Yori, a regular human in a vampire party who might get into some trouble, or might be fine if she manages to find Yuuki fast.
The pureblood couple, the centre of attention who might fall victim to Cross Academy nostalgia–mostly Yuuki, I’d expect.
The Night Class, reunited in two groups. Are they still all on the same side?

So where are Sara, the Chairman, and Yagari, for starters? We all know they are close by, and Sara will undoubtedly show up and shake things up in the near future. Now the question is when will she show up and what will she do? What is going on in her head? Can’t wait to find out! Yay to things picking up again!

Katt has sunk her teeth into Vampire Knight chapter 53…8/10
Katt’s blood craving for Vampire Knight chapter 54 is…9/10

Yagari love for no apparent reason whatsoever! <3

Katt: I never ended up blogging chapter 50! Whoops~ Honestly, it was just a big let-down for me after all that I was expecting from it. I think I was too depressed to blog it, ha ha. I shouldn’t have expected anything particularly grand since we are just beginning a new arc, thus nothing too dramatic can happen just yet, but still…! Ah well, I think I just got spoiled becuase I started blogging this manga at the most exciting time. I will now settle down and deal with these build-up chapters as best I can. (Notice how I am still posting this pretty late? I am obviously struggling to deal with these build-up chapters, ha ha.)

Yori love for no reason whatsoever! <3

How things have settled at Cross Academy

This is where most of my interest for this chapter goes, and even then, the whole thing was kind of ‘eh’. But okay! Time to put on an enthusiastic front! Even though I love Chairman Cross and Yagari, I am going to skip over the segment of their conversation about the hunter association because…well, the set-up of the hunter assocation isn’t really something I have much of an opinion on. It’s just kind of there, for now–once it starts having notable consequences on the hunter trio’s (Zero, Kaien, and Yagari) lives, then I’ll talk more about it.

For now, what grabbed my attention were the three students (those are the only ones we see, anyway) who were permitted to keep their memories from Rido’s attack on Cross Academy. Or more specifically, memories of the fact that the night class was made up of vampires. Not that it’s all that surprising, but I am still very happy to see that Yori is one of them! During the Anime North Vampire Knight panel, one of the things briefly discussed was what purpose Yori would have in future of this series, if any purpose at all. Thankfully she hasn’t disappeared from the story now that Yuuki’s ditched her! I want to her role grow, and keeping her memories of the night class is one step towards that possibility. I wonder if the boys’ and girls’ dorm presidents will also have larger roles later on? …Nah, that’s probably pushing it.

My favourite scene in this chapter is when Yori confronts Zero about whether or not he will ever have to hunt Yuuki. He doesn’t answer and gets this very thoughtful look on his face–somewhat sad, something angry. I take this as him letting us readers know that he hasn’t changed his mind about killing Yuuki, though the fact that he’s staying at Cross Academy and away from Yuuki also shows that he is far from eager about seeing her again (and consequently feeling compelled to kill her). Yori isn’t dense. I am sure that she knows that Zero’s status as a hunter and Yuuki’s existence as a vampire are tied in some negative way. If my wishes come true, Yori will get involved in this predicament. Maybe she will be able to get Zero to open up to her, admit the things that he’s holding back from the other students who have kept their memories. With Yuuki gone, Zero needs some kind of friend at Cross Academy, right? And Yori has always treated Zero as a friend, certainly more-so than she ever did to Kaname. I’m just trying to justify something that’s never going to happen, aren’t I? Sigh. I’ll stop speculating and trying to get Yori more involved in the plot now.

Forever–it’s how long Yuuki’s emo phase is lasting

Things seem to be carrying on the same in the Kuran mansion. Yuuki is still struggling with her vampirism, which leads to flashbacks and hallucinations and odd experimentation in what it takes to quench the thirst. Her attempt to drink her own blood in order to satisfy the thirst is actually an interesting idea and something very believeable for someone getting used to their own vampirism to try out. Too bad it was only mentioned in passing for comedy and not actually shown. That sort of raw desperation w0uld be more engaging to me than Yuuki’s dialogue with her young self–as twisted as seeing her younger self being engulfed was, it didn’t appeal to me all that much and the present self talking to past self isn’t a particularly original scenario.

