Vampire Knight (anime TV series), via Hulu

Synopsis:

When she was a little girl, Yuki was found and saved from being killed by a vampire by Kaname Kuran, an apparently kind and gentle Pureblood vampire. Since then, she has grown up as the adopted daughter of Kaien Cross, the headmaster of Cross Academy, a school intended to foster peace between humans and vampires. Four years prior to the series' present, Headmaster Cross also took in a boy named Zero, whose entire family was killed by vampires. Although Yuki is still fearful of violent vampires, she has developed a huge crush on Kaname. Zero, however, hates and distrusts all vampires.

Zero and Yuki are members of the Disciplinary Committee at Cross Academy, charged with keeping the Day Class students, the humans, separated from the Night Class students, the vampires. For the most part, the human world is unaware of the existence of vampires, so the Day Class doesn't know what the gorgeous Night Class students are. The Day Class and the Night Class are rarely allowed to interact, although accidents do occasionally happen. However, Kaname, the class president of the Night Class, mostly manages to keep the Night Class students in line.

Although most wouldn't call Yuki's life normal, it's at least stable. That is, until she learns that Zero was bitten by the Pureblood that killed his family. Unlike ordinary vampires, Purebloods like that vampire and Kaname are able to turn humans into vampires with their bite. Humans turned into vampires in this way eventually become Level Es, insane vampires who indiscriminately kill humans. If Zero becomes a Level E, he will have to be killed.

When a transfer student arrives at Cross Academy and joins the Night Class, Zero is convinced that, although she looks different, she's the vampire who bit him and killed his family. He's right - the transfer student is Shizuka Hio, and her companion is Zero's twin brother, who betrayed his family and helped Shizuka kill his and Zero's parents. Because Shizuka turned Zero into a vampire, she has power over him that prevents him from killing her, no matter how much he wants to. After Kaname kills her and drinks her blood, however, there are those who think Zero was the one responsible for Shizuka's death, especially since Zero disappears right afterward. What not even Yuki knows is that Zero is so close to being a Level E that he's been confined. Drinking Shizuka's blood would have saved him, but now she's gone. Saying that it will help him retain his sanity, Kaname, for Yuki's sake, offers Zero his blood, and the series/season ends with Zero drinking it.

Commentary:

The initial appeal of this show for me was the romance between Yuki and two other characters, Zero and Kaname, the vampires, and the humorous interactions between the Day Class and the Night Class. Unfortunately, the larger storyline, involving Zero and his past, took its sweet time developing. First, there were plenty of "Zero hates himself" and "Zero's turning into a Level E" episodes. Then Shizuka Hio finally appeared, which is when lots of things about Zero, his past, and the death of his parents were finally revealed.

One thing you need to know when watching this series is that it's only the first part of the story - Vampire Knight: Guilty, the next part of the story, comes after this. I haven't watched that yet, so I don't know if it actually wraps the series up or has its own loose ends. I hope not. I want to find out what Kaname is planning, I want to know what the deal is between him and Yuki (I keep suspecting that he was the one who killed her parents, and the closing credits for this season look creepily not good for Yuki), I want to know about all the stuff that's been hinted at about Purebloods, and I want to know how things turn out for Zero.

I don't know which of the potential love interests, Kaname or Zero, I like better. They both have their good and bad points. Kaname appears to have control over his emotions (although there are hints that maybe his control isn't as good as it seems, that he's just good at keeping those emotions from showing on his face). Zero is rapidly loosing control of himself, becoming more and more of a danger to Yuki and others.  Kaname is both powerful and protective, well able to keep Yuki safe from other vampires (I would argue that, despite the weapon Yuki waves around throughout the series, she is not able to protect herself - she crumbles or slips up every time she's in real danger). Zero can protect Yuki from some things, but not from himself. Kaname appears elegant and kind, and his behavior around Yuki is always perfect. Zero is standoffish and so filled with self-loathing that it can't be easy to be around him. All of that makes Kaname look great, but the main thing that keeps Zero in the running is that, while Zero appears to have no ulterior motives where Yuki is concerned, I'm not sure that the same can be said about Kaname. During this entire first season, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. I guess I'll have to wait until Vampire Knight: Guilty to find out what sinister things Kaname has up his sleeves. If he turns out to be completely honest and perfect, I'll be very surprised.

Of the more minor characters, I loved Headmaster Cross, who provided a good portion of the series' comedy, particularly in his interaction with Yuki. He'd love for Yuki to treat him like a father, but Yuki refuses (I don't know if she does this because she really doesn't think of him as her father, or if she's just messing with him). Also, I'm sure that anyone who watches this show and enjoys it even a little probably has at least one favorite among the Night Class students. Mine is Aidou. Even as he fawns over Kaname, he can't seem to help but toe the line and seems to always be in trouble for something. I also like the vice president (I can't remember his name, sorry) - he seems like such a nice guy that I can't help but want him to show all the scary stuff I just know he's got hiding right under the surface. After all, it's made clear several times that all vampires are scary predators and that some just hide it better than others - the vice president can't be nearly as nice as he appears.

