Manga Mondays (29): Vampire Knight vol. 1 - Matsuri Hino

Vampire Knight vol. 1 - Matsuri Hino

A few weeks ago, I did an overview of different vampire themed manga series. One of the series I profiled was Vampire Knight, which I had not read. So many people said that they loved this series, I decided that I needed to try it as soon as possible. Well, I'm glad I did, because Vampire Knight is one of the best manga I've found thus far. I highly recommend it!

Summary

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... (courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

Vampire Knight is an epic drama. You have love (a triangle, actually), friendship, danger (bloodlust), and more. The three main characters are Yuki, Zero, and Kaname.

I love Yuki. She has two sides. She's your stereotypical sweet, demure, love-to-please girl, yet she's also a kick-butt school guard. She has the duty to protect the Day Students from the vampire Night Students, who aren't as tame as they aim to be. She performs this duty capably. It's nice to see a strong manga girl. Most of the girls in the manga series I've read have been the damsel in distress types.

Our boys are Kaname and Zero. Kaname is a vampire, the head of the Night Students. He is a model vampire - handsome, responsible, caring. He once saved Yuki's life so she feels indebted to him and is also hopelessly in love. The attraction seems to be mutual. Zero is Yuki's fellow Disciplinary Committee member. He is the only other Day Student who knows the secret of the vampires. And like Yuki, he came to Cross Academy after a vampire attack. His entire family was killed by vampires. Unlike Yuki, he hates vampires with a passion.

It's clear that there's a love triangle between Yuki, Kaname, and Zero. Yuki adores and admires Kaname. She is friends with Zero, but I think there's more there - she loves him without realizing it. Zero is hopelessly in love with her. Kaname is clearly attracted, although he's so reserved that it's hard to tell what he really feels.

I won't give away much of the plot, but there's a big twist involving Zero that is really going to make the series interesting. As fun as the burgeoning romances with Yuki, Kaname, and Zero are, the plot arcs involving Cross Academy and the vampires are interesting enough to carry the volume. I can't wait to keep reading.