Ranked #316

Vampire Knight

If you think that shojo series are all flowery, romantic (comedies) and cheerful, you're quite wrong, and Vampire Knight will prove that more than anything else. Keywords for VK are drama, emotional struggles and tragic pasts. Throw in a dash of vampire, and there you have Vampire Knight in all its glory.

The story revolves around the students of the Cross Academy, which is divided into the Day Class for humans, and the Night Class for Vampires. The main characters, Zero and Yuki, both have very sad pasts; Zero had his family killed by a vampire, and Yuki's first memory was a vampire attacking her. These pasts, which are revealed fairly early in the series, make a good base for their relationship and their emotional struggles.

During the course of the story, the characters face one event/experience after another, which makes room for emotional struggles, lots of character development and, of course, some romance (hey, this is a shojo series after all), though the latter is overshadowed by the other stuff.

The artwork is both standard shojo and something else at the same time. We have the pretty bishonen boys in place, complete with all the fallen-head-over-heels girls, and there's also the standard shojo eyes; large, with pupils that are almost larger than the actual eyes. But since the series has a darker, sadder tone to it, there's no lack on that end either. The coloring is often very dark, and the occasional lighting effect helps on this aspect of the series.

The soundtrack is good, with sad pieces helping the sad mood, and overall good quality. There's nothing spectacular about the soundtrack though, and while the OP theme is very good, the ED theme isn't very cool, though it fits with the dark mood of the series. Voice acting is perfect; the moods are portrayed very well and there's an overall good quality.

One of the things I love about this series is the characters. I mean, I really love them. They're very deep, with their pasts and emotional struggles. Off course, there's superficial characters as well, but they're mostly supporting characters; the main characters are mostly deep and they have a lot of character development for such a short series. Their relationships with eachother are very deep too, and a pleasure to watch.

Overall, I enjoyed the series very much; this is a candidate for the best Spring 2008 anime. It's a bit open at the end, but I just read that there's a second season coming in October, so I'll accept that, and look forward to it.

To 'Not Helpful' voters (and you 'Helpful' voters too): Feedback greatly appreciated =) read more

Vampire Knight is the 13-episode anime adaptation of the famous manga by renowned manga-ka Matsuri Hino.

Revolving around a cast of teen-aged characters, or rather some teener-looking century-old vamps, the story unfolds with a female character named Yuki Cross, a renowned student who keeps one of the biggest secrets her school has to cautiously conceal, as the point-of-view. The typical shojo anime protagonist, she exhibits the traits (candy eyes, cheerful attitude, encouraging words, beautiful face, and most specifically attractiveness) many viewers would like her to. As the main of the main characters, she, of course, is most likely to have different interactions with the other characters. Some of which are Zero Kiryuu and Kaname Kuran, of which both are considered in the anime as the 'guys' girls often have in their little dreamland. Of all the other characters, these three make the story move on to a different chapter. Other characters play a not-so-catchy role as the mentioned three do, but practically their 'existence' in the series would prove them essential to the story. Evolving in a slow phase, the characters-- of which most female viewers would note their totally 'hot' appearance— make up most of what the audiences really stick their ass to. Since the bishies in this anime are the ones made to stand out, most VK-tard viewers are females! But don't consider this show "gay!" It's good, I tell you (and no... I'm not being bias)! All the characters, be male or female, are candy-eyed. The main characters themselves have, obviously, their own life stories. They evolve in the same phase as the story does, of course. In my case, I hate none of them. Given equivalent weights of parts in the story, such characters are highly guaranteed to please us the viewers; thus, I give them a commendable 8 ^_^

The story, on the other hand, evolves in the same phase as the characters do: not rushed yet not slow. To put simply, the story it features has an assortment of drama, romance, and, noticeably, a bit of horror (quite a good "chemistry" if you ask me). The "horror" part is not highly emphasized, even though the title itself suggests it would offer a good hair-raising experience. What I call true horror would involve ugly demoniacs. On the contrary, there ain’t any fugly bad guys—just them who have killer smiles! What I think is the main highlight is romance (I relate it with the "Knight" in Vampire Knight)! Consider a girl interacting between two dependent guys a romantic story featuring a tense love triangle. The genre drama is given the same importance as romance— good romance must involve good drama! I take back what I said about it not plunging into a deep plot. I admit the story is nice! Following a stream of media res, there's quite a good number of flashbacks. The first episodes of the anime don’t really offer a good number of twists. It was only at the latter part that things turned out to be the unexpected. With these ingredients in the story, it deserves an 8 ^_^

