Customer Reviews

Vampire Knight, Volume 1 (v. 1)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Matsuri Hino, who gave us the enjoyable light-hearted and funny romantic tale MeruPuri, has delievered a much darker tale with Vampire Knight. Yuki, a bright and likeable heroine, was saved from a vampire attack when she was young by a tall, dark, and handsome young man called Kaname. As an orphan she is adopted by the chairman of a prestigious boarding school who is friends with her rescuer.

In present day she lives and studies at the school. The school is divided into a "Day Class" and a "Night Class." She is also, under the guise of being a student councillor, an "Academy Guardian." The Academy Guardians, Yuki and a handsome fellow student called Zero, are the only students in "Day Class" who are privy to the knowledge that the "Night Class" is made up of vampires. It is their job to ensure that the "Day Class" and "Night Class" do not mix and that the "Night Class" keep their secret. The head vampire is none other than her rescuer Kaname. Yuki is torn by her friendship to Zero, a vampire hater whose family were killed by vampires four years ago, and her secret love and infatuation with Kaname.

The vampires are all beautiful beings, but almost every scene that they are in is charged with danger and seduction. Instead of delievering another funny manga, Matsuri has concentrated on bringing us a gothic and dark story which mixes romance, despair, danger, and hope. 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 manga tales. It took me awhile to get used to the concept, however I found that it is actually more enjoyable on the second reading. Recommended to fans of MeruPuri, Fruit's Basket and, due to its gothic overtones, Angel Sanctuary.

This story is one that you daydream about in bad traffic. It stays on your mind even when you should be thinking about something else.
I'd love to meet Zero, Kaname, and Yuki, as well as Aido and others. Wouldn't it be great if you could really know these guys personally? Beautiful, Powerful People! Intense and full of intrigue. If you pick it up, there's very little chance you're going to put it down whether you are a guy or a girl. This series is going to be dog-eared and worn for sure.

There are two very different classes at the prestigious Cross Academy. The day time class, and the mysterious Night Class. The two classes never mix except when one group is leaving, the other is entering. Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu are the two members of the school's disciplinary team and they alone among the Day Class know the dark secret that the Night Class is made up of vampires.

Headmaster Cross has opened the school up to both humans and vampires in hopes of uniting them in peace. The Night Class has worked to develop blood tablets to replace the need for fresh blood. Yuki is enamored with Kaname Kuran, the Night Class President. Ten years earlier, he saved her life when she was attacked by another vampire and brought her to the academy where Headmaster Cross adopted her as his daughter.

Zero isn't nearly as fond as the vampires as Yuki. His entire family was killed by vampires years ago and Zero wants revenge. The two groups work to co-exist as Yuki and Zero steer the daytime girls away from trouble and Kaname tries to keep his more bloodthirsty classmates in line. The book presents five distinct stories as opposed to one boot length tale, which is refreshing. They are all set against the backdrop of Cross Academy and despite the vampiric characters, the book is as much, if not more, a drama than a horror tale.

As you go on and reach each story in Vampire Knight, creator Matsuri Hino reveals more and more about each o the main characters and will eventually unveil the terrible secret that Zero holds that further explains his hate of all vampires. I enjoyed Hino's art quite a bit. There was a nice cinematic feel to his stories and he didn't try to do too much in the first volume. Hino also provides various margin notes about the book and its development. A well-done opening volume and I can't wait until number two!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

Matsuri Hino, Vampire Knight, vol. 1 (ViZ, 2005)

An exclusive private school with a day class made up of humans and a night class made up of vampires, some of whom want to bridge the centuries-long gap that has caused vampires and humans to be constantly at war with one another, is the setting for Matsuri Hino's newest manga. The main character is Yuki Cross, the adopted daughter of the (rather flighty) headmaster of the school. As we open, she is attacked by a rogue vampire, but saved by Kaname, the head of the night class. Fast-forward ten years and Yuki is now in the day class herself. She's one of the disciplinary committee, who exist to make sure the day and night classes don't intermix (the day class don't know the night class are vampires). The other disciplinary committee member is Zero Kiryu, the orphaned son of parents killed in a vampire attack four years previous. Kaname still holds Yuki's heart, but is it just gratitude? Are her growing feelings for Kiryu real? Not a bad beginning, looking forward to reading more of the series. ***

I got Volumes 1 & 2 yesterday, and finished them both. I love the characters! It was very good and I can't wait to read the 3rd one. There wasn't that much blood, which suprised me, and there is a hint of romance, well, not really a hint, but, a little bit of romance. Over all, I enjoyed every second of reading these.

Vampires, those fearsome denizens of the night, have long been a part of Western lore. But while all vampires share a thirst for blood, they've come to be interpreted in two very different ways. First, you have the traditional version: a hideous, undead creature who spends his nights stalking young virgins. Then you have the more modern version: the beautiful, brooding young man who takes the high road and fights his blood-lust. If you couldn't already guess, Matsuri Hino's "Vampire Knight" features the more sophisticated version.