Poorly chosen comedy. ...Plus Aidou love for no reason whatsoever. <3

And then coming from that issue of finding out how to quench the thirst: she needs to drink from the one she loves. But Yuuki’s problem is that she loves two men! I love the suggestion that Octavia made to me yesterday: “Why doesn’t she just drink Kaname’s blood, and then Zero’s blood, and find out which one quenches her thirst so that she can goddamn decide who she actually loves!” Ah, wise words. Then we wouldn’t have another arc in the manga, though, which would be sad…unless this arc will just carry on the way it is now. But I’m sure it won’t; I have faith! These are just the down chapters. It will pick up again soon! …P-Please.

By the end of the chapter we are back to the conversation that I swear we’ve seen between Yuuki and Kaname many a time before: I love you. I love you too, but I also love Zero. That’s cool. I’m being selfish. That’s also cool. It’s always worded differently, in this case emphasizing the entire idea of quenching the thirst, but it’s still the same thing. Since I’ve made it clear that I’m a Zero/Yuuki fan, I hope that people don’t assume that my opinion on these scenes is because of that bias. I really do feel that they’re getting excessive, and I would gladly welcome more scenes between them if they were different! From a literary standpoint, I can appreciate Yuuki’s final line to Kaname; “I want to be by your side forever.” It was a lovely way to tie in Yuuki’s childhood difficulty of grasping what forever meant, to show that she has come to some new level of understanding. I just wish that something more dramatic had led to her using ‘forever’. It was a big step, but I don’t know what made her use it all of a sudden since their conversation didn’t seem climactic to me.

This was the most dramatic part of their conversation, and following it up with the ‘f’ word doesn’t seem to make sense at all. Where all my Kaname/Yuuki fans at? Am I really missing something because of my pairing preference? Please tell me if I am!

Okay, so in retrospect this chapter wasn’t as blah as I had made it out to be. There were a few good factors found in it, though admittedly I still think that a few things were dealt with badly. I see some decent possibilities for the future and I would be giddy if Hino Matsuri intended to show these possibilities and plans to do something with them…but who knows? Only her, so us fans will just have to wait. I am really hoping that something exciting will happen in the next chapter, because soon after it is released Octavia and I should be hosting a Vampire Knight panel at Otakuthon! I want us to have something awesome to work with~

Katt has sunk her teeth into Vampire Knight chapter 51…7/10
Katt’s blood craving for Vampire Knight chapter 50 is…9/10

This is how I like my love triangles.

Katt: If Steve is going to spam the blog with lolis while Minnie busy, then I am totally getting some vampires in! The problem with this is that I am currently not watching any vampire series. I have a few on my “gotta watch that” list, but I can’t get into them while I am catching up on a couple of other non-vampire series. I also have a few vampire novels sitting in my room, waiting to be read…I should get on that. Anyway! Point being that, because of this, I am going to address the rumoured possibility of a Twilight anime and the reasons I think it wouldn’t stand up against the current popular vampire romance series of the anime/manga world, Vampire Knight.

Among people who enjoy vampires in their romances, the question of which is better–Vampire Knight or Twilight? is asked pretty frequently. I just did a quick Google search on it and found quite a few comparisons of the two, some thinking Vampire Knight better while others preferring Twilight, and then of course those who just don’t like either one at all. While the nay-sayers are certainly justified, I am a fan of Vampire Knight because I like a romance series once in a while as long as it has some substance to it. Twilight’s substance? Kind of lacking. And, my friends, let me tell you exactly why it is that I think Vampire Knight is more appealing than Twilight. Oh, and you’d better be expecting spoilers for both series ahead!!

