Vampire Knight, Volume 1 (v. 1) [Paperback]

Matsuri Hino (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2007

Cross Adademy is attended by two groups of students: the Day Class and the Night Class. At twilight, when the students of the Day Class return to their dorm, they cross paths with the Night Class on their way to school. Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu are the Guardians of the school, protecting the Day Class from the Academy's dark secret: the Night Class is full of vampires!

Yuki Cross has no memory of her past prior to the moment she was saved from a vampire attack ten years ago. She was adopted by the headmaster of Cross Academy, and now works alongside Zero to guard the Academy's secret. Yuki believes that vampires and humans can coexist peacefully, but her partner has different ideas...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Cross Academy has a Night Class full of vampires and a Day Class that must be protected from them without knowing their secret. The headmaster's on a mission to end the war between the two sides, heedless of the danger it brings as the two groups pass every day at twilight. (The setup allows for plenty of drama, though, as every day is another chance to lose someone.) Yuki Cross knows about the monsters because she was saved from them by one of them as a small child. She's become one of the school's guardians, keeping the two groups apart no matter how attractive the Night Class is to the Days. Her co-guardian wants to kill the beasts, but Yuki's fascinated by one of the vampires, the one who rescued her years ago. Dark, crowded panels match the subject, with dramatic goth art by Hino (MeruPuri) ramping up the intensity, although sometimes it's hard to tell the characters apart with everyone's glum, spiky faces. Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer will find much comfortable—the young woman tasked with an unusual and solitary mission, the school setting, the question whether to love or kill the vampire, the drama in worrying over whether a fellow fighter has been transformed by the dark. (Jan.)
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About the Author

Matsuri Hino burst onto the manga scene with her title Kono Yume ga Sametara (When This Dream Is Over), which was published in LaLa DX magazine. Hino was a manga artist a mere nine months after she decided to become one. With the success of her popular series Captive Hearts and MeruPuri, Hino has established herself as a major player in the world of shojo manga. Vampire Knight is currently serialized in LaLa magazine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; Shojo Beat Manga Ed edition (January 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1421508222
• ISBN-13: 978-1421508221
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.7 x 7.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #172,446 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Matsuri Hino burst onto the manga scene with her title Kono Yume ga Sametara (When This Dream Is Over), which was published in LaLa DX magazine. Hino was a manga artist a mere nine months after she decided to become one.

With the success of her popular series Captive Hearts and MeruPuri, Hino has established herself as a major player in the world of shojo manga. Vampire Knight is currently serialized in LaLa magazine.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 47 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Gothic romance June 2, 2006

By A&M Junkie

Format:Paperback

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.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Noble Vampires Really? January 9, 2007

By Kayjo

Format:Paperback

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.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A GOTHIC VAMPIRE DRAMA January 27, 2007

By Tim Janson HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

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