To be fair, Hino actually works both versions into her story. The heroine, Yuki Cross, has mixed feelings about vampires. Her first memory is of being attacked by a scary vampire in the snow, only to be rescued by the beautiful Kaname Kuran. Ten years later, Yuki attends Cross Academy, the school owned by her adoptive father. The school was founded to promote peace between vampires and humans, and Yuki is a guardian. She helps keep the day class (humans) and night class (vampires) separated to prevent unnecessary temptation. But it's not such an easy job. The day class girls have no idea that the beautiful boys of the night class are vampires, and they practically stalk them.

Not that Yuki can't relate. She's still in love with Kaname, though her fascination is mixed with fear. Her fellow guardian, Zero, on the other hand, hates vampires with all his being. He is descended from a line of vampire hunters, those who hunt the hunters of the night, and his family was killed by a vampire. Still, there may be more going on with Zero than Yuki knows...

"Vampire Knight" has a compelling, original story. The sexy vampire is nothing new, but I like the rules Hino applies to her world. I can't reveal them all (don't want to spoil anything), but they're interesting, they make sense, and Hino doesn't break them. The boarding school setting is also an interesting idea. The story is pretty slow at first. It can be frustrating, but it's worth it to get to the good part. Everything becomes much more interesting when Yuki's forgotten past becomes prominent, and it gets better from there. It's full of mystery and suspense with a touch of humor, and it keeps you reading.

I have mixed feelings about the characters. Yuki isn't my favorite heroine ever. She's pretty average as far as shojo heroines go. She broods over her forbidden love and worries about Zero's problems. She does try to fight when she has to, but she usually just gets herself in trouble and has to be rescued. I think this is foolish rather than strong or brave, and it causes trouble for both Zero and Kaname. Also, Yuki is very dense. She is completely oblivious to Zero's feelings for her and often hurts him because of this. She does get much more interesting and independent after a certain point, but it takes a while to get there.

Then there's Zero. I liked him at first, but I got tired of his angst. It's understandable for his character, but it doesn't make him terribly interesting. Kaname is probably the best character of the three. He's mature and composed, and he has secrets. A lot of secrets. He's also conflicted over his desire for Yuki (you can't have a hot vampire who isn't conflicted over his lust for the heroine; it's a rule). The other night class members are interesting, too, and I'm glad that they hold a prominent place in the story. I also like Yuki's best friend, Yori, but I do wish she were in the story more.

The art is very well done. Even if the large eyes and longish hair of the characters don't appeal to you, Hino draws beautiful costumes and backgrounds. Everything is so detailed. The uniforms and buildings of the school are elegant and gothic, and everything lends a gothic feel to the work. The characters are beautiful, and there's lots of eye-candy for us girls. Hino puts her characters in interesting poses and has good layouts, too. She's really good at creating sexual tension between her characters, a must for a manga featuring blood-lust.

"Vampire Knight" is a must-read for shojo fans. The story starts off kind of slow and the characters take a while to get interesting, but it pays off to stick with it. The suspenseful story, dark, gothic atmosphere, and beautiful characters make it well worth your time.

Currently being seiralized in Shojo Beat magazine this one manga to get in on. The illustrations are beautiful. It's a mostly male cast with a female man character. what man-lovin girl couldn't appreciate that?

oh and did i mention a love triangle between vampire and human? oh yes. this one is very dark. but it's my new favorite. It takes place at this school for vampires and people. but the people don't know there are vampires there. all very tricky. but that's not really what i care about. i'm crazy about love triangles and this one is good.

do yourself a favor and check it out!

I love this series; from the artwork to the characters to the plot.
I'd recommend this for people who enjoy gothic/vampire manga.
I like that Matsuri Hino kind of strayed from the stereotypical vampire view too.

Wonderful story and artwork. Serious in some parts, but light enough to read at any time. Matsuri Hino is an amazing mangaka.

I've learned not to expect much from vampire-themed manga. There's enough of a difference between the Japanese perception of vampires and the European perception to cause some stumbles. "Vampire Knight" was a pleasant surprise. These vampires still maintain their 'difference" but were closer to my perception of vampires.

The characters are all interesting--though I really have to wonder at the decision to use Zero's English name. The mangaka chose name for her characters very carefully, and the Japanese form for this character's name would've served better, I think. It's a little off-putting to believe a truly menacing air from someone named 'Zero'.

The storyline is fresh and different from most other vampires-at-school mangas. Yuki is a brave, strong heroine who believes in the rules and is a little naive. The vampires, as others have mentioned, are all gorgeous, with the typical high school fangirl following. There are hints of different types of vampires and different abilities, and a long, painful history between humans and vampires.

The only reason this gets four stars instead of five is because of the great difficulty in telling two of the supporting male vampire characters apart. The only way to really tell them apart is that one of them wears earrings--but isn't always drawn with them. Since the two characters have very different motivations towards humans, it can get confusing to keep track of who is saying what and why. As attractive as they are, these vampires never lose their air of menace.

This looks to be the start of a very good series.