Love triangles: VK does it right

This. is. key. You don’t have to read far into Twilight to know damn well that Bella is going to end up with Edward; four books are totally not necessary to get the point of their love across. The Vampire Knight manga is now 49 chapters in and you still don’t know who Yuuki will end up with at the end. The odds that the two main boys have are ever-changing, each getting kisses and bites from Yuuki at different points. We are also only given limited access to Yuuki’s thoughts, which leaves us wondering what she thinks of the boys at various points. In Twilight, all we hear are Bella’s thoughts–kind of takes the suspense away, doesn’t it? I don’t mind a first-person narrative but when said narrator has a one-track mind like Bella, it gets redundant. You know that she loves Edward and that Jacob just doesn’t compare. Even when she realizes that she “loves him too”, there’s no question of whether or not she’ll actually act on that. It’s all about Edward. Yuuki, however, genuinely struggles between the boys. She loves them both in different ways and actually has to struggle to realize which of those ways is the ‘romantic’ that she wants.

There’s “pacifist” and there’s “pansy”

In both Vampire Knight and Twilight the main group of vampires seen are ‘pacifists’. In other words, these vampires do not drink the blood of other humans (or vampires), instead opting for animals in Twilight and blood tablets in Vampire Knight. This is one of the reasons that both of these groups of vampires have been criticized (that and being impervious to sunlight, but that’s another story for another day), but let me tell you something…the VK vampires trip up. A lot. In chapter one Aidou drinks from Yuuki, then soon after Zero regularly sucks Yuuki’s blood, and we learn that even the king of the pacifists Kaname has drank from Ruka when the temptation was too great. The animalistic side of these vampires is not always resisted and that makes them all the more interesting. Come on: everyone prefers an “I can’t resist any longer” to a “no no, I can’t, I mustn’t!”, right? And honestly, when the Vampire Knight vampires give into their vampiric nature–those are some of the best scenes in terms of plot development and romance. Everytime Zero bit Yuuki, his attachment to her grew and their sin worsened; when Kaname bit Yuuki, the course of the story completely altered. Sometimes vampires just have to drink blood and those in Vampire Knight do just that.

Plot exists here

Surprising, right? Plot can exist in series primarily revoling around romance! And by plot I mean that Vampire Knight shows a series of new characters and villains throughout its course while the Twilight series essentially has the same cast that’s introduced in the first book. Okay, first two books, but that’s it. Some of the most interesting elements of Vampire Knight show up later on. For instance, my favourite plot element of Vampire Knight: Guilty was the significance of Ichiru, Zero’s brother, and the pureblood Shizuka. Their interaction with each other and with other characters (Ichiru with Zero, Shizuka with Zero and Kaname…) helped to redeem this show’s second season for me. Shizuka as a villain was given a backstory and had a redeeming portion of herself shown through her bond with Ichiru. You were made to pity the villain while, in Twilight, you are just left wondering why Victoria is still alive three books in. More than just in the villains, the plotline of Vampire Knight weaves the main characters in as well. Zero has history with Shizuka and Ichiru, Kaname has fought Rido in the past, which is also connected to Yuuki…it all gets really complicated. This is a good part of what I mean by Vampire Knight having more substance to it than Twilight.

Significant secondary characters?!

They aren’t just sitting around waiting for those couple of pages when they get to tell their history; the secondary characters in Vampire Knight really matter in the story. Their development didn’t only occur in th past. Chairman Cross, for one, is a really complex character because of his background as a vampire hunter combined with his current reputation as a pacifist and the chairman of Cross Academy. He even got a whole chapter all to himself! The same goes for various members of the Night Class–Kain gets a chapter devoted to how his feelings for Ruka have developed through his life up until the present, Ruka undergoes a lot of development through her obsession with Kaname, Aidou gets a lot of screen- and page-time, Shiki is weaved into the Rido plotline via his family, Rima’s bond with Shiki is open for development in the future I hope, Ichijou has an important conflict with his grandfather… See? There is a lot going on in each of them and there is plenty of room for development in the story’s future, too, which makes them a very engaging group of secondary characters. And there are still plenty more important great secondaries like Yagari and Yori and the aforementioned villains and Ichiru. I hope my point is clear.