Overall, this isn't a spectacular series, but I enjoyed it and I can't wait until I can watch Vampire Knight: Guilty. From what I remember, the manga this anime is based on is slower paced than this anime, which made for a lot of boredom early on, so, in that respect, I at least consider the anime to be better than the manga. I can't believe it took so long for this anime to get licensed - with all the excitement over vampires and, specifically, Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, you'd think it'd be a no-brainer to license an angst-filled vampire romance starring several super-gorgeous guys as soon as possible. Then again, maybe this was as soon as possible - I have no idea what goes into getting a series licensed.

Watch-alikes and Read-alikes:

• Trinity Blood (anime TV series) - This series has a similar mix of drama and humor, along with lots and lots of vampires. Also, maybe it's just me, but I thought one of the characters in Vampire Knight (Zero's teacher) looks an awful lot like a character from this show.
• Twilight (book) by Stephanie Meyer - Those who'd like another angsty love triangle with vampires might want to try this. I can't imagine that someone who watched and enjoyed Vampire Knight wouldn't have already at least tried Twilight, but it could happen. In this series, one part of the love triangle is a werewolf with occasional anger management issues, and another part is a vampire who hates what he is.
• The Awakening (book) by L.J. Smith - It's been a long time since I read this, but I do believe there's another angsty love triangle with vampires in this one. Vampires hiding big secrets, vampires hating what they are, the works. I remember loving this series as a teen, although, when I reread it several years later, I realized I hated Elena, the main character. I think I just got too old for these books.
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (live action TV series) - If you'd like more vampires, a bit of romance, and a heroine who is truly able to kick butt, you might want to try this. Unlike Yuki, Buffy doesn't need help all the time.
• Hakuoki (anime TV series) - Ok, so this series is neither licensed in the US nor even finished yet in Japan, but I can't help it - Chizuru, the main character of this series, is so much like Yuki. Except she's even more useless. However, if you, like me, enjoyed Vampire Knight's gorgeous guys and occasional action scenes, you might enjoy this one. Remember, focus on the pretty guys and fight scenes.

Vampire Knight (manga, vol. 1) by Matsuri Hino

Yuki Cross is a member of the Disciplinary Committee at Cross Academy and a Day Class student. She and the other member of the Disciplinary Committe, Zero Kiryu, have been given the task of keeping the Day Class away from the Night Class as much as possible, not an easy task considering the beauty of the members of the Night Class. What most of the Day Class students don't know is that the Night Class is composed of vampires - the headmaster of Cross Academy hopes that this school can foster peace between humans and vampires. This volume introduces the main characters and sets up a lot of the relationships between the characters.

Kaname Kuran, a pureblood vampire, found and rescued a bloody and amnesiac 5-year-old Yuki from a vicious vampire. Since that day, Yuki has had something of a crush on Kaname. Yuki was adopted by the headmaster of Cross Academy, and their "family" grew a bit when the headmaster took in Zero, whose entire family was killed by vampires. Although Yuki has a crush on Kaname, she also cares for Zero, which complicates things. In addition, Zero is hiding a terrible secret.

I first started reading this series in the magazine Shojo Beat, so I know a bit more about where the plot is going to go than is revealed in this volume. As far as the artwork goes, this is a lovely manga. Hino does a wonderful job at capturing the beauty of her vampires. Even when Kaname and Zero do things that I don't like (I believe one of the editors for Shojo Beat mentioned that Zero's nickname among some of the staff is "Neck Rapist" - he earns that nickname in this volume, by the way), I can still appreciate their character designs. I recently found out that this series has been made into an anime that I think has only just started airing in Japan - I hope that it eventually makes its way to the US, because I think this would be an enjoyable series to see in action and in color.

As far as the story goes, it's sometimes hard to tell what Hino is trying to do. I've never seen any of Hino's other works, but her freetalks in the sidebars of this volume indicate that she's mostly done romantic comedies. It's still possible to see that influence in Vampire Knight, which is part of the reason why this volume is so odd. It's clear that Hino is trying to write a serious story, with dark character pasts and lots of blood. However, there are lots of panels in this first volume where Yuki and Zero are like some kind of comedy team. The headmaster is also a big source of comedy, as he teases Zero, gushes over Yuki, and sparkles with the force of his apparently naive dream to promote peace between humans and vampires. The difference between the more light-hearted scene and the darker scenes is so great that the more infrequent light-hearted scenes become jarring.