I have not read a single page of the manga, but many say the art of the manga was a lot better than in the anime. Perhaps it is. I do think that the art and animation aren't exactly that good. There are quite some distortions in the face of the characters. Some viewers commented that the manga was just too ‘sketchy’ for the art to be animated. Then again, it wasn’t at all that bad. I give the art and animation a 7.



The music or sound, on the other hand, furthermore adds eeriness to the already-creepy theme, or whatever emotion the scenes require. The music presents a good vampire-ish theme. There is nothing more to say about the sound, so I give it a 9 ^_^

Vampire Knight is not exactly my type of anime, but it still gives me the urge to watch it… and as they say, “let VK show you a sweet dream next time!”
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If you like pretty anime vampire boys, this might be right up your street. However, if you like something with a decent plot as well as the associated carnage and animalistic nature that vampires usually have, this will likely leave you somewhat disappointed (and that's me being rather kind..) and wishing it had delivered more for the time you put in.

I began watching this on a friend's giddy recommendation and was intrigued somewhat by the first few episodes; although, all the way through near enough, it stayed at the same steady pace of mild intrigue and a general niggling wonder as to when the hell the plot was going to kick in so that the story had some sort of point to it aside from a glorified love triangle. The plot itself, somewhere beneath the anime itself, has a lot of potential. The on-screen variation just doesn't seem to deliver.

The characters, despite my 'fangirl-esque' fondness of a fair few of them, aren't particularly well mapped out and a lot of the character basis is shrouded in mystery, although not really in the right way - there are far too many vague bits and not enough explanation when it comes to motive and persona as well as situation. In fact, most of the characters seem not only 2D, but slight variations of the same 2D character. Also, most of the vampires you encounter in this series are rather fluffy aside from the pointy fangs, and the supporting cast are, to a fair extent, pretty forgettable.

Visually, it was somewhat pleasing, although a lot of time seems to have been wasted on trivial matters while the potentially good bits have been glossed over or given a moment or two of screen time when they should have had a scene, or at the very least, *more* screen time.

Overall, I'd say this series is probably worth a watch if you're just looking for an easy vampire related anime fix, but after spending a good few hours ploughing through this series, I am left wondering if I want to bother at all with its counterpart; leaning heavily towards the 'No' vote.

Bear in mind that I've not read the manga, nor am I in the 'anime connoisseur' league, but I am a writer (of sorts) and would know a good story when it hit me in the face: sadly, this failed to deliver such a pleasant blow. read more

Well, since some people exactly like my reviews, I decided to do another one. This time, it's Vampire Knight. I've only seen 3 episodes and read some manga chapters, even through I can't consider myself as the VK-girl that knows everything, I know quite alot about the story and the characters. Anyway, here we go!

Story - 100% [10]
If you haven't read the manga or saw some episodes of the anime, you'll probably already have an idea what this is about... Vampires. I say that you're right, but if you watch or read Vampire Knight, you'll find out that it's more than only ''vampires''. Let's start with the beginning.

Vampire Knight revolves between Yuki, Zero and Kaname. Yuki and Zero are Cross-Academy's prefects (guardians). It's their duty to prevent the contact between the Day and the Night-class, even through it's very hard for them because all the girls from the Day-class have a big crush on the guys from the Night-class, that's not very rare because everyone in the Night-class looks gorgeous. Why are prefects needed? To prevent the Day-class of finding out the secret from the Night-class, in reality, all of them are vampires. The ''leader'' of the Night-class is Kaname Kuran, the one who saved Yuki's life when she was little. Ofcourse he's a vampire too and the most powerful of all, a pureblood. Yuki and Zero both live with the chairmain of Cross-Academy, Cross Kaien. Yuki doesn't have any memories from when she was a kid, her memories begin on the day that Kaname saved her from a vampire. Kaname asked the chairman to look after her, and he did. The same goes of Zero, a couple of years later he comes to live with Yuki and the chairmain to, after his parents where killed by a vampire.