It’s called a ‘tragedy’

This is a personal preference but I would choose bittersweet over ridiculously romantic anyday. For this reason, I enjoy that Hino Matsuri has said that Vampire Knight will be ‘tragic’. We all know that Twilight ends with a happily ever after, but Vampire Knight has the potential to completely twist our expectations by the end. Already, the genre of tragedy has been seen in the unfortunate falling out of Yuuki and Zero, yet there is still potential for it to become even more tragic. One of the main boys could die, leaving us with the bittersweet ending that I have always somewhat been hoping for in which Yuuki gets together with the remaining boy even though he wasn’t her first choice. My point is that because Hino Matsuri has called VK a tragedy, I am anticipating seeing a heroine who is more conflicted, more torn by love, and more devastated than Bella ever was. And I don’t count Bella’s “there’s a hole in my chest” stage as devastated–that was just annoying. I want Yuuki to show emotions other than lovelorn and heartboken, and she has already done this, the perfect example being her parting with Zero. She loves Zero in one way or another, is totally broken after having to part ways with him, and yet shows some semblance of strength when she moves on with her life while continuing to have a part of herself that is miserable. That’s tragedy and I want to see more of it.

All of that being said, that’s why I think Vampire Knight is better than Twilight. I am sure that I can think of more reasons but I have already spent my morning writing this, so…I think that’s enough. I will always be anxiously awaiting a new chapter of Vampire Knight to be released while I still haven’t read Breaking Dawn and don’t particularly care to. It’s all about the suspense in regard to Vampire Knight; people can call shoujo series predictable all they want, but people’s thoughts on VK’s final pairing are always changing, which makes it a fabulous romance in my eyes. Until chapter 50, Vampire Knight fans!

You know what might help? Not loving two guys at once.

Katt: Vampire Knight, I’ve missed yoooou!! <3 It has been a long while since we’ve seen an update from this series, aside from two adorable bonus chapters that I suggest people check out. I was too lazy to make posts on them, but they are fun little reads. The actual chapters are where all of the drama is at, though! Upon seeing Minnie’s latest manga summaries, I am thinking that I’m going to break away from my regular long-and-detailed summary style for Vampire Knight, even though it helps Minnie understand what is going on, ha ha. Instead, you’re going to get to see how I perceived the goings-on of VK 49!

(more…)

A chapter in which Kain's feelings for Ruka aren't just fan conjecture.

Katt: Vampire Knight, Vampire Knight~ This chapter was posted a couple of days ago, but strangely enough I’ve been having a social life and haven’t had a chance to read it until now. What’s up with that? But now I’ve gotten to read it, and things are certainly taking their sweet time moving the plot forward. But I won’t complain since we are getting fun things, like a chapter dedicated to the thoughts of one of the more in-the-background Night Class vampires, Kain! I am sure that Minnie would prefer to see a chapter in which Shiki thinks about Rima, but I’ll settle for getting to learn the history of Kain’s unrequited love for Ruka.

(more…)

And they each went their separate ways.

Katt: I am so glad that I thought to check if the Vampire Knight manga had been updated before I went out tonight! It randomly popped into my mind that it was around update time, and ta-daaaa~ But oh, this tone I’m using isn’t really appropriate for this chapter. After all, this is the chapter where the pieces have to be picked up, or left  behind…

(more…)

Finally, the confrontation between Zero and the purebloods is resolved--is it a happy resolution?

Katt: Hi readers! As I am blogging the Vampire Knight [Guilty] anime, it’s only natural that I be the one blogging the manga too, right? And wow, what a first chapter for me to blog. It will be hard not to let my biases speak for me in this one, but I will do my best to give this chapter a fair summary and review.

(more…)