Readers who are looking for a lot of action may be disappointed by this series. Although there are occasional action scenes throughout this first volume (and later in the series), the focus is on character development and the relationships between the characters, making this a slower-paced story than some might expect.

I'm sure every reader will have their own preferences for how things should turn out with Yuki and her guys (at this point, Zero and Kaname - no idea if the number will grow). Despite my love of tragic characters like Zero, I, personally, am rooting for Kaname - he's just so cool and elegant. I do worry, though, since there are indications, even this early in the series, that Kaname might not be the nice, trustworthy vampire Yuki thinks he is. I sometimes wonder if he wasn't responsible for whatever it was the wiped 5-year-old Yuki's memory - if, in some later volume, I find out that he was, I imagine I'll end up siding with Zero. Until then, yay for the long-haired vampire aristocrat!

As far as the extras go, there's author freetalks in the sidebars focusing on how Hino developed this series and its characters, notes on the Day Class uniform, a 3-page humorous continuation of the volume focusing on the Night Class, a few humorous 4-panel comics, notes explaining the kanji used in several characters' names (Aido Hanabusa, Kain Akatsuki, Souen Ruka, Kiryu Zero, and Kuran Kaname), plus notes on a couple terms (-sama, Xocolatl).

I kind of wish that the notes for the names had gone into a little more depth - as far as I can tell, the order of the names in the notes reflects the original Japanese order (Kuran Kaname), while the order used in the manga reflects Shojo Beat's decision to use a Western order (Kaname Kuran). This sort of thing is really confusing, especially when Shojo Beat decides not to even mention anything about their decision to go with a Western name order everywhere but in the explanations in the back. Another thing I would've liked is a few cultural notes - I believe that the magazine had several useful notes that weren't included in this volume (like a little bit about Kaname's comment to Yuki: "You always speak so formally to me. It makes me feel a little lonely...").

Read-alikes and Watch-alikes:

• Hellsing (anime TV series) - This bloody and action-packed series focuses on the two non-human members of the Hellsing Organization, an English vampire-extermination group: Alucard, an anti-hero and ancient and powerful vampire, and Seras Victoria, a police officer-turned-vampire. In the anime series, the Hellsing Organization deals with random murderous vampires and tries to stop someone who is creating artificial vampires. Those who'd like something that focuses more on vampires and lots of bloody action might like this anime series. This anime was inspired by a manga series, and there's also an anime OVA that is more closely based on the manga than this TV series - however, both the manga and the OVA glory in bloodshed even more than the TV series does, so they might not appeal to fans of Vampire Knight quite as much.
• Fruits Basket (anime TV series); Fruits Basket (manga) by Natsuki Takaya - Tohru had been living with her grandfather after her mother died, but circumstances and Tohru's own desire not to be a burden meant that she ended up living alone in a tent for a while. However, she gets taken in by the Sohma family, who are hiding a secret - certain members of the family turn into animals in the Chinese zodiac when they're weak or hugged by a member of the opposite sex. Both the manga and anime are good - the anime follows the manga pretty closely (except for a few things, and the last episode), but it ends well before the manga does. Those who'd like another romantic fantasy series featuring a nice and determined heroine and lots of characters with secrets might like this series. Both Vampire Knight and Fruits Basket have a mixture of drama and humor, but Fruits Basket takes a lot longer to get darker than Vampire Knight does. Several of the characters in Fruits Basket remind me of character in Vampire Knight: for instance, Shigure, a member of the Sohma family, is often like the headmaster, and Kyo and Yuki, other members of the Sohma family, share similarities with Zero.
• The Awakening (book) by L. J. Smith - This is the first book in Smith's Vampire Diaries series. Elena is a beautiful, popular high school girl who is intrigued by Stefan, a brooding and mysterious newcomer who is the only one to ever resist her. Damon is Stefan's sexy and dangerous brother, who, in order to get revenge against Stefan, is willing to take Elena from him by whatever means necessary. What Elena doesn't know at first is that both Stefan and Damon are vampires - by getting closer to them, she's involving herself, her friends, and her family in their dangerous world. Those who'd like another story involving high school romance, vampires, and a brooding vampire character who hates what he's become might like this book and series.
• Trinity Blood (anime TV series) - In a distant future, vampires and humans are at war. The Vatican has allies and a special group designed to keep the peace as much as possible and to protect humans. Abel Nightroad, a deceptively clumsy and absent-minded priest with a secret, travels from place to place as a representative of the Vatican. Esther, a young woman he meets, may be the key to peace between humans and vampires. Those who'd like another story that mixes humor, action, and drama and involves vampires might like this series.