What is so loveable about all this? Both the anime and the manga have a mysterious feeling to it, that you know that something is going on but you don't know what. You'll also notice and the story gets ''darker'' each time, and that the characters change. It takes a while until you really understand everything because they tell you the story bit by bit, you may also expect some big changes, I warn you. I wish that I could tell you more, but I don't want to spoil it for you guys. I really recommend you guys both the manga and the anime.

Animation - 80% [8]
Well, the animation. I must say that it's alot better than I expected. Still, I know that alot of manga-fans might be dissapointed. The manga might have better art, but I think that the anime is really well made. They put alot of effort in this, and with succes. If the manga didn't excist, the anime would probably get higher ratings. Well, my opinion is that that the Vampire Knight anime is a good adaptation to the manga, I really think so.

Sound - 90% [9]
The sound, or better said, the music. The songs that the picked for both the opening and ending where really the right choice for this anime. Futatsu no Kodou to Akai Tsumi is the opening-song, sung by ON/OFF, and I really love it. It really matches the anime and gives you the Vampire Knight-feeling. I really like it. Then, for the ending-song, Still Doll sung by Wakeshima Kanon, was the biggest plus-point for me. I just loved it the first time that I heard it! How come? It's mysterious and matches Vampire Knight perfectly. When you listen to it, I'm sure that you'll also get the feeling that there's something that you don't know yet. For the soundeffects in this anime, I have nothing to complain. When you needed one, you got one, just how it is in real life. The good sound in Vampire Knight made it realistic.

Character - 100% [10]
Ha, this was a easy one. The characters, you'll absolutely love them when you get to know them! What is good about this is that you don't only get to know Yuki, Zero and Kaname, but also the other people from the Night-Class and other random characters. Let's take Aidou as an example, he's not a main character, still, you know exactly who he is! I'll tell you something about the 3 main characters now.

Yuki - I think that you all know her type of character, but Yuki is not the typical ''shoujo'' heroine. No, she's different. You can see that she tries her best to help Zero and get a place in his heart, she really cares alot for others, which might also be her weakness. To save Zero from turning into a Level E, she let him drink her blood. Yuki was attacked as a little girl by a vampire who was fallen to a Level E, and than was saved by Kaname. She has no memories of her parents or who she really is. Because Kaname saved her, she has a great affection for him, and she trusts the vampires in the Night-Class.

Zero - He might look like a cold-hearted guy in the beginning, but he really isn't. Zero's family where killed by a vampire, that's why he really hates vampires, all of them. Anyway, in the beginning of the series you'll see him in pain a couple of times, I think alot of you got the picture back then. Yes, when he was attacked he was biten by a vampire, a pureblood. Since he didn't die he will slowly turn into a vampire himself. Since his huge hate for vampires, she fights against the progress with all his might. Zero always has a gun with him, he can use it to kill vampires. He also has a younger twin-brother named Ichiru, but he was not as healthy as Zero (no, he didn't die).

Kaname - A pureblood vampire who's respected by everyone in the Night-Class, no, better said, he's the leader. When he gives an order, it's final. Other vampires fear him and he's loved by alot of girls from the Day-Class. Even through he doesn't really care about them, he does care alot for Yuki, which you'll notice right away. You'll understand later why a vampire with so much power as Kaname cares so much for a normal girl like Yuki.

I think I told you enough, the point is, the characters WIN!

Enjoyment - 100% [10]
Enjoyment? Do you even need to ask? I REALLY enjoy this. It's a burden to wait for the episodes to air, but we have no other choice but wait, have we? If you like a mysterious story, vampires and some scary moments, watch Vampire Knight. I'll probably recommend this to everyone because this is something that everyone would like.

Overall - 90% [9]
What? Miss ''I enjoy-it-so-much'', you didn't gave it a 10!
Yes, people, I know what you're thinking. But you guys must remember, that I'd also like to see this from another point of view. Since I have also read a part of the manga, I know how it could have been. I really think that the people who made the Vampire Knight-anime did an awesome job! If you see the original when reading the manga, you might understand why I gave this a 9. Don't forget to watch it now, I'll hunt you!

Conclusion: Vampire Knight is an awesome anime/manga with very enjoyable characters and a story! It might be one of the ''must-see's''. Judge for yourself.


Okay, minna! This was my review! I hope you didn't dislike it that much, I tried my best in writing it! Love, Erisu...



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When I first heard about Vampire Knight, I had a pre-conceived idea that it would be like Vampire Hunter D but set in a high school environment. However, I was wrong. The truth is that Vampire Knight has its own unique combination of stylistic elements that makes it different to any other Vampire-related animation that I have ever seen. To begin with, VK is set in modern time where humans and vampires coexist in an institution called Cross Academy. Unlike conventional high schools, Cross Academy consists of a day class and a night class for humans and vampires respectively. Implemented by the chairman of the institution, this scheme is put into practice for two reasons; 1) to restrict the level of interaction between human and vampire students in order to prevent vampires from feeding on humans and 2) to stay loyal to the folklore that vampires rest at daytime and function at night. For the purpose of safeguarding this scheme, two student prefects Yuki and Zero are given the responsibility to patrol the academy at nights to ensure that everything is running smoothly, although both have their own unique ways to handle situations. Yuki is more composed in terms of her attitude towards vampires, perhaps because of her unusual attraction towards Kuran Kaname (a pureblood noble vampire), the leader of the night class who is respected and feared by all except Zero. Yuki’s likeness towards Kuname is perhaps also based on the fact that he saved her from an attack 10 years ago when she was about to be killed by a vampire. Zero on the other hand simply detests all vampires due to reasons which you will learn about when you watch the anime. This is the premise of this anime and these three characters are the ones that largely facilitate the story of Vampire Knight.

Proceeding forward in this review, Vampire Knight is a strong anime overall and it is easy to see why it is becoming a popular choice among anime lovers. After all, there is a certain charm to the story, characters and dialogue and when coupled with a hauntingly charismatic atmosphere, the product is indeed an entertaining watch that will keep you engaged from start to end. Another strength of this anime is that it is not dictated by unnecessary action but the focal point is rather the characters themselves, and as the anime progresses we learn more about them including their past.

Thankfully, the music/sound effects played a fantastic role in complementing the anime overall. In particular, the opening song “Futatsu No Kodou To Akai Tsumi” was simply amazing and offered a great deal of character to the beginning of each episode. I believe this opening sums up the entire anime in a truly captivating song and it could honestly not have been written any better. The ending theme to each episode was also appropriate, which succeeds in giving a tint of vampiric appeal to the viewers. The art work was drawn well because it nicely reflects the theme of the anime. For instance, the dormitories had an apt ancient medieval appearance and the characters were drawn to adequately reflect contemporary students residing in a mysterious academy. As a package, everything was there and VK most definitely has the ingredients of a fantastic anime. I found it interesting that students belonging to the day class wore black uniforms whereas the vampire counterparts wore white. This was a nice unexpected addition since we usually think of the colour black whenever the word vampire crosses our minds.

Overall, I think this is a great anime because it has its own charm and atmosphere which will perhaps be one of the main reasons why VK will continue to expand its fan base. I had a difficult time scoring this one and even though I have given this an 8 overall, it is close to a 9. At times like these I wish MAL would implement a scoring system based on decimals. If that would be the case, I would have given Vampire Knight a score of 8.75. I strongly recommend you to not miss this one. You perhaps already know that there is a sequel to this anime called Vampire Knight Guilty, which is better than VK according to what I have heard and read. I am yet to watch the sequel and it will be an interesting to see how the story ultimately ends. read more

I think this is an anime that can be appreciated by the manga readers, but never fully approved of by them.

I fully enjoyed watching season 1, finding myself drawn in and addicted to the feeling and the sounds. I could not stop watching it.

