Vampire Knight

The cheerful Yuuki Cross and the gruff Zero Kiryuu are members of the disciplinary committee at Cross Academy, which houses two very distinct classes: the Day Class and the Night Class. Their job consists of upholding order between the classes when they switch out. While that may not seem like an especially difficult task, the Day Class is unaware of the truth behind the Night Class—their utterly gorgeous students are vampires.

Ten years ago, Yuuki was saved from a vampire attack by Kaname Kuran, a Pureblood vampire. Now, Kaname is the leader of the Night Class, and Yuuki's disciplinary committee position allows her to see him again, making her feelings for him grow complicated. Meanwhile, Zero bears a white-hot hatred of all vampires and believes they can never live in harmony with humans. But a secret from Zero's past soon threatens the fragile peace of all at the academy, and things may never be the same again.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Vampire Knight was released by Manga Entertainment in the UK and by Madman Entertainment in Australia. Vampire Knight is available for streaming on Hulu and Netflix. Additionally, the anime has been adapted into drama CDs, live-action musicals, dating simulators and art books.

Episode Videos

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Vampire Knight
Sequel:	Vampire Knight Guilty
Side story:	Vampire Knight: Gekiai no Portrait

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Kiryuu, Zero

Main

Miyano, Mamoru
Japanese

Kuran, Kaname

Main

Kishio, Daisuke
Japanese

Cross, Yuuki

Main

Horie, Yui
Japanese

Aidou, Hanabusa

Supporting

Fukuyama, Jun
Japanese

Shiki, Senri

Supporting

Hoshi, Souichirou
Japanese

Cross, Kaien

Supporting

Gouda, Hozumi
Japanese

Tooya, Rima

Supporting

Kitamura, Eri
Japanese

Ichijou, Takuma

Supporting

Chiba, Susumu
Japanese

Kiryuu, Ichiru

Supporting

Miyano, Mamoru
Japanese

Kain, Akatsuki

Supporting

Suwabe, Junichi
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Takahashi, Tomoko

Producer

Matsuda, Keiichi

Producer

Kyoutani, Tomomi

Assistant Producer

Sayama, Kiyoko

Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

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Opening Theme

"Futatsu no Kodou to Akai Tsumi" by ON/OFF

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Ending Theme

"still doll" by Wakeshima Kanon

Reviews

Dec 20, 2022

rsun

Recommended

I was motivated to write this review when I saw Vampire Knight had a 6.9 score, indicating a work that most people think is mediocre, even outright bad. This will not stand.

To breifly summarize, 90% of Vampire Knight's plot centres on a love triangle between heroine Yuki Cross and her childhood friend Zero along with school idol Kaname. Which all sounds pretty bland, only they are at a school full of vampires. Kaname is vampire God and Zero is a vampire hunter. And if you can't tell, yes, Twilight was a very big deal when this series was being released.

In my opinion, Vampire Knight is ... peak shojo and brilliantly executed. I was deeply obsessed with it when I first watched it in high school. Years later when I rewatched it as a more mature (?) person, I still found it very entertaining. Recently I watched it again with my partner and he enjoyed it thoroughly. Of course he offered many sarcastic remarks but he enjoyed it nevertheless. I think the score on MAL is quite unfair, but it's part of a very understanding phenomenon (like the hate on Twilight). Vampire Knight achieved exactly what it tried to do. We asked for a love triangle, a useless protagonist lacking personality for self-insert, handsome boys fawning all over her for inexplicable reasons, and Vampire Knight DELIVERED. Vampire Knight is a series designed to be enjoyed, not reflected upon. It gave me many of the things I wanted as a teenage girl, presenting a world I wanted to live in and a romantic situation that uh, let's just say would have been pretty great.

I was trying to think of a shonen-equivalent series to illustrate my point, and the one I think parallels it is Food Wars. It literally has women who orgasm when they eat... and it consistently has a decent score (ranging from ~7.3 to ~8.1). Clearly there is no justice in the world. Ultimately, fantasy for boys is allowed but for not for girls.

I understand though, I was for the longest time, trying to distance myself psychologically from the part of me that enjoys things like Vampire Knight, Fifty Shades of grey etc. And yes, as a teenager I was not aware of the toxicity, so the criticism on that front is valid. For example, Kaname is emotionally unavailable and patronizing, does not particularly respect consent, not to mention the 1000-year old age difference. He is more like a father figure than a viable romantic partner, but is explicitly spelled out as a main love interest. And my 14-year-old self who thought he was dreamy, shipped Yuki with Kaname. So for people criticizing "it's toxic", yes it absolutely is, it's what a 14-year old girl imagines healthy relationships look like. Just let them be happy. And if you are older, and need to indulge yourself every now and then, Vampire Knight is guaranteed to be a good time. And for people criticizing the plot... come on, as if we are watching it for the plot...

The animation is good for a series of its era and budget, the voice acting fits all the characters, the music is well done, and the story moves along at a healthy pace episode to episode. There is no real reason it won't be enjoyed by shojo or romance fans. Overall, I think the low score for Vampire Knight reflects that people think a series so shamelessly designed to be wish fulfillment should not be rated high, and that in order to be "good", something must be profound. What Vampir Knight accomplishes is that it entertains you and keeps you interested, and going in expecting an intellectual experience is like going to McDonalds and getting upset they only serve hamburgers and not filet mignon.

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May 8, 2021

spektracular

Mixed Feelings

Artwise, this is a very Gothic show. It's dark, romantic and a bit stiff. The story is actually quite good, but other elements drag the overall impression down.

90% of Vampire Knight's dialogue during the first season can be summarized by three words: "Zero...", "Konome..." and "uh...". The first season is quite slow. But it does get better in the second season. Especially as the supporting vampire characters are given more screentime and more... character.

My favourite character was Headmaster Cross. I liked his combination of soft, nurturing nature and badass background. My least favourite character was Zero (quit sulking), followed by Yuki herself.

It's a heteronormative ...

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Apr 23, 2022

Hinonao

Not Recommended

You would have to have a gun pointed to my head for me to remember Kaname Kuran's existence in this anime. Seriously, the amount of times I would just forget Kaname until he appeared on screen was borderline hilarious. The only times I remember him are when I am not watching the anime and I'm thinking about how I really hate him lol

But, I think what draws me into this anime till this day is Zero and Yuki's relationship, along with Ido's character development (especially later on in Vampire Knight: Guilty).

Despite it being bad in my opinion, this anime is a HUGE guilty pleasure for ...

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Cross, Yuuki

Aidou, Hanabusa

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Information

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Staff

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