When the anime did vary from the manga, I found it to be an enriching manner that made the story a little bit easier to understand. There were a few points in the manga when everything wasn't very clear, and the anime did a very good job of clarifying everything. And again, the music was perfectly chosen, with a well-chosen catchy opening them and a chilling and haunting ending theme.

However, there are definately significant weak spots to this anime. The art was okay at best, with a few even laughably horrible animation points, and one of the most important scenes in the manga was rushed through towards the end, completely ruining the effect the manga had given.

As far as for the storyline of Vampire Knight in general, I have to give props to the writer for not trying to make obvious plot points some big surprise. When she knew the audience was going to find out something anyway, she embraced that fact and built upon it.

I think this is something that should be watched and enjoyed for nothing else than the chilling sounds and high entertainment value. Just, if you've read the manga, don't expect the same beautiful work in this anime. read more

10 years ago, Cross Yuki was rescued from an attack by a rogue vampire that got her whole family killed by Kuran Kaname, a noble vampire. Now, under the watchful eye of Chairman Cross, Yuki's foster father, both are students at the Cross Acedemy, where there's a Day Class for humans, and Night Class for vampires. There, Yuki, along with Kiryuu Zero, a childhood friend with a deep hatred for vampires, they attempt to prevent the secret of the vampires' identities from the student mass.

STORY
I was sorely disappointed with the anime. Hino Matsuri's manga version had a great story going for it, only for the anime version to warp it really badly. I give the writers credit for trying, but one shouldn't change the story so drastically it affects the flow the mangaka created. It isn't bad for those that haven't read the manga, but for those that have, I highly doubt you'll like it.

ART
Again, to be fair to the producers, the art ain't that bad, but comparing to the manga, Zero doesn't really have a dark, sad look that he does in the manga, and Yuki looks far too cute that she almost has a Kanon style look.

SOUND
I love the opening song. I really do. The sound thoughout the show really does give a good feeling too, and helps bring up the mood. But sound really doesn't help improve a storyline.

CHARACTER
Yuki is the best character in the anime version, and the only reason I gave this a 7, because I actually liked her with comedy, which she lacks in the manga. However, the rest of the characters are either the same, or thrown out of character. Aidou, for example, wasn't really explored deeply, and he just does things that weren't explained in the anime, but was in the manga.

ENJOYMENT
I wasn't bored out of my wits, but I wasn't exactly jumping with joy at every episode of new release like I would with some anime. I had hoped it would be as enchanting as the manga was, but by the end of episode 2, I found it lacking.

OVERALL
I cannot say it is a bad anime in anyway possible, nor is it a good one either. I expected better of the company that did legends like Higurashi no Naku Koroni and Rurouni Kenshin, and good anime like Kyo Kara Maou and Marimite, but this was just a disappointment. If you liked the anime, I recommend the manga. Art's better, character's better, story's better, and of course, enjoyment's better. read more

Before you think: "Oh. Emme. Gee. Another VK fangirl who will praise Vampire Knight to the heavens and back and will forever be my bestest bestie best friend in the entire world because I like Vampire Knight and she likes Vampire Knight so were totally meant to be friends that talk about Vampire Knight in all its shoujo-y glory forever and ever and ever!" this anime is the lowest rated anime in my list so expect a very negative review.

You have been forwarned.

Why did I watch this anime? I heard all this hype about it being great, having epic romance, tons of hot guys, amazing storyline, blah blah blah so I thought I'd check it out but it just kept getting worse and worse so I just dropped it and read the rest on wikipedia.

Story: 4/10
I think the plot had so much potential, but alas, it failed. The mystery of this anime is really all it has going for it BUT its major downfall plot twist fail made me hate this anime to the extreme. Just so you know, I don't promote incest in any shape or form whether it be "okay" because the story says so or if its mere attraction or if the brother is just a hella hawt bishie so it would just override the fact that he's in love with his sister. It is wrong, disgusting, and immoral.

Art: 8/10
Matsuri Hino happens to be one of my favorite manga artists, which is another reason why I would be interested in watching this anime. I'm also a big fan of the dark and bleak so that was good too and yes, I admit, that the bishounen were indeed hot, but fanservice does not an anime make.

Sound: ?/10
I don't really have much to say on this really. Sound never had a big influence on me *shrugs* although I would prefer it if Yuki would stop saying "scary vampires......will eat me....scary...." every damn episode.

Character: 1/10
BAD, BAD, BAD, BAD! So bad, I wish this rating thing would have a 0 so I could use it! Yuki, the supposed heroine of the series, is one of the worst female leads I have ever come across. Don't let that stick she carries around fool you, she is weak, dumb (she says it herself all the time :P), and has absolutely no backbone. When the time comes when wants to share her complaints with Kaname, she just trips over her words and thinks "what's happening to me?" Do you really want to watch an anime where the girl just falls into this sexist archetype all the time? Don't you want to watch a girl who is independant and can take of herself without being rescued all the time? Well I do! Are you familiar with the term "Mary Sue?" That's what Yuki is.

The love interests....yeesh. Kaname is a mysoginistic JERK! He treats Yuki like a sac of meat. They say that he is actually sweet and deeply cares for her...its a lie! He's just so goddamn hot that you can't tell! Keeping secrets from your lover, constant lies to keep them secret, and using your hella hot bishie body to distract your lover =/= true love! Get it right!

Now for Zero. I actually had a liking towards him in the beginning, but the whole suicide angst was a real turn off. (have you ever googled pictures of him lately? They're all of him covered in blood and having a gun pointed towards his head....yea, I SO want a guy who just hates himself so much that he threatens suicide daily and has shirtless pics of him trying to kill himself. Its rather sweet in fact.../sarcasm) Also his ultimate enemy is.....le gasp....his twin brother! Who else!? Of course this is all just for the fanservice. Twin boys? Haven't seen that since Ouran and I bet there's just as much slashfics as there are for the Hitachiin twins

Enjoyment: 3/10
Bleh! The only reason I did not give this 1/10 was because as I said before, big fan of the dark and dreary and also the Zero biting Yuki seens was just straight out hot :P

Overall: 1/10
Pathetic indeed. I feel that this is Twilight: teh animu sans werewolf.

Lovers of reverse harems, such as myself, would flock to the idea of this anime which also contains vampires might I add. Since sparkly hot vampires seem to be popular culture right now and therefore banned by me in all its mainstream-y glory. read more

Story
Some aspects of the setup I liked. A school divided by day class human students and night class vampires was interesting. I might have really liked the human heroine who patrols the grounds and night, making sure the vampires are keeping in line, except...Yuki was TOTALLY lame. Episode after episode was just her chasing after Zero, getting herself into danger, being protected, and then feeling guilty. The "story" was really weak, literally. The characters didn't grow, events didn't build up into a striking climax, and what resolution there was was contrived. In addition, it was very much one of those animes annoyingly full of meaningful, melodramatic gazes and characters saying each others' names in quiet, tortured voices.

Art
The art was all right. Yuki, Kaname, and Zero were designed pretty well. The other vampires were pretty lame though, just a bunch of generic bishounen. There really wasn't a single image that jumped out at me as being special. Most shows at least have one really pretty sunset or something, but this one didn't. And I found Yuki's absolutely massive eyes irritating. I've seen a lot of anime by now so I'm used to the huge eyes, but hers actually distracted me at times. Maybe because the story had so little pull.

Sound
Good soundtrack. Lots of classical, which I enjoyed, and I like both the intro and ending songs.

Character
Probably the characters are what I disliked the most. Yuki was an extremely boring protagonist. She carried around a cool-looking staff that seems to have magical properties, but never once used it well. Usually, she'd just bring it out only to drop it when someone said something upsetting or when she tripped. She was then promptly rescued by Kaname or Zero. Maybe the next season will explain why she is in the middle of all of this, but I think season one should give the heroine SOME value. Sure, she was very generous with Zero, but I hate shoujo heroines who only stand out because they're SO good at being martyrs. As for the other characters, they were equally tedious. Zero spent most of his time wanting to die. Kaname constantly rescued Yuki, yet never explained her importance to him. A little mystery is good, but too much "she's so precious to me but I won't say why" gets boring and annoying. The "villain" only appeared at the very end, and I found their behavior inconsistent and what happened to them way too abrupt and anticlimactic.

Enjoyment
I might've adored this show, if Yuki hadn't been such a weakling. What I usually enjoy in anime shows is watching the protagonist learn and grow. It's okay if the protagonist starts out ordinary or weak, so long as they become stronger. Yuki really didn't, though. Kaname kept protecting her without explaining anything. Zero usually pushed her away and also refused to share things. She had a big heart, but I like heroines who're genuinely strong, not just good at sacrificing themselves. Sorry, but anyone can say, "Bite me."

Overall
Maybe this is a good show for teenage girls, but I think anyone who just finished Ouran Host Club or Hana Yori Dango or other such shows will be disappointed by the heroine. Most shoujo is so entertaining because the heroines are so intelligent, or plucky, or independent. Yuki was none of those things and that made for pretty dull watching. Of course, fangirls who just want to see a cute big-eyed girl get bitten by various bishounen will still love it. read more

Note: This is for both Vampire Knight and Vampire Knight Guilty.

In a nutshell: Twilight.
For those of you fortunate enough to have not read or watch Twilight it’s basically about a girl, in this case named Yuki “Cross” (to enhance the gothic feel) who muddles herself up with a group of beautiful and forever young vegetarian vampires and falls in love with one of them by the name of Kaname Kuran. And get this, her best/childhood friend, Zero Kiryuu is also in love with her so she’s torn between the beautiful vamp Kaname-sama and her vampire hunter/lower vampire friend Zero, who by the way despises all vampires.
So that’s the main bulk of the story which is practically a mirror image of Twilight. The only thing Vampire Knight adds is that there’s some mystery about Yuki’s past which is supposed to be the key plotline in this and is unravelled by a series of run ins, the power of emo thinking and accidents…and we’re also explicitly told in the last few episodes.

Seriously, this is one big fan service: It’s littered with bishounens, a spicy drama and over the top shoujo moments in every episode. The characters are bleh. Yuki annoys the hell out of me and is potentially the most annoying heroine out there. She’s naïve, stupid, clumsy, emo, talks a lot of bull and has such freakishly big eyes that takes up most of her face. I think that’s supposed to be wrapped up as “cute” these days. Kaname whines and incestuously leers over Yuki, Zero whines and always go on about hating himself (well duh, if you had a name like Zero you would too) and every other vampire are pretty much the same really - they all whine and leer and you can just tell by looking at them that they are seriously depressed or something. The only character I liked in this was Takuma Ichijou, just because he wasn’t dark or whiny like the rest of them.
At first I had a big problem with the art. It irritated me at how they tried to make everyone so pretty and like I said Yuki looked yucky with those big eyes of hers. I guess I learned to appreciate the art later though, once I stopped myself ranting about their attempt to make everyone look like supermodels. I did admire the art though for its “depressed” look on most of the characters. You can really tell they are in what they call ‘turmoil’ with the melancholic eyes.
I watched this quite a while back so I can’t really remember the sound that much. I did like both openings though, and how they started the first opening whilst Yuki was saying her little monologue.

For those of you who have had the misfortune (or fortune to some) to have read/watch Twilight this is what it is:

Bella Swan = Yuki Cross
Edward Cullen = Kaname Kuran
Jacob Black = Zero Kiryuu
The Cullens = Night Class students
Animal diet = Blood Tablets Diet

Despite everything I have just said it is actually quite addictive. I have called this a mirror image of Twilight but I would say this is the better version of it. Where Twilight fails (Characters, story, sparkly vampires) Vampire Knight succeeds. The setting is much darker and sinister (well most of it does takes place at night…), the story is better and consistent (there’s no vampire coming out of nowhere at the end and suddenly the lead’s in danger) and in general, it’s more entertaining - in a soap opera way. This is one of those anime where you can just sit back, watch and enjoy.

At least they don’t bloody make out in every chapter/